正文翻譯

LARRY ROMANOFF · OCTOBER 24, 2019
China as a nation has the longest and by far the most vast record of inventions in the history of the world. It is now reliably estimated that more than 60% of all the knowledge existing in the world today originated in China, a fact swept under the carpet by the West.
Joseph Needham, a British biochemist, scientific historian, and professor at Cambridge University, is widely rated as one of the most outstanding intellectuals of the 20th century. Chinese students visiting at Cambridge repeatedly informed him that Western scientific methods and discoveries discussed in his classes originated in China centuries before. Needham was so intrigued that he became fully fluent in Chinese, then travelled to China to investigate. He discovered voluminous evidence of the truth of those claims and decided to remain in China to write a book to document what he deemed a discovery of great importance to the world. Needham never completed his task of cataloguing the history of Chinese invention. His one book became 26 books and he died in 1995, with his work still continued today by his students. One good introduction to this topic is Robert Temple’s summary of Needham’s work.[1]

中國是一個(gè)擁有世界歷史上最長迄今為止最為廣博的發(fā)明記錄的國家。據(jù)可靠的估計(jì)，當(dāng)今世界現(xiàn)有的知識(shí)中有60%以上起源于中國，而這一事實(shí)被西方掩蓋了。
約瑟夫·尼德汗（譯者注：在中國廣為人知的是他的漢名李約瑟，所著《中國科學(xué)技術(shù)史》對(duì)西方了解中國及交流產(chǎn)生重要影響），英國生物化學(xué)家、科學(xué)歷史學(xué)家、劍橋大學(xué)教授，被公認(rèn)為20世紀(jì)最杰出的知識(shí)分子之一。訪問劍橋的中國學(xué)生反復(fù)告訴他，他課堂上討論的西方科學(xué)方法和發(fā)現(xiàn)起源于幾個(gè)世紀(jì)前的中國。李約瑟對(duì)此非常感興趣，以至于他能說一口流利的中文，然后前往中國進(jìn)行考察。他發(fā)現(xiàn)了大量證據(jù)證明這些說法的真實(shí)性，并決定留在中國寫一本書，記錄他認(rèn)為對(duì)世界具有重大意義的發(fā)現(xiàn)。李約瑟從未完成編目中國發(fā)明史的任務(wù)。他的一本書變成了26本書，他于1995年去世，他的學(xué)生仍然在繼續(xù)他的工作。羅伯特·坦普爾(Robert Temple)（譯者注：著名科學(xué)哲學(xué)家，所著《天狼星之謎》最為著名，著有《中國的一百個(gè)世界第一》對(duì)李約瑟的著作進(jìn)行了提煉濃縮）對(duì)李約瑟著作的總結(jié)是對(duì)這一主題的一個(gè)很好的介紹。

We were all taught in school that the printing press with movable type was invented in Germany by Johannes Gutenberg in about the year 1550. Not so. China not only invented paper but also the printing press with movable set type, which was in common use in China 1,000 years before Gutenberg was born. Similarly, we were taught that Englishman James Watt invented the steam engine. He did not. Steam engines were in widespread use in China 600 years before Watt was born. There are dated ancient texts and drawings to illustrate and prove the Chinese discovered and documented “Pascal’s Triangle” 600 years before Pascal copied it, and the Chinese enunciated Newton’s First Law of Motion 2,000 years before Newton.
The same is true for thousands of inventions that the West now claim as theirs but where conclusive documentation exists to prove that they originated in China hundreds and sometimes thousands of years before the West copied them. It was not for nothing that Marco Polo is described in China as “Europe’s great thief”. The next few paragraphs are adapted mainly from information in Temple’s book, which I strongly recommend.

