普遍在中國人的眼中對歷史都是比較重視的，特別中國延綿不斷數(shù)千年的歷史文化，影響的范圍已經(jīng)是覆蓋至全亞洲甚至是整個的東方。而相對于西方很多的歐美國家來說，他們對歷史的重視程度相比起我們則普遍不高。為什中國比起西方歐美諸國，會對歷史更為重視？
美國論壇Qupra也有位美國網(wǎng)友對中國人的富有強烈的歷史觀提出了疑惑：為什么中國似乎比其他曾經(jīng)偉大的國家更癡迷于自己的古代歷史? 這個話題也是引起了不少國內(nèi)網(wǎng)友的熱議。我們摘取部分網(wǎng)友的觀點進行了分享。
論壇話題
加拿大網(wǎng)友的觀點
All great nations, past and present, care very much about their history. History informs their people about who they are, what they believe in, and how they should live. History and culture are intimately tied together.
所有偉大的國家，無論是過去的還是現(xiàn)在的，都非常關(guān)心自己的歷史。歷史告訴他們的人民他們是誰，他們信仰什么，他們應該如何生活。歷史和文化是緊密相連的。
History can be a source of great pride. For China, being the longest continuous civilization in human history (over 5,000 years!) is a very big deal. China has a rich legacy of inventions and innovations.
歷史可以成為偉大驕傲的源泉。對于中國來說，成為人類歷史上持續(xù)時間最長的文明(超過5000年!)是一件非常重要的事情。中國擁有豐富的發(fā)明和創(chuàng)新遺產(chǎn)。
China’s system of governance has stood the test of time, over 2,000 years and 16 great dynasties! It’s based on a remarkable and fascinating Chinese philosophy, mostly Confucian and Taoist.
中國的治理體系經(jīng)受住了時間的考驗，歷經(jīng)2000多年，歷經(jīng)16個王朝!它基于一種非凡而迷人的中國哲學，主要是儒家和道教。
This is what makes Sinology such a great subject to study.
這就是漢學如此值得研究的原因。
香港網(wǎng)友的觀點
1. The Chinese culture has been inherited in its entirety. Chinese people nowadays can easily read ancient books that have been written for a couple of thousand years. This is something that no other country in the world can do. Modern British people cannot read English from hundreds of years ago. The stability of Chinese characters has enabled the Chinese to know far more about history than people from other countries.
1. 中國文化被完整地傳承了下來。如今的中國人可以很容易地閱讀幾千年前的古籍。這是世界上任何一個國家都做不到的?，F(xiàn)代英國人看不懂幾百年前的英語。漢字的穩(wěn)定性使中國人比其他國家的人更了解歷史。
A typical example is Vietnam, which has abandoned Chinese characters for less than 100 years. The Vietnamese today are unable to read ancient books that are thousands of years old, or even understand something that can be easily recognised in a Chinese environment.
一個典型的例子是越南，它拋棄漢字的時間還不到100年。今天的越南人無法閱讀數(shù)千年前的古籍，甚至無法理解在中國環(huán)境中容易識別的東西。
2. A bunch of anti-Chinese people are there to say that China was once occupied in history, but unfortunately, either the occupiers themselves took the initiative to integrate into China or were quickly repulsed. It didn't affect the heritage of Chinese culture.
2. 有一群繁華人士說，中國在歷史上曾經(jīng)被占領(lǐng)過，但不幸的是，要么是占領(lǐng)者自己主動融入中國，要么很快就被擊退了。這并不影響中國文化的傳承。
For example, when the Mongols occupied China, what happened was that Kublai took the initiative to issue an imperial edict to establish the Yuan Dynasty and publicly declared it as the successor to China, and then resumed the imperial examinations and the use of Chinese characters as the national script.
例如，蒙古人占領(lǐng)中國時，忽必烈主動頒布詔書，建立元朝，并公開宣布其為中國的繼承者，然后恢復科舉考試，恢復使用漢字作為國書。
The Qing dynasty was even more dry, as the Qing emperor simply said that he and the Han Chinese were of the same ancestry, and then also used Chinese characters extensively. By the late Qing dynasty, Manchu officials could not even speak the Manchu language, and only spoke Chinese.
