To Be Content with One's Lot樂天知命
    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•赫斯勒請他的中國學(xué)生在以下兩種生活方式中選擇其一：一種是平庸卻長壽，另一種是只能活24年卻享樂無比。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，在他看來美國青年并不會如此一致地選擇平庸但長壽的生活。
    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、無聊無趣但天長地久地活下去，好過冒生命之險求得享樂的*，這似乎是中國傳統(tǒng)的價值觀。有習(xí)語為證：“好死不如賴活著?！彼嘎冻龈畹俟痰臉酚^與宿命。與英雄產(chǎn)生于悲劇的西方價值觀完全不同。
    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年前改革開放之初，一批知識分子認(rèn)為樂天知命、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，西方的“藍(lán)色文明”使其開放、進(jìn)步；而中國的“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、研究一個民族的某種特性是件有趣的事情。美國加州大學(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出發(fā)，分析了中國人樂天知命的特性。他認(rèn)為這種特性是由中國特有的地理環(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。中國的兩大主要河流——黃河和長江——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)易的動力，中國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古代的氣候良好，因此生成了中國文化中的那種樂觀主義。相比較之下，無論是地中海還是近東，都面臨著更多的的自然災(zāi)害，因而少了些樂觀。除了地理環(huán)境對文化發(fā)展的影響，凱特利教授認(rèn)為中國人對祖先的崇拜也極深地影響了中國人的特性。凱特利教授相信：“這種祖先崇拜的文化，是一種保守的文化。你不會去發(fā)現(xiàn)新的有吸引力的東西，因為那是對祖先的挑戰(zhàn)。中國文化中沒有懷疑的余地?！?