愛因斯坦歧視中國人？網友：願他看看現在的中國

愛因斯坦曾說 ——

「猶太人的身份，也許使我更能對黑人同胞的遭遇感同身受。我們都是種族歧視的受害者。」

然而，近日所曝光的《愛因斯坦旅行日記》，卻被指包含種族歧視言論，顛覆了許多人對這位偉大科學家的認知。

Albert Einstein, the German-born Jewish scientist who once received the Nobel Prize in Physics, had been recognized himself as an advocate for human rights, and once said in an interview 「Being a Jew myself, perhaps I can understand and empathize with how black people feel as victims of discrimination.」 However, the recently exposed English version of his private diaries detailing his tour of Asia in the early 1920s seems to tell a different story as being found to have some racist remarks.

1922年，40多歲的愛因斯坦與妻子開啟了長達五年的探索遠東和中東的旅程。沿途，他寫了一本日記，記下他對在香港、新加坡、中國大陸、日本、印度等地所見之人的印象。

The excerpts were found in "The Travel Diaries of Albert Einstein: The Far East, Palestine, and Spain, 1922–1923," which was published by the Princeton University Press this week and outlined the travel notes of the famous physicist and humanitarian icon during his trip throughout the region.

A page from Einstein"s diary. /Paper.cn Photo

這本日記的第一卷，今年剛剛從德文翻譯成英文，被美國普林斯頓大學出版社出版，英文名「The Travel Diaries of Albert Einstein The Far East, Palestine, and Spain, 1922 - 1923」。然而，該書在問世後不久，就引起了軒然大波。

「在愛因斯坦的日記中，充斥著對其他民族人民的劣勢描述，種族歧視的意味十分明顯」， 《愛因斯坦旅行日記》的編輯Ze』ev Rosenkranz評論道，「許多評論讓人感到十分不適，尤其是對中國的」。

"Many comments in his diary upset us, especially the part he wrote about Chinese people," said Ze』ev Rosenkranz, senior editor and assistant director of the Einstein Papers Project at the California Institute of Technology, in an interview with The Guardian.

愛因斯坦到底寫了什麼？

What is the content?

紐約時報摘錄了愛因斯坦在日記中的一些語句，其中部分表述十分直接，間或帶著對陌生大陸的疑惑，還有對人民勞苦遭遇的同情。

Some sentences that are suspected of racism have been quoted by New York Times.

在香港：In Hong Kong

「…stricken people, men and women, who beat stones daily and must heave them for 5 cents a day. The Chinese are severely punished for the fecundity by the insensitive economic machine.」

「被生活擊垮的人們，男人和女人，每天靠採石獲得僅有的5分錢。他們正被無情的經濟機器碾壓。」

「The Chinese are incapable of being trained to think logically and that they specifically have no talent for mathematics.」

他引用了葡萄牙老師的言論，「中國人的邏輯思維朽木不可雕，尤其對數學毫無天分。」

「I noticed how little difference there is between men and women; I don』t understand what kind of fatal attraction Chinese women possess which enthralls the corresponding men to such an extent that they are incapable of defending themselves against the formidable blessing of offspring.」

「我發現他們男人和女人之間幾乎沒甚區別。我不明白這些女人究竟有什麼吸引力，能讓男人對繁衍後代無從抵禦。」

在中國大陸：Around Chinese Mainland

「…industrious, filthy, obtuse people.」

中國人「勤勞、骯髒、遲鈍」。

「Chinese don』t sit on benches while eating but squat like Europeans do when they relieve themselves out in the leafy woods. All this occurs quietly and demurely. Even the children are spiritless and look obtuse.」

「中國人吃東西的時候不坐在長椅上，卻像歐洲人在野外森林中解大手一樣蹲著。所有這一切發生得安靜又嚴肅。甚至連小孩子都看起來遲鈍得毫無靈魂。」

「It would be a pity if these Chinese supplant all other races. For the likes of us, the mere thought is unspeakably dreary.」

「如果中國人取代所有其他種族，那就太遺憾了。對我們這樣的人來說，光是這樣想想，就覺得特別沮喪。」

在上海：In Shanghai

「(Chinese funeral is) barbaric for our taste」 ,「(the streets are) swarming with pedestrians.」

