拿起手中“魔法棒”，谱写“黄金时代”新篇章
Wave Your Magic Wand to Contribute a New Chapter to China-UK “Golden Era”
驻英国大使刘晓明在苏格兰中耶尔中学孔子课堂揭牌仪式上的讲话
Remarks by H.E. Ambassador Liu Xiaoming at the Launch of Confucius Classroom at Mid Yell Junior High School, Shetland Islands
2018年5月1日
1 May 2018
尊敬的苏格兰中耶尔中学校长劳森先生，
尊敬的苏格兰设得兰群岛议会主席贝尔先生，
尊敬的苏格兰国家语言中心主任马珍娜女士，
老师们、同学们，
女士们、先生们、朋友们：
Mr. Mark Lawson,
Mr. Malcolm Bell,
Ms. Fhiona Mackay,
Teachers and Students,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Friends:
大家上午好！
Good morning!
很高兴在春暖花开的季节来到风景秀美的耶尔岛，为中耶尔中学孔子课堂揭牌。我谨代表中国驻英国大使馆向中耶尔中学表示热烈祝贺！对苏格兰中小学孔子学院和中耶尔中学老师们的辛勤付出表示衷心感谢！
It is a real delight to come to the beautiful island of Yell in this blossoming season of Spring for the launch of the Confucius Classroom at Mid Yell Junior High School. On behalf of the Chinese Embassy, let me begin by extending my warmest congratulations! I also wish to thank the teachers from the Confucius Institute for Scotland’s Schools and Mid Yell Junior High School for your hard work and vigorous contribution!
中国古人说，“志之所趋，无远勿届，穷山距海，不能限也”，意思是求学之路虽然充满艰辛，但只要本着坚韧不拔、锲而不舍的精神，就能超越山海所限，达到成功的彼岸。
An ancient Chinese sage said, “For he who is unstoppably determined, there is no place too far to reach, no mountain too high to climb and no sea too vast to cross.” This line explains how perseverance is the only path to success.
7年前，我曾与英国王储查尔斯王子共同为位于英国西南部的威尔士兰德福瑞公学孔子课堂揭牌。今天，我又来到苏格兰北部设得兰群岛的耶尔岛，为全英最北端的孔子课堂揭牌。无论在哪里，我都能深深体会到英国学生们学习中文的热情和求学致知的渴望，感受到“中文热”正跨越时空、超越山海，火遍英伦。
Seven years ago, I had the honor to join His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales, to unveil the Confucius Classroom of Llandovery College in the southwest of Britain. Today, I have come to Yell to unveil the Confucius Classroom in the farthest and northernmost part of Scotland and Britain. From the south to the north, I can see the strong and growing enthusiasm in the British students for learning the Chinese language. That is why the distance between China and the UK, the barriers of mountains and seas, cannot stop the Chinese language from reaching every corner of Britain, including Yell!
春天是万物生长的季节。英国的中文教育正处在这样一个季节，英国的孔子学院和孔子课堂正迎来一个美好的“春天”。
And I think I have come at a good time. This is the season for flowers to bloom and for trees to grow. It is also a good time for Chinese language education in Britain, for the Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms, to grow.
8年前，在我刚刚出任中国驻英国大使时，英国只有11家孔子学院、47个孔子课堂。如今，全英共开设29家孔子学院和156个孔子课堂。仅2017年，全英就有16万人在孔子学院和孔子课堂学习，各孔子学院开展了4074场文化活动，参与人数达到102万人。放眼全球，到去年底，已经有146个国家和地区建立了525所孔子学院和1113个孔子课堂，各类学员累计达916万人，相当于欧洲一个中等国家的人口规模。
Eight years ago when I took the office of Chinese Ambassador to the UK, there were only 11 Confucius Institutes across Britain. Today, there are 29. Eight years ago there were 47 Confucius Classrooms. Today, there are 156. In 2017 alone, these Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms enrolled 160,000 students, hosted 4,074 cultural events and drew over one million visitors and participants. Across the world, the numbers are also encouraging. As of the end of last year, there were 525 Confucius Institutes and 1,113 Confucius Classrooms in 146 countries and regions. The total number of students was 9.16 million. That was the size of the population of an average country in Europe.
很多同学也许会问，为什么这么多人愿意学习中文？为什么孔子学院和孔子课堂在英国这么受欢迎？我的答案是，中文是一种神奇的力量，就像哈里波特手中的“魔法棒”：
You may wonder: Why are so many people falling in love with the Chinese language? Why are the Confucius Institutes and Classrooms so popular in Britain? My answer is this: the Chinese language has the power of Harry Potter’s magic wand.
拿起这个“魔法棒”，你将能弥补浅尝辄止的遗憾，深度感受中华文化的无限魅力。语言是一个国家和民族文化的基本要素。不会中文，你仍然可以去爱丁堡动物园看熊猫“甜甜”和“阳光”，可以坐飞机去中国登长城、尝美食，但你不会知道中文中“熊猫”是两种动物的组合，也不会深刻理解长城在中国悠久历史文化中的独特地位。只有掌握了中文，你才能了解中华文明的丰富内涵，才能读懂精妙绝伦的唐诗宋词，才能知晓儒家、道家、法家哲学的深邃思想。我听说，中耶尔中学的毕业生杰克·路易斯·埃尔文（Jack Louis Irvine）获得了到中国学习的奖学金，将前往中国天津师范大学学习一年。我注意到，杰克今天也来参加我们的活动，他就坐在台下。杰克：我衷心地祝贺你，祝你学有所获、学有所成。
Wave this magic wand, and you will have the power to appreciate the charm of Chinese culture. Language is the basic element of culture. If you do not speak Chinese, you can still visit the giant pandas Tian Tian and Yang Guang at the Edinburgh Zoo; you can also fly to China, visit the Great Wall and enjoy Chinese food. But you will not know that “Xiong Mao”, the Chinese word for giant panda, consists of two different animals; neither will you fully understand why the Great Wall has a unique place in China’s time-honored history and culture. The Chinese language gives you the key to unlock the rich heritage of the Chinese civilization, to savour the fascinating poems of the Tang and Song dynasties, and to decipher the profound philosophies of Confucianism, Taoism and Legalism. I learnt that Jack Louis Irvine, a graduate from Mid Yell Junior High School, has won a scholarship to study in Tianjin Normal University for a year. I saw him sitting among you. Jack: May I take this opportunity to express my heartfelt congratulations to you. I wish you a fruitful year in China.
