大卫·弗格森：让世界了解真实的中国

文/蓝博 译/张佳艺

2008年，大卫·弗格森开始供职于中国外文局所属新闻媒体中国网，参与了汶川地震、北京奥运会、上海世博会等重大活动的报道工作。2010年至今，在外文出版社担任翻译改稿专家，在《习近平谈治国理政》第一至三卷的英文翻译中发挥重要作用。他为我国的国际交流事业作出巨大贡献，荣获中国政府友谊奖、第十五届中华图书特殊贡献奖和中国外文局外籍专家突出贡献奖。

“真实的中国与想象截然不同”

初次接触大卫·弗格森，他给人的印象是一名安静优雅的英伦绅士。1970年从英国爱丁堡大学取得法学学士学位后，他先后在德国、法国、美国、印度尼西亚、新加坡等20多个国家工作生活，学习并掌握了法语、德语、意大利语，做过管理顾问、经营过传媒公司。虽然彼时他已经去过许多国家和地区，有着丰富的人生经历，但是对中国并没有太过清晰的认知。和当时很多西方人一样，他对中国的看法非常不客观。在他的固有印象里，中国是一个广袤而贫穷的国家，到处都是面黄肌瘦的农民，穿着廉价的中山装，备受压迫。当然，也有一两个现代化城市，比如北京和上海。然而，当他跟着中国妻子首次踏足中国时，他发现真实的中国与想象截然不同。他到访的第一个中国城市是妻子的老家吉林市。“吉林是个现代化的城市，物资供应充足。大街上，没人穿中山装，人们穿着现代且时尚。日子过得很滋润。”事实证明他之前的想象完全是错误且荒谬的。

随着在中国居住的时间渐长，他对中国的认知一直在刷新。在吉林居住生活的两年间，他见证了当地日新月异的变化。那时，他在松花江畔有一套公寓，他亲眼看着一栋栋办公楼、写字楼和新公寓拔地而起，周边的配套设施越来越完善，城市公园以松花江畔为中心不断向周边延伸扩展。到北京定居后，北京的变化更是令他震撼，让他体会最深刻的就是日益便利的交通基础设施。在他刚到北京的时候，北京只有三条地铁线路。而现如今，北京地铁的综合排名已经位列世界第一，有着世界最长的地铁总里程，运送着世界最大的客流量，同时还有着最高的安全可靠度和无障碍车站比例。相比于英国伦敦的地铁系统，弗格森认为北京的地铁更方便、更干净也更现代化。

In 2008, David Ferguson Joined China.org.cn, a news media affiliated to China International Communications Group(CICG), and later participated in the coverage of major events such as Wenchuan earthquake, 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, and Shanghai World Expo. Since 2010, he has worked as an editor at Foreign Language Press, contributing to the English version of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China (Volume Ⅰ—Ⅲ). He has made great contributions to China’s international exchanges and received the Chinese Government Friendship Award, the 15th Special Book Award of China and the Outstanding Contribution Award for Foreign Experts by the CICG.

“The Real China is Completely Different from What I Imagined”

David Ferguson left an impression of a quiet and elegant English gentleman on others from the first contact. After obtaining the Bachelor degree of Law from the University of Edinburgh in 1970, he worked and lived in more than 20 countries, including Germany, France, the United States,Indonesia and Singapore, learning and becoming fluent in French, German and Italian, working as a management consultant and also running a media company. Although he had already been to many countries and regions and had rich life experiences, he did not have a clear understanding of China.Like many westerners at the time, his views on China were very personal. He held the stereotype that China was a big and poor country, full of sallow and emaciated farmers who wore cheap Chinese tunic suits and were suffered from oppression. Of course, there were one or two modern cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. However, when he first set foot in China with his Chinese wife, he found the real China quite different from what he had imagined. The first Chinese city he visited was Jilin, his wife’s hometown. “Jilin was a modern city with abundant supplies. People wore modern and fashionable clothes instead of the Chinese tunic suits, and they lived an indeed comfortable life.” His previous impression of China proved to be completely wrong and absurd.

“我支持中国共产党”

“要读懂中国，理解中国，必须要读懂中国共产党，读懂中国共产党人。”弗格森说。就在不久之前，他参与编辑了一本书，讲述的是党员模范谷文昌的先进事迹。谷文昌同志是新中国成立后，涌现出来的一位优秀领导干部典型。习近平总书记多次提及谷文昌，称赞他“在老百姓心中树立起一座不朽的丰碑”、是“四有干部”的典范、“县委书记的好榜样”。1950年至1964年的14年间，谷文昌以“不制服风沙，就让风沙把我埋掉”的信念，率领福建省东山县的人民埋头苦干，筑起总长达194公里的绿色长城，硬是制服了当地“神仙都难治”的风沙，让海岛换了天地，让百姓换了人间。谷文昌的故事引人入胜，让弗格森感慨万千，他由衷地佩服这样一位伟大的共产党员。他感叹：“一个热爱人民的人，必然得到人民的热爱。”正是因为共产党员将最广大人民的根本利益放在心上，才赢得了人民群众的爱戴。

