中國人為何熱愛競爭？老外這樣看……

文化是一個人的軟實力，同時，也是一個國家的軟實力。看一個國家的發展程度，文化的發展，是一項重要的指標。

中國文化的核心競爭力又是什麼？

在《中國國家形象全球調查》報告中，多數外國人一致認為，“強調競爭”，是中國文化的核心競爭力：

1、Andrew Orr

If you have not lived in China， there is no way to fully know。

如果你沒有在中國生活過，就沒有辦法完全瞭解。

I feel confident saying that because I’m not Chinese， and there is no way I would have known until I had gone there。

我有信心這麼說，因為我不是中國人，在去那裡之前我是無法瞭解到這一點的。

I taught IELTS and an English elective class at a middle school， and little things gave me insight to that level of competition：

我在一所中學裡教雅思和英語選修課，一些小事讓我對這種競爭的激烈程度有了深刻的認識：

I once gave private English lessons to a middle school-aged boy， and I saw the tight schedule his parents had for him。 I’d be over at their house， he’d be doing homework， and 7：30PM I’d join them for dinner， and from 8：00 to 9：30 once or twice a week， I taught him English， and once I left， he’d be doing homework for probably another hour。

有一次，我給一箇中學生進行英語補習，我看到他父母給他安排的時間非常緊。我去他們家的時候，他正在做作業，晚上七點半我會和他們一起吃晚飯，而從八點到九點半——每週一兩次，我會教他英語，而在我離開之後，他可能還要做一個小時的作業。

His parents told me they really want the best for him and they do want him to be happy （and by and large he seemed in good spirits）， but they also have to be strict with his studies because there is no other way。

他的父母告訴我，他們真的想給他最好的，他們希望他快樂（總的來說，他看起來精神很好），但他們也必須嚴格要求他的學習，因為別無他法。

Their parents ask their children to improve themselves， but they also ask for horizontal comparisons of all the “rivals” they can reach。 But in the United States， we usually allow our children to develop。

他們的父母要求他們的孩子提高自己，但他們也要求橫向比較他們能達到的所有“對手”。但在美國，我們通常任由孩子發展。

2、Jennifer

Yes， I have a deep feeling about it。

是的，對此我深有感觸。

Generally speaking， you don’t see anything like that in the US or some other countries。 I’m not saying there isn’t competition here； there is， but it’s different from China。

一般來說，你在美國或其他一些國家都看不到這樣的情況。我不是說哪些地方沒有競爭；的確存在，但它與中國不同。

If you don’t see it or experience such competition， You probably can‘t imagine that the average Chinese people are strict with themselves。 I think that kind of self-discipline is enough to make most Americans feel ashamed。

如果你沒有看到或經歷過這樣的競爭，你或許根本無法想象一般中國人對自身要求的嚴格，我認為那種自律性，足以使得大部分美國人感到羞愧

3、Irons

I had friends who routinely were working on Saturdays at their office jobs， and I would meet people who I thought would be great at doing x job， and even though I felt that person very unique and worthy of such a job， the reality is there could be hundreds， thousands， tens or hundreds of thousands just like that same person looking for that same limited job。

我有朋友經常在星期六工作在辦公室工作，我也會遇見一些我認為在某項工作上成就斐然的人，然而儘管我覺得這個人非常獨特，並且值得擁有這樣一份工作，但實際上可能有像他一樣的數百、數千、數萬或數十萬人在尋找有限的相同工作崗位。

In my opinion， this may be the main reason why Chinese people emphasize “competition”， because you can never imagine how many people can replace your work at any time， so you have to keep moving forward！

在我看來，這或許是中國人強調“競爭”的主要原因，因為你永遠無法想象，有多少人隨時能夠替代你的工作，所以你不得不一直向前！

4、Robin Matthews

In China， if you want to become rich， you have to pass the College Entrance Examination， enter the stock market， and make as many commercial investments as possible！

在中國，如果你想要變得富有，就得透過高考，就得進入股市，就得去儘可能多的進行商業投資！

So when you have Chinese people all focused on the same strategy， it only magnifies the competition even more。 Contrast that to the US， there isn’t that same approach。

