CGTN时评 | 面对“文明的冲突”，中国给出了什么答案？
哈佛大学政治学教授亨廷顿（Samuel Huntington）在冷战后曾提出“文明的冲突”理论，认为未来的国际冲突将主要来源于文化认同差异，不同文明板块交界的“断层线”地区尤其可能爆发剧烈的冲突。几十年过去了，事实果真如此吗？中国的答案是：不。一个简单的问题便可一窥多元文化如何在中国和平共处：什么是正宗的“中国菜”？四川火锅，广东馄饨汤，北京烤鸭，湖南臭豆腐？所有这些都是“中国菜”，但“中国菜”远远不止这些。在同一个城市，甚至在同一个街区，都能发现来自中国不同地区美食的身影。不同文化之间的确存在差异，但是政府能够通过制定相应政策来规避冲突。中国的稳定来源于其对多样性的开放态度，而不是欺凌少数以实现同一。
Editor's note: "Roots of China's Growth" is a 10-episode series marking the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC), which has presided over the country's meteoric rise as a global power. The series focuses on 10 fundamental elements of the strategy that has led to China's transformation from an impoverished nation over the past 100 years. "China's inclusive culture" is the ninth in the series. The article is part of a special series from CGTN and its international media partners.
哈佛大学政治学教授亨廷顿（Samuel Huntington）在冷战后曾提出“文明的冲突”理论，认为未来的国际冲突将主要来源于文化认同差异，不同文明板块交界的“断层线”地区尤其可能爆发剧烈的冲突。
After the Cold War, Samuel Huntington, Professor of Political Science at Harvard University, put forward the "Clash of Civilizations" theory, arguing that the fault lines between cultures would replace the political and ideological boundaries of the Cold War as the main flashpoints for crises and bloodshed.
不仅如此，亨廷顿认为在后冷战时期，世界政治可能会以“西方对垒非西方”的冲突为主轴，因此西方必须遏制非西方文明的扩展。
Huntington forecast that the paramount axis of world politics would be conflicts between "the West and the Rest," requiring the West to contain the expansion of military strength among non-Western civilizations.
几十年过去了，事实果真如此吗？
Decades on, does Huntington's thesis reflect how the world works?
中国的答案是：不。一个简单的问题便可一窥多元文化如何在中国和平共处：什么是正宗的“中国菜”？四川火锅，广东馄饨汤，北京烤鸭，湖南臭豆腐？所有这些都是“中国菜”，但“中国菜”远远不止这些。在同一个城市，甚至在同一个街区，都能发现来自中国不同地区美食的身影。
The answer from China is no. You can get a glimpse of how diversified cultures peacefully coexist in China through this simple question: What is authentic "Chinese food"? Sichuan hotpot, Cantonese Wonton soup, Peking roast duck, Hunan's stinky tofu? All of these and more. Diverse cuisine from different regions of China can be found in one city, and sometimes even in the same block.
中国的包容性是这一切实现的前提。
The nation's inclusiveness has made this happen.
这种包容性不仅体现在美食上，还体现在其他日常生活的细微之处：中国有几十种方言、同一座中国建筑蕴含了不同的哲学理念、民族服饰在其他民族间同样受欢迎，诸如此类的事例不胜枚举。
This is also reflected in dozens of dialects, the traces of diverse philosophies that can be found in a single style of Chinese architecture, the popularity of traditional ethnic clothing across ethnicities, to name just a few cultural expressions.
中国的稳定来源于其对多样性的开放态度，而不是欺凌少数以实现同一。
China's stability is a result of its open attitude to diversity and not stifling minorities for a land of sameness.
不可否认的是，不同文化之间存在差异。但是政府是能够通过制定相应政策来规避这些冲突的。中国是多民族国家，但是与频频因宗教、民族等问题导致混乱、甚至暴力的地区不同，中国坚持“多元一体”的民族观，既充分尊重“多元”，又高度认同“一体”。
The risk of identity-based conflicts does exist but can be avoided by smart policymaking. Religious and ethnic differences can sometimes lead to chaos and even violence, but China, a multi-ethnic country, has endeavored to build a diversified and cohesive community, respecting differences while promoting underlying unity.
