2分钟回顾老布什总统的一生和中国情缘（附视频）
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北京时间12月1日，美国前总统乔治·赫伯特·沃克·布什因病去世享年94岁。这位一手策划并发动海湾战争的前总统，曾在17年11月打破美国前总统福特93岁又165天的纪录，成为当时最长寿的美国总统，许多中国人不知道的是，曾参加过二次世界大战的老布什在2009年获评“2009年杰出中国之友奖”。今天，我们一起在老照片里来回顾这位美国前总统与中国的点滴。
与中国的不解之缘
1975年，时任美国总统杰拉尔德·福特携第一夫人访华，而芭芭拉就身在欢迎总统夫妇的驻京美国官员队列中。
芭芭拉的丈夫老布什于1974年被派遣至中国，担任美国驻北京联络处主任，直到1975年年底才离开。在那段时间，芭芭拉与他一起在北京生活，开启了一段奇幻的中国之旅。
当老布什夫妇到达北京时，他们被安置在位于其办公室上方的四居室公寓，并配有6名家政人员和一名司机。芭芭拉每天上课学习中文，并阅读中国历史相关书籍。
他们刚到不久，就买了一辆“永久牌”自行车，二人闲来无事便骑着自行车走街串巷，比如在友谊商店买邮票，去全聚德吃烤鸭，游天安门广场，遛老北京胡同……
芭芭拉也常常跟老布什在使馆区遛狗。由于当时北京刚刚经历了1950年代的全城灭狗运动，北京市区里的狗十分罕见。
而芭芭拉家的狗是西班牙猎犬，这一品种更是鲜为人知，所以经常引来路人围观，甚至有人因此受到惊吓。芭芭拉常说的一句汉语是：“别害怕，它不过是一只小狗，它不咬人。”
派驻期间，芭芭拉还随丈夫到广州、南京、无锡、上海、洛阳、西安、大庆进行短途旅行，近距离领略了70年代中国的别样风貌。
多年后，芭芭拉回忆称：“假如问我和布什婚姻生活中最愉快的时光，那就是派驻北京的那些日子了……那时我们经常游览北京各处名胜，真是快活极了。”
1989年2月，在老布什成功当选为美国总统后，芭芭拉随丈夫重访中国。当她看到穿梭的汽车、五颜六色的新式服装和崛起的新建筑物时，不禁为中国社会的巨变而感到震惊。
1985年10月16日，美国时任副总统布什在四川大学发表演讲，下为讲话节选。
It’s a pleasure to be here today at Sichuan University. This month the university celebrates its 80 anniversary. And a distinguished 80 years it has been.
今天非常高兴地来到四川大学。这个月，川大要庆祝它的80周年校庆。这是辉煌的80年。
One of the oldest universities in the People’s Republic of China, Sichuan University has, from its earliest days, contributed to China’s development. It has established a tradition in keeping with the traditions of Chengdu, long one of China’s most renowned centers of art, literature and learning. Indeed, during the Second World War, Sichuan University helped to maintain China’s entire tradition of higher education.
四川大学是中华人民共和国的历史最悠久的大学之一，从早期开始，就为中国的发展作出了贡献。它建立的传统与成都的传统并行不悖，是一个中国最负盛名的文学艺术和知识中心的传统。的确，二战期间，四川大学帮助保存了中国的整个高等教育传统。
The university’s present is no less distinguished than its past. It is today widely acknowledged to be the preeminent institution of higher education in southwest China. The university is not just a place to learn about America. It is also a place in which some of the most important aspects of the United States-Chinese relationship are being advanced.
川大的今天与它的历史一样辉煌。今天，它是公认的中国西南的卓越的高等学府。川大不仅是一个了解美国的地方。它也是一个推进美中关系某些最为重要的方面的场所。
Students and faculty exchanges between our countries have been important to the development of the entire U.S.-China relationship. This kind of exchanges is fundamental to building a broadly based, stable and continuing relationship between the United States and China.
发展整个美中关系，我们两国间的学生和教师交流，一直至关重要。这种交流是建立广泛、稳定、持续美中关系的关键。
I believe that our relationship has developed greatly. When I was chief of the U.S. Liaison Office over a decade ago, our relations were narrowly based and unsteady.
