奥运:中国人的谦虚与自豪

The London Olympics began much the way the Beijing Olympics went – with China dominating sports few knew existed. This time, it was the women's 10 metre air rifle, won by Yi Siling, writes Simon Rabinovitch in Beijing.

伦敦奥运会的开局在很大程度上和北京奥运会类似——都是中国主宰没有多少人知道的体育项目。这次是易思玲赢得女子十米气步枪金牌。

No matter, gold is gold, and the nation rejoiced. The state broadcaster interrupted programming for the anchor to read a congratulatory message from a senior Communist party official. She exhorted Chinese athletes to "win more honour for our homeland and our people".

无论如何，金牌就是金牌，中国举国欢腾。中国国家电视台中断节目，由主持人念来自一位中共高官的祝信。这位高官勉励中国运动员"为祖国和人民赢得新的更大荣誉"。

More than any G20 meeting or UN summit, the Olympics illustrate the tension at the heart of Chinese foreign policy. "Conceal our brightness and avoid attention" has long been the guiding principle. But the newer and often contradictory objective is to get the world to give China respect. So when the Olympics arrive, Chinese officials are forced into an awkward shuffle between humility and pride. "We must be modest and unassuming in learning from others," said Dai Bingguo, China's top diplomat.

比起任何20国集团(G20)会议或联合国峰会，奥运会更能展现中国外交政策核心的矛盾。"韬光养晦"长期以来是中国外交的指导原则。但更新、而且往往与之相矛盾的目标是中国要获得世界的尊重。因此当奥运会召开时，中国官员们陷进了在谦虚与自豪之间徘徊的尴尬境地。中国外交政策高级官员戴秉国表示："我们要始终保持谦虚谨慎……虚心向其它国家学习。"

Yet back home, it is in fact all about the winning. China has perfected a blend of Soviet-style training and market incentives for athletes. Scouts fan across the country to measure children's bones and assign them to sports based on their anticipated height. If they survive the country's sports schools, they can earn up to Rmb1m ($150,000) for an Olympic gold. In the case of Ye Shiwen, the 16-year-old who set a world record in the swimming 400m medley on Saturday, her career began when her kindergarten teacher noticed she had large hands.

然而，在中国国内，事实上一切围绕着"赢"这个目标进行。中国将苏联模式的训练与市场激励完美地结合在一起。选拔者们在全国各地测量孩子们的骨骼，并根据他们的预期身高安排他们专攻的体育项目。如果他们在体校脱颖而出，他们获得一枚奥运金牌就能获得至多100万元人民币（合15万美元）的奖励。就叶诗文而言，这位上周六在女子400米个人混合泳比赛中打破世界记录的16岁女孩，她的职业生涯始于幼儿园老师发现她的手大之后。

The tug-of-war between humility and pride was on display in the way Chinese media talked about the opening ceremony. Some commended London for giving its show a more human touch than Beijing's bombast. But others could not conceal a pride verging on arrogance. "The fireworks and mass acrobatics of Beijing delivered a clear message: China's time has come," declared the Legal Evening News, a popular newspaper. And what message did it take from London's ceremony? "This is not a rising city. It is in decline."

中国媒体谈论奥运会开幕式的说法就体现了这种谦虚与自豪之间的角力。一些认为，与北京奥运会的高调相比，伦敦奥运会更有人情味儿。但还有一些媒体则无法掩饰一种接近傲慢自大的自豪感。人气颇高的《法制晚报》(Legal Evening News)撰文称："北京奥运会开幕式上的烟花和集体舞表演明确传达出这样一个信息，属于中国的时代已经到来了。"它从伦敦奥运会开幕式中获得了什么信息？"这并不是一个新崛起的城市，它正处在衰退中"。