来自一个鲜为人知的国家是种什么体验？

问题：

Are you from a country which no one knows even existed?

你是否来自一个没有人知道它存在的国家？

回答：

Julio Cesar Pino

I’m from a small island that hardly anyone knows exists, located next to a bigger island that is world famous. You see, I was born on the Isle of Pines (Isla de Pinos; no, it was not named after my family), located just south of Havana province in Cuba. Our island has been largely unknown throughout history—-one big reason it was always popular with pirates. Isla de Pinos became part of the Republic of Cuba in 1902, although the U.S. gave serious consideration to annexing the island. We never got big enough to become a province, only an adjunct to Havana. Then, in 1978 Dr. Fidel Castro, in his infinite wisdom, decided to change the name of our beloved homeland to the Isle of Youth (Isla de la Juventud). But, to us “Pineros” it will always remain Isle of Pines 4ever!

我来自一个几乎没有人知道它存在的小岛屿，这个岛屿紧邻着一个更大的世界闻名的岛屿。你看，我出生在松岛（Isla de Pinos;不，在我的家族到来前它还未被命名）,坐落于古巴的哈瓦那省南部。我们这座岛屿在历史上很长一段时间内不为人知——很大的一部分原因是因为它是海盗的一个栖身地。松岛在1902年成为了古巴共和国的一部分，尽管美国认真的考虑过吞并该岛。我们从来没有足够大大到可以成为一个省，而只能从成为哈瓦那的一部分。之后，在1978年，Fidel Castro博士以他的无限智慧，将我们的岛改名为青年岛。不过，对于我们松岛人来说，松岛这个名字会永远印刻在我们心中。

Travis Seifman

I am not myself from anywhere special, but I'd like to share about the Luchu Kingdom. Today, I think, for the most part, if anyone (in the English-speaking world, especially in the US) knows about Okinawa at all, they maybe know about the Battle of Okinawa, during WWII, and they likely think of Okinawa as just another part of Japan.

我自己并没有什么特殊的，但是我想分享的是琉球王国。到了今天，我认为绝大多数的人，如果有人（在英语国家，特别是美国）知道冲绳岛，他们肯定会知道在二战发生的冲绳岛战役，并且他们会认为冲绳岛是日本的一部分。

But, up until the 1870s - less than 150 years ago - Okinawa was an independent kingdom. Known as Loochoo (or Luchu) in the native Okinawan language, the kingdom (known as Ryukyu in Japanese) was a Confucian kingdom, heavily influenced by Japan and by King Dynasty China, but also totally distinct. Much like Korea, it was its own separate culture and country within the East Asian “family” of cultures.

但是，一直到19世纪70年代，少于150年前，冲绳岛曾经是一个独立的王国。在冲绳本地的方言你它被称为Loochoo(或者Luchu)，这个王国（在日本语中被称为Ryukyu）是一个信奉儒家思想的国家，深受清朝和日本的影响，但又与它们不同。有点像朝鲜，在东亚文化大家庭中有自己独特的文化。

The main island of Okinawa was ruled by three kingdoms in the 14th century, all three of which entered into close relationships with Ming China at the end of thst century, and began adopting Ming-style government, Confucian philosophy, architecture, arts, etc etc.

冲绳主要的岛屿在14世纪曾经被三个王国统治过，这三个王国在该世纪的末期都曾经与明朝发展了紧密的关系，并且采纳了明朝的政府体系，儒家思想，建筑，艺术等。

One of the three kingdoms, Chûzan, conquered the other two and united the island under its rule by 1429. It then expanded over the course of the 16th century, placing many of the islands to the north (the Amamis, etc) and all the islands to the south (the Miyako and Yaeyamas), almost to Taiwan, either under some sort of tributary relationship, or conquering them outright.

这三个王国中的一个叫做中山国，征服了其它两个王国，在1429年将整个岛屿纳入其统治范围内。到了16世纪，它开启了扩张的进程，在北部占领了绝大多数岛屿（奄美群島等），在南部所有的岛屿都纳入其版图（宫古群岛和八重山群岛），几乎到了台湾。有的通过番国的方式，有的通过直接的征服。

During this period, the Kingdom, though small, developed into a very significant entrepot (intermediate trading center), with Luchuan, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, and Southeast Asian ships, goods, and/or merchants regularly passing through the kingdom's bustling port of Naha.