弗格森说：“中国共产党不玩西式民主那一套，而是专注于国家治理。”在他看来，西式民主推崇冲突和对抗，整天吵吵闹闹，你推我搡。而中国的政治体系崇尚合作、协商和共识。中国共产党与其他民主党派合作，建立了中国共产党领导的多党合作和政治协商制度。“中国的政治家和共产党员从不绞尽脑汁琢磨该怎么登上明日的新闻头条，也不会跟15个媒体顾问坐下来讨论该如何包装自己才能在电视演说中维护好形象。他们只会讨论未来30年如何让中国老百姓过上好日子。”弗格森说。

“为实现‘两个一百年’奋斗目标，中国共产党从战略高度进行顶层设计，在推动中国发展中起到统领全局的作用。我看到脱贫攻坚过程中，中共党员干部认真负责地了解群众的致贫原因，帮助他们找到摆脱贫困的办法。”弗格森说，“中国全面建成小康社会，说明中国特色社会主义和中国共产党的领导都是符合中国自身特点的正确选择。作为西方人，如今我对中国共产党的看法非常‘不时髦’——我支持中国共产党。”

As he has lived in China for a long time, Ferguson’s understanding of China is constantly being refreshed. During his two years living in Jilin, he witnessed the rapid changes there.At that time, he had an apartment by the Songhua River. He watched the office buildings and new apartments spring up,the surrounding supporting facilities become more and more sophisticated and the city parks continue to expand around the Songhua River. After settling in Beijing, he was struck by the changes in the city even more. What impressed him most was the increasingly convenient transportation infrastructure. When he first arrived in Beijing, there were only three subway lines in the city. Nowadays, Beijing’s subway ranks first in the world, with the longest total subway mileage, the world’s largest passenger flow, and the highest safety reliability and proportion of accessible stations. Compared with London’s subway system, Ferguson believes that Beijing’s subway is cleaner, more convenient and modern.

“I support the Communist Party of China”

“To know and understand China, you have to understand the Communist Party of China (CPC) and its members.” Ferguson said. Not long ago, he participated in editing a book about Gu Wenchang, a model CPC member. Gu was among the outstanding officials after the founding of the People’s Republic of China. General Secretary Xi Jinping has talked about Gu on many occasions, praising him for “erecting an immortal monument in the hearts of the public”, being a model official who kept four things in mind: the Party, the people, their duties, and things to guard against and “a good example for county-level Party secretaries”. During the 14 years from 1950 to 1964, Gu, the Party secretary of Dongshan County, Fujian Province, led the people to fight against desertification which was considered “intractable even to gods.”With the unwavering belief that “if the desertification is not controlled, I would rather be buried by the sand,” Gu led the people to build a Green Great Wall with a total length of 194 kilometers. Consequently, the island county was transformed from an “uninhabited island” to a “treasure island.” Ferguson is deeply touched by Gu’s story. He sincerely admires such a great CPC member. He exclaimed, “A person who loves the people is bound to be loved by the people.” It is because CPC members put the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the people in mind that they win the love and respect of the people.

Ferguson said, “The CPC focuses on state governance, rather than Western-style democracy.” In his view, western-style democracy advocates conflict and confrontation, with a lot of political bickering. On the contrary, China’s political system is characterized by cooperation, consultation and consensus.In cooperation with other political parties, the CPC formed a system of multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the CPC. “Chinese officials and CPC members never rack their brains to figure out how to make tomorrow’s headlines, nor do they sit down with 15 media advisers to discuss how to beautify themselves to maintain a good image in TV speeches. They just talk about how to make Chinese people live a better life in the next 30 years,” Ferguson said.

促进中外交流互鉴

弗格森刚到中国网工作时，正值北京奥运会即将召开之际，当时关于北京奥运会的不实报道，屡见西方报端。当看到“150万北京居民被迫离家为奥运会腾地”的虚假报道时，弗格森十分愤怒。他说：“这可能是我见过的最大谎言。”身处北京的他认为应该站出来让世界了解真正的中国。此后，无论在社交媒体上还是在自己的著作和译著中，弗格森都努力向世界介绍一个积极、务实、开放的真实中国。

2010年加入外文出版社后，弗格森先后撰写了《南通故事》《从“广东制造”到“广东创造”》《发现苏州》《水韵江苏》《生态北京：绿韵新城》等多部介绍中国城市的作品。《南通故事》是他写的第一本书，在这本书里，他以清末民初南通著名实业家、政治家、教育家张謇在南通的故事为切入点，介绍了这座位于上海旁且时常被人忽视的小城市一路迈进二线城市的发展历程。在《生态北京：绿韵新城》中，他讲述了中国国家层面和北京市为改善北京的生态环境，在能源结构、产业结构、交通运输结构优化提升等方面所作的努力。每写一本书，他都会瞄准西方关于中国的某个迷思或臆断，挑战它，纠正它。

