刘晓明在大英图书馆招待会上的讲话

在大英图书馆举办的答谢“中国之窗”赠书项目招待会上的讲话
驻英国大使刘晓明
大英图书馆
2010年5月11日
Remarks by Ambassador Liu Xiaoming at the Reception
Hosted by the British Library to Celebrate "Window to China"
British Library
May 11, 2010

尊敬的大英图书馆董事会主席科林．卢卡斯爵士，
大英图书馆馆长林恩．布林德利女士，
中国国家图书馆副馆长常丕军女士，
各位来宾，朋友们：

Sir Colin Lucas,
Dame Lynne Brindley,
Madam Chang Pijun,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

很高兴今晚出席大英图书馆举办的答谢“中国之窗”赠书项目招待会。欢迎常副馆长率领的中国国家图书馆代表团来英交流。

It's a great pleasure to join you at tonight's reception to celebrate the "Window to China". I would also like to warmly welcome Madam Chang Pijun and her colleagues from the National Library of China.

我抵英时间不长，今天，是我第一次来到大英图书馆，却有一种似曾相识的感觉。我想，一个原因是大英图书馆作为世界最大的图书馆之一久负盛名，而且它与马克思的渊源在中国是众所周知。另一个更重要的原因是无论我走到哪里，促进双方图书馆之间的合作都是我工作的一部分。我在担任驻埃及大使时，曾多次造访有“人类文明世界的太阳”之称的亚历山大图书馆，并积极促成在亚历山大图书馆举办“中国汉字展”；出任驻朝鲜大使后，又代表中国政府向朝鲜国家图书馆——平壤人民大学习堂赠书。现在我担任驻英大使，推动中英图书馆之间的交流与合作仍将是我工作的重要一环。

This is my first visit to the British Library. But I do not feel as if I was a stranger here. For one thing, the British Library has a long standing reputation as one of the world's leading libraries. It is particularly well-known in China because of its association with Karl Marx. Furthermore, libraries are centers of knowledge and progress. As ambassador, I see it as an important part of my mission to strengthen knowledge and understanding between China and my host countries, an inherent part of which is to facilitate exchanges and cooperation between libraries.

我很高兴地得知大英图书馆和中国国家图书馆保持着长期良好合作关系。双方的交流与互访非常密切，去年下半年，布林德利馆长应邀参加了中国国家图书馆百年馆庆纪念活动。谈到两馆合作，不能不提及“国际敦煌项目”。由于我曾在甘肃担任省长助理，对敦煌有着特殊的感情。敦煌文献是人类文明的珍贵遗产，它不仅属于中国，也属于世界。两馆合作9年来，将敦煌文献数字化，不仅推动了文献保护修复与研究的国际合作，而且也是对世界文献研究的一大贡献。

I am glad to learn that the British Library and the National Library of China have developed a sound partnership based on close communication and regular exchanges. Last year, Chief Executive Dame Brindley attended the centennial celebration of the National Library of China. Any mention of the cooperation between the two libraries will not be complete without reference to the International Dunhuang Project. Dunhuang has a special place in my heart, as I worked as Assistant Governor of Gansu Province, the home province of Dunhuang. The Dunhuang manuscripts are precious legacies of human civilization that belong not just to China, but also to the world. The digitalization of the Dunhuang manuscripts as part of the 9-year cooperation between the two libraries is not only conducive to international protection and restoration of ancient manuscripts, but also contributes immensely to global research in this area.

自2006年起，大英图书馆开始接受中国国家图书馆的“中国之窗”赠书项目，迄今为止接受赠书约3500册件。这些图书成为英国读者了解中国发展、感知中国文化的重要资源。

From 2006 on, the British Library became a beneficiary of the "Window to China" project sponsored by the National Library of China and has received 3,500 books by far. These books have become an important resource for British readers to understand China and appreciate Chinese culture.

图书是记录人类文明的载体，图书馆是人类文明成果的集散地。各国图书馆之间加强交流与合作，这有利于实现全球文明成果的共享，增进人民间的理解和友谊，促进各国的共同进步和发展。

Here as Ambassador to the UK, I am even more enthusiastic about facilitating exchanges between libraries as a vehicle for spreading knowledge, understanding and friendship among the people.

我祝愿中英两国图书馆在图书交换、学术研究、技术研发等领域的交流与合作能取得更多丰硕成果，为两国公众开启更多认识和了解彼此的窗口，为促进两国人民之间的友谊做出更大贡献。

While celebrating the "Window to China", I hope libraries of our two countries will work together to open up more windows for people to better understand each other and contribute more to strengthening the friendship between our two peoples.

谢谢大家。

Thank you.