在一个相对多元包容,种族构成复杂又没有隔离的社会,一个人的身份认同可以是很微妙的,因为周围太多和自己不一样的人,从小到大很可能要经历不少“身份危机”(identity crisis)才会最终定型,过程也并不轻松。在美版知乎Quora上,美国网友提问道:拥有中国人的血统对你意味着什么?骄傲还是屈辱?这引起各国网友尤其是华人华裔的围观和热议,我们来看看他们的观点。
问题:拥有中国人的血统对你意味着什么?(骄傲或羞耻,种族或国籍,传统或现代)
印尼华裔网友艾瑞克的回答
I grew up in a Chinese family in Indonesia. My grandmother is a native Indonesian.
我在印尼的一个华人家庭长大,我的祖母是一位土生土长的印尼人。
For most of my life, I was expected to be ashamed of my Chinese identity. For a long time, the Chinese community in Indonesia has maintained the stereotype of unpatriotic and parasite greedy outside. They believe that the Chinese only care about how to make profits by colluding with corrupt officials. It is precisely because they lead corrupt officials to make no contribution to the country.
在我生命的大部分时间里,我都被外界期望为自己的华裔身份感到羞耻。长期以来,印尼的华人社区一直在外界保持着不爱国、寄生虫一样贪婪的刻板印象,他们认为华人只关心如何通过与腐败官员勾结牟利,正是因为他们导致腐败官员对国家毫无贡献。
In the new order era after 1998, as Indonesian Chinese, the country and other races expect us to abandon Chinese culture and fully integrate into the local culture and population.
在1998年后的新秩序时代,作为印尼华人,国家和其他种族期望我们放弃中华文化,完全融入到当地的文化和人口当中。
To a large extent, that's what my family did. We didn't really practice Chinese culture in life, whether in public or at home:
在很大程度上,我的家人就是这么做的,我们没有真正的在生活中实践中国文化,无论在公共场合还是在家里:
• we never and still can't speak any Chinese at home. My father and friends in my hometown generally speak Javanese.
•我们在家里从来没有也仍然不会说任何中文,我父亲和家乡的朋友一般都说爪哇语。
• our family has religious beliefs, but we have never been to a Chinese temple.
•我们一家有宗教信仰,但从来没有去过中国寺庙。
• we can't cook Chinese food. Indonesian food is the most common food at home and in restaurants.
•我们不会做中餐,在家里和餐馆里最常吃的是印尼菜。
• we only celebrate some Chinese festivals and only celebrate low-key at home (such as celebrating the Spring Festival and Qingming Festival), but we don't put the ancestral tablet at home.
•我们只庆祝某些中国节日,而且只在家里低调庆祝(比如庆祝春节和清明节祭拜),但我们不会把祖宗牌位放在家里。
• we are crazy about Indonesian pop culture and rarely hear about Chinese literary works.
•我们疯狂热爱印尼流行文化,对中国的文艺作品则少有耳闻。
• we learn and actively understand the local culture and history of Indonesia. Although China has a long history, there are always barriers.
•我们学习并积极了解印尼当地的文化和历史,中国虽然历史悠久却总有隔阂。
• we believe that we are not Chinese citizens, but Indonesian citizens.
•我们认为自己不是中国公民,而是印尼公民。
• many of my family members are married to Indonesian natives and actively integrate from culture to ethnicity.
•我的许多家庭成员都嫁给了印度尼西亚本地人,从文化到人种都积极融入。
However, as Chinese, we still face discrimination and hostility.
然而,作为中国人,我们仍然面临着歧视和敌意。
Even some teachers in my primary school once made ironic comments on Indonesian Chinese. At that time, I was a child and the social atmosphere was very unfriendly to us, but we had to face this.
就连我小学里的一些老师也曾对印尼华人发表过嘲讽的评论,当时我还是小孩子,当时的社会氛围对我们极不友好,我们却必须要面对这一点。
After a period of time, whenever I face racial discrimination or hostility, I cringe and feel guilty about my racial identity to some extent. Under these circumstances, it is clear that I am a victim, but I feel guilty for being discriminated against.
在经历了一段时间后,每当我面对种族歧视或敌意时,我都会畏畏缩缩,并在某种程度上为自己的种族身份感到内疚。在这些情况下,明明我是受害者,我却会为受到歧视而感到内疚。
But then I began to learn more about the Chinese community in Indonesia, and I found that all these common stereotypes were not true.
