To Be Content with One's Lot樂(lè)天知命
    1.Peter Hessler described two lifestyles and asked his Chinese students to choose the one they preferred, either a very long yet ultimately average and uneventful life, or a very exciting, fan-filled life that only lasted 24 years. Almost all of his 20 something year old students chose the first option. This surprised Peter because, from his experience with American youths, he was sure the Americans wouldn't have chosen a long, uneventful life.
    1、彼得•赫斯勒請(qǐng)他的中國(guó)學(xué)生在以下兩種生活方式中選擇其一：一種是平庸卻長(zhǎng)壽，另一種是只能活24年卻享樂(lè)無(wú)比。那些20歲左右的學(xué)生們幾乎都選擇了第一種生活。彼得十分驚訝，在他看來(lái)美國(guó)青年并不會(huì)如此一致地選擇平庸但長(zhǎng)壽的生活。
    2.The Chinese traditionally think an uneventful, but long life is better than a short life fall of fan and adventure. There's even an idiom for the traditional Chinese attitude, "A good death is worse than a lazy life." This saying reveals a deeply ingrained sense of optimism and acceptance of fate. It's nothing at all like the Western idea of heroes made through tragedy.
    2、無(wú)聊無(wú)趣但天長(zhǎng)地久地活下去，好過(guò)冒生命之險(xiǎn)求得享樂(lè)的*，這似乎是中國(guó)傳統(tǒng)的價(jià)值觀。有習(xí)語(yǔ)為證：“好死不如賴活著。”它透露出根深蒂固的樂(lè)觀與宿命。與英雄產(chǎn)生于悲劇的西方價(jià)值觀完全不同。
    3.30 years ago, at the beginning of China's reform, a group of intellectuals believed the acceptance of one's lot would hurt the growth of the People's Republic. The way they saw it, the Westerners' "seafaring culture" had allowed them to expand and advance while China's "agrarian culture" had shut the country off from the world and kept it focusing on itself.
    3、30年前改革開(kāi)放之初，一批知識(shí)分子認(rèn)為樂(lè)天知命、安于本分的傳統(tǒng)觀念有害于中華民族的發(fā)展。在他們看來(lái)，西方的“藍(lán)色文明”使其開(kāi)放、進(jìn)步；而中國(guó)的“黃土文化”使之封閉、守成。
    4.Researching the unique traits of a nationality can reveal a number of interesting features. David N. Keightly is a professor of history at the University of California Berkerley1 and he made a study of the unique attitudes of the Chinese people. He believed their acceptance of fate originates from a geographical standpoint. The birthplace of the Chinese civilization is the Central Plains where the climate has less variation than the Mediterranean or the Near East. China's two main rivers, the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, both run from West to East, and don't change much in latitude. This means the cultivation both upstream and downstream are very similar. This uniformity of the agrarian culture reduced the incentive for mutual trade and the need for people to travel very far. Hence, the exchange of thoughts, ideas and technology became restricted and the ancient Chinese culture tended to isolate itself within their regions of influence.
    4、研究一個(gè)民族的某種特性是件有趣的事情。美國(guó)加州大學(xué)伯克利分校的歷史學(xué)教授大衛(wèi)•凱特利從地理決定論的觀點(diǎn)出發(fā)，分析了中國(guó)人樂(lè)天知命的特性。他認(rèn)為這種特性是由中國(guó)特有的地理環(huán)境所決定的。與地中海和近東地區(qū)相比，中國(guó)文明的發(fā)祥地中原地區(qū)的氣候類型更加有規(guī)律可尋。中國(guó)的兩大主要河流——黃河和長(zhǎng)江——都是自西向東流，而且它們的緯度變化也不大，這意味著河流上游和下游所種植的農(nóng)作物類型差別不大。因此就缺乏了相互貿(mào)易的動(dòng)力，中國(guó)的古代文明自然就成為農(nóng)耕文明。而那些很少旅行的人們就沒(méi)有可能去交流思想和技術(shù)，封閉由此產(chǎn)生。
    5.According to Professor Keightly's theory, the climate of ancient China was very good. This would create a sense of optimism in the Chinese culture. In comparison, the people of the Mediterranean and the Near East had to face more natural disasters and were less optimistic. Besides the geographical factor which influences the development of cultures, Keightley believes the Chinese practice of ancestor worship has significantly influenced the makeup of the Chinese people. Keightley says, "I believe, the cultures that engage in ancestor worship are going to be conservative cultures. They're not going to find new things attractive because, that will be a challenge to the ancestors. There's no room in this culture for a skeptic."
    5、凱特利教授相信中國(guó)古代的氣候良好，因此生成了中國(guó)文化中的那種樂(lè)觀主義。相比較之下，無(wú)論是地中海還是近東，都面臨著更多的的自然災(zāi)害，因而少了些樂(lè)觀。除了地理環(huán)境對(duì)文化發(fā)展的影響，凱特利教授認(rèn)為中國(guó)人對(duì)祖先的崇拜也極深地影響了中國(guó)人的特性。凱特利教授相信：“這種祖先崇拜的文化，是一種保守的文化。你不會(huì)去發(fā)現(xiàn)新的有吸引力的東西，因?yàn)槟鞘菍?duì)祖先的挑戰(zhàn)。中國(guó)文化中沒(méi)有懷疑的余地。”