所以當你讓所有中國人都專注於相同的策略時，競爭只會更加激烈。與之相比，在美國，人們沒有套用同樣的方法。

Of course， this is not to say that the average American does not like wealth， but in most cases， Americans will find that after trying hard， they do not seem to have much difference compared with other idle people！

當然，這並不是說普通美國人不喜歡財富，但在大多數情況下，美國人會發現，經過努力，他們似乎與其他閒人沒有太大的區別！

Since hard work can’t change anything？ Why not enjoy life？ In fact， the “competitive culture” emphasized by China today also appeared in the United States 70 years ago。

既然努力工作什麼也改變不了？為什麼不享受生活呢？事實上，中國今天強調的“競爭文化”也出現在70年前的美國。

5、Alfred

I have never been abroad， but as I know， in the US whether you get high scores or not you can go to a good university easily although it’s very expensive， so whether you can get high education it depends money。 But in China， Gaokao maybe the relatively only equalty way to send you to a university and change your life， so we have to study harder or else you have to sell your physical force to work in a factory。

我從來沒有出過國，但據我所知，在美國，不管你是否能取得高分，你都可以很容易地進入一所好大學，雖然代價高昂，所以你能否獲得高等教育取決於金錢。而在中國，高考可能是唯一一種相對公平的送你上大學、改變你的生活的方式，所以我們必須更努力地學習，否則你就必須在工廠進行體力勞動了。

6、Katie Pedro

I think that‘s because most non-Chinese don’t really care about this aspect of the Chinese society？ It is not something they think will impact their lives。 In case there is a glimpse of the competitiveness， it usually is portrayed in negative light。 Then people forget about it in no time。

我認為大多數外國人並不真正關心中國社會的這一方面？他們認為這不會影響他們的生活。如果他們有機會看到這種競爭，它通常也會被描繪成負面的東西。然後人們很快就會忘記它。

To be honest， a lot of the competitiveness in China‘s society is internalized drive。 I met many laid back Chinese employees in my workplace。 There are many of them。 However， the society seems strongly promote a value of competitiveness， especially the hot articles shared in popular social platform， especially those give career advices。

老實說，中國社會的許多競爭力都是一種內化的驅動力。在我的工作場所，我遇到了許多閒散的中國員工。有很多這樣的人。然而，這個社會似乎強烈提倡競爭的價值，尤其是在流行的社交平臺上分享的熱門文章，尤其是那些提供職業建議的文章。

7、Christberg

Most of the Western world has achieved levels of success and prosperity that has lessened their competitive drive。 There was a time， probably over a century ago， when the West had such a drive but that time is long gone。

大多數西方國家已經取得了一定程度的成功和繁榮，這削弱了它們的競爭動力。曾經有一段時間，可能是一個多世紀以前，西方也曾有過這樣的動力，但這種動力早已消失。

8、AI Nicks

In 1978， just 41 years ago， China had zero foreign exchange， no foreign trade， no high speed rail system， no airport，， no tall buildings， no subway systems。 Beijing， Shanghai and every major city had rotating blackouts， even at a time when there were no street lights， neon signs and no industry。 In 1978 the mode of transportation was the bicycle， the bus and by foot。

僅僅在41年前的1978年，中國還沒有外匯，沒有對外貿易，沒有高速鐵路系統，沒有機場，沒有高速公路系統，沒有高樓大廈。北京、上海和每一個大城市都要輪流停電，甚至在沒有路燈、霓虹燈和工業的時候也是如此。1978年中國的交通方式是腳踏車、公共汽車和步行。

In just 41 years 1。4 billion Chinese people took their country from a third world nation to the largest economy in the world。 Today， China’s 1。4 billion people toil away in factories across China producing products that every Chinese person – and every person across the world – needs and wants to buy。

在短短41年裡，14億中國人把他們的國家從一個第三世界國家變成了世界上最大的經濟體。（譯者注：中國是世界第二經濟體）今天，中國14億人在中國各地的工廠裡辛勤勞作，生產著每一箇中國人——以及世界各地的每一個人——需要並想要購買的產品。

Today， China keeps the world’s economies running by buying the natural resources and raw materials that their factories use to manufacture the iPhones， iPads， iWatches； the Samsung TVs and appliances； our shoes and clothes， and even the robots that our factories use to manufacture our electric cars；

