Chapter 698 697 [Award Speech]
The staff of the Royal Concert Hall brought a chair and lowered the height of the microphone.
Zhou Hexuan was helped to sit down, glanced at the more than 1,000 people in the audience, and said in English: "Dear academicians of the Swedish Academy, Your Majesty the King and Queen, ladies and gentlemen: I am from China, a so-called is the country of 'porcelain'. What I want to say today is also related to this. Next, my speech is divided into two paragraphs. The first paragraph is in Chinese and is addressed to my compatriots. You don't need to understand it. No need to find anyone to translate. Thank you!”
The three diplomats Wang Nianzu, Lu Zhaoxin and Sun Fang raised their necks and pricked their ears. When they heard these words, they suddenly felt happy in their hearts.
They have high education and high IQ. Such people often think highly of themselves and dream of doing a big career. But they had no backing or background. They were sent by the government to Sweden, a place where nothing matters. They were laughed at, ignored, and forgotten. Their once great ambitions had been frozen in the wind and snow of Northern Europe.
Today, finally a Chinese person stood on the stage and said that he wanted to speak Chinese.
Zhou Hexuan's tone was very calm, not arrogant or domineering, but in the ears of the three diplomats, it was as loud as a bell.
Zhou Hexuan's Chinese words came, and he said with a serious face:
"I counted carefully. There are about 1,500 friends sitting in the Royal Concert Hall at the moment, and there are less than 100 Asian yellow faces. Including me, there are at most 20 Chinese. I hope that the following people The passage can be spread across the country and be heard by more compatriots."
"From the Opium War to the Sino-Japanese War, to September 18th and September 128th, China has been repeatedly bullied by foreign powers. The country has been in decline and the country has been lost. It seems to have fallen into a situation that is beyond redemption. Indemnities, ceding land, ceding land, indemnity, one by one, they have lost their power and humiliated the country. Treaties interpret China's modern history. The Japanese came again and seized one-fifth of China's land. We were panicked, and some peace advocates even chanted surrender arguments. This seems to be a cowardly China."
"But what I see is an exciting China, because we have never stopped catching up!"
"The West experienced the Enlightenment and emerged from the darkness of the Middle Ages. Since then, science and culture have been changing with each passing day, and Western civilization has risen as a result. Ideas are very important, and they are higher than and guide politics, culture and science. Why do I say that China has been developing and progressing , because Chinese people’s thinking is changing rapidly.”
"After the Opium War, Chinese people began to open their eyes to see the world. Mr. Wei Yuan compiled "Hai Guo Tu Zhi", and from then on the Chinese took the first step to integrate into the world. "Hai Guo Tu Zhi" had a huge impact on Japan's Meiji Restoration. The Japanese consider it to be a 'potable medicine', while the Chinese have also begun to 'learn from foreigners and learn skills to strengthen themselves'."
"Next is Mr. Yan Fu. His "Evolution of Heaven" brought the idea of evolution and told us that if we fall behind, we will be beaten. His translation of "The Wealth of Nations" lets us know that the strength of a country depends not only on its territory and army, but also on Look at labor, technology and wealth.”
"The Chinese nation has always been a nation that is good at learning. It is a wisdom left by its ancestors. The defeat of the Sino-Japanese War shocked the whole country. The royalists pursued constitutional monarchy, and the revolutionary party pursued democracy and nation-building. Whether it was Kang Youwei or Liang Qichao , or Sun Yat-sen and Huang Xing, regardless of their morals and abilities, to China, they are all sages who guide the people to pursue a more advanced political system and society."
"The Paris Peace Conference was another turning point. Its more far-reaching influence was to mature the May Fourth New Culture Movement. In my opinion, the May Fourth Movement is China's Enlightenment Movement. It liberated the minds of the Chinese people to a great extent. From the Opium War to the May Fourth period, China has basically completed ideological enlightenment."
"Modern China is like a patient with confused consciousness and weak body. Now, our spirit has improved and our consciousness has become clear. Only the body has not recovered. We are still working hard, trying to use Western science and culture to Take supplements to nourish the Chinese body and make it stronger.”
"I always believe that one day, China will become a giant with a healthy mind and a strong body."
