刘晓明大使在“纪念辛亥革命一百周年图片展”开幕式上的讲话

Remarks by H.E. Ambassador Liu Xiaoming at the Opening Ceremony of the Photographic Exhibition Marking 100th Anniversary of the 1911 Revolution

2011年10月19日，伦敦

October 19, 2011 London

尊敬的全英华人华侨社团联合总会李文兴会长，

尊敬的各位议员，

尊敬的各位侨领，

各位来宾，

女士们、先生们：

President Li Wenxing,

MPs, My Lords,

Chinese community leaders,

Distinguished¹ guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

欢迎大家出席“纪念辛亥革命一百周年图片展”开幕式。此次展览是中国驻英国大使馆举办的“百年辛亥”系列纪念活动之一，希望能以图文并茂的方式向大家展现一个世纪前神州大地爆发的这场划时代重大事件及其深远影响。伦敦是展览的第一站，本月底和下月初，在我馆和中国驻曼彻斯特总领馆及驻爱丁堡总领馆共同主办下，展览还将先后“北上”利物浦和爱丁堡。我也要感谢新华社伦敦分社和全英华人华侨社团联合总会协办此次图片巡回展，感谢中远英国有限公司等诸多机构的大力支持。

I very much welcome you to this photographic exhibition marking the 100th anniversary of the 1911 Revolution.

This exhibition is part of a collection of events hosted by the Chinese Embassy to remember the 1911 Revolution.

These photos provide vivid records of how this history-making revolution came about in China one century ago. The images can help us grasp what the 1911 Revolution meant to the Chinese people and how it left a lasting² mark on China.

Following its first leg in London, the exhibition will go on a UK tour. It will be in Liverpool later this month and Edinburgh in early November, with assistance from the Chinese Consulates³ in Manchester and Edinburgh.

I must thank the Xinhua News Agency London Bureau and the Confederation of Chinese Associations UK for your contribution to the exhibition. And my thanks also go to China Ocean Shipping⁴ Company UK for your kind support.

今年，中国及海外有华人的地方都在纪念辛亥革命，辛亥革命的意义是什么？

This year is the centenary of the 1911 Revolution in China. The Chinese people at home and in many parts of the world are commemorating⁵ this epoch-making event.

People may ask: what does this revolution mean to China?

有人把历史的发展比作长江大河之运行，川流不息、奔腾向前、前后承续；又比作登临崇山峻岭，必须由低及高、拾级而上，每一个台阶都是通往顶峰的必经阶梯。辛亥革命的意义就在于它是中国历史进程中的一股洪流、一个台阶，它为中国的进步冲开了一道闸门，开创了一段新里程。

正如胡锦涛主席在纪念辛亥革命100周年大会上所指出的：辛亥革命“极大推动了中华民族的思想解放，打开了中国进步潮流的闸门，为中华民族发展进步探索了道路”。

President Hu Jintao gave a precise answer during recent celebrations in China. He said:

“The revolution of 1911 greatly freed the minds of the Chinese people, opened the flood gates for progress in China and explored a path for the development and progress of the Chinese nation.”

Some compare history to a great river, flowing day and night unceasingly.

Some say the progress of history is like mountaineering. To climb higher and reach the summit, you must go step by step.

The 1911 Revolution is important in the sense that it represents an irresistible⁶ current and a significant step in the course of the Chinese history.

It’s remembered as a seminal⁷ event that carried the Chinese revolution into a new stage.

To be specific, the 1911 Revolution’s importance is three-fold.

第一，辛亥革命推翻了满清腐朽统治，扫除了中国历史前进道路上的一大严重障碍，结束了中国长达两千多年的君主专制制度，建立了共和政体。这是一个了不起的胜利。

First, the revolution overthrew⁸ the corrupt⁹ Qing Dynasty.

This action removed a major hurdle¹⁰ holding back China’s progress:

· It put an end to more than 2000 years of autocratic monarchy¹¹ in China.

· It set the Chinese people on a course to build a republic.

· All these were great achievements that in hindsight have utterly¹² transformed China during the past one hundred years.

第二，辛亥革命作为一次革命运动和重大政治事件，带来了20世纪中国的思想大解放和社会变革。辛亥革命提出“中华民族”概念，号召民族平等；提倡“人民公仆”观念，主张人民至上；推动社会改良，实行移风易俗，中国男子剪掉了头上的辫子，中国妇女扔掉了缠足的绑带。中国社会为之气象一新。

Second, as President Hu Jintao observed, the revolution was a significant political event that freed people’s minds. For the first time ever, a set of modern, democratic thoughts were brought forward by the revolutionaries. This new thinking included these concepts:

· The ‘Chinese nation’;

· ethnic¹³ equality;

· ‘serving public interests’;

· and putting people first.

These ideas awoke the Chinese people to the path forward.

This force of new thinking guided the movement and pushed forward sweeping¹⁴ changes.

This swept away the outdated¹⁵ way of life and added momentum¹⁶ to great social transformation¹⁷. Men in China happily shaved off their pigtails, which were imposed by the Qing rulers. Women threw away the cloth that bound their feet. The Chinese society took on a new and modern look.