他形容一場中國的喪事為「在我們看來十分野蠻」，街上「擠滿了行人」。

「In the air there is a stench of never-ending manifold variety.」

「各種各樣的惡臭瀰漫在空氣中，從來都臭得不重樣」

「Even those reduced to working like horses never give the impression of conscious suffering. A peculiar herd-like nation, often more like automatons than people.」

「即使是做牛做馬的苦工也從未流露出遭受煎熬的痛楚。一個奇怪的畜群般的種族，時常像機器而不像人。」

而除了中國以外，愛因斯坦對其他亞洲各國也並不客氣，一處一處挨個點評過去。

在錫蘭（現斯里蘭卡），他說 —— 科倫坡（首都）的居民生活在極端污穢和惡臭的平房中。他們做的很少，需要的也很少。生命的簡單經濟循環。

He described living condition in Colombo, Ceylon (which later became Sri Lanka) 「the simple economic cycle of life」. People there 「do little and need little in great filth and considerable stench at ground level」

在埃及塞得港，他說 —— 那些到船上來賣貨的地中海東部人，就像從地獄湧出來的一樣。

He also called people in Egypt 「as if spewed from hell」 when they came on their ship to sell goods.

日本可能是評論最為正面的國家了，他說 —— 「日本人謙虛樸素、處事得體、總體來說給人印象很好。」

但即便如此，也未能躲過愛因斯坦對其民族智商和精神的「拷問」。他還在日記里觀察到日本「純粹的靈魂已經不復存在，每個人都必須愛國。」，「這個民族似乎對智力的需求不如對藝術的多，基因決定的？」

Meanwhile, Einstein had a more favorable impression of the Japanese. But, Einstein also concluded that the intellectual needs of the country did not seem to be as great as their artistic needs.

除此以外，他還評論日本人、印度人和中國人都智力低下。這些言論都被看作是愛因斯坦種族歧視的鐵證。

"In his diary, Einstein described the Japanese, Chinese and Indians as "people of low intelligence," which can be regarded as racist," Rosenkranz indicated.

但是，《愛因斯坦旅行日記》的編輯Ze』ev Rosenkranz也強調，這些話都是在愛因斯坦毫無防備的時候寫的。他從未想要發表這些言論。Rosenkranz added, "They』re more off guard, he didn』t intend them for publication."

中國網友：我們沒這麼玻璃心

How did China"s social media react?

其實，真正讓人失望和震驚的，並不是「諾貝爾物理學家是個種族歧視者」，而是愛因斯坦從人權捍衛者到白人至上主義者的形象反轉。

As a great humanitarian icon, Einstein"s remarks contrasted sharply with his public image as an advocate for civil rights in the US during his later years, calling racism "a disease of white people".

作為曾經被納粹德國迫害的猶太人中的一員，他不僅自身遍嘗種族歧視帶來的傷害，也曾為黑人積極奔走，呼籲種族平權，並直指「種族歧視是白人的疾病」。這樣的人，怎樣能讓人輕易與種族歧視者掛上鉤呢？

愛因斯坦的所作所為，雖然著實與自己所倡導的理念大相徑庭，但比起外媒一致的震驚和聲討，中國網友的回應似乎理性和客觀許多。

「Einstein just gives the objective description as a scientist,」 read the most liked comment on a Weibo post by Haiwainet, the overseas edition of People"s Daily, symbolizing the Internet』s mostly indifferent response.

「人家作為科學家也只是客觀評價」，@人民日報海外版-海外網的微博評論區熱度最高的一條留言中說道。

"Everyone"s opinion is limited by their times," another Weibo user wrote under the Global Times" Weibo post.

「每個人的思想都具有時代局限性」，@環球時報的微博評論區中也提到。

也有網友認為時代局限不能作為種族歧視的借口，不能用他的科學家光環掩蓋他道德方面的問題。如果他真的以猶太人受迫害的經歷將心比心，就會明白自己的言論是不合適的。Meanwhile, some netizens said "times" is not an excuse for racist remarks.

除了非黑即白的站隊，更有網友提出，時代不同了。希望愛因斯坦可以穿越時空看看現在的中國人和現在的中國，他一定會有所改觀。

DW-TV said on Wednesday that Einstein"s travel diaries show that racism was widespread in Europe at the time and that even a great Jewish scientist would reflect it.In general, Einstein"s conclusions about the Chinese were "regrettable," Rosenkranz said, adding that even Einstein, as a refugee, could not avoid negative comments about others he encountered.

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