我們在學(xué)校里都學(xué)過，活字印刷機(jī)是約在1550年由德國的約翰內(nèi)斯·古騰堡發(fā)明的。不是這樣的。中國不僅發(fā)明了紙，還發(fā)明了活字印刷術(shù)，在古騰堡出生前1000年，活字印刷術(shù)在中國就已普遍使用。同樣，我們被告知英國人詹姆斯·瓦特發(fā)明了蒸汽機(jī)。但并非如此。在瓦特出生600年前，蒸汽機(jī)就在中國廣泛使用了。中國發(fā)現(xiàn)并記載“帕斯卡三角”的時(shí)間比帕斯卡早了600年，提出牛頓第一運(yùn)動(dòng)定律的時(shí)間比牛頓早了2000年。
同樣的情況也發(fā)生在成千上萬的發(fā)明上，西方現(xiàn)在聲稱這些發(fā)明是他們的，但有確鑿的文件證明它們起源于中國，在西方復(fù)制它們之前數(shù)百年甚至數(shù)千年。馬可波羅在中國被稱為“歐洲大盜”并非沒有道理。下面幾段主要改編自坦普爾書中的信息，我強(qiáng)烈推薦這本書。

The Chinese invented the decimal number system, decimal fractions, negative numbers, and the zero, so far in the past that the origin is lost in the mists of time. The Chinese tracked sunspots and comets with such detail and accuracy that these ancient records are still used as the basis for their prediction and observation today. The Chinese were drilling for natural gas about 2,500 years ago, wells 4,800 feet deep, with bamboo pipelines to deliver the gas to nearby cities. The Chinese pioneered the mining and use of coal long before it was known in the West. Marco Polo and Arab traders marveled at the “black stone” that the Chinese mined from the ground, that would burn slowly during an entire night.

中國人發(fā)明了十進(jìn)制數(shù)制、十進(jìn)制分?jǐn)?shù)、負(fù)數(shù)和零，其起源已湮沒在時(shí)間的迷霧中。中國人對(duì)太陽黑子和彗星的追蹤非常詳細(xì)和準(zhǔn)確，這些古老的記錄至今仍被用作天文預(yù)測和觀測的基礎(chǔ)。中國人在大約2500年前就開始鉆探天然氣，井深4800英尺，用竹制管道將天然氣輸送到附近的城市。早在西方知道煤炭之前，中國人就率先開采和使用煤炭。馬可波羅和阿拉伯商人對(duì)中國人從地下開采的“黑石”感到驚訝，這種“黑石”可以在整個(gè)晚上慢慢燃燒。

China had printed paper money almost 1,500 years ago, done in ways to prevent counterfeiting. Wrapping paper, paper napkins and toilet paper were all in general use in China 2,000 years before the West could produce them. They were the first to invent and develop a full mechanical clock with a true escapement, many centuries before the Swiss had done so. The Chinese invented an ingenious seismograph still in use that tells not only the severity but the direction and distance of earthquakes. The Chinese invented hot-air balloons, the parachute, manned flight with kites, the wheelbarrow and matches. They invented hermetically-sealed laboratories for scientific experiments. They invented belt and chain drives, the paddlewheel steamer, the helicopter rotor and the propeller, the segmental-arch bridge. They invented the use of water power and chain pumps, the crank handle, all the construction methods for suspension bridges, sliding calipers, the fishing reel, image projection, magic lanterns, the gimbal system of suspension. China not only invented spinning wheels, carding machines and looms, but was the world’s leader in technical innovations in textile manufacturing, more than 700 years before Britain’s 18th century textile revolution.