中国不存在基于种族和文化上的歧视，公民民族成份得到了法律认定。在某些国家，一些少数族群由于担心受到不公正待遇而不愿意在公共生活中暴露自己的族群身份。中国却截然相反，各民族积极参与国家政治社会生活，行使管理国家事务的权利。
There is no ethnic or cultural discrimination in China. People's ethnic identities are recognized by law. While some ethnic groups in certain countries, out of fear of discrimination, choose not to reveal their racial identity in public life, all ethnic minorities in China have actively participated in the country's political and social life.
习近平总书记强调，各民族之所以团结融合，多元之所以聚为一体，源自各民族文化上的兼收并蓄、经济上的相互依存、情感上的相互亲近，源自中华民族追求团结统一的内生动力。中国每一项辉煌成就都凝结着各族人民的智慧和汗水，各族人民对同属中华民族的由衷认同又成为推动中国发展进步的强大动力。
Chinese President Xi Jinping has stressed on several occasions that cultural inclusiveness, economic independence, and emotional closeness are the bonds that unify China's ethnic groups. Every achievement by the country is a product of the collective wisdom and sweat of the Chinese people. Indeed, their common identity as a unified national community has become a powerful driving force for the country's growth.
中国在“多元”与“一体”之间达到的统一是中国各民族和平相处、共同发展的重要因素。
The balance between "differences" and "unity" is vital to China's stability and development.
兼容并蓄的文化特质所包括的现实意义，不仅体现在中国社会不同民族之间，还体现在中外交流过程中。全球化虽然在一定程度上也加剧了认同冲突，但是中国坚持以开放包容的心态对待外来文化。
The relevance of an open and inclusive culture is evident not only in China's ethnic relations, but also in the exchanges between China and the rest of the world. Globalization may have intensified identity conflicts in some cases, but China has embraced foreign cultures with an open mind.
一些国外先进的文化和科技产品在引入国内后迅速发展起来，从而让中国文化得到了更全面、更快速、更完善的加持。
Some advanced foreign cultural and technological products, after being introduced to China, have developed by leaps and bounds in the Chinese market, further enhancing and enriching Chinese culture.
长期以来，中国一直是技术引进国、模仿国，据新华社报道，直到2000年还是世界科技创新小国，发明专利申请量仅占世界的3.77%，远远落后于美国和日本。
For many years, China was an importer and imitator of foreign technologies. According to the Xinhua News Agency, up to the year 2000, China's patent applications accounted for only 3.77 percent of the world total, well below the U.S. and Japan.
仅花了十几年，中国从模仿到创新、从跟随到引领、从制造到智造，年度发明专利授权量先是快速超过日本，接着又超过美国。2016年，中国达到美国的两倍以上，成为世界技术创新之国，也成为世界知识产权（包括商标、品牌等）资产上升的动力之国。
Yet over the past decade, China has turned from an imitator, follower and traditional manufacturer into an innovator, leader, and smart manufacturer. Its annual patent filings have surpassed Japan's and were double those of the U.S. in 2016. The country is now a global innovation powerhouse and the engine for an increase in the world's intellectual property assets.
对国外文化与技术的开放心态是这一变化的催化剂。
China's openness towards foreign cultures and technologies has been a catalyst for the transformation.
当然不能否认的是，近年来形形色色的“历史虚无主义”和“文化虚无主义”对中华文化的认同构成巨大挑战。因此，增强对中华文化的认同，提升文化自信也是不可忽视的内容。
Undeniably though, the emergence of "historical nihilism" and "cultural nihilism" in recent years has posed a major challenge to Chinese culture. Therefore, boosting cultural confidence is also an integral part of enhancing cultural identity.
面对着“文明的冲突”，像鸵鸟一样往回缩注定不是应对之道，中国兼容并蓄的文化政策是对亨廷顿“文明的冲突”理论的答案。
Burying one's head in the sand is not the right way forward. In response to the "clash of civilizations" scenario, China's open and inclusive culture is a solution.