清朝就更干巴巴了，清朝皇帝只是簡單地說他和漢人是同一個祖先，然后也廣泛使用漢字。到清末，滿族官員甚至不會說滿語，只會說漢語。
All this is documented in history. The transmission of history and culture is not whether it was occupied for a short time, but whether the original civilization was inherited.
所有這些都有歷史記載。歷史文化的傳承，不在于是否被短暫占領(lǐng)，而在于原始文明是否被傳承。
3. For example, I often argue with my Vietnamese and Korean friends on quora, and I can find plenty of ancient books and even ancient Vietnamese and Korean data (because they are all written in Chinese characters) to point out their mistakes.
3.例如，我經(jīng)常在quora上和我的越南和韓國朋友爭論，我可以找到大量的古籍，甚至古代越南和韓國的數(shù)據(jù)(因為它們都是用漢字寫的)來指出他們的錯誤。
美國網(wǎng)友的觀點
The claim that China is “more obsessed with its ancient history than any other once-great nation” isn’t true.
中國“比任何曾經(jīng)偉大的國家都更癡迷于其古代歷史”的說法是不正確的。
I’m pretty sure that Egypt, Greece, and Italy are at least as “obsessed” with their ancient history as China is. Indeed, the entire modern nation-state of Greece is essentially founded on the idea that it is a restoration of the glory of classical Greece. That why, in 1834, after the Greek Revolution, Greece specifically chose Athens to be its capital—even though it was a rather small town at the time. This is also the reason why Greece has invested so much money into restoring the Parthenon and other monuments on the Athenian Akropolis, which, believe it or not, were even more ruined 150 years ago than they are today.
我很確定，埃及、希臘和意大利至少和中國一樣“癡迷”于他們的古代歷史。事實上，整個現(xiàn)代希臘民族國家本質(zhì)上是建立在一個理念之上的，即它是古典希臘榮耀的恢復。這就是為什么在1834年希臘革命后，希臘特別選擇雅典作為首都的原因——盡管當時它只是一個相當小的城鎮(zhèn)。這也是為什么希臘投入如此多的資金來修復帕臺農(nóng)神廟和雅典阿克羅波利斯上的其他紀念碑的原因，信不信由你，150年前的情況比現(xiàn)在更糟。
All nation-states are built on the impression of a shared national history and identity. When the states that control countries with lots of ancient history try to promote awareness of that history, they do so partly for the purpose of furthering a shared national mythology among the people who live in that country.
所有民族國家都建立在共同的民族歷史和身份的印象之上。當控制著擁有悠久歷史的國家的國家試圖提高人們對這段歷史的認識時，他們這樣做的部分目的是為了在生活在這個國家的人民中進一步形成一個共同的民族神話。
They are also, however, trying to promote tourism and convince people from other countries to come visit their country, since this brings money into the national economy. They tend to focus on advertising specific monuments. Thus, Egypt advertises the Pyramids of Giza, China advertises the Great Wall and the Forbidden City, Greece advertises the Athenian Akropolis, and Italy advertises the Colosseum and the Pantheon.
然而，他們也在努力促進旅游業(yè)，說服其他國家的人來他們的國家旅游，因為這會給國家經(jīng)濟帶來收入。他們傾向于宣傳特定的紀念碑。因此，埃及為吉薩金字塔做廣告，中國為長城和紫禁城做廣告，希臘為雅典的阿克羅波利斯做廣告，意大利為羅馬斗獸場和萬神殿做廣告。
ABOVE: Photograph from this article from The Guardian of various tourists taking photos with the Parthenon on the Athenian Akropolis
上圖:來自《衛(wèi)報》的照片，各種游客在雅典阿克羅波利斯上與帕臺農(nóng)神廟合影
上海網(wǎng)友的回答
An important reason why Chinese people pay attention to history is that there are many lessons in history for people to learn.
中國人重視歷史的一個重要原因是，歷史上有很多可供人們學習的教訓。
By studying important events in history, we can help us to eliminate some obviously wrong choices and clear the direction of possible success when facing difficulties.
通過研究歷史上的重要事件，我們可以在面臨困難時幫助我們消除一些明顯錯誤的選擇，明確可能成功的方向。
When studying history, its practical significance is to let us understand the laws of human society and human nature's response, as well as what changes may be brought about by possible accidents. This applies to a very wide range of fields such as society, economy, humanities and military affairs.