中國早在1500年前就開始印制紙幣，目的是為了防止造假。在西方能夠生產(chǎn)包裝紙、餐巾紙和衛(wèi)生紙之前，中國已經(jīng)普遍使用了2000年。他們是第一個(gè)發(fā)明并研制出帶有真正擒縱機(jī)構(gòu)（譯者注：鐘表之中齒輪互相交摳運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)的系統(tǒng)，現(xiàn)代機(jī)械表中普遍使用的是杠桿式擒縱）的全機(jī)械鐘的人，比瑞士人早了許多世紀(jì)。中國人發(fā)明了一種精巧的地震儀，至今仍在使用，它不僅能顯示地震的嚴(yán)重程度，還能顯示地震的方向和距離。中國人發(fā)明了熱氣球、降落傘、載人風(fēng)箏飛行、獨(dú)輪手推車和火柴。他們發(fā)明了密封的實(shí)驗(yàn)室進(jìn)行科學(xué)實(shí)驗(yàn)。他們發(fā)明了皮帶和鏈傳動(dòng)，槳輪蒸汽機(jī)，直升機(jī)旋翼和螺旋槳，分段拱橋。他們發(fā)明了使用水力和鏈?zhǔn)奖谩⑶?、懸索橋的所有施工方法、滑?dòng)卡尺、釣魚卷軸、圖像投影、神奇的燈籠、懸掛的萬向節(jié)系統(tǒng)。中國不僅發(fā)明了紡車、梳理機(jī)和織布機(jī)，而且在紡織制造技術(shù)創(chuàng)新方面領(lǐng)先世界，比英國18世紀(jì)的紡織革命早了700多年。

Chinese expertise with fine porcelain was so advanced millennia ago, that even today it is admitted their ability has never even been equaled in the West, much less surpassed. The Chinese discovered not only magnetism but magnetic remanence and induction, as well as the compass. They invented gunpowder, smoke bombs, the cannon, the crossbow, plated body armor, fireworks, flamethrowers, grenades, land and sea mines, multi-stage rockets, mortars and repeating guns. China had irrigation canals that were also used for transport, and the Chinese invented the canal locks that could raise and lower boats to different levels 1,500 years before the Americans built the Panama Canal. China has earthquake-proof dams functioning today that were built around 250 BC.

幾千年前，中國制作精美瓷器的技術(shù)非常先進(jìn)，即使在今天，人們也承認(rèn)他們的能力在西方從未被匹敵，更不用說被超越了。中國人不僅發(fā)現(xiàn)了磁學(xué)，還發(fā)現(xiàn)了剩磁和磁感應(yīng)，以及指南針。他們發(fā)明了火藥、煙霧彈、大炮、十字弓、鍍防彈衣、煙花、火焰噴射器、手榴彈、水雷、多級(jí)火箭、迫擊炮和連發(fā)炮。中國有灌溉運(yùn)河，也用于運(yùn)輸，中國人發(fā)明了可以將船只升降到不同高度的水閘，比美國人建造巴拿馬運(yùn)河早了1500年。中國至今仍有建于公元前250年左右的抗震大壩。

A millennium ago, the Chinese conceived and developed the science of immunology – vaccinating people for diseases like smallpox, knowing how to extract and prepare the vaccine so as to immunise and not infect. They discovered the circadian rhythm in the human body, blood circulation and the science of endocrinology. The Chinese were using urine from pregnant women to make sex hormones 2,000 years ago, understanding how they acted on the body and how to use them. Many centuries-old Chinese medical books still exist, documenting all this and much more. Around 1550, China compiled a huge 52-volume Chinese Traditional Herbal Medicine encyclopedia that described almost 2,000 herbal sources and 10,000 medical prescxtions. Among them is chaulmoogra oil, which is still the only known treatment for leprosy.

一千年前，中國人構(gòu)想并發(fā)展了免疫學(xué)科學(xué)——為人們接種天花等疾病的疫苗，知道如何提取和制備疫苗，以便免疫而不被感染。他們發(fā)現(xiàn)了人體的晝夜節(jié)律、血液循環(huán)和內(nèi)分泌學(xué)。早在兩千年前，中國人就開始用孕婦的尿液制造性激素，了解性激素對(duì)身體的作用以及如何使用。許多古老的中醫(yī)書籍仍然存在，記錄了所有這些和更多的東西。大約在1550年，中國編纂了一部52卷本的中草藥百科全書，描述了近2000種草藥來源和10000種處方。其中有一種叫chaulmoogra油（譯者注：衛(wèi)氏大風(fēng)子油，鐘花科的一種樹，用于治療皮膚?。两袢允俏ㄒ灰阎闹委熉轱L(fēng)病的藥物。