在这个时期的琉球王国，虽然版图小，但是发展成了非常重要的转口贸易区（贸易中转中心），来自琉球，朝鲜，中国，日本和东南亚的船只，货物和商人定期的来到这个王国最繁华的港口——那霸。

Ryukyu was invaded in 1609 by forces from the samurai domain of Satsuma (Kagoshima), and from that time forward became a tributary or vassal or something under Satsuma (historians still debate just how to name, or characterize this relationship). But in many important ways, the kingdom remained independent. It maintained its close relationship with China, as it always had, on the basis of being a sovereign kingdom. And while increased Japanese cultural influence was inevitable in certain ways, the kingdom very much continued to have its own distinct, distinctly Ryukyuan, culture. They continued to have kings on the throne, and their own Confucian scholar - aristocracy - based government, and there were never more than a handful of Japanese resident in the kingdom at any time.

琉球在1609年被萨摩藩（鹿儿岛）的武士入侵，从此以后它成为萨摩藩的一个支流或者是附属国或者是其中一部分（历史学家仍然对于如何命名或者表达这段关系持有争论）。但在许多重要的方面上，这个王国依然是独立的。它保持着于中国紧密的关系，就如它一直保持的，这种关系建立在琉球作为一个主权国家的基础之上。在某些方面上，日本文化必然的对其加强了影响，但这个王国依然保留着分隔的，明显的琉球文化。他们的国王依然坐在王座上，依然拥有他们的儒家学者，贵族，基层政府，并且这个王国内任何时候都只有少数的日本居民。

In the 1800s, the kingdom signed formal Treaties with the US, France, Britain, and the Netherlands, but by 1879 (at the end of a really interesting but complicated set of diplomatic incidents and tensions between China and Japan), Tokyo unilaterally declared the Kingdom abolished and its lands annexed. The royal bureaucracy, strangely enough, remained active into the early years of the 20tg century in certain respects, and Okinawa remains quite distinct culturally even today. But, it wasn't that long ago that Luchu was an independent, sovereign, kingdom unto itself, with its own vibrant traditions and noble history.

在19世纪，这个王国与美国，法国，英国，荷兰签订了正式的条约，但是到了1879年（在经历了一系列有趣而复杂的在中日之间的外交事故和紧张之后），东京单方面宣称这个王国被废弃并且吞并了其领土。奇怪的是，王室成员在某些方面依然保持着活跃，在20世纪初的那几年，而冲绳依然保留了它分隔的文化直到现在。但是，它已经不是历史上那个独立的，拥有主权，国王统治着的拥有充满活力的贸易与高贵历史的琉球。

Babar Khan Javed

Didn’t expect this from graduates from Ivy League universities.

没有意料到许多来自于常春藤大学联盟的毕业生。

Have worked abroad in the Middle East and APAC region.

他们在中东与亚太地区工作。

Had a jaw dropping series of encounters with colleagues in Malaysia and Singapore.

在马来西亚与新加坡的同事们有着一系列令人非常惊奇的观点。

They thought

他们认为:

• Pakistan was a desolate province or state in India.
• 巴基斯坦是印度的一个荒凉的省或者州。

• “Pakistani” meant an Indian who is a Muslim.
• "巴基斯坦人"指的是那些信仰伊斯兰教的印度人。

Pakistan has been independent from India since 1947.

巴基斯坦在1947年已经从印度独立了。

After showing these pictures, most are signed on to visit North Pakistan, like:

在展示这些图片的之后，这些图片很多都是在巴基斯坦北部旅游时记录的，比如：

Pictures by Ejaz（译者按，蓝色字体代表有链接，可以点击阅读全文去往答案浏览） (he runs a tourist business for fascinating sites in Pakistan).

图片由Ejaz提供(他经营着一个参观巴基斯坦最令人入胜地方的旅游项目)

Wirawan Winarto

I don’t think so. But, well, at least The Guardian thinks so.

