正文翻譯

Chris Ebbert
Fascinating question.
有趣的問(wèn)題。

Having lived in China for several years, and being married to a Chinese wife, I think my first impulse is to say, “don’t expect to ever fully understand Chinese culture.”
我在中國(guó)居住過(guò)幾年，也娶了中國(guó)老婆，我認(rèn)為我對(duì)這個(gè)問(wèn)題的第一反應(yīng)還是說(shuō)，“不要期望完全理解中國(guó)文化。”

Not because they are so hard to understand, but because that thing we call China is a huge place, with a long history, and it would be wrong to expect to ever fully grasp what it means to be Chinese, or do things the Chinese way.
不是因?yàn)橹袊?guó)文化難以理解，而是中國(guó)幅員遼闊，歷史悠久，如果妄圖完全掌握中國(guó)人（的思維方式），或是中國(guó)式的行事作風(fēng)，那就大錯(cuò)特錯(cuò)了。

All that hedging aside, I do think you could be pragmatic about it.
撇開這些模棱量?jī)煽傻模艺J(rèn)為你能對(duì)這個(gè)問(wèn)題有更貼切的理解。
原創(chuàng)翻譯：龍騰網(wǎng) http://www.ltaaa.cn 轉(zhuǎn)載請(qǐng)注明出處

Presuming you are simply trying to get on in modern day China’s culture, I would give you the following list of tips:
假設(shè)你只是想了解當(dāng)今中國(guó)的文化，我給你以下幾條建議：

1. Know your place; in China, family always come first. Then come relatives and old friends. New friends are welcome, but won’t be prioritized.
1. 知道你的位置；在中國(guó)，總是以家庭為重。其次是親戚和老友。新朋友是受歡迎的，但不是最重要的。

2. Food is China’s unofficial religion. You will be asked “have you eaten?” in the same way you will be asked “how are you doing?” in the anglosphere, and they mean it. Never downplay the importance of a meal. They dedicate an amazing amount of time, resources, and energy to making, eating, and procuring meals. If you’re French, you’ll understand.
2. 食物在中國(guó)有著不可言說(shuō)的重要意義。你會(huì)被問(wèn)道“吃了嗎？”就像你會(huì)被問(wèn)“你還好嗎？”在盎格魯文化圈，他們確實(shí)是這個(gè)意思。別低估一頓飯的重要性。他們要花費(fèi)驚人的大量時(shí)間、資源和精力來(lái)準(zhǔn)備、烹飪和享用飯菜。如果你是法國(guó)人，你應(yīng)該會(huì)明白的。

3. “Saving Face” is everything. There are a hundred ways in which the Chinese can acknowledge or humiliate you, and it all boils down to small details like who sits where, when do you get to speak, what sort of dishes are served… if you can read that code, you know your place with them.
3. “有面子”至關(guān)重要。中國(guó)人有一百種贊許或者羞辱你的方式，歸結(jié)于細(xì)微之處，就比如誰(shuí)坐在那里，你什么時(shí)候應(yīng)該發(fā)言，上什么菜等等。如果你能讀懂這些之后的隱藏含義，你就能知道你在他們心中的分量了。

4. Negotiation; the Chinese will offer you a choice even when it is clear what you want. It’s one of the prime directives of China. The other person must always have a choice. That way, you may find yourself playing cat and mouse with other pedestrians many more times than you would in the western world, because one indication of intended direction just isn’t enough; no, you will have to swerve around fellow pedestrians in the last moment, because they will keep offering you options till the last second. Whenever I sit in a restaurant with my wife, she drives me crazy with the question “… or would you like THAT dish instead?” To which my retort tends to be, “no, goddammit! I want the thing I said I wanted the first time!”
4. 協(xié)商；即使你明確表示想要什么了，中國(guó)人也會(huì)給你另一種選擇。這在中國(guó)是頭等重要法則：要給別人留個(gè)后路。不同于西方世界，你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)在中國(guó)你經(jīng)常在玩貓鼠游戲，最后一刻依舊在斡旋，因?yàn)橹钡竭@時(shí)候中國(guó)人還在不斷給你提供選擇。當(dāng)我和我老婆在餐館坐下來(lái)，她問(wèn)了一個(gè)問(wèn)題，把我逼瘋了，那就是“……你想換那道菜嗎？”我的本能反應(yīng)是，“不，可惡！我只想要我一開始想要的那道菜！”

5. Final agreements are not final. How many times did we put a final signature under something, only to find ourselves reconvening over a lavish meal for a complete re-negotiation.
5. 最后的決定也不是板上釘釘。有多少時(shí)候我們已經(jīng)決定了吃什么，然而最后經(jīng)過(guò)一番深思熟慮后決定奢侈地搓一頓。