除去写作，弗格森的全部精力都投入到为我国领导人著作、政府白皮书以及其他各类重点图书英文译文改稿润色的工作中。作为《习近平谈治国理政》第一至三卷英文版的主要改稿人，弗格森先后5次仔细阅读了著作全文。他以忠实原文、传播思想为己任，对许多重点表述和关键术语的英文译法提出了建设性意见，用海外读者乐于接受的方式、易于理解的表达，对译文进行了精准到位的修改润色。在他和翻译团队其他成员的共同努力下，该书英文版堪称“信达雅”的典范，成为其他语种翻译参考的范本。近年来，他还参与修改润色了习近平总书记重要著作《之江新语》英文版以及《习近平谈“一带一路”》《习近平扶贫论述摘编》等领导人著作英文版。由他担任主要改稿人的这些英文版著作，为帮助国际社会全面系统了解习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想及其渊源脉络，客观认识真实、立体、全面的中国共产党，深入理解人类命运共同体、“一带一路”倡议等中国智慧和中国方案，促进中外治国理政经验交流和人类文明互鉴，发挥了重要作用。弗格森为提高著作译文质量和习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想对外传播效果，作出了不可替代的重要贡献。

“In order to achieve the two centennial goals, the CPC carries out top-level design from a strategic perspective, which plays a leading role in promoting China’s development. I saw that in the process of poverty alleviation, CPC members and officials are earnest and responsible in analyzing the causes of poverty and helping the poor find the solutions,” Ferguson said. “The fact that China has built a moderately prosperous society in all respects shows that both Socialism with Chinese Characteristics and leadership of the CPC are the right choices in line with China’s own situation. As a westerner, I support the CPC,” he said.

Promote Exchanges and Mutual Learning between China and Foreign Countries

When Ferguson first came to work for China.org.cn, the Beijing Olympic Games were about to take place. At that time,false reports about the games were frequently seen in western press. Ferguson was outraged when he read the false report that “1.5 million people were moved to make way for Olympic projects and the massive makeover Beijing has had for the Games”. “That’s probably the most ridiculous lie I’ve ever seen,” he said. Living in Beijing, Ferguson believed that he should stand up to present the real China to the world. Since then, whether on social media or in his own books and translations, he has been devoted to helping the world to know the real China, an active, pragmatic and open country.

Since joining Foreign Languages Press in 2010, Ferguson has written Nantong Tales, From “Made in Guangdong” to “Created in Guangdong”, Sipping the Essence of Suzhou, The Water Cities of Jiangsu Province, Building A Green Beijing and many other works about Chinese cities. Nantong Tales is his first book, in which he elaborated on how Nantong,a small and often neglected city to the north of Shanghai across the Yangtze River, became a second-tier city through the story of Zhang Jian, a famous Nantong industrialist,politician and educator in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China.. In Building A Green Beijing, he described the efforts made at the national level and by Beijing to improve the city’s ecological environment in terms of optimizing and upgrading the energy, industrial and transportation structure. Every time he writes a book, he takes aim at a certain myth or conjecture about China in the West,challenging it and correcting it.

大卫·弗格森为中国外文局“大家读书”项目录制《习近平谈治国理政》第三卷·英文版（外文出版社供图）

对中国的未来发展，弗格森充满信心。他说：“中国正在落实‘十四五’规划和2035年远景目标纲要，加快转型升级和推进高质量发展，相信在实现第二个百年奋斗目标过程中，中国共产党将带领中国人民创造更大的发展成就。”他也号召更多将自己视为中国的朋友且具备语言能力的人，利用这种能力，帮助中国更好地向世界展示自己，也更好地让世界了解真实的中国。

In addition to writing, Ferguson devotes all his energy to polishing the English translations of Chinese leaders’ works,government White Papers and other key books. As the main reviser of the English version of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China (Volume Ⅰ—Ⅲ), Ferguson read through the text five times. With the responsibility of being faithful to the original text and spreading ideas, he put forward constructive comments on the English translations of many key expressions and terms, and refined the translations with precision and accuracy in a way that overseas readers are apt to accept and understand. With the joint efforts of Ferguson and other members of the translation team, the English version of the books deserves to be a model of “faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance” and a reference for translation in other languages. In recent years, he has also participated in revising and polishing the English version of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s significant work Zhejiang, China: A New Vision for Development, as well as the English version of The Belt and Road Initiative by Xi Jinping and Eradicating Poverty by Xi Jinping and other leaders’ works. These English versions, of which Ferguson is the main reviser, have helped the international community to gain a comprehensive and systematic understanding of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and its origin, to objectively understand the real, threedimensional and comprehensive CPC, to deeply understand China’s wisdom and Chinese plans such as building a community with a shared future for mankind and the Belt and Road Initiative, to promote the exchange of governance experience between China and other countries and interactions between civilizations. Ferguson has made an irreplaceable contribution to improving the English translations and helping the world understand Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.

Ferguson is full of confidence in China’s future development.He said,”China is implementing the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035, accelerating transformation and upgrading, and promoting high-quality development. I believe that in the process of achieving the second centenary goal, the CPC will lead the Chinese people to create greater development achievements.” He also called on more people who regard themselves as friends of China and has language skills to use such skills to help China better present itself to the world, and let the world know the real China better.