我并不这么认为，但是，至少卫报是这样想的。

The biggest invisible thing on earth? – It's called Indonesia. And it's waking up

存在于地球上的最大的不可见的事情？--它被称之为印度尼西亚。并且它现在崛起了。

I don’t think it is unknown. But for a country with 260 million population, fourth largest in the world, Indonesia is under-publicized. Considering Indonesia is also the world’s largest archipelago nation with largest Muslim population, it feels bit strange that my country is somewhat unheard in world stage.

我并不认为它是不为人知的。但是作为一个拥有2.6亿人口，世界上第四大的国家，印度尼西亚是缺少关注的。考虑到印度尼西亚同时是世界上拥有大量穆斯林人口的巨大群岛国家，而它在世界舞台上并不怎么能够听到这让人感觉很奇怪。

Why is Indonesia not more well-known in the world stage?

为什么印度尼西亚在世界舞台上并没有被广泛了解呢？

Indonesia has more than 13,000 islands, it possesses near half of Southeast Asia economy, Indonesia is also the only Southeast Asian nation that belongs to G20 as the world’s 11th largest economy (in terms of nominal GDP), and attracts more than 10 million foreign tourists per year, where majority of them heads to Bali.

印度尼西亚拥有超过1.3万的岛屿，东南亚的经济总量中将近一半由它贡献，印度尼西亚同时是东南亚国家中唯一一个以全球第11大经济体身份加入G20的，并且每年吸引超过1000万的外国人来参光，当然他们大多都去了巴厘岛。

Judging from that alone, no, I don’t think we are unknown.

从这一点上来看，不，我不认为我们是不为人知的。

But… at least Justin Bieber disagreed.

不过，至少贾斯汀比伯不这样认为。

Justin Bieber calls Indonesia 'some random country' during London event

贾斯汀比伯在伦敦的活动上称呼印度尼西亚为"一些随机国家"。

And David Letterman doesn’t even know we are one country.

另外大卫莱特曼也不知道我们是一个国家。

What 'Countries' Comprise Indonesia, David Letterman Asks

印度尼西亚是一个国家吗？大卫拉特曼问。

Guido Crapels

Well, I am not from an unknown country myself, but I would like to mention a very small country that existed for more than a century in Western Europe, and still, most people, even the educated, probably never heard of it.

好吧，我自己并不是来自于一个不为人知的国家，但是我想说一个非常小的国家。这个国家在西欧存在了超过一个世纪的时间，并且现在的很多人，包括受过教育的，都可能没有听过它。

It´s called Neutral Moresnet. A tiny condominium that emerged as a neutral piece of soil between the Netherlands and Germany (Prussia actually, as a unified Germany did not exist yet). And yes, it was the Netherlands then, and not independent Belgium, as this country seceded from the union with the northern Netherlands in 1830 (acknowledged in 1839).

它叫Neutral Moresnet。这个极小的共同管理地区作为荷兰与德国之间的一块中立地区而出现（应该说是普鲁士，那时候统一的德国还没出现）。是的，它曾经是荷兰的一部分而不是从比利时独立的，它在1830年的时候从北部的荷兰联盟独立出来(于1839年被承认)。

It started as a disputed zinc mine after Napoleon´s exit from the European theatre of power. After WWI it was annexed by Belgium.

它起始于一个有争议的锌矿在拿破仑出现在欧洲权利的舞台上之后。在一战后它被比利时吞并。

I was born and raised very close to this piece of land, and still, in school, we were never told about this footnote of history. I stumbled on this by coincidence just a few years ago.

我出生并成长的地方非常靠近这片土地，当然，在学校里，我们并没有被告知这片土地的历史。我跌跌撞撞的发现这个历史得益于几年前的一个巧合。

This peculiar, tiny territory enabled one of those very rare cases of a quadripoint. There is believed to be a contemporary quadripoint between Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe, but Wikipedia states that this is actually a matter of two separate trijunctions, mistaken for a quadripoint.

这片奇特，极小的领土是非常少数的四国交界点中的一个。这里被认为可以成为一个现代的四国交界点它是纳米比亚，博茨瓦纳，赞比亚和津巴布韦的交界点。但是维基上指出这个两个分离的三国交界点，只是被误以为是四国交界点。