Foreigners in China can be forgiven if the events of 2012 left them feeling just the teensiest bit unloved.
如果2012年的事件让他们感到一点点不被爱，那么在中国的外国人是可以原谅的。
From Yang Rui’s rant about “foreign trash” to stricter restrictions on visas, international residents here were feeling the sting of their “laowai” label more than usual. While we could answer with a rant about how insensitive modern China can be or how some foreigners can spoil it for the rest (and you know who you are…), we’ll take on the whole “laowai” sensation from a more sober perch.
从Yang Rui对“外国垃圾”的咆哮到对签证的更严格的限制，这里的国际居民比平时更感受到他们的“老外”标签的刺痛。 虽然我们可以用咆哮来回答现代中国是多么的不敏感，或者一些外国人如何破坏它（你知道你是谁……），但我们将从一个更清醒的鲱地接受整个“老外”的感觉。
To fully grasp the loaded topic of “outsiderness” in China, it helps to go back to the ancient scholars and myths that first coloured Chinese perceptions of the “foreigner.”
为了充分把握中国“局外人”的沉重话题，回到古代学者和神话，这些学者和神话首先影响了中国人对“外国人”的看法。
Hairy Devils and an Upside Down Civilisation
毛茸茸的魔鬼和颠倒的文明
Abrupt Entry = Lifelong Ambivalence
突然进入=终身矛盾
It cannot be denied that China’s history is deep, rich, and complex. But the country’s long held view of itself as the centre of the universe and civilisation met with a rude awakening when Europeans made it to China, bringing their influences with them. Some might say that the realisation by Chinese intellectuals of civilisation from outside the “central middle kingdom” produced near-trauma by puncturing their view of China as the centre of the modern world. This became the basis of the reigning notion of non Chinese being outsiders.
不可否认，中国的历史是深刻、丰富和复杂的。 但当欧洲人来到中国并带来他们的影响力时，这个国家长期以来一直认为自己是宇宙和文明的中心。 有些人可能会说，中国知识分子对来自“中中王国”以外的文明的认识，通过刺穿他们对中国作为现代世界中心的看法，造成了近乎创伤。 这成为非中国人是局外人这一普遍观念的基础。
While China long held the outside world with deep suspicion, major treaties and historical events, such as the 1729 Chinese Anti-Opium edict, which enabled the British East India Company to flood China with opium, and Article 156 of the Treaty of Versailles, which led the Germans to transfer Shandong to Japan, also fed a more negative general view of the foreigner.
虽然中国长期以来对外部世界抱有深深的怀疑，但重大条约和历史事件，如1729年的中国反鸦片法令，使英国东印度公司能够充斥中国鸦片，以及导致德国人将山东移交给日本的《凡尔赛条约》第156条，也助长了对外国人的更消极的普遍看法。
In China, history and betrayal are not easily forgotten.
在中国，历史和背叛不容易被遗忘。
Also playing into China’s view of foreigners are local definitions of elitism and bias based on ethnic origin, language differences, religious belief, or social class. While China is home to a highly developed, mod- ern society, traditional prejudices remain. These prejudices are not only geared towards foreigners or minorities; they also exist within the majority population.
基于种族、语言差异、宗教信仰或社会阶层的当地对精英主义和偏见的定义也影响了中国对外国人的看法。 虽然中国是一个高度发达的现代社会的家园，但传统的偏见仍然存在。 這些偏見不僅針對外國人或少數民族；它們也存在於大多數人口中。
The general trend is that those who are “developed” or “modern” tend to receive more deference while those seen as “backward” or “old-fashioned” are held lower on the social pyramid. Chinese elitism and bias is based heavily on personal and communal accomplishments and social standing.
普遍趋势是，那些“发达”或“现代”的人往往受到更多的尊重，而那些被视为“落后”或“老式”的人则在社会金字塔中处于较低地位。 中国的精英主义和偏见在很大程度上基于个人和社区的成就以及社会地位。
The bursting of the Chinese intellectual bubble, aggravated over the years by opportunistic treaties and local discrimination has led to a centuries-long ambivalence towards the non-Chinese population of Mainland China.
多年来，中国知识泡沫的破裂，因机会主义条约和地方歧视而加剧，导致几个世纪以来对中国大陆非华人人口的矛盾。
As Western European influence began to seep in, Chinese people sought to understand the “foreigner” by way of homegrown Chinese thought.
随着西欧的影响开始流入，中国人试图通过本土的中国思想来理解“外国人”。
Europeans were first seen as crude, lustful beings, ignorant of Chinese ways and values. During and after the Opium war, foreigners were taken to be cunning, intelligent and completely unpredictable. Foreign missionaries were alleged to dine on babies and came to be viewed as hairy monsters with intensely bad breath. Some intellectuals theorised that foreign power was simply another form of Chinese scholasticism. An admirer of Western technology and reformist named Wei Yuan claimed that European power grew out of a translation and separate interpretation of the Confucian classics into Latin. According to Wei, Confucian literature was so influential that it helped Jesus to establish Christianity.
