基辛格《论中国》（On China）实用表达丨致敬老朋友

11月29日，美国前国务卿亨利·基辛格去世，享年100岁。他为推动中美关系发展作出历史性贡献，也是实至名归的中国通。在其著作《论中国》（On China）中，他通过以古鉴今的思路来思考中国、中美关系和世界格局，成为让世界认识中国、让中国重新认识自己的一部经典作品。

今天和大家分享书里的一些语言点。

一、stand as a testimony to...

随着19世纪的推进，西方列强和俄国不断侵蚀中国的领土和主权，日本则蓄谋取代北京成为新的东亚国际秩序的中心。侵略和压迫接踵而来，但是中国则显示出了顽强的生命力。里面有这么一句话：

At the same time, the era of China's hobbling stands in many ways as a testimony to its remarkable abilities to surmount strains that might break other societies.

中国人的这段苦难艰危岁月同时又是一个佐证，显示了中国人具有非凡的能力，足以战胜能压垮其它国家的重重劫难。

里面有这么一个词组：stand as a testimony to sth. 表示“证明”，意思上相当于 "prove"，但比 "prove" 更有力，在写作中可以用来替换 "prove"。但要注意，stand as a testimony to 后面接名词，而 prove 后面一般跟句子。举个例子：

• These results prove that he worked hard. → These results stand as a testimony to his hard work.

• Her living room is also her office, filled with desks, books, papers, which proves that she remains dedicated to her work. → Her living room is also her office, filled with desks, books, papers, a testimony to her dedication to her work.

二、nothing could justify...

清朝统治集团中的一批人在用文言文写成的奏折中雄辩地阐述了西方诸国、俄国和崛起的日本对中国的威胁，提出中国亟须“自强”并加强本国技术能力。然而，中国的封建士大夫阶层和思想保守的平民百姓对他们的建议疑虑重重，不少人把引进外文书籍和西方技术视为对中国国粹和社会秩序的威胁。然后又这么一句话：

After sometimes bruising battles, the prevailing section decided that to modernize along Western lines was to cease to be Chinese, and that nothing could justify abandoning this unique heritage.

经过一番激烈的争斗，占上风的一派得出结论，效仿西方实现近代化无异于抛弃“中国人”这一身份，而中国没有理由一起举世无双的中华遗产。

里面有这么一个表达方式：nothing could justify...。"Justify" 的意思是“为...寻找理由、辩护，为...开脱”，Nothing could justify 则表示“没有理由做...，做...是没有理由的”，其实，可以简单理解为“做...不对”，也就是 "It is wrong to do/that" 的高级版。举个栗子：

• It is wrong to start a war. → Nothing could justify a war.
  

• It is wrong for you to neglect your wife and children. → You can't justify neglecting your wife and children.

我们的思维再拓展一下。Nothing could justify doing/sth. 是 "It is wrong to do/that" 的高级版，那 "It could be justified" 就可以看做 "It is right/reasonable to do/that" 的高级版。我们再来举个栗子：

• Ministers agreed that this decision was fully right/reasonable by economic conditions. → Ministers agreed that this decision was fully justified by economic conditions.

• It is right/reasonable to take such action for greater efficiency. → It could be justified to take such action for greater efficiency.

大家想一想，作为大学生，我们在写作中是不是还经常用到 "It is wrong to do/that" 这个句式？其实可以完全抛弃掉，改用 "Nothing could justify doing/sth."，不仅可以显示出自己的水平，考试中也可以让阅卷老师眼前一亮。

三、hold fast to sth.

1842年魏源写了《海国图志》，这本书实际上是一本研究中国在鸦片站着中失败原因的专著，他建议采用欧洲的均势外交经验解决当时中国面临的问题。一方面，权宜之计，以夷制夷，防止一夷过大统治中国，让西方“蛮夷”互相牵制；另一方面，根本上，师夷长技，提高技术。当时，中国的外交家有这么一个设想，《南京条约》虽然是屈辱性条约，但是一定要严格遵守，以限制洋人无休止的勒索。这种设想有一定的道理，毕竟历史上中国也是这样做的，但这种设想存在一个致命性错误：用中国人的思维去揣测西方列强的思维，用军事领域的话说，就是知己不知彼。这也说明，当时中国和西方之间存在一个 wide gap in perception.

It was a demonstration of the analytical skill of Chinese diplomacy that, faced with a superior foe and potentially escalationg demands, it understood that holding fast to even a humiliating treaty set a limit to further exactions.

这（魏源的这番话）显示了中国外交的分析能力。面对强敌及其贪得无厌的眼球，中国的外交家认识到，他们受定的虽是屈辱的条约，却可限制洋人无休止的勒索。

里面有一个词组：hold fast to sth.，表示“坚持”，相当于 adhere to, stick to，写作中可以用于替换。举几个例子：

• China adheres to the principle of green development. → China holds fast to the principle of green development.

• We must stick to our goals even when faced with great difficulties. → We must hold fast to our goals even when faced with great difficulties.

四、go (much) further than

十九世纪五六十年代，西方列强加紧侵略之际，另一个国家未动一兵一卒却得到了条约给予其他列强的一切好处。这个国家就是俄国。但俄国的目标不仅限于此：

On the other hand, its overall objective went much further than religious proselytizing or commerce along the coast. It perceived in the  Qing's decline an opportunity to dismember the Chinese Empire and reattch its "outer dominions" to Russia.

然而，俄国的总体目标远不止于传教或在沿海一带通商。俄国从清朝的衰落中看到了肢解中华帝国，重新吞并其“外疆”的机会。

里面有一个词组，是 "go (much) further than"，表示“不仅”，可以用 "go (much) beyond" 替换，是 "not only" 的高级版。举个栗子吧，六级临近，很多小伙伴开始准备六级，有的人准备六级只是为了考试，而有人则把六级作为一个提高自己英语的契机：

Some see CET-6 as a mere test. Others, however, view it not only as a test, but also as an opportunity to improve their skills. → Some see CET-6 as a mere test. Others, however, go much further/beyond than that. They view it as an opportunity to improve their skills.

日常表达，或写作，或中译英时，如果我们能恰当的运用 go (much) further/beyond than 代替 not only, but also，能让我们的表达更精彩！

大家不能只满足于读懂，更要自己尝试造句，只有造句，才能把被动记忆转变为主动记忆，更好的运用这些表达。

今天就到这里，谢谢大家！