研究歷史，它的現(xiàn)實意義在于讓我們了解人類社會的規(guī)律和人性的反應，以及可能發(fā)生的意外會帶來什么樣的變化。這適用于社會、經(jīng)濟、人文、軍事等非常廣泛的領(lǐng)域。
Fortunately, China's history has been described countless times in very detailed written language from different perspectives, and the corresponding figures, objects and places are left on the same land. This makes history no longer an abstract and simplified story, which makes history a fact that can be analyzed and studied in detail.
幸運的是，中國的歷史已經(jīng)用非常詳細的文字從不同的角度描述了無數(shù)次，相應的人物、物體和地點都留在了同一片土地上。這使得歷史不再是一個抽象的、簡化的故事，這使得歷史成為一個可以詳細分析和研究的事實。
At the same time, because of the universality of Chinese characters, we do not need to become scholars to read them. Any Chinese who have received basic education can acquire the knowledge we need by reading ancient texts.
同時，由于漢字的普遍性，我們不需要成為讀書人就能讀懂漢字。任何受過基礎(chǔ)教育的中國人都可以通過閱讀古籍獲得我們所需要的知識。
新加坡網(wǎng)友的回答
To the Chinese, history is like the Bible to Christians. History is a guide to social development. Unlike Eric Chan's fantasies, The Chinese pragmatic culture makes history accurate and valuable. For example, since 1057 BC, China has recorded 32 times of Comet Halley's return in 40 times, which is the highest in the world. (Why is this comet called Halley, not a Chinese name?)
歷史之于中國人，猶如圣經(jīng)之于基督徒。歷史是社會發(fā)展的指南。與Eric Chan（最后一位網(wǎng)）的幻想不同，中國的實用主義文化使歷史準確而有價值。例如，自公元前1057年以來，中國在40次哈雷彗星返回中記錄了32次，這是世界上最高的。(為什么這顆彗星叫哈雷彗星，而不是中文名?)
Therefore, the Chinese historical records have become the social experimental reports of nearly 2000 years. For the Chinese, the history of hundreds years ago is like yesterday.
因此，中國史書已成為近2000年的社會實驗報告。對于中國人來說，幾百年前的歷史就像昨天一樣。
The reason for accurate historical records is that the new emperors would collect historical documents after dynasties change in China. This is not to belittle the previous Empire, but to find out the reasons for the decline of the Empire, and to warn yourself that should never make the same mistake.
歷史記載準確的原因是中國朝代更迭后，新皇帝會收集歷史文獻。這并不是要貶低以前的帝國，而是要找出帝國衰落的原因，并告誡自己千萬不要再犯同樣的錯誤。
//Never Again 絕不重蹈覆轍
Collect historical documents was a huge project in all dynasties, so the whole Chinese will attach great importance to it. It is also a sign of the prosperity. After all, this represents the end of the war, and hostile forces have become a part of Chinese history.
搜集史料在歷朝歷代都是一項浩大的工程，全中國人都會高度重視。 這也是繁榮的標志。 畢竟，這代表著戰(zhàn)爭的結(jié)束，敵對勢力已經(jīng)成為中國歷史的一部分。
In fact, China is doing the same now. Today the United States is still very strong, but the decline has become a reality, and China needs to learn from it.
事實上，中國現(xiàn)在也在這么做。今天美國仍然非常強大，但衰落已經(jīng)成為現(xiàn)實，中國需要從中吸取教訓。
Of course, CNN is looking at my answer. They probably think that Chinese people like to forget history just like them
當然，CNN正在看我的答案。他們可能認為中國人像他們一樣喜歡忘記歷史
印度尼西亞物理學教授的觀點
Chinese are generally more “obsessed” with their ancient history than any other once-great nations. It is true, but the word “obsessed” is exaggerated. A more accurate word is “value”: Chinese value their ancient history more than other nations. It is not really out of pride, but it is a cultural thing which started in the early Zhou Dynasty. The founders of Zhou Dynasty valued very much the historical lessons of China although at that time it was only about 1500 years history.