China designed and built the world’s largest commercial ships, which were many times longer and ten times larger in volume than anything the West could build at the time. In the late 1500s the largest English ships displaced 400 tons, while China’s displaced more than 3,000 tons. Western ships were small, uncontrollable and fragile, and useless for travelling any distance. Thousands of years ago, Chinese ships had watertight compartments that permitted them to continue journeys even when damaged. Moreover, Chinese ships not only had multiple masts, but China invented the luff sails which permit us to sail almost into the wind, just as sailboats do today, and were therefore not dependent on wind direction for their travel. Their luff sails contained sewn-in bamboo battens that keep the sails full and aerodynamically efficient, as racing sailboats use today. The Chinese invented the ship’s rudder – something the Europeans never managed to do, able to steer themselves only with oars, and European sails permitted them to travel only in the direction of the wind, which meant a ship would have to remain in place, sometimes for months, awaiting a favorable wind.

中國設(shè)計(jì)并建造了世界上最大的商船，比當(dāng)時(shí)西方所能建造的商船長很多倍，體積大十倍。16世紀(jì)晚期，英國最大的船只排水量為400噸，而中國的排水量超過3000噸。西方的船只體積小、無法控制、脆弱不堪，無法航行任何距離。幾千年前，中國船只有水密艙，即使受損也能繼續(xù)航行。此外，中國船只不僅有多根桅桿，而且還發(fā)明了俯角帆，使我們幾乎可以迎風(fēng)航行，就像今天的帆船一樣，因此航行不依賴風(fēng)向。它們的俯角帆包含了縫在里面的竹板條，可以保持帆的飽滿和空氣動(dòng)力學(xué)效率，就像今天的比賽帆船所使用的那樣。中國人發(fā)明了船舵——這是歐洲人從來沒有做到過的，他們只能靠槳來控制方向，而歐洲人的帆只允許他們沿著風(fēng)的方向航行，這意味著一艘船必須停留在原地，有時(shí)長達(dá)數(shù)月，等待有利的風(fēng)向。
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Chinese maps were the best in the world, by orders of magnitude, for more than a millennium, and the precision of their maps became legendary, being far in advance of the West. The Chinese invented Mercator projections, relief maps, quantitative cartography and grid layouts. China had compasses and such extensive astronomical knowledge that they always knew where they were, could plot courses and follow them by both compass and star charts, and could sail wherever they wanted, regardless of the wind direction. As Needham pointed out, China was so far ahead of the Western world in sailing and navigation that comparisons are just embarrassing. It was only when the West managed to copy and steal China’s sailing and navigation technology that it was able to begin travelling the world and colonising it. James Petras wrote, “It is especially important to emphasize how China, the world technological power between 1100 and 1800, made the West’s emergence possible. It was only by borrowing and assimilating Chinese innovations that the West was able to make the transition to modern capitalist and imperialist economies.”[2]

一千多年來，中國地圖在數(shù)量級(jí)上都是世界上最好的，其地圖的精度成為傳奇，遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)領(lǐng)先于西方。中國人發(fā)明了墨卡托投影、地形圖、定量制圖和網(wǎng)格布局。中國有指南針，而且有豐富的天文知識(shí)，他們總是知道自己在哪里，可以用指南針和星圖來繪制航線，并沿著航線航行，無論風(fēng)向如何，他們都可以航行到任何地方。正如李約瑟所指出的，中國在航海和導(dǎo)航方面遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)領(lǐng)先于西方世界，這樣的比較令人尷尬。只有當(dāng)西方成功地復(fù)制和竊取中國的航海和導(dǎo)航技術(shù)時(shí)，它才能夠開始周游世界并進(jìn)行殖民。詹姆斯·佩特拉斯(James Petras)寫道:“特別重要的是，要強(qiáng)調(diào)中國這個(gè)1100年至1800年間的世界技術(shù)強(qiáng)國是如何使西方的出現(xiàn)成為可能的。只有通過借鑒和吸收中國的創(chuàng)新，西方才能夠過渡到現(xiàn)代資本主義和帝國主義經(jīng)濟(jì)。