A new chapter was thus written in China’s history.

第三，辛亥革命开辟了中国新民主主义革命的道路。辛亥革命虽然取得了伟大历史功绩，但没能从根本上改变中国。辛亥革命后，中国军阀割据、内乱频仍，积贫积弱的中国继续被外国列强任意宰割，中国人民的悲惨境遇也没有结束。正是在这样的背景下，中国共产党走上现代中国的历史舞台，领导中国人民真正改变了国家的前途和命运。

Third, the revolution ushered¹⁸ in the era of a new democratic revolution in China.

However, for all its achievements, the 1911 revolution failed to bring fundamental changes to China.

China remained a weak, poor country divided by warlords and ravaged¹⁹ by internal conflicts.

China continued to be exploited and suppressed by imperial powers, and the Chinese people still lived in great misery²⁰ and desperation.

It’s in this context that the Communist Party of China moved to the front stage of the modern development of the Chinese people.

It was the Communist Party of China that led China toward real change.

It has been this leadership that has revolutionised the lives of all in China.

如果说辛亥革命是百年来中国人民在前进道路上经历的第一次历史性转折，那么在中国共产党领导下，中国发生了继之而来的第二和第三次历史巨变。一次就是成立中华人民共和国和建立社会主义制度，实现了民族独立和人民解放；另一次就是改革开放，确立了国家富强和人民富裕的奋斗目标。今天的中国，经济总量跃居世界第二，各项事业蒸蒸日上，国家建设取得了举世瞩目的巨大成就，中国人民正在谱写国家发展和民族振兴的辉煌篇章。可以说，中国共产党不仅继承了孙中山和辛亥革命先辈们的理想和事业，而且大大发展了他们的理想和事业。

The 1911 Revolution was the first tipping-point on China’s path toward revolution and rebirth. In the following decades, the Communist Party of China steered²¹ the nation through another two great transformations²².

The first huge change was the founding of the People’s Republic of China. This established the socialist²³ system, and achieved national independence and people’s liberation.

And the second great transformation was the reform and opening-up in late 1970s, which brought China and its people closer than ever to the goal of prosperity.

Only with such a journey of exploration, could China become what it is today. And the Chinese people have every reason to be proud of how far their country has come.

Today, China is the world’s number two economy and a prosperous and stable country. Its success story has caught the eye of the world. Looking forward, the Chinese people are devoting their best efforts to continue this national development and rejuvenation²⁴.

I believe that history will record two broad themes arising out of the 1911 Revolution.

Firstly, the Communist Party of China inherited the ideals and vision of Dr. Sun Yat-sen and the 1911 revolutionaries.

Then secondly²⁵, the Communist Party has also taken their revolutionary cause forward in a way that is unprecedented²⁶.

此次纪念辛亥革命一百周年图片展，既是辛亥革命这一伟大历史事件的写照，也是中国社会百年发展、进步的缩影；既是展现海外华人华侨的爱国精神，也是展望海峡两岸同心实现中华民族伟大复兴的美好前景。

Today’s exhibition shows photos that capture many facets²⁷ of the 1911 Revolution. The pictures offer a unique window into understanding China’s progress over the past century.

The images offer the best example of the patriotism²⁸ of the overseas Chinese in that period one hundred years ago. The photos symbolise the shared aspiration²⁹ of the people across the Taiwan Straits for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

一百年前，一位名叫埃德温·J·丁格尔（Edwin J. Dingle）的英国人亲身经历了辛亥革命始末，撰写了《中国革命记》一书,预见到辛亥革命将给中国社会发展及中国国际地位带来的深远影响。

Just under a hundred years ago a British journalist wrote a book called China’s Revolution: 1911-1912. His name was Edwin Dingle.

His book was based on his first-hand observation of the 1911 revolution. Dingle outlined the potential deep implications of the revolution for Chinese society and international relationships.

他在书中写道：“没有人会怀疑，凭借中国人拥有的丰富知识和卓越技能，我们将会看到这个国家能使全世界随着她行动。这一天必定会来到，也许就在不远的将来，西方观察家会看到中国人民融入整个世界当中，不再是因为太弱受到侵略，而是在国家生活的各方面都处于独立地位。”今天，他的预言已经成为现实。

He wrote:

“No one will doubt that, with such excellent qualities of common sense and eminent³⁰ industry as the Chinese possess, we shall see a nation move that may move the world with it. The day will assuredly come, perhaps it is not so very far distant, when the Occidental observer will look around to see the globe girdled with an indissoluble bond of Chinese peoples, no longer too weak for aggression³¹, but independent in all department of national life.”

Clearly Edwin Dingle had remarkable³² foresight³³. What he wrote of China has become reality today.

最后，再次感谢各位光临，与我们一道重温辛亥革命的历程，感悟其深远意义。

In closing, I hope you will draw inspiration from this exhibition.

It is a fine way to learn about the 1911 revolution and its far-reaching significance.

谢谢！

Thank you for your interest and attention!