Rediscovering the Great Wall of China

By Xu Lu

Rediscovering the Great Wall of China

By Xu Lu

Since childhood, people of our generation have been embracing a notion—that is, when astronauts look back to the earth from outer space, the Great Wall of China, like a giant dragon lying across the east of the earth, is the only thing faintly visible. But now, our astronauts have clarified that the notion is not true, and the existence of this notion may be a product of Chinese people’s benevolent imagination.

In the 1920s, William Somerset Maugham, a British writer, had been to China, and wrote a book called On a Chinese Screen, in which there was a short essay titled The Great Wall. In Maugham’s eyes, the Great Wall is not only a giant and strong rampart that safeguards an ancient empire, but a historical witness to the sacrifice of millions of lives. Being one of the world’s architectural marvels, the Great Wall symbolizes the hardship and indomitable ethos of ancient China.

This, I believe, is the real Great Wall of China in foreigners’ eyes, and is also the one winning the general acknowledgement of Chinese people these days. With the transition in Chinese people’s psychological recognition of the Great Wall, it might be easier for you to realize the progress and development of contemporary China. A new China, more open, real and confident, is about to unfold itself to the world.

Speaking of the Great Wall, I have to mention the Belt and Road Initiative that China is actively promoting and carrying out these days. Looking back on the far-off times, the Silk Road, stretching from Changan’ today’s Xi’an City, Capital city of Shanxi Province of China to Rome of Italy (the terminal point), not only witnessed the transport of silk, ceramics, tea, spices and glass, but also paper, a great invention of ancient China, and the culture, civilization, and philosophical thought it carried. In fact, the Silk Road was a pathway for the exchange, mutual reference, and integration between the eastern and western civilizations.

John Donne wrote with mixed feelings in his poem –“No man is an island, Entire of itself, Every man is a piece of the continent, A part of the main.

If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less. Any man’s death diminishes me, Because I am involved in mankind……”

In this sense, although it is no doubt that the Great Wall belongs to China, why can’t we regard it as the symbol of the hardship mankind has endured and the unyielding willpower and spirit of all humanity? By the same token, the purpose of the Belt and Road initiative was never to create a “private road” for just the Chinese people, but to construct a “road to happiness” for all friendly nations along the route and build a better future together, and to form a trustworthy, accommodating, integrated and broad community with common goals, destinies, and responsibilities.

(Translated: Zhu Yaguang)

我們這代人從小就接受過一個觀念：宇宙飛行員從遙遠(yuǎn)的太空回望地球時，唯有中國的萬里長城依稀可辨，宛若橫亙在地球東方的一條巨龍……但是現(xiàn)在，我們的宇航員證實(shí)，這并不真實(shí)，也許出于中國人自己的善意想象。

英國作家毛姆在20世紀(jì)20年代到過中國，寫過一本《在中國的屏風(fēng)上》，其中有篇短文《長城》。在毛姆眼中，長城不僅是一個古老帝國龐大和堅固的護(hù)城墻，也是耗費(fèi)了百萬生命代價的歷史見證。它是人類建筑的奇跡，也是古老中國的苦難與堅強(qiáng)不屈的民族精神的象征。

我相信，這才是外國人眼中真實(shí)的長城，也是今天的中國人普遍認(rèn)同的真實(shí)長城。從中國人對長城的認(rèn)識心理上的變遷，或許能幫助你感受到當(dāng)今中國的進(jìn)步與發(fā)展。一個越來越開放、真實(shí)、自信的中國，正呈現(xiàn)在世界面前。

說到長城，就不能不說到當(dāng)下中國正在積極推進(jìn)和實(shí)施的偉大的“一帶一路”。遙想那久遠(yuǎn)的年代里，從中國的長安（起點(diǎn)）到意大利的羅馬（終點(diǎn)）之間，不僅傳送著絲綢、瓷器、茶葉、香料、玻璃等等物質(zhì)，也傳遞著中國人發(fā)明的紙張以及由紙張所承載的文化、文明與哲學(xué)思想，絲綢之路實(shí)際上是一條東西方文明的交流、互鑒和融合之路。

約翰·多恩曾在詩中感嘆：“沒有誰能像孤島在大海獨(dú)居，每個人都是一小塊泥土，連接整個大陸。如果海水沖掉一塊，大陸就會減少一塊。任何的傷害都會使我飽受憂傷，因為我包含在人類之中……”

這個意義上講，長城固然是中國的長城，又何嘗不是人類曾經(jīng)有過的苦難與堅強(qiáng)不屈的毅力和精神的象征。而“一帶一路”所開創(chuàng)和修建的，也決不是中國人自己的“私家小路”，而是沿線各友好國家同愿同行、共創(chuàng)美好未來的幸福大道，是一個互信、包容、融合、廣闊的利益共同體、命運(yùn)共同體和責(zé)任共同體。

徐魯 Xu Lu

Xu Lu, vice president of Hubei Provincial Writer’s Association， is a wellknown writer and poet. More than 30 of his works have been included in Chinese textbooks for primary and secondary schools in different regions of China. His publications include the Dream of Our Age (collected poems), Kids in Lop Nor (a full-length novel) and Remembrance of Things Past when Gathering with Friends at the Riverside Pavilion (collected proses). Some of his works have been translated into English, French, Korean, Japanese, and Arabic.

著名作家、詩人，湖北省作家協(xié)會副主席。有30多篇作品入選中國各地區(qū)中小學(xué)語文教材。已出版詩集《我們這個年紀(jì)的夢》，長篇小說《羅布泊的孩子》，散文集《幾人相憶在江樓》，評論集《追尋詩歌的黃金時代》等。部分作品被譯為英、法、韓、日、阿拉伯語等。

從重新認(rèn)識長城說起

文|徐魯