"And today, there is a short man named Japan in the east. He is ready to take advantage of China's weakness. Don't panic, don't compromise, don't surrender. Although our body is weak, we must grit our teeth and persevere. Pick up the stick and pick up the hoe. , as long as we drive this bandit out of our home, we can usher in a new life. If we don’t even dare to resist, then China will never be able to get nutritional supplements, and will always be weak and become the slave of others!"
"I am very proud at this moment, not because I won the Nobel Prize. But because my novels and my poems can arouse the spirit of some Chinese people and make their thoughts clearer. Literature seems meaningless, but for China , it is extremely precious. Our generation of writers shoulders the mission of ideological enlightenment. Our bodies are still weak, but our spirits cannot yield and our will must be firm."
"Finally, I want to say to my compatriots that there will be a war between China and Japan, and China will win. When the war comes, I will give everything I have!"
Zhou Hexuan raised his fist and shouted in a low but firm voice: "Long live the Chinese nation!"
"Long live the Chinese nation!"
The three diplomats stood up quickly and shouted along with Zhou Hexuan. Their cold hearts seemed to be heating up again.
Yu Peichen, a communist, burst into tears when he heard this. He put his fist on his chest and recited this slogan repeatedly.
The foreigners in the concert hall looked at each other, wondering what the Chinese were shouting. China was really too unfamiliar to them.
After finishing speaking in Chinese, Zhou Hexuan began to speak in English again: "The value of literature lies in the exchange and dissemination of ideas. Mr. Bernard Shaw has a saying that I very much agree with. He said, if you have an apple and I have an apple, exchange them with each other, and each of us will There is still only one apple; if you have one thought and I have one thought, exchange each other and each of us has two thoughts. The exchange of thoughts can eliminate misunderstandings and make us happy with each other."
"Westerners have a lot of misunderstandings about China. I have talked to many Westerners and they have three stereotypes about China, namely: China is stagnant, Chinese culture is conservative and exclusive, and Chinese people lack religious feelings. This is very Incorrect."
"The concept of China's stagnation is almost common sense in the West. Hegel believed that China is 'eternally single'. Five years ago, Professor Tony from the University of London went to China to conduct research and research. In his investigation report , also continued Hegel's view. He said: 'Until yesterday, China was acting on its own track, neither affecting the West nor being affected by the West.' This statement is so fallacious. There is no such thing as China's The four great inventions, how did the West sail, manufacture guns and spread science? This is China's influence on the West. Without Darwin and separation of powers, how could the Revolution of 1911 break out in China? This is the West's influence on China. Say China is stagnant This is the lack of ideological and cultural exchanges, which leads Westerners to misunderstand China."
"You say that Chinese culture is conservative and exclusive? In fact, Japan is truly conservative and exclusive. The core of Chinese culture is tolerance and absorption. Now our educated youth speak English, French, and wear suits and leather shoes. Even weddings are increasingly Young people choose to wear wedding dresses and make vows to the Bible."
"It is even more wrong to say that Chinese people lack religious sentiments. The embodiment of Chinese people's religious sentiments is not Buddhism, Taoism, or Confucianism, but siniticism (can be translated as Chinese religion, Chinese religion, Chinese doctrine), That is, the beliefs and customs born in China's Shang and Zhou dynasties, which were formed from 1300 BC to 700 BC. In the pre-Qin era of Confucius and Laozi, and the Eastern Han Dynasty where Wang Chong lived, 'Chineseism' matured. We respect 'Heaven' ' and 'ancestors', that is, 'reverence to heaven and ancestors', this is our unique religious emotion. When a person does something bad, the first thing that comes to mind is that God will blame him, or that his ancestors will be shamed. This is not a religious emotion. What is it?"
"So, Westerners' stereotypes about China are all wrong. You don't understand China, and all your understanding of China is based on hearsay and your own imagination. And literature is a bridge for us to communicate with each other. In " In the book "Goddess", you can see the changes in modern China, China's modern learning from the West, and the Chinese people's own religious emotions."
"I hope that my works can help more Westerners know and understand China. I also hope that more and more Chinese works can be translated into Western languages."
"Thanks!"
As Zhou Hexuan stood up from his chair, the audience suddenly burst into warm applause.
Indeed, as Zhou Hexuan said, Westerners have too many misunderstandings about China, and this kind of exchange between the East and the West is very necessary.