卡夫卡与中国

Distinguished guests,

106 years ago, in 1918, from the chaos of the Great War our republic emerged. This new formation, building on the traditions of the Kingdom of Bohemia, marked the beginning of the free and democratic state. Our values and foreign policy today are based on the First Republic. We are fortunate to live in a free and democratic country. This is thanks to the strong alliance that comes from our membership of NATO and the European Union, but also thanks to our ancestors who paid a high price for freedom and security. We cherish the values on which our country stands and we are doing everything we can to keep her prosperous, inspiring and free.

We focus on the best possible relations with partners and we accentuate compliance with international law and given rules. Russian aggression on Ukraine is an existential threat to the Czech Republic, it undermines the very foundations of peaceful coexistence in the world. We support Ukraine in its defence and continue to intensify this support.

尊敬的来宾们，

一百零六年前，即1918年，在第一次世界大战的混乱中，我们的共和国诞生了。这一新形态，继承了波希米亚王国的传统，标志着一个自由民主国家的开始，并以此奠定了今天的价值观和外交政策。我们有幸生活在一个自由民主的国家，这得益于我们作为北约和欧盟成员国所建立的紧密联盟，同时也要感谢我们的先辈，他们为自由和安全付出了巨大的代价。我们珍视国家所坚持的价值观，竭尽全力保持国家的繁荣和自由，并使其鼓舞人心。

我们致力于与合作伙伴建立最佳关系，并强调遵守国际法和既定规则。俄罗斯对乌克兰的侵略行为对捷克共和国构成了生存威胁，它破坏了世界和平共处的基石。我们支持乌克兰的防御，并将继续加强这种支持。

Ladies and Gentlemen, this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Czech Republic and China. However, mutual contacts between our people have much deeper roots. The first Franciscan friars from the Czech lands arrived in China in the 14th century and other missionaries followed. The Czech Jesuit missionary Karel Slavíček worked for nearly 20 years as a mathematician, astronomer and musician at the imperial court in Beijing. His letters from China are a great source of knowledge about local life, customs and science. His well-preserved grave is a stone's throw from the Forbidden City in the center of Beijing.

In 1918, after victorious battles against the Bolsheviks in Russia, the Czechoslovak Legionnaires arrived in Harbin, the only foreign army ever to march successfully across Russia from west to east. Some of them stayed and later became the first diplomats in our representative offices in China or representatives of Czech companies that were already well established in the Far East, such as Skoda, Bata and others. At the beginning of the 1950s they were all evacuated back home as a result of the socio-economic changes in China. Except for one, a well-known brewer. His explanation of why he stayed probably couldn't be more Czechish. He said he would not leave China "until he taught Chinese comrades to brew good beer".

女士们、先生们，今年是捷中建交75周年。然而，我们两国人民之间的相互联系有着更深的历史渊源。14世纪，首批来自捷克地区的方济各会修士抵达中国，随后有许多其他传教士也陆续到来。捷克耶稣会传教士卡雷尔·斯拉维切克在北京的皇宫中担任了近二十年的数学家、天文学家和音乐家。他从中国寄回的信件是了解当地生活、习俗和科学的宝贵资料。他那保存完好的墓地距离北京中心的紫禁城仅一步之遥。

1918年，在结束与俄罗斯布尔什维克的战斗并取得胜利后，捷克斯洛伐克军团抵达了哈尔滨，这是唯一一支成功从西向东穿越俄罗斯的外国军队。他们中的一些人选择留下，并成为了我们在中国代表处的首批外交官，或是斯柯达、拔佳等已经在远东地区扎根的捷克公司的代表。20世纪50年代初，由于中国社会经济的变革，他们全部撤离回国，但有一位著名的酿酒师选择留下，他的理由非常具有捷克特色，他说，他不会离开中国，“直到他教会中国同志们如何酿造好啤酒”。

Relations between our two countries were often intense and mutually benefitial. During the 1950s, before China reached full international recognition, Chinese maritime vessels and merchant ships were registered as Czech ships and sailed the oceans under the flag of our country, bringing back to China food, grain, machines and other goods from around the world. By the way, Czech tractors and other agricultural machinery donated to China in the 50s to help fight famine still stay at the Sino-Czechoslovakian Friendship Farm in Hebei Province.

Today, China is not the same country. Its economy, its policies and its global footprint have changed. In these turbulent times with war raging just outside the European Union borders, there is a strong need for constructive cooperation. While we protect our values and interests, we are also ready and willing to address our disagreements through dialogue. Zhou Enlai once said:“We may have differences of opinion on small things, but let's face the big challenges together". And I would like to add a quote of our former President Václav Havel: "Hope is not the belief that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something is worthwhile - no matter how it turns out".

我们两国之间的关系历来是紧密且互惠的。在20世纪50年代，中国尚未获得国际社会的充分认可时，中国的海运船只和商船以捷克的名义注册，并在我们的国旗庇护下航行于世界各地的海洋，为中国带回了粮食、谷物、机械和其他必需品。顺便一提，50年代为帮助中国抗击饥荒而捐赠给中国的捷克拖拉机和其他农业机械，至今仍存放在河北省的中捷友谊农场。

今天的中国已非昔日可比，它的经济、政策和全球影响力都已发生了巨大变化。在这个充满动荡的时代，战争就在欧盟边界之外肆虐，我们迫切需要开展建设性的合作。我们既要捍卫我们的价值观和利益，也准备并愿意通过对话来解决分歧。周恩来总理曾说过："我们的态度是求同而不求异。“ 我还想引用我国前总统瓦茨拉夫·哈维尔的一句话： “希望不是相信某件事会有好结果，而是确信某件事是值得的——无论结果如何。”

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to conclude by drawing your attention to one more anniversary. This year marks the centenary of the death of Franz Kafka, a prominent Prague native and one of the most important writers of the 20th century. While his work is world famous, what is less known is that some of his stories display a myriad of Chinese cultural influences - for example, in the short story "The Great Wall of China". I am delighted to see how popular Kafka is in China and how many Chinese people understand his world nowadays. It is clear that cultural and social overlap of his work is enormous. That is why I would like to say goodbye to you with one of his quotes: 'Don't waste your time looking for an obstacle, maybe there isn't one.'

Thank you. Xiexie tatdzija.

女士们、先生们，在我结束讲话之前，想请大家关注另一个周年纪念。今年我们纪念弗朗茨·卡夫卡逝世一百周年，他是布拉格的杰出之子，也是20世纪最重要的作家之一。虽然他的作品闻名于世界，但鲜为人知的是，他的一些故事中融入了丰富的中国文化元素——比如短篇小说《中国长城》。我非常高兴地看到卡夫卡在中国受到如此广泛的欢迎，以及众多中国人对他的世界观有着深刻的理解。显然，他的作品在文化和社会层面与大家有着巨大的共鸣。因此，我想用卡夫卡的一句名言结束我今天的讲话：“不要浪费时间去寻找障碍，或许根本就没有障碍。”

谢谢大家。