6. Change your spokesperson, and you start from scratch. The Chinese build relations with a company or institution based on a personal, individual relationship. Take that person away, and you are back to zero.
6. 換個(gè)“發(fā)言人”，你就得重新開始。中國(guó)公司（組織）內(nèi)部的關(guān)系是點(diǎn)對(duì)點(diǎn)式特定私人關(guān)系。這個(gè)人走了，一切就得從零開始了。

7. Wastefulness is a sign of idiocy. I have yet to see a respected Chinese person with a wasteful attitude. Economy and efficiency are the pillars of Chinese success, and those who are successful there will possess them.
7. 浪費(fèi)是種愚蠢的行徑。我就沒(méi)見過(guò)一個(gè)中國(guó)人鋪張浪費(fèi)還受人尊敬的。勤儉節(jié)約是中華民族成功的基石，那些成功人士也有這些品質(zhì)。

8. Nature is beautiful - but only few have a realistic understanding of nature. Instead, there is a highly domesticated image of nature in China, sporting gyms, highly polished flower arrangements, and so on. The Chinese romanticize nature, but don’t understand it.
8. 自然是美麗的-但是在中國(guó)很少有人真正了解自然。取而代之，在中國(guó)有著雕琢過(guò)后的自然景象，例如運(yùn)動(dòng)場(chǎng)館，修剪過(guò)的花朵陳列等等。中國(guó)人將自然浪漫化，卻不懂自然是什么。

9. Outlooks are strangely short term and long term at the same time. The business world expects fast turnarounds and quick growth, while politics and others allow for long time spans for things to develop.
9.（中國(guó)）同時(shí)有著短期前景和長(zhǎng)期遠(yuǎn)景。商業(yè)世界需要快的回報(bào)率和飛速增長(zhǎng)，然而政策之類的事情則需要較長(zhǎng)時(shí)間跨度來(lái)落地。

On the whole, I like Chinese culture. When you are there, you feel a new mellowness, surrounded by abundance and the dynamics of an old culture that is mercifully pragmatic and philosophical.
總而言之，我喜歡中國(guó)文化。當(dāng)你身處其中時(shí)，總能品出新滋味。古老文明寓意深遠(yuǎn)，充滿哲學(xué)趣味。而新舊文化不斷交織，碰撞新活力，使中華文化大放異彩。

評(píng)論翻譯
Liam Nguyen
@Chris Ebbert
Also speaking without knowledge/experience about the topic is considered irresponsible and stupid in Chinese culture. That's why free speech is always laughable topic for most of Chinese.
回復(fù)Chris Ebbert
在中國(guó)文化種，沒(méi)有知識(shí)/經(jīng)驗(yàn)就對(duì)一個(gè)主題進(jìn)行討論是不負(fù)責(zé)任的蠢事兒。

Only the fools speak more than others!
只有傻瓜才多說(shuō)話呢！

Carsten Junge
@Chris Ebbert
I have the same thing happening to me, when I have my Chinese wife order food….
回復(fù)Chris Ebbert
當(dāng)我的中國(guó)老婆點(diǎn)菜時(shí)候，我經(jīng)歷了你說(shuō)的這些事情……

Sam (舢艒) Felton
@Carsten Junge
I had the exact mirror-image of this problem - my wife assumes I’ve made a decision (as most Americans) and that I will stick by it and not change my mind - but she expects me to deal with her in the Chinese way, allow all options at all times and not be surprised if she changes her mind along the way. She doesn’t get upset, but is surprised if I change my mind, just as I’m pleasantly surprised when she doesn’t.
回復(fù)Carsten Junge
我也經(jīng)歷了一模一樣的問(wèn)題——我老婆認(rèn)為我一旦做出了決定（像大部分美國(guó)人一樣），我就會(huì)堅(jiān)持下去并不會(huì)輕易動(dòng)搖——但是我的老婆希望我用中國(guó)的方式來(lái)對(duì)待同樣的事情，即同一時(shí)間允許所有觀點(diǎn)共存，并且不會(huì)對(duì)她一直改變想法而感動(dòng)啊奇怪。她目前不會(huì)感到失望，但是如果我改變我的想法她一定會(huì)驚訝的。就像她什么時(shí)候不按照原來(lái)的方式這么想了，我也會(huì)感到驚訝一樣。

John Z. Li
How do I understand Chinese culture?
我該如何理解中國(guó)文化呢？

The same way you understand any culture: learning its language, its history, and its religions.
就像你理解其他文化一樣；學(xué)習(xí)它的語(yǔ)言、歷史和宗教。

No, food is NOT China’s unofficial religion. That is pure western prejudice.
不，食物在中國(guó)不是非官方宗教。這種想法只是西方世界的偏見。

The first thing to understand another culture is to know that there is really a culture that is fundamentally different from the one you are born in.

要理解另一種文化應(yīng)該做的第一件事兒，就是要認(rèn)清確有一種與出生之地迥然不同的文化。