但后来我开始更多地了解印尼的华人社区,我发现所有这些常见的刻板印象都不是真的。
• Indonesian Chinese have contributed to the country's struggle for independence. Some Chinese may support the colonial government, but there are also many local Indonesians. The majority of the colonial army consisted of Javanese, ambonese, manadonian and other ethnic groups. The makasa were mercenaries of the Dutch trading company. After the massacre in Batavia, the Chinese in Java launched a rebellion against the Dutch, but we are described as the Dutchman's forever loyal servants? This is ridiculous.
•印尼华人为该国的独立斗争做出了贡献,一些中国人可能支持殖民地政府,但其中也不乏印尼本地人。殖民地军队的大多数由爪哇人、安博内塞人、马纳多尼亚人和其他民族组成,马卡萨人是荷兰贸易公司的雇佣兵。爪哇华人在巴达维亚遭到屠杀后,发动了一场反抗荷兰人的叛乱,然而我们却被描述为荷兰人永远忠诚的仆人?这简直荒谬至极。
• Indonesian Chinese have made great contributions to the economic development of the country. Yes, I don't deny that some people get rich by colluding with corrupt officials, but they do so not because they are Chinese, but because they are unscrupulous businessmen.
•印尼华人为该国的经济发展做出了巨大贡献。是的,我不否认有一些人通过与腐败官员勾结而致富,但他们这么做并不是因为他们是中国人,而是因为他们是无良的商人。
More Indonesian Chinese become rich through honest efforts. In the era of authoritarian new order, the boldest public critic against the collusion between the government and businessmen was an Indonesian Chinese. At that time, most local public intellectuals were afraid to make any remarks or works on this issue.
更多的印尼华人通过诚实努力而致富。在威权主义的新秩序时代,反对政府和商人勾结的最大胆的公众批评者是一名印尼华人,当时,大多数本土公共知识分子都不敢就这个问题发表任何言论或著作。
• corrupt business practices are not the patent of Chinese businessmen. Now Indonesia's national anti-corruption efforts are increasing, and we are beginning to see many local businessmen arrested for bribery and collusion with corrupt officials.
•腐败的商业行为并非华商的专利。现在印尼国家反腐力度越来越大,我们开始看到许多本土商人也因行贿和与腐败官员勾结而被捕。
• Indonesian Chinese have also made great contributions to the cultural and social development of the country. In the past and now, there are many Indonesian Chinese who have made contributions as artists, writers, filmmakers, musicians, doctors, journalists, intellectuals, craftsmen, athletes, businessmen, scientists, educators and scholars, although the work of Indonesian Chinese in state universities and the government is severely restricted.
•印尼华人也为该国的文化和社会发展做出了巨大贡献。过去和现在都有很多印尼华人,他们以艺术家、作家、电影制作人、音乐家、医生、记者、知识分子、工匠、运动员、商人、科学家、教育工作者、学者等身份做出了贡献,尽管印尼华人在州立大学和政府工作受到重重限制。
So now I no longer feel guilty about my Chinese background. So now, whenever and wherever I see racism, I will cry out, not only for the racism of Indonesian Chinese, but also for the racism of Indonesian Chinese against local people.
所以现在我不再为自己的中国背景感到内疚。所以现在,无论何时何地,只要我看到有种族主义现象,我都会大声疾呼,不仅是针对印尼华人的种族主义,还有印尼华人针对当地人的种族主义。
Am I proud of being Chinese? I will not emphasize this point in particular. I was born like this, just as I was born in Indonesia, but I am not ashamed to say that I am an Indonesian Chinese.
我为自己是中国人而自豪吗?我不会特别强调这一点,我天生如此,就像我自然生在印度尼西亚一样,但我并不羞于说我是一个印尼华人。
As I grow older, I pay more attention to tradition. Now that the Indonesian government has lifted the ban on Chinese culture, Indonesian Chinese can show and celebrate their culture and festivals in public again.
随着年龄的增长,我更加重视传统。现在印尼政府已经解除了针对中国文化的禁令,印尼华人可以再次在公共场合展现和庆祝他们的文化及节日。
The Chinese New Year is now a public holiday, and there are public celebrations in many parts of the country. Just 20 years ago, this was unthinkable (my school threatened to close classes if we celebrated the Spring Festival after school at home!). Since then, lion dance has been very popular. People even perform lion dance in activities of other races.
