文笔一流，试着翻译了一下，请指正。

China, the World's Capital

By Nicholas D. Kristof, The New York Times, 22 May 2005

From Kaifeng to New York, glory is as ephemeral as smoke and clouds.

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.

这个新千年开始的时候，纽约是这个世界上最重要的城市，这个星球的非官方经济首都。但在我们对自己感到太满意之前，去审视一下中国中部已经没落的开封市也许是有价值的。

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.

开封，一个淤泥阻塞的黄河边上的古老城市，1000年的时候是这个世界上最重要的地方。如果你从未听说过它，那对很多美国人是有价值的警告-正如中文标题提到的，繁华如过眼云烟。

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.

作为这个世界上唯一的超级强权，美国也许认为这种权力是理所应当的。但是如果回顾历史，这种霸权之短暂令人吃惊，对于单个城市而言尤为如此。

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.

在公元前2000年的时候我同意伊拉克的乌尔是这这世界最重要的城市；公元前1500年，埃及的底比斯；公元前1000没有什么出色的城市，尽管可以举出黎巴嫩的西顿作为候选。公元前500年，古代波斯的波斯波利斯；公元1年，罗马；公元500年，可能是中国的长安；公元1000年，中国开封；公元1500年，意大利的佛罗伦萨；公元2000年，纽约；公元2500年，也许不会是以上城市中的任何一个。

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.

今天的开封肮脏贫穷，甚至连省会都不是，小到连一个飞机场都没有。它的可悲的现实强调了命运如何变化。在11世纪，当它还是宋朝的首都时，它的人口超过了100万，而那时伦敦的人口才有大约15000人。

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.

在北京的故宫，一幅17英尺场的画卷显示了古代开封的忙碌与繁荣。数以百计的行人簇拥在大街上，骆驼从丝绸之路运送来货物，茶室和饭店生意红火。

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.

那时开封吸引了全世界的人们，包括犹太人。甚至今天，这里还有人自认为是犹太后裔，不吃猪肉，虽然和其他开封人相像。

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.

当漫步开封时，我询问当地人为什么一个国际中心会如此没落。我意外地遇到了对纽约的足够多的羡慕。一个人说他已经被安排好偷渡去美国，并为此花费了25000美元，但是很多当地人坚持中国会复兴，并且恢复它的曾经的历史地位。

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.

“中国现在正在急速发展”，一个城郊农民妇女王睿娜说。“过我们几十年，我们会赶上美国，甚至与超过它”。（这个有点太夸张了，我估计有可能是某部门的同志在演戏）

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.

她是对的。美国100年来拥有世界上最大的经济体，但是很多快速发展显示中国将在15年内超过我们，如果用购买力指标评价的话。

So what can New York learn from a city like Kaifeng?

那么纽约能从开封学到什么东西呢？

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.

一个教训是持续的技术优势和健全的经济政策的重要性。古代中国繁荣部分起源于商业增长（翻译可能不太准确），贸易政策和技术发明，比如曲面铁犁，印刷和纸币。但是中国转向了轻视贸易商业，在之后的600年内平均个人收入停滞不前。

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.

第二个教训是自满的危险，中国认为从世界其他地方已经没有什么可以学习的-这就是没落的开始。

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.

我担心两个教训都存在的美国。我们的经济管理如此懈怠，以至于我们不能面对农业补贴或者长期的预算赤字。我们的技术是强大的，但是美国公立学校在数学和科学领域是二流的。美国缺乏了解世界的兴趣，那些勤奋，动力和决心正在鼓动中国日益向前。

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.

黄河边上我遇到了一个70岁的农民王浩，他没有上过一天学，甚至不能写他的名字，但是它的子孙却是不一样的。

Two of my grandsons are now in university, he boasted, and then he started talking about the computer in his home.

他自夸道“两个孙子在大学读书”，然后他开始谈论他家里的计算机。

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.

想一下开封，他正在极力刺激我们提升我们的高技术优势，教育水平和商业政策。如果我们满足于我们目前的荣耀，甚至像纽约一样伟大的城市也会成为哈得孙河边的开封，终将没落下去。