China was 1,000 years ahead of the West in anything to do with metals – cast iron, wrought iron, steel, carbon steel, tempered steel, welded steel. The Chinese were so skilled at metallurgy they could cast tuned bells that could produce any tone. Long before 1,000 A.D., China was the world’s major steel producer. I believe it was James Petras who noted that in about 1,000 A.D. China was producing about 125,000 tons of steel per year, while 800 years later Britain could produce only 75,000 tons.[1] The Chinese invented the blast furnace, the double-action bellows to achieve the necessary high temperatures for smelting and annealing metals. They invented the manufacture of steel from cast iron. Thy excelled in creating metallic alloys, and very early were casting and forging coins made from copper, nickel and zinc. The entire process of mining, smelting and purifying zinc, originated in China. The Chinese developed the processes of mining itself, and the concentration and extraction of metals.

中國在利用金屬的任何方面也都領(lǐng)先西方1000年——鑄鐵、熟鐵、鋼、碳鋼、回火鋼、焊接鋼。中國人在冶金方面技術(shù)出眾，他們可以鑄造出可以發(fā)出任何音調(diào)的調(diào)諧鐘。早在公元1000年之前，中國就是世界上主要的鋼鐵生產(chǎn)國。我相信是詹姆斯·佩特拉斯(James Petras)指出，在公元1000年左右，中國每年生產(chǎn)大約12.5萬噸鋼鐵，而800年后，英國每年只能生產(chǎn)7.5萬噸鋼鐵中國人發(fā)明了高爐，采用雙作用風(fēng)箱來達(dá)到冶煉和退火金屬所需的高溫。他們發(fā)明了用鑄鐵煉鋼。他們擅長制造金屬合金，很早就鑄造和鍛造了用銅、鎳和鋅制成的硬幣。整個(gè)鋅的開采、冶煉和提純過程，起源于中國。中國人發(fā)展了自己的采礦工藝，以及金屬的濃縮和提取。

China was highly advanced in agriculture, having invented the winnowing fan and the seed drill, making an easy process of tilling, planting, and harvesting. Europeans and Americans were still seeding crops by scattering grain from a bag, a greatly wasteful practice that necessitated saving 50% of each year’s crop for seed. China developed scientifically efficient plows that have never been equaled and are still used all over the world today. They invented and developed animal harnesses and collars that first permitted horses to actually be used to pull loads. Europe had no efficient plow, and their only way of harnessing animals was to put a rope around their necks, which succeeded only in the animals strangling themselves. The Chinese invented saddles and the riding stirrup. China’s food production was orders of magnitude ahead of the world for more than 1,000 years, its advances in agriculture the enabling cause of Europe’s agricultural revolution that first permitted it to begin feeding itself adequately. The Chinese were wearing fine silk and cotton clothing and using toilet paper while centuries later Europeans were still wearing animal skins.

