2019年CRI 历史学家认为澳大利亚需要亚洲视角

When David Walker started studying the history of the Asia-Pacific region¹ decades ago, it was quite natural for him to dedicate² a lot of attention to looking at China.

"So my interest is in how Australians have understood or talked about or reflected upon Asia. So that includes China, obviously³. I guess that interest got became a lot sharper became clearer in the last twenty years or so."

His first trip to China was in the early 1990s, when he went to the eastern city of Yangzhou. According to Walker, Yangzhou makes a perfect example of the scale of the transformation⁴ China has gone through over the years.

"Yangzhou is a beautiful city, actually. I mean it was not on the railway line then and it was still not very heavily developed. But when we went back there around 2015, it was almost unrecognizable, actually across that 20 years period. The railway line had gone through, and there were lots of developments there."

People in China have been getting richer, and not just in the showcase cities like Beijing and Shanghai. A rise in living standards has also taken place in the country's rural⁵ and remote areas.

Walker is especially impressed with China's work on poverty alleviation⁶. He thinks China's experience provides a path to prosperity⁷ for many other developing countries.

"I'm sure a lot of African countries have looked to China and look to China's development is being a model that they could follow."

As a historian⁸, Walker believes that the study of the past helps people to understand what is happening today. That also applies to China-Australia relations.

Walker believes that the cooling of bilateral⁹ relations between China and Australia is due in part to a lack of understanding about China's long history.

"I don't think Australia can move close to the Chinese system. China is not going to move a lot closer to the Australian system. I think we just have to accept that there're different modes¹⁰ of governance. I do think it's important for Australia that we understand the history better, that we understand China's history better. Because I think historical will is important. China has such a rich history, and you cannot understand the world we live in now without understanding the Chinese history."

Walker says that with a better understanding of the past, China's role in Australia's history will be better recognized, and so will its importance to the country's future.

For CRI, this is Fei Fei.

大卫·沃克在几十年前开始研究亚太地区历史时，他很自然地投入了很多精力来关注中国。

“我的兴趣在于澳大利亚人如何理解、谈论或反思亚洲。这当然包括中国。大概是在过去的二十多年里，我的这份兴趣变得越来越强烈，而且越来越清晰。”

沃克在上世纪90年代初第一次来中国，当时他去了东部城市扬州。沃克认为，扬州是中国多年来所经历的转型规模的完美典范。

“实际上，扬州是一座美丽的城市。当时这座城市不在铁路线上，而且还没有发展得很好。但是当我们在2015年左右回到扬州时，20年之后的扬州已经焕然一新，我差点认不出来。铁路线已经开通，还有很多开发项目。”

中国人越来越富裕，这不仅局限在北京和上海这样的代表城市。中国农村和偏远地区的生活水平也有所提高。

沃克对中国的扶贫工作印象特别深刻。他认为中国的经验为许多其他发展中国家实现繁荣提供了途径。

“我相信很多非洲国家都在关注中国，希望中国的发展成为他们可以效仿的典范。”

作为历史学家，沃克认为，对过去的研究有助于人们了解现在发生的事情。这也适用于中澳关系。

沃克认为，中澳双边关系冷却的部分原因在于对中国的悠久历史缺乏了解。

“我认为澳大利亚不会接近中国体制。中国也不会更接近澳大利亚体系。我们必须接受不同的治理模式。我认为我们更好地了解历史，更了解中国的历史，对澳大利亚来说很重要。我认为历史意志很重要。中国有着悠久的历史，如果不了解中国的历史，你就无法理解我们现在所处的世界。”

沃克说，通过更好地了解过去，中国在澳大利亚历史中的作用将得到更好的认可，对国家未来的重要性也将得到更好的认识。

CRI新闻，菲菲（音译）报道。

1 region   

n.地区，地带，区域；范围，幅度

参考例句：

• The students went to study the geology of that region.学生们去研究那个地区的地质情况。
• It is unusual to see snow in this region.这个地区难得见到雪。

2 dedicate   

vt.献身，致力于，把（时间、精力等）用于

参考例句：

• She vowed to herself that she would dedicate her life to scientific studies.她默默地发誓要献身于科学研究。
• To my father I dedicate this volume in token of affection and gratitude.我谨以此书献给我的父亲，以表示对他的爱戴和感激之情。

3 obviously   

adv.显然；明白地

参考例句：

• Obviously they were putting him to a severe test.显然他们是在给他以严峻的考验。
• Obviously he was lying.显然他是在撒谎。

4 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

5 rural   

adj.乡下的，田园的，乡村风味的

参考例句：

• He lived a rural life.他过着田园生活。
• We left the city for a rural home.我们离开城市，去农村安家。

6 alleviation   

n. 减轻，缓和，解痛物

参考例句：

• These were the circumstances and the hopes which gradually brought alleviation to Sir Thomas's pain. 这些情况及其希望逐渐缓解了托马斯爵士的痛苦。
• The cost reduction achieved in this way will benefit patients and the society in burden alleviation. 集中招标采购降低的采购成本要让利于患者，减轻社会负担。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语

7 prosperity   

n.繁荣，昌盛，成功

参考例句：

• I wish you the life of happiness and prosperity. 我祝你生活幸福、万事如意。
• A prosperity never seen before appeared in the countryside.农村出现了前所未有的繁荣。

8 historian   

n.历史学家，编史家

参考例句：

• As a historian,he was most typical of the times in which he lived.作为历史学家，他是他所处时代最有代表性的人物。
• He calls himself a historian,but his books are a mere journalism.他自称为历史学家，但是他的书都是些肤浅的通俗作品。

9 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

10 modes   

n.方式( mode的名词复数 )；（设备的）模式；样式；（衣着、艺术等的）形式

参考例句：

• Lasers can excite specific modes of the reactants. 而用激光则能够激发反应物的某些特定的运动模式。 来自英汉非文学 - 科技
• These tools are really different modes of behavior that the product enters. 这些工具属于产品进入的不同的行为模式，提供工具是对复杂性的妥协。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