欧洲人最初被视为粗野、淫荡的人，对中国的方式和价值观一无所知。 在鸦片战争期间和之后，外国人被视为狡猾、聪明且完全不可预测。 外国传教士被指控在婴儿身上用餐，并被视为口臭的毛茸茸的怪物。 一些知识分子认为，外国力量只是中国学术主义的另一种形式。 一位名叫魏元的西方技术的崇拜者和改革主义者声称，欧洲的力量源于将儒家经典翻译成拉丁语和单独解释。 魏认为，儒家文学具有如此大的影响力，以至于它帮助耶稣建立了基督教。
There are also journals from Guo Songtao and Liu Xihong, two of the first Chinese ministers who were sent to London, in 1876, to learn more about this alien civilisation known as Europe.
还有来自郭松涛和刘锡红的期刊，他们是1876年第一批被派往伦敦的两位中国部长，以了解更多关于这个被称为欧洲的外星文明。
Liu Xihong was very conservative in his writing, yet exemplified the bewilderment over Western customs quite clearly. Liu saw everything in England as the opposite of China.
刘锡红的写作非常保守，但清楚地体现了对西方习俗的困惑。 刘认为英国的一切都与中国相反。
He theorised that this upside-down relationship stemmed from the fact that England is situated south of the centre of the earth: “That is why their customs and systems are all topsy-turvy,” he surmised. Liu posited that this explained why day and night were reversed. So, the next time you feel jet leg, see if doing things backward might help you get over that first-day-back- in-China hump.
他推测，这种颠倒的关系源于英格兰位于地球中心以南的事实：“这就是为什么他们的习俗和制度都是颠倒的，”他推测。 劉認為，這解釋了為什麼白天和黑夜是相反的。 所以，下次你感到喷气腿时，看看倒着做事是否能帮助你克服第一天回到中国的驼峰。
Language Shapes Your Thoughts
语言塑造了你的思想
Mainland foreigners are more than familiar with the phrase “lao wai (老外),” or, for those in Cantonese-speaking areas, with “gwai lo (鬼佬).” These terms reflect a deep spiritualism and a traditional sense of being at the centre of things that remain pervasive in modern society. The term “gwai lo” can be literally translated as “ghost man” but has also been translated figuratively as “foreign devil”. The term “gwai lo” first appeared in the 16th century when European sailors were becoming increasingly prevalent on China’s southern coast.
大陆外国人对“老外”这个词非常熟悉，或者对于粤语地区的人来说，对“鬼佬”这个词非常熟悉。 这些术语反映了一种深刻的灵性主义和传统的感觉，即在现代社会中仍然普遍存在。 “Gwai lo”一词的字面意思是“鬼人”，但也被比喻为“外国魔鬼”。 “Gwai lo”一词最早出现在16世纪，当时欧洲水手在中国南部海岸变得越来越普遍。
The negative connotation term was reinforced by fears of Chinese borders being continuously invaded by “uncivilised tribes” from distant lands.
During the Opium war and after the signing of disadvantageous treaties, the terms “gwai lo” (in Southern China) and “yang gui zi” (foreign devil) became a staple of the Chinese language.
负面内涵术语因担心中国边境不断被来自遥远土地的“不文明部落”入侵而得到加强。在鸦片战争期间和签署不利条约后，“gwai lo”（中国南部）和“yang gui zi”（外国魔鬼）这两个术语成为中文的主食。
Traditional Myths Turning Into Modern Stereotypes
传统神话变成现代刻板印象
With the Communist takeover and near-abandonment of traditional thought and superstition, many myths about foreigners have been turned into more modern- based biases. Many of us have encountered the flippant comment or unspoken belief that all foreigners are rich, alike and are here to teach English. Tumble on your bike and people nearby will gawk, but may do nothing to help.
Indeed, Chinese society can offer a perplexing mix of friendly warmth and wary chill. There are days when China feels to a foreigner like a welcoming cottage, em- bracing with its tea and noodles, and others when people seem to offer only spiny glares. But like much else of Chinese thought, myths about foreigners have a long and complicated history colouring life here to this day.
随着共产党的接管以及传统思想和迷信的几乎被放弃，许多关于外国人的神话已经变成了基于现代的偏见。 我们中的许多人都遇到过一种轻率的评论或不言而喻的信念，即所有外国人都是富人，都是一样的，来这里教英语。 摔在自行车上，附近的人会目瞪口呆，但可能无济于事。事实上，中国社会可以提供一种令人困惑的友好温暖和警惕的冷静。 有些时候，中国对外国人来说就像一个温馨的小屋，用茶和面条来迎接，而其他时候，人们似乎只会瞪大眼睛。 但和许多其他中国思想一样，关于外国人的神话有着悠久而复杂的历史，色彩生活到今天。