中国新年现在是一个公共假日,全国许多地方都有公共庆祝活动。就在20年前,这是不可想象的事情(我的学校威胁说,如果我们在家里放学庆祝春节,就要停课!)。从那以后,舞狮一直很受欢迎,人们甚至在其他种族的活动中也会表演舞狮。
So now we have the opportunity to practice our traditional culture. I am very grateful. If you have experienced its lack, you will cherish it more.
所以现在我们有机会实践我们的传统文化,我非常感激,如果你经历过它的缺失,你会更珍惜它。
Let's talk about what it means to be a Chinese.
下面说一下作为一名中国人意味着什么。
For me, being a Chinese is to cherish and show Chinese tradition and culture. Although I can't speak, read or write any Chinese, I still study Chinese history as much as possible in order to understand the history of my ancestors.
对我来说,成为中国人就是珍视和展现中国的传统和文化,尽管我不会说、读或写任何中文,但我还是尽可能多地学习中国的历史,以便了解我祖先的历史。
I also learn as much as possible about the history of the Indonesian Chinese community, so that I can correct the wrong stereotypes and prejudices against the Indonesian Chinese.
我还尽可能多地学习印尼华人社区的历史,这样我就可以纠正对印尼华人的错误成见和偏见。
新加坡华裔网友Jimmy Y. Zhong的回答
As an ethnic group and a civilization, the Chinese have a long civilization of about 5000 years. Ancient Chinese people were frugal, tenacious, resourceful and wise. They have experienced wars, famines, droughts and political turmoil until today.
中国人作为一个族群,作为一种文明,有着大约5000年的悠久文明。古代中国人节俭、顽强、机智、智慧,历尽战争、饥荒、干旱,也不乏政治动荡,直到今天。
For a person living in the so-called "Chinese Diaspora" (Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore), we need to understand that these cities or regions are not the origin of the Chinese people. Chinese civilization began along the Yellow River. The ancient Chinese in 3000 BC were a mixed group of farmers and nomadic tribes from the northwest grassland.
对于一个生活在所谓的“华人散居地”(泰国、马来西亚、新加坡)中的人来说,我们需要明白,这些城市或地区不是中国人的起源地,中华文明始于黄河沿岸,公元前3000年的古代中国人是来自西北草原的农民和游牧部落的混合群体。
华夏文明之源
According to Professor Wang Gongwu's works, Chinese immigrants to Southeast Asia are said to have started in the Southern Song Dynasty in the 12th or 13th century. Chinese fishermen from Fujian (Fujian), Guangdong (Guangdong) and Hainan constitute the main body of new immigrants; The descendants of these early immigrants later formed the native Chinese culture, which is the characteristic of the Chinese born in Southeast Asian countries in the 19th century.
根据王公武教授的著作,中国人向东南亚的移民据说始于12或13世纪的南宋时期,来自福建(福建)、广东(广东)和海南的中国渔民构成了新移民的主体;这些早期移民的后代后来形成了土生华人文化,这是19世纪东南亚国家出生的中国人的特点。
For Southeast Asian countries like Singapore and Malaysia, there are relatively many Chinese people outside the Chinese mainland compared with other countries. We need to understand that the Chinese and Singaporean Malaysia's predecessors emigrated to these two distant countries because they face enormous difficulties in China.
对于像新加坡和马来西亚这样的东南亚国家来说,与其他国家相比,中国大陆以外的华人人口相对较多,我们需要了解,华裔新加坡人和华裔马来西亚人的前辈移民到这两个遥远的国家是因为他们在国内面临巨大的困难。
In the second half of the 19th century, immigration to Singapore, Malacca and Penang was very common - that was a period when China faced humiliation in the two Opium Wars in Britain; It was also a period of conflict in central and southern China, which was destroyed by the Taiping rebellion.
19世纪下半叶,移民到新加坡、马六甲和槟城的现象十分普遍——那是中国在英国的两次鸦片战争中面临屈辱的一个时期;也是中国中部和南部的一段冲突时期,这些地区被太平天国起义摧毁。
As the ports in southern China (such as Xiamen and Guangzhou) were forcibly opened to trade by Western powers, Chinese farmers who were able to escape domestic dangers emigrated whenever they had the opportunity. With the hope of obtaining more employment opportunities and better living conditions in Nanyang, a large number of men and women "fled" to Malaya and Singapore. Nearly a century later, with the independence of Malaysia and Singapore, the descendants of these early immigrants became citizens of countries far away from mainland China.
