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When I was a schoolboy, China was to us, as it were, "at the other end of the world".
在我上小学时，中国对于我们来说是“世界的另一端”。
At most we had seen the odd picture on a teacup or a vase, so that we imagined a country of stiff little men with long plaits down their backs,
我们至多曾在茶杯或花瓶上见过那儿的几幅奇怪的图画，所以我们想象中国这个国家有神情呆板的长辫子的小个子男人、
and artful gardens full of hump-backed bridges and little turrets hung with tinkling bells.
有弓形桥的富于艺术性的花园以及挂着铃铛的小塔。
Of course there never was such a fairyland, although it is true that for more than 200 years,
当然一个这样的童话般的国家从来就不曾有过，虽然这话是对的，200多年之久，
until 1912, Chinese men were made to wear their hair plaited in a pigtail,
直至1912年，中国男人一直必须留辫子，
and that we first learnt about them through delicate objects of porcelain and ivory made by skilled craftsmen.
我们首先是通过那里的能工巧匠制造的精巧的瓷器和象牙制品了解中国人的。
From their palace in the capital emperors had ruled over China for more than 1,000 years.
中国已经被在首都宫殿里的皇帝统治了1000多年。
The fabled emperors of China who called themselves the 'Son of Heaven', just as the Egyptian pharaoh called himself 'Son of the Sun'.
传说中的中国皇帝，自称“天子”，跟埃及法老叫“太阳之子"完全相似。”
But at the time I am going to talk about, around 2,500 years ago, all this was yet to come, though China was already a vast and ancient kingdom.
我要讲述的那个时期里，大约在公元前2500年，这一切还全都没有，虽然当时的中国已经是一个古老又庞大的国家。
In its fields many millions of hard-working peasants grew rice and other crops,
这个国家当时就已经有好几百万勤劳的农民，他们种植大米和其他粮食，
while in the towns people strolled through the streets in sumptuous, silken gowns.
而在城市里人们身穿丝绸衣服款款而行。
Over all these people a king ruled, and beneath him many princes who governed the many provinces of this immense country which was larger than Egypt,
而在城市里人们身穿丝绸衣服款款而行。
and larger than Assyria and Babylonia put together.
这个国家比埃及大，比亚述和巴比伦加在一起还大。
But soon these princes had become so mighty that the king could no longer command their obedience.
但不久这些诸侯便强大得不听皇帝的号令。
They were constantly at war with each other, the big provinces gobbling up the smaller ones.
各路诸侯经常互相争斗，大的省吞并小一些的省。
And because the empire was so vast that in all its corners the Chinese spoke quite different languages,
由于这个国家如此之大，以至连国家各边远地区的中国人也都讲完全不同的语言，
it would probably have fallen apart altogether had they not had one thing in common. This was their script.
中国可能已经四分五裂了，假如他们没有一种共同的东西的话：这就是他们的文字。
