孔子与华盛顿一起“捍卫着世界和平”
Confucius and Washington defend world peace together

除了思想,孔子的“本尊”也在不断漂洋过海,落户地球另一侧的美洲大陆上。
In addition to Confucius' philosophy, his image has been spreading abroad to the American continent, to the farthest ends of the earth.

张涛发现,在抗日战争时期,孔子形象的纪念品是国民政府非常重要的外交礼物。银行家怀特黑德曾经被赠予一尊银质的孔子雕像;“苍然长衫、仪态庄严的孔子娃娃”,也曾经作为奖品,颁发给向中国捐款的美国人。
Zhang Tao, who wrote a book named "Confucius in the United States of America," found that, the souvenirs of the image of Confucius were very important diplomatic gifts of the Chinese government during the Anti-Japanese War. Once upon a time, the Confucius dolls wearing vintage gown and bearing godlike presence were awarded as prizes to the Americans who made donations to China.

1925年,世界控制鸦片会议上,中国带来的礼物是一架金丝屏风,上面写着孔子的名言“四海之内,皆兄弟也”。1941年2月,重庆举行了一场华盛顿诞辰纪念活动。美国总统特使发言时,眼尖的媒体发现,他身后的壁画内容是,孔子与华盛顿一起,“捍卫着世界和平”。
In 1925, Chinese delegation brought a gold-wire screen with a quote from Confucius saying that "all the people of the world are brothers" to the world conference on opium control. In February 1941, Chongqing government held a celebration for George Washington's Birthday. When the special envoy of the U.S. president gave his speech, a sharp-eyed journalist discovered what behind the special envoy is a mural which themed "the Confucius and Washington defend the world peace together".

“当时,日本的侵略是中国面临的最大生存危机,所以在外交领域,政府官员也极力强调孔子的民主与和平思想。”张涛说。
"China faced its biggest survival crisis, the Japanese aggression, at that time. Therefore, the government officials made an utmost effort to emphasize Confucius' thoughts of democracy and peace in the realm of foreign affairs" said Zhang.

1937年,中国驻美大使王正廷对《华盛顿邮报》表示,孔子弟子所推崇的“民人”和“社稷”,其实是一种古老的“民主口号”,中国历来爱好和平,抗日战争是一场“民主之战”。
In 1937, China's Ambassador to the United States Wang Zhengting said to the Washington Post that the idea of "people" and "country" that Confucius disciples esteemed is a kind of ancient "democratic slogan" in essence; and that China has always been a country dreaming of peace; the Anti-Japanese War should be referred to as a "democratic war".

著名学者林语堂曾在《基督教科学箴言报》上发表文章说,孔子与美国国务卿科德尔·赫尔相隔千年,却有着共同的观点,相信“道德秩序对于和平至关重要”。
Renowned Chinese scholar Lin Yutang wrote in an article published on the Christian Science Monitor that Confucius, who was born thousands of years ago, held the same belief as U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull that moral order was crucial for peace.

“为了这一共同的民主,中美更应该并肩战斗。”林语堂写道。
China and the United States should fight shoulder to shoulder for democracy, Lin added.

美国人的确在用“孔子”向中国表示友好。1908年,美国参众两院通过议案,同意将中国在《辛丑条约》中所赔偿的半数赔款返还中国,用于资助留美学生。1924年,美国国会再一次通过决议,将其余的庚子赔款用于中国,成立“中国文教促进基金会”,以及美国的“美华协进会”,旨在向美国介绍中国。在1926年费城独立150周年的庆典上,美华协进会举办了一场大型的中国教育展,其主题之一就是“孔子的影响”。
The United States has made use of Confucius to show friendliness to China. In 1908, the U.S. Congress passed a proposal to return half of the reparations that it received from China according to the Boxer Protocol, to China on condition that the money was used to fund a program that sent Chinese students to U.S. schools. In 1924, the Congress passed another proposal to use the remaining reparations from China to establish the Chinese Culture and Education Promotion Foundation and the China Institute in America, in order to introduce China to Americans. In 1926, when Philadelphia celebrated the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the institute held a large-scale exhibition about Chinese education in the city, with the "Influence of Confucius" as one of its themes.

1939年,时任国民政府行政院长的孔祥熙访问美国。在此之前,这位“孔子第75代孙”曾经用孔子后人这一身份多次在美国参加活动、发表演讲。这一次,他代表国民政府,将两尊中国传统的石狮子捐赠给美国密苏里大学新闻学院,作为“中美友谊的象征”。
Kung Hsiang-hsi, who served as the president of the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China, paid a visit to the United States in 1939, during which, he donated a pair of traditional Chinese stone lions to the School of Journalism at the University of Missouri on behalf of the Republic of China as a symbol of China-U.S. friendship. Previously, Kung, a 75th-generation descendant of Confucius, had taken part in various activities and delivered speeches in the United States many times.

根据《洛杉矶时报》的记载,这对狮子来自孔子的家乡——山东曲阜的孔庙。
The two stone lions were from the Temple of Confucius in Qufu, Shandong province, the hometown of Confucius, according to the Los Angeles Times.

7年后,一名密苏里大学新闻学院的毕业生来到中国,成为美联社的战地记者。这位名叫托平的美国人后来成了普利策奖评委会主席、哥伦比亚大学教授,以及《纽约时报》的副总编辑。而在当时,他是第一个报道解放军占领南京的西方记者,并且在文革期间第一次被批准采访了周恩来。
Seven year later, Seymour Topping, a graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism, came to China as a war correspondent for the Associated Press. Topping later served as the administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes at Columbia, a professor at Columbia University, and the deputy editor-in-chief of the New York Times. He was the first Western journalist to report the People's Liberation Army's liberation of Nanjing, and interviewed late Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai for the first time during the Cultural Revolution.

“那对石狮子对我来说非常重要,念大学的时候,我每天都要经过它们。”多年后,托平在谈到这件来自孔子故里的礼物时说,“是它们让我与中国产生了最初的联系,并带我走进中国。”
The stone lions were very important to Topping, who saw them every day in college. When talking about the gift from the hometown of Confucius many years later, he said that the two stone lions were his initial connection with China, and inspired him to visit the country.

 

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