中國的農(nóng)業(yè)非常發(fā)達(dá)，發(fā)明了揚(yáng)子扇和播種機(jī)，使耕作、種植和收獲變得很容易。歐洲人和美國人還在用袋裝谷物播種，這是一種非常浪費(fèi)的做法，每年必須節(jié)省50%的作物用于種子。中國開發(fā)了科學(xué)高效的犁，無人能及，至今仍在世界各地使用。他們發(fā)明并開發(fā)了動(dòng)物挽具和項(xiàng)圈，第一次讓馬真正被用來拉東西。歐洲沒有有效的犁，他們駕馭動(dòng)物的唯一方法是在它們的脖子上套上一根繩子，這只能使動(dòng)物勒死自己。中國人發(fā)明了馬鞍和馬鐙。一千多年來，中國的糧食產(chǎn)量一直領(lǐng)先世界幾個(gè)數(shù)量級(jí)，中國在農(nóng)業(yè)方面的進(jìn)步推動(dòng)了歐洲的農(nóng)業(yè)革命，使歐洲第一次開始實(shí)現(xiàn)自給自足。中國人穿著絲綢和棉質(zhì)的衣服，使用衛(wèi)生紙，而幾個(gè)世紀(jì)后的歐洲人仍然穿著動(dòng)物皮。

Few people in the West are familiar with China’s Armillary Spheres. These wonders of the world, cast in bronze several meters in diameter and beautifully decorated with dragons and phoenixes, are some of the oldest and most accurate astronomical observatory instruments in existence, some created more than 3,500 years ago when the Western countries had no knowledge of such things. They determine and measure the positions and equatorial ecliptic and horizontal coordinates of celestial bodies, the positions and daily motions of 1,500 stars and constellations, and much more. When the Western Forces invaded China in the late 1800s, they were so captivated that they plundered most of these treasures and the centuries of data from the ancient observatories, disassembling the instruments and removing them to Europe, returning some to China as part of the Treaties after the First World War.

西方很少有人熟悉中國的渾天儀。這些世界奇觀由直徑數(shù)米的青銅鑄造而成，精美的龍和鳳凰裝飾，是現(xiàn)存最古老、最精確的天文觀測儀器之一，有些是在3500多年前制造的，當(dāng)時(shí)西方國家還不知道這些東西。它們可以確定和測量天體的位置、赤道黃道坐標(biāo)和水平坐標(biāo)，以及1500顆恒星和星座的位置和日常運(yùn)動(dòng)等等。當(dāng)西方軍隊(duì)在19世紀(jì)晚期入侵中國時(shí)，他們被迷住了，他們從古代天文臺(tái)掠奪了大部分珍寶和數(shù)百年的數(shù)據(jù)，將儀器拆解并運(yùn)回歐洲，并在第一次世界大戰(zhàn)后根據(jù)條約將部分儀器歸還給中國。

It leaves one speechless to learn the vast extent of Chinese inventions that existed hundreds of years and often millennia, before they appeared in the West. Needham published not only ancient Chinese texts that can be accurately dated, but photos of old drawings that clearly depict all of these items. This isn’t a simple matter of gunpowder and fireworks, but of discovery that encompasses the entire range of human knowledge, all of which has been consciously hidden from the Western world. Needham made his discoveries in the 1940s, but neither Western education nor the media have ever referenced or acknowledged them. These are not mere claims; the evidence is conclusive and available for examination but the West has thoroughly erased China from the world’s historical memory.

在西方出現(xiàn)之前，中國發(fā)明已經(jīng)存在了數(shù)百年甚至數(shù)千年，這讓人啞口無言。李約瑟不僅發(fā)表了可以準(zhǔn)確確定年代的中國古代文獻(xiàn)，而且還發(fā)表了清楚描繪所有這些物品的舊繪畫照片。這不是一個(gè)簡單的火藥和煙火的問題，而是一個(gè)包含人類整個(gè)知識(shí)領(lǐng)域的發(fā)現(xiàn)，所有這些都被有意識(shí)地對(duì)西方世界隱藏起來。李約瑟在20世紀(jì)40年代做出了他的發(fā)現(xiàn)，但無論是西方教育屆還是媒體都從未提及或承認(rèn)過這些發(fā)現(xiàn)。這些不僅僅是觀點(diǎn)主張；證據(jù)確鑿，可供檢驗(yàn)，但西方已經(jīng)將中國從世界歷史記憶中徹底抹去。