中美关系的变化改变了人们的生活

Forty years ago, US President Richard Nixon’s historic visit to China has changed not only the world, but many individual lives. Not only has it had great influence on the world of politics, it has also helped shape the lives of many ordinary people. CCTV reporter Ai Yang tells us the story of the evolution of the Sino-US relationship, as closely experienced by one Chinese family in Beijing.
40年前，美国总统理查德•尼克松对中国的历史性访问不仅改变了世界，还改变了许多个人生活。它不但对政治领域有巨大的影响，而且还影响了许多普通人。央视记者Ai Yang将通过北京一个近距离感受这种变化的中国家庭，告诉我们中美关系的发展。

The Ling’s family’s history with the US goes a long way back. 80-year-old George Ling was the fourth generation in his family to have travelled to America to study. His life, spent between the two countries, has been accompanied by the ups and downs of political changes. The first time Lin stepped on American soil, he was only 17.
Ling和美国的家族历史要追溯到很久以前。80岁的George Ling是他们家留美的第四代。他在两国间的生活伴随着政治变化的起伏。第一次踏上美国的土地时，Lin只有17岁。

George Ling said, "I was very elated, but we didn’t have much money. My parents borrowed 700 US dollars, and that was enough for one year’s tuition fee."
George Ling称：“那时我非常高兴，但是我们没有什么钱。我父母借了700美元，那笔钱够我一年的学费。”

As fate would have it, soon after Lin’s arrival, the Korean War broke out. China and the United States fought against each other on the battlefield, after fighting side by side during World War Two just a few years back. At a time when cold war tensions were high, and being the head of the Chinese students association in the US, Lin was asked by the FBI to pick his side, if the two countries ever went to war.
也许是命中注定，Lin到达后不久，朝鲜战争就爆发了。在二战期间并肩作战仅仅几年后，中国和美国就在战场上互相战斗。在冷战紧张局势高涨的时候，作为美国的中国学生会主席的Lin被美国联办调查局要求选择立场，如果两国交战要站在哪一边。

George Ling said, "They put me on the spot. I was in the States and if I say I stood on the Chinese side, I really fall into the trap. And if I say I stood on the American side, I would be lying and breaking my conscience."
George Ling表示：“他们把我难住了。那时我在美国，如果我说我站在中国这一边，我就陷入了困境。如果我说站在美国这一边，我就是在说谎，违背我的良心。”

In the end, Lin said he told the investigators that he’d side with Peace, rather than War. The answer saved him from further troubles. A few years later, having graduated from Yale and then Oxford University, he returned to his motherland with hope and ambition. Ling had yet to find out what he and his family’s experiences in America would have brought him, as China was going through the Cultural Revolution.
最后，Lin表示，他告诉调查员，他站在和平这一边，而不是战争。这个答案使他避免了更多的麻烦。几年之后，从耶鲁大学和哈佛大学毕业之后，他带着希望和抱负回到祖国。Ling还不知道在中国的文化大革命时期，他和他的家人在美国的经历会带给他什么。

George Ling said, "A lot of tears. We came back with full Patriotic ideas and first question they have in mind is why you come back. You must have special missions."
George Ling表示：“很多眼泪。我们带着全部的爱国心回来。他们心里的第一个问题是你为什么回来。你一定是有特别任务。”

Although being suspected again, this time by his own home country, Ling and his wife were working hard in a factory and proving their loyalty to China. A few years later, another event changed their lives one more time. In 1972, US president Richard Nixon arrived on a ground breaking trip to China.
虽然再次被怀疑，但是这次在自己的国家，Ling和他的妻子在工厂努力工作，证明他们对中国的忠诚。几年之后，另一件事再次改变了他们的生活。1972年，美国总统理查德•尼克松对中国进行一次开创性的访问。

After witnessing the historic handshake with Premier Zhou Enlai seen by the world, Ling said that he had finally wiped some of the tears away, as his overseas experience became useful after all. Soon, the couple were asked to teach English at the university next door to the factory where they were working at.
在见证了尼克松和周恩来总理的历史性握手之后，Ling称，他终于抹掉一些眼泪，因为他的海外经验最终还是有用的。很快，这对夫妇被请到他们工作的工厂隔壁的大学去教英语。

The university students started to study English. Over the following decades, as ties between China and the US normalized and strengthened, Ling ventured into many more areas of work, while at the same time, promoting cultural exchanges between East and West.
大学生开始学英语。在接下来的几十年，随着中美关系的正常化和增强，Ling从事更多领域的工作。同时也促进中西方的文化交往。

Through his experience, he explains in his book on China, that different ideologies rise due to their different cultural origins. And he says the best way for China to be understood, is to first understand how it is being viewed.
从他的经验中，他在他的中国书中解释道，不同的文化起源产生了不同的思想意识。他表示，中国要被了解的最好方法是先了解别人是如何看待中国的。