中國人通常比其他曾經(jīng)偉大的國家更“癡迷”他們的古代歷史。沒錯，但“癡迷”這個詞有點夸張了。更準確的說法是“價值”:中國人比其他民族更重視自己的古代史。這并不是出于驕傲，而是一種始于周初的文化。周朝的開國元勛非常重視中國的歷史教訓，盡管當時中國只有1500年的歷史。
We don’t really see the 5000 years history as of today as very long, leave alone feeling proud about its longevity. In a Daoism “bible” written by Zhuang Zi, a 800-years old person should feel ashamed to claim he has long life because he selectively not comparing himself with turtle and tree which have much longer life. “There is a type of bug which is born in the morning and dies in the night. It cannot comprehend the concept of one month.
5000 年的歷史，我們今天看都不算很長，更不用說為它的持續(xù)時間而自豪了。在莊子寫的道家“圣經(jīng)”中，一個800歲的老人應該為聲稱自己長壽而感到羞愧，因為他有選擇性地沒有把自己與烏龜和樹相比，它們的壽命要長得多?！坝幸环N蟲子早上出生，晚上死亡。它無法理解一個月的概念。
There is a type of cicada which is born in the Spring and dies in the Summer; or born in the Summer and dies in the Autumn. It cannot comprehend the concept of one year.” Feeling proud of 5000 years history is not recommended; instead, we are cautioned to never be arrogance but keep learning from historical lessons.
有一種蟬，春生夏死;或生于夏，死于秋。它無法理解一年的概念?！辈煌扑]對5000年的歷史感到驕傲;相反，我們被告誡永遠不要傲慢，要不斷從歷史教訓中吸取教訓。
英國網(wǎng)友的觀點
I don’t think China is more obsessed than any other countries.
我不認為中國比其他國家更癡迷于此。
It is the Chinese ethnic that valued their history. Well, they should when their “race” or “ethnicity” is something that they inherited from thousand of years ago. It would be like the Mediterranean people called themself as a Roman people instead of being an Italian, French, Spaniard and etc.
重視歷史的是中華民族。當他們的“種族”或“民族”是他們從幾千年前繼承下來的東西時，他們應該這樣做。這就像地中海人稱自己為羅馬人，而不是意大利人、法國人、西班牙人等等。
And they should because their heritage and history are what made them “invincible” toward foreign power.And I am glad they did cause they would be just another people without any identity that set them apart from other if they don’t.
他們應該這樣做，因為他們的傳統(tǒng)和歷史使他們對外國勢力“戰(zhàn)無不勝”。我很高興他們這樣做了，因為如果他們不這樣做，他們就只是另一個沒有任何身份的民族，沒有任何身份將他們與其他人區(qū)分開來。
Plus, who wouldn’t valued their history when it is such a long history that was continually passed down for such a long time.
另外，當歷史如此悠久，而且持續(xù)流傳了這么長時間，誰會不重視自己的歷史呢?
美國網(wǎng)友的觀點
Chinese recorded history at least since the Zhou Dynasty (c 1000 B.C.), as did the Ancient Greeks, something that surprisingly not everyone in the ancient world did. The Chinese used the recorded history to formulate moral and practical lessons for its rulers.
中國至少從周朝(公元前1000年)開始記載歷史，古希臘人也是如此，但令人驚訝的是，并非古代世界的每個人都這樣做。中國人利用有記載的歷史為統(tǒng)治者提供道德和實踐的教訓。
All this was done by officials who were themselves scholars. Because of this insistence on both literacy and historiography, even officials who were not scholars (nobles and military officials) have to learn the rudiments at the least and master them if they wish to advance and be respected. The mastery of both is also a way for commoners to advance into positions of power and influence.
所有這些都是由本身就是學者的官員做的。由于這種對識字和史學的堅持，即使不是學者的官員(貴族和軍事官員)如果想要進步和受到尊重，也必須至少學習和掌握一些基本知識。掌握這兩種技能也是平民獲得權(quán)力和影響力的一種方式。
This in turn contributed to the continuity of Chinese history one ruling dynasty after the other, and one effect is the constant minding of lessons from China’s long history in dealing with contemporary affairs.
這又使中國歷史在一個又一個王朝的統(tǒng)治下得以延續(xù)，其中一個影響就是中國在處理當代事務時不斷汲取歷史的教訓。
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