如今，中國透過購買自然資源和原材料來維持世界經濟的運轉，這些資源和原材料是中國工廠用來生產Iphone、Ipad和Iwatch的；是用來生產三星電視和電器的；是用來生產我們的鞋子和衣服，甚至是我們工廠用來製造電動汽車的機器人的；

all the products Americans buy everyday at Walmart， at our Apple Stores， on Amazon dot com， at Home Depot and at Lowe’s。 In just 23 years China went from a third world country to the largest economy in the world on the backs of 1。4 billion working class people who trade their labor for wages and the “spirit of competition” they emphasize all the time。

是用來生產所有美國人每天在沃爾瑪、蘋果商店、亞馬遜網站、家得寶和勞氏購買的產品的。僅僅23年，中國就從一個第三世界國家變成了世界上最大的經濟體，這得益於14億用他們的勞動賺取工資的工人階級，以及無時不在被他們所強調的“競爭精神”。

9、Tom Au

Most Chinese American families （I come from one） have memories of grinding poverty going back “only” two generations or so。 And Chinese families have a “longer” memory in this regards than others。 That is， your parents push you hard with tales about how their parents， your grandparents， almost got killed or starved to death in World War II。

大多數華裔美國人的家庭（我就來自這樣的一個家庭）的前兩代人都有經歷過極度貧困生活的記憶。在這方面，中國家庭的記憶比其他家庭要“更長”。也就是說，你的父母用他們的父母——也就是你的祖父母——在二戰中差點被殺或餓死的故事來給你施壓。

So yes， Chinese-American competitiveness of today was bred two generations ago。

是的，今天的華裔美國人的競爭力是兩代人以前培養出來的。

10、Frans Vandenbosch

The competitiveness in China， both in the economy， the education system and the interpersonal competitiveness is beyond imagination。

無論是在經濟、教育體系還是人際交往方面，中國的競爭激烈程度都是超乎想象的。

I have seen dozens of small western companies trying to do business in China， but unaware of the extreme competitiveness。 Often when they failed， they blamed it on “unfair competition”， never on their own lack of preparation for the Chinese market。

我見過幾十家西方小公司試圖在中國做生意，但它們都沒有意識到中國的競爭激烈程度。他們常常把失敗歸咎於“不公平的競爭”，而從不把失敗歸咎於自己對中國市場缺乏準備。

The western mainstream media and their bias about China are the main cause of this issue。

西方主流媒體及其對中國的偏見是造成這一問題的主要原因。

11、Alfred W Crouche

In order to truly understand Chinese civilisation you need to have a group of Chinese friends and ideally have lived there。 Some of us married to Chinese get a running commentary on the failings of western civilisation including the “laid back” lifestyle and failure to plan generations ahead。

想要真正瞭解中國文明，你需要有一群中國朋友，而且最好是在那裡生活過。我們當中一些和中國人結婚的人，經常會聽到對西方文明失敗的評論，包括“閒散”的生活方式，以及未能提前幾代人進行規劃。

We all come from cultures with thousands of years of development， but Chinese just seem more conscious that life is a bitter struggle， not only to succeed but exceed。

我們都來自有著幾千年發展歷史的文化，但中國人似乎更意識到生活是一場艱苦的鬥爭，不僅是要取得成功，而且還要超越。

毫不諱言，對於美國網友“

Alfred W Crouche

”有關中國競爭文化的認知，老鐵是表示贊同的：

中國人似乎更意識到生活是一場艱苦的鬥爭，不僅是要取得成功，而且還要超越。

所以，中國人為何強調“競爭發展”？

如美籍華裔網友“Tom Au”所說的“前兩代人都有經歷過極度貧困生活的記憶”是一方面，而除此以外，更為重要的恐怕還是一種“民族發展的歷史責任”！

事實如此：

中國人不僅為“自我”而活，我們強調“修身、齊家、治國平天下”，我們不僅要為家人而活，還要為國家而活，而民族未來而活。

而一代人吃兩代人的苦，這樣的犧牲與奮鬥，大概只會出現在中國。。。