Martin Jacques（英国学者）
If you go back 2000 years, Europe was united in the Roman Empire, and China was divided into many different warring states.
2000年前，欧洲统一在罗马帝国之下，而中国是分裂的战国争雄。
Now over the next 2000 years, Europe and China went in exactly the opposite directions.
在接下来的2000年里，欧洲和中国走上了截然相反的道路。
Europe started off united, and then steadily fragmented and divided into many territorial units and ultimately today when we think of Europe, we think of lots of nation-states.
欧洲起先是统一的，然后逐步分裂成许多小国。到了今天，当我们谈到欧洲时，我们想到的是很多民族国家（以民族作为身份认同的国家）。
...
China started off very divided, but over the next 2000 years, you know, waxing and waning as a process, it became a very large unified country.
中国起先四分五裂，但在接下来的2000年里，分分合合，终于它成了一个大一统国家。
And the Chinese think of themselves in those terms and had a strong allegiance to that idea, not least the periods of division were usually associated with the worst periods for people in Chinese history....
中国人视自己的国家为大一统国家，并且对之有很强的归属感，尤其因为那些分裂的时期通常就是中国历史上最糟糕的时期。
It's very difficult to hold together a very large civilization-state. It's very complicated, because the centrifugal forced are great, pulling it apart and the centripetal force...
要团结这样一个庞大的文明体国家（以文明作为身份认同，相对于民族国家而言）是非常困难的。情况很复杂，因为有很大的离心力会导致它分崩离析。
So there's always a problem in relation with China of holding the country, cohering the country together.
中国始终要面对如何维持统一、凝聚国民的难题。
And that's why the three most important political values to China are:
firstly unity, secondly order, thirdly stability.
这就是为什么对中国而言，最重要的三种政治价值观是：第一统一，第二秩序，第三稳定。
That's not just true to the government, that's true to the average Chinese person.
不仅政府这么认为，普通的中国人也这样认为。
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Because it's a huge civilization state, and those become the imperatives of that kind of unit.
因为它是一个巨大的文明体国家，这三个因素是这一类国家维系自身的关键。
关于马丁·雅克先生的观点有许多争议，有时间我另写一期好好介绍下这位复旦大学中国研究学院的教授。
在他所有让西方媒体感到不适的言论中，我选取了最平和的这一段跟大家分享。我相信很多历史爱好者对此会有共鸣。
确实，魏晋人物再风流，我们也不能否认从三国到南北朝的大分裂是中国历史上最痛苦、最黑暗的时代。
英雄动刀兵于混沌，百姓遭乱离于浊世。
南北对峙，藩镇割据，四方民族在疆场上血肉飞溅地厮杀多少年才终于血脉相融？
草原群英逐鹿中原，轻华夏、屠华夏、敬华夏、用华夏，要经历多少次向前试探和复古逆流的循环才终于胡有汉姓、自成华夏？
中国何以成为今日的中国？有时候历史课才是政治课。
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