Big claims are par for the course in China中国争夺发明权亦在情理中

Big claims are par for the course in China
By Mure Dickie

中国争夺发明权亦在情理中

Published: March 11 2006 02:00 | Last updated: March 11 2006 02:00



Chinese academics have sparked controversy in the world of golf by contesting Scotland's claim to have invented that strangely popular way of using clubs and balls to spoil a good walk.

中国学者与苏格兰人争夺高尔夫球的最早发明权，在高尔夫球界引发了一场争议。高尔夫球这项运动，是用高尔夫球杆和球糟蹋了好好的散步，

The longstanding Chinese theory, to be showcased anew in an exhibition that opens at Hong Kong's Heritage Museum this month, is based on murals and paintings that show imperial courtiers playing a golf-like game long before Scotland's first documented reference in the 15th century.

中国最早发明高尔夫球的理论由来已久。本月在香港文化博物馆的一次展览会上再次的到展示。这一理论的主要依据是中国古代的壁画和绘画作品。在这些画中，宫廷仕臣们在玩一种类高尔夫球运动，这比苏格兰最早的文献记载15世纪要早。

This grab for golfing glory is no isolated incident. China's passion for claiming inventions and discoveries exceeds even that of the Scots (who claim to have given the world everything from the telephone to the study of economics).

这次争夺高尔夫球殊荣的事件并非偶然。中国人主张发明权和发现的热情远远超过了苏格兰人。苏格兰人声称，自己给了世界从电话到经济学研究的一切。

In January, state media announced the discovery of cliff paintings suggesting Chinese were " adept skiers as early as the Stone Age" . Last year, China bolstered its claim to credit for pasta-type dishes with discovery of a 4,000-year-old bowl of noodles in western Qinghai province.

一月份，中国的媒体报道了悬崖壁画的发现，这暗示着中国在石器时代就已出现熟练的滑雪者了。去年在中国西部的青海省，发现一4000年前的面食碗具。这一发现使中国发明意大利面的主张有据可依了。

Amid China's re-emergence as an international power, such claims to cultural and scientific precocity strike a