老外在中國：如何講好中國故事？

許多時候，國際社會對于中國真實面貌的曲解不僅是因為信仰不同，更多是因語言上缺乏交流，而對中國缺乏了解。中國正開始用全球都能理解且更有吸引力的方法，向世界講述中國故事。

Disco Beach was a shoreline where crowds who danced to electronic music created vibrations that coaxed oysters to the surface.

在江蘇省南通市的“迪斯科海灘”上，有許多人跟著電子音樂跳舞，音樂的振動將生蠔誘騙出海面。

Visitors arrived in donkey-drawn carts. They scooped up the mollusks to cook at this attraction in Jiangsu province's Nantong or take home.

游客們乘驢車來到這里，把那些軟體動物撈上來后，就地直接煮了吃，或者帶回家享用。

Today? Who knows?

現(xiàn)在呢?誰知道呢?

I don't.

反正我是不知道。

I can't find English information about it online aside from the story I wrote after visiting in 2009.

除了我在2009年到訪這里時發(fā)過一篇報道，我就再也沒有在網(wǎng)上找到相關(guān)的英文消息了。

I could search the web in Chinese. But it would take a long time at my intermediate-reading level to reliably confirm it still exists.

我可以用中文搜索有關(guān)信息，但以我的中等閱讀水平，需要大量時間才能確認這個地方依然存在。

But what I've seen recently is more such destinations throughout the country are developing informational English-language materials — those that not only inform but also entertain.

但我最近發(fā)現(xiàn)，在中國各地，更多類似景點有了相關(guān)英文信息材料，這些內(nèi)容不僅傳遞了信息，讀起來還很有趣味。

China has continued moving up the quality chain in terms of sharing its story globally.

中國一直在提高向全球講述中國故事的能力。

Twenty-one of the 50 NPC deputies and CPPCC National Committee members I interviewed on camera during the recent two sessions explained their suggestions during the country's largest annual political gathering in plain English.

今年兩會期間，我采訪過的50名人大代表和政協(xié)委員中，有21人用淺顯的英文闡述了自己的議案或提案。

The video series, Two Sessions, One Minute, about the recently concluded National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee meetings cover a domestic affair — although with international impact.

《一分鐘看兩會》系列視頻報道了剛剛閉幕的全國人民代表大會以及中國人民政治協(xié)商會議，這些中國國內(nèi)的事也會有國際影響。

The series has been viewed over 60 million times.

該系列視頻的瀏覽量達6000多萬次。

Foreign journalists received multilingual materials and could sometimes conduct interviews in foreign languages.

外國記者會議期間收到了多語種版本的材料，有時甚至可以直接用外語進行采訪。

English was scant when I arrived 12 years ago — when my Chinese level was also low.

我12年前到中國時，中國人的英語水平勉勉強強，而那時候我的中文水平也很低。

Then, a growing number of "Chinese-English" materials started to emerge. They were generally understandable but loaded with errors.

從那時起，出現(xiàn)了越來越多的“中式英語”材料，大多數(shù)都能讓人讀懂，但是也有很多的錯誤。

Later, the translation levels improved. But storytelling didn't.

后來，中國的翻譯水平提升了，但是講故事的能力并沒有。

Many of the materials were encyclopedic in tone — informative, but dry as a mummy.

許多材料都是科普式的語氣——信息量很大，但是像木乃伊一樣干巴巴的。

More Chinese authorities and event organizers from the village level up are today developing English-language materials that are, sometimes, fascinating.

現(xiàn)在，有更多村級以上政府以及活動組織者制作出語言質(zhì)量很高的英文版材料。

A testimony to this is The Allure of Suzhou — a book published by the city's publicity authorities to introduce the settlement that's known as China's Eden for its gardens and as China's Venice for its canals.

蘇州市宣傳部最近出版的《情調(diào)蘇州》就是一個有力的證明，這本書主要介紹了蘇州，蘇州因其園林而被稱作中國伊甸園，又因其運河被稱作中國威尼斯。

Local officials invited talented foreign writers to explore Suzhou's offerings and share compelling stories about their experiences and discoveries.

地方官員邀請了才華橫溢的外國作家去探索蘇州的魅力，并將他們的經(jīng)歷和發(fā)現(xiàn)寫成極富感染力的故事。

It was a useful backgrounder for journalists but also engaging enough that I kept it for pleasure reading after my assignments were done.

對于記者來說，這本書不僅是實用的背景材料，而且書的內(nèi)容也非常引人入勝。當(dāng)我完成工作后，會把讀這本書當(dāng)做消遣。

It would inform any leisure trip I took in this delightful city I've already visited half-a-dozen times.

我已經(jīng)六次探訪這座愉悅的城市，這本書涵蓋了我的每趟輕松旅程。

Working as a journalist in China over the past 12 years, I've often discovered the stories I've written about many of the places and topics seem to be the first — and sometimes only — in English.

過去12年，我一直在中國做記者。我常常發(fā)現(xiàn)，我對許多地方和話題的報道都是第一條，有時是唯一一條英語新聞。

Like Disco Beach.

就像“迪斯科海灘”的故事一樣。

How can you know about something if there's no information about it in a language you can comprehend?

如果沒有用你能理解的語言傳達消息，你怎么能了解那些事物呢?

You can't.

你無法了解。

I strongly believe that many of the global community's misunderstandings of China's realities stem less from different beliefs and more from ignorance generated by a lack of communication that's largely linguistic.

我確信，許多時候，國際社會對于中國真實面貌的曲解不僅是因為信仰不同，更多是因語言上缺乏交流，而對中國缺乏了解。

China is increasingly speaking to the world in a way the global community not only understands but also finds captivating.

中國正開始用全球都能理解且更有吸引力的方法，向世界講述中國故事。