我认为，我们的关系已经得到了很大的发展。10年前，我担任美国驻华联络处主任时，我们的关系基础狭窄，而且很不稳定。
The Tang Dynasty poet Wang Bo wrote that “Bosom friends within four seas are close neighbors though separated by great distances.” That has become true to us. But thanks to airplanes, we’ve been able frequently to cross those seas.
唐朝诗人王勃写到：“海内存知己，天涯若比邻。”这对我们很适用。但是，由于有了飞机，我们已经能够频繁地跨越这些大海了。
For example, in 1979 Chairman of the Central Military Commission, Deng Xiaoping, came to the Unite States. In 1982, I came here. In 1984 President Reagan visited China. Now I am here again.
比如，1979年，军委主席邓小平访问美国。1982年，我访问中国。1984年，里根总统访问中国。现在，我又到了这儿。
In addition to these most senior level visits, there has been a series of ministerial missions on both sides concerning foreign relations, defense and trade matters. Last year 150,000 Americans came to China. Many were simply tourists. But many were also here to visit ancestral homes, for more than a million Americans claim Chinese descent.
除了这些高层次的访问外，双方还派出了一系列部长级的外事、防务和贸易代表团。去年，有150,000美国人到中国来。许多人只是旅游者。但是，许多人也是到这儿来寻根，因为有100多万美国人声称他们是华裔。
These Americans are another part of the broadening base of the U.S.-China relationship. As our nations have become more open to one another, Chinese-Americans have sought to reestablish old family and regional ties.
这些美国人是美中关系的广泛基础的又一个组成部分。由于我们两国彼此不断开放，华裔美国人已经在寻求重建昔日的家庭和区域性联系。
Americans of Chinese descent have achieved a high place in our national life. Asian-Americans have the highest average family income and are achieving the highest levels of education of any ancestral group in our country. They have won positions of honor and respect in American life.
华裔美国人在我们的国民生活中，已经取得很高的地位。在我国的所有移民群体中，亚裔美国人的平均家庭收入最高，所受的教育程度最高。他们在美国生活中，得到了体面的受人尊重的工作。
Such a broadening in our relations seemed only a remote possibility 11 years ago, when I served here. But broad as our political relations have become and broad as the contact between our peoples, broader still today are our economic ties. These ties are central to the evolving Chinese-American relationship.
我们的关系得到如此广泛的发展；11年前，我在这儿任职时，这似乎仅仅是一个遥远的可能。我们的政治联系和民间交流已经变得非常广泛，但是，我们现在的经济联系更加广泛。这些联系是发展中美关系所必不可少的。
The United States can help China’s modernization. But we must keep in mind that this is all the United States can do----help. The Chinese people themselves will do the real work on the long march of modernization.
美国能够帮助中国实现现代化。但是，我们必须记住，这是美国所能够作的一切：帮助。中国人民自己将在现代化的长征途中做踏踏实实的工作。
Significant forward step in modernization came when China gave a new measure of more freedom to the Chinese people, who are working hard for themselves, their families and China’s future. Greater freedom for farmers led in its first four years to growth in agricultural output of almost 8 percent a year. That was more than twice the rate of the previous 25 years and has transformed China from a food importing to a food exporting country. It’s very simple: more freedom, more food; more incentive, more products; more individual and local responsibility and more flexibility and more directions coming from the bottom and less from the top----that’s what China’s leaders call “socialism with Chinese characteristics”.
当中国采取新举措，给那些为自己、为家人和为中国的未来而辛勤工作的中国人民以更多自由时，便在现代化方面取得了长足的进步。给农民更多的自由，头四年就取得了农业产量每年几乎8%的增长。这为过去25年增长速度的两倍多，使中国从一个粮食进口国变成了粮食出口国。道理很简单：更多的自由，更多的粮食；更多的刺激，更多的产品；更多的个人与地方的责任、更多的灵活性、更多的来自基层的指导和更少的来自上层的命令---这就是中国领导人说的“具有中国特色的社会主义。”
We want to help China, but it is the private businesses, not the government, who profit or lose by the “help”. Like you in China, we in the United States have found a new trust in the people. We cut taxes, government regulations and the growth in government size and found that our economy, our people and our nation grew stronger.
我们要帮助中国，但是，是私人企业，而不是政府，帮助中国；他们“帮助”时，可能赢利，可能亏本。像你们在中国一样，我们在美国也寻求到了一种对人民的新的信任感。我们削减税收、减少政府管理和精简政府机构，于是发现：我们的经济、我们的人民和我们的国家，变得更加强大。
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