By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF Published: May 22, 2005
KAIFENG, China
As this millennium dawns,
New York City is the most important city in the world, the unofficial capital of planet Earth. But before we New Yorkers become too full of ourselves, it might be worthwhile to glance at dilapidated
Kaifeng in central
China在这个千年伊始，纽约成为全球最重要的大都会，同时也成为这个地球上所有人们观念里的首府。然而在纽约人变得越来越富有之前，我们或许要将目光瞥向在地球另一端的一个已经没落的城市——中国开封。
Kaifeng, an ancient city along the mud-clogged Yellow River, was by far the most important place in the world in 1000. And if you've never heard of it, that's a useful warning for Americans - as the Chinese headline above puts it, in a language of the future that many more Americans should start learning, "glory is as ephemeral as smoke and clouds."
在大约公元1000年，开封这座傍依黄河的古老城市曾经是世界上最大的中心。如果你未曾听说过，那么对于美国人来说这或许是一个有益的警告——作为一个例子，美国人都应该学会这句中国的名言：辉煌如过眼云烟。
As the world's only superpower, America may look today as if global domination is an entitlement. But if you look back at the sweep of history, it's striking how fleeting supremacy is, particularly for individual cities.
作为世界唯一的超级大国，美国在今天看来似乎已经拥有了对全球的控制权。但是如果回溯历史，它将告诉人们霸权是多么的短暂，尤其对于个别的城市而言。
My vote for most important city in the world in the period leading up to 2000 B.C. would be Ur, Iraq. In 1500 B.C., perhaps Thebes, Egypt. There was no dominant player in 1000 B.C., though one could make a case for Sidon, Lebanon. In 500 B.C., it would be Persepolis, Persia; in the year 1, Rome; around A.D. 500, maybe Changan, China; in 1000, Kaifeng, China; in 1500, probably Florence, Italy; in 2000, New York City; and in 2500, probably none of the above.
纵观历史，在公元前2000年，世界的中心城市是伊拉克。在公元前1500年，是埃及。而在公元前1000年，则没有出现绝对的统治者，如果硬要一个例子的话或许是黎巴嫩。到了公元前500年，或许是波斯。公元元年，是罗马帝国，公元五百年，中国长安，一千年是开封，1500年是意大利，而2000年轮到了纽约。2500年可能不是上述的任何一座城市。
Today Kaifeng is grimy and poor, not even the provincial capital and so minor it lacks even an airport. Its sad state only underscores how fortunes change. In the 11th century, when it was the capital of Song Dynasty China, its population was more than one million. In contrast, London's population then was about 15,000
今天的开封破旧而穷困，甚至无法作为一个省的省会，规模小到没有一个自己的机场。需要维修的城桓仅仅是在强调它曾经是多么的富有。11世纪，在它还是宋朝首都的时候，人口过百万，对比那时的伦敦，才不过15000而已。
An ancient 17-foot painted scroll, now in the Palace Museum in Beijing, shows the bustle and prosperity of ancient Kaifeng. Hundreds of pedestrians jostle each other on the streets, camels carry merchandise in from the Silk Road, and teahouses and restaurants do a thriving business
在北京故宫博物院里一副17英尺长的卷轴记录了古开封的繁荣和昌盛。每条街道商客如流，摩肩接踵，从丝绸之路来的商人们用骆驼满载货物，数不清的茶馆、酒肆、旅店，一派华丽景象。
Kaifeng's stature attracted people from all over the world, including hundreds of Jews. Even today, there are some people in Kaifeng who look like other Chinese but who consider themselves Jewish and do not eat pork.
流动人口来自世界各地，包括犹太人。甚至在今天，开封也有一些人是属于犹太人的后裔，并且信奉伊斯兰教，不吃猪肉。
As I roamed the Kaifeng area, asking local people why such an international center had sunk so low, I encountered plenty of envy of New York. One man said he was arranging to be smuggled into the U.S. illegally, by paying a gang $25,000, but many local people insisted that China is on course to bounce back and recover its historic role as world leader.
当我漫步在开封，询问当地人为什么曾经如此的一个世界中心沦落到了现在这种地步，我却得到了大量他们关于对纽约的羡慕之情。一个人告诉我他为了非法移民到美国花了25000港币，但是也有许多当地人坚持认为中国有朝一日会回到曾经扮演世界领导者的角色和地位。
"China is booming now," said Wang Ruina, a young peasant woman on the outskirts of town. "Give us a few decades and we'll catch up with the U.S., even pass it."
“中国现在繁荣了”开封外城镇的一个叫王芮娜的农村女人说，“给我们几十年时间，我们会赶上美国，甚至超越他。”
She's right. The U.S. has had the biggest economy in the world for more than a century, but most projections show that China will surpass us in about 15 years, as measured by purchasing power parity.
So what can New York learn from a city like Kaifeng?
她是对的。美国目前是世界最大的经济中心，但是许多迹象表明，中国或许在25年之后在平均购买力方面会超过我们。所以，纽约应该从开封身上学到些什么？
One lesson is the importance of sustaining a technological edge and sound economic policies. Ancient China flourished partly because of pro-growth, pro-trade policies and technological innovations like curved iron plows, printing and paper money. But then China came to scorn trade and commerce, and per capita income stagnated for 600 years.
在一个靠科技和健全的经济体制维系的社会里有一个教训很重要。古中国的繁荣是由于它的超前的人口，制度和技术革新，比如铁犁的应用，印刷术以及纸钱。然而，中国也因此开始变的不思进取，最终导致近600年的停滞不前。
A second lesson is the danger of hubris, for China concluded it had nothing to learn from the rest of the world - and that was the beginning of the end.
第二个教训就是自大的危险，当中国认为它没有什么要向世界其他国家学习的时候，也就是沦落的开始。
I worry about the U.S. in both regards. Our economic management is so lax that we can't confront farm subsidies or long-term budget deficits. Our technology is strong, but American public schools are second-rate in math and science. And Americans' lack of interest in the world contrasts with the restlessness, drive and determination that are again pushing China to the forefront.
基于以上两点，我非常替美国担忧。由于经济制度的不完善导致我们无法面对粮食补贴和长期的预算赤字。我们的技术很强大，但是美国的公众学校在数学和科技上只属于二流水平。而且美国人在中国可能再次被推动到世界最前沿的一步步变化上缺乏足够的关注。
Beside the Yellow River I met a 70-year-old peasant named Hao Wang, who had never gone to a day of school. He couldn't even write his name - and yet his progeny were different.
在黄河边上我遇到一位70多岁的叫做王浩的老农民，他从未上过学，也不会写自己的名字，但他的后代截然不同。
“Two of my grandsons are now in university," he boasted, and then he started talking about the computer in his home.
Thinking of Kaifeng should stimulate us to struggle to improve our high-tech edge, educational strengths and pro-growth policies. For if we rest on our laurels, even a city as great as New York may end up as Kaifeng-on-the-Hudson.
“我的两个孙子在上大学。”他自豪的说，然后开始谈论家里面的电脑。
想想开封，我们应该改进我们的高等教育，加强教育力量和人口政策。因为如果我们迷失在加在我们头上的桂冠，那么纽约这个可能同曾经的开封一样优秀的城市也会同它一样最终消失在世人的眼里。
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