拿起这个“魔法棒”，你将能搭上中国经济发展的快车，拥有更多人生机遇。中国现已是世界第二大经济体、第一大工业国、第一大货物贸易国、第一大外汇储备国。近14亿人口和快速增长的中产阶层，还使中国成为全球最大、最具潜力的市场。改革开放40年来，中国国内生产总值年均增长约9.5%，对外贸易额年均增长14.5%，近年中国对世界经济增长贡献率保持在30%。英国是中国在欧盟内第二大贸易伙伴，中国是英国第三大贸易伙伴。现在已经有500多家中国企业落户英国，他们需要大量双语人才。目前最大的3家中国公司共雇佣2000多名当地员工，占比均超过他们在英雇员总数的80%。随着中国对英投资迅速增长，可以预见，“懂中文”今后将大有用武之地，一定会为你们的履历加分，为你们的事业助力。
The magic wand of the Chinese language will also unveil before your eyes the opportunities that China has to offer. China is the world’s second largest economy, largest industrial producer, largest trader in goods, and largest holder of foreign exchange reserves. Moreover, with its large population of 1.4 billion and a rapidly growing middle class, China is the world’s largest and most promising market. Over the past four decades, China has undergone reforms and opening up. These policies have enabled China’s economy to grow at around 9.5% every year, and its foreign trade to grow at 14.5%. In recent years, China’s contribution to global growth has been around 30%. China’s strong growth is benefiting the UK, because the UK is the second largest trading partner of China in the EU, and China is the third largest trading partner of the UK. Moreover, more than 500 Chinese companies have set up businesses here in Britain. They need a large number of bilingual employees. The top three Chinese companies in the UK have employed more than 2,000 people locally. That is over 80% of their total employees here in Britain. As more and more Chinese investments come into the UK, I have no doubt the language capability you will acquire will become a bonus in your resume and boost your future career opportunities.
拿起这个“魔法棒”，你将能看到更全面、更真实的中国，做增进中英友谊的使者。了解是信任的前提，信任是合作的基石。汉语就是了解中国、走近中国的一把钥匙。如果只从西方媒体的报道观察和认识中国，难免管中窥豹，甚至有时可能会被一些偏见所误导。如果你懂汉语，就能更多与中国民众直接交流，就能更多去中国各地走一走、看一看，亲眼看一看中国的变化，亲耳听一听中国人自己讲述的“中国故事”，你就能看到、听到一个真实的中国。我相信，学好中文不仅有利于你们更好认识中国，而且有助于你们为增进中英友谊与合作做出更多贡献。
I also hope you will use the magic wand of the Chinese language to see the complete picture of a real China and become an envoy for China-UK friendship. Understanding is the precondition for trust, which in turn lays the foundation for cooperation. The Chinese language is a key to understanding China. Western media alone will not show you the complete picture of China. Worse still, some of their biases can be misleading. But if you can read and speak Chinese, you will be able to hear directly from the Chinese people and learn directly about the “China’s story”. You will be more than just a tourist when you visit China and see the country’s development with your own eyes. In a word, mastering the Chinese language will open your ears and eyes to the real China. And you will be better equipped to make greater contribution to closer friendship and cooperation between our two countries.
我知道，坐落在苏格兰的“魔法学校”不止霍格沃兹（Hogwarts）一所，还有众多孔子学院和课堂，包括你们中耶尔中学孔子课堂。孔子是中国古代伟大的思想家和教育家，他的经典著作《论语》开篇第一句就是“学而时习之，不亦说乎？”今天我给大家带来了100本讲解汉语、介绍中国的书籍，希望能助大家一臂之力，更好掌握了解中国的“魔法棒”，找到走近中国的“金钥匙”，搭建中英友好的“友谊之桥”！
Hogwarts is not the only “school for witchcraft and wizardry” in Scotland. There are also the Confucius Institutes and Classrooms, including yours in Mid Yell Junior High School. Here you will learn how to wave the magic wand of the Chinese language. Confucius, the eponym of the classroom we are opening today, was a great philosopher and teacher of ancient China. His great work, The Analects of Confucius, begins with this line, “Isn’t it a pleasure to study and practice what you have learned?” To add to the pleasure of learning the Chinese language, I have brought with me 100 books about China and Chinese language. They are your text books on how to wave the magic wand, how to find the “golden key” to understanding China, and how to build the “bridge of friendship” between China and the UK.
最后，我祝你们好好学习，天天向上，为中英友好事业不断积累知识才干，将来为谱写中英关系“黄金时代”新篇章做出你们的贡献！
In conclusion, I wish you will study well and make progress every day. I hope this will get you ready for building closer China-UK friendship and contributing your own new chapter to the China-UK “Golden Era”!
谢谢大家！
Thank you!