由于中国南部港口(如厦门、广州)被西方列强强行开放贸易,有能力逃离国内危险的中国农民一有机会就移民。怀着在“南洋”获得更多就业机会和更好生活条件的希望,大批男女“逃往”马来亚和新加坡。近一个世纪后,随着马来西亚和新加坡的独立,这些早期移民的后代成为远离中国内地的国家的公民。
南洋谋生
The Chinese leaving the motherland is a long story of human migration. This is a story full of tears, sweat and blood - a story similar to the story of Anglo Saxons immigrating to the new world and West Africans immigrating to the United States in the era of slavery. Therefore, the word "Chinese" itself cannot represent nationality, but it does have an ambiguous right to declare itself a symbol of one's race and heritage.
中国人离开祖国是一个漫长的人类迁徙故事。这是一个充满泪水、汗水和鲜血的故事——一个类似于盎格鲁-撒克逊人移民到新大陆和西非人在奴隶制年代移民到美国的故事。因此,“中国人”一词本身不能代表国籍,但它确实有一种模棱两可的权利宣布自己是某个人种族和遗产的象征。
For me, being a Chinese is the descendant of the great ancient Chinese people, the descendant of Chinese history and values, and inherits the spirit and attitude of the ancients who are tenacious and strong in the face of adversity.
对我来说,身为中国人就是伟大的古代中国人的后代,是中国历史和价值观的后代,传承着古人面对逆境坚韧不拔、坚强向上的精神和态度。
In order for Chinese people from different countries to really understand each other, we must go beyond what people think of as national boundaries and learn to understand that in the past, their ancestors were a family united under a common ethical and cultural system.
为了让来自不同国度的中国人真正了解彼此,我们必须超越人们所认为的民族界限,学会理解,在过去,他们的祖先是一个在共同的伦理和文化体系下团结在一起的家庭。
华裔网友Tiffany Cheng的回答
I'm neither proud nor ashamed. I didn't make any efforts to become a Chinese. I was born like this. This is not my achievement. It's like asking me if I'm proud of my short or tall, handsome or ugly. I don't think the Chinese are greater or smaller than other nations, so I'm neither proud nor ashamed.
既不骄傲也不羞耻,我没有为成为中国人做任何努力,天生如此。这不是我的成就,这就像是在问我是否为自己的矮或高或英俊或丑陋而感到自豪,我不认为中国人比其他民族更伟大或更渺小,因此既不会因此高人一头也不会矮人一等。
For Chinese, the most representative of them must be race, not nationality. Even if I were Chinese, I would not impose the meaning of "nationality" on the word "Chinese". Even though this country has been reduced to a semi colonial power as it used to be, I still consider myself a Chinese rather than a registered residence in China.
对华人来说最能代表他们的肯定是种族,而不是国籍。即使我是中国人,我也不会把“国籍”的含义强加到“中国人”这个词的身上。即使这个国家像过去一样,沦为列强践踏的半殖民地,我仍然认为自己是中国人,而不是中国籍。
I believe that attaching "nationality" to a cultural concept almost always restricts rather than develops it. Although race is a convenient definition, I still think it may be too strict, but considering the binary choice, race is certainly broader and more accurate than nationality.
我认为,将“国籍”附加到一种文化观念上几乎总是在限制而不是发展它。虽然种族是一个方便的定义,但我仍然认为它可能过于严格,但考虑到二元选择,种族当然比国籍更广泛、更准确。
Our life requires us to "connect the distant past with the distant future". Therefore, tradition and modernity carry forward the past and forge ahead into the future, keep the valuable tradition alive, let us understand the present and bring it into the future.
我们的生活要求我们必须“将遥远的过去与遥远的未来联系在一起”,因此传统和现代是继往开来的,让有价值的传统保持活力,让我们理解当下,并将其带入未来。
林语堂
"What is patriotism? Isn't it a love of the good food we ate in childhood? Everyone wants to eat, just as everyone will face death, which can best reflect the brotherhood of the world." This is my favorite quote from Chinese writer and philosopher Lin Yutang.
“什么是爱国主义?它不就是一种对我们童年时吃 过的美好食物的热爱吗?人都要吃,就像人都会面临死亡一样,由此最能体现天下一家兄弟情。”这是我最喜欢的一句中国作家、哲学家林语堂的名言。
I think it captures the key virtue of Chinese culture, that is, emphasizing practicality, but also showing a detachment in humor, so that the Chinese people can take it calmly in the face of turbulence and trouble.
我认为它抓住了中国文化的关键美德,即强调实用性、但在幽默中也表现出一种超脱性,让中国人在动荡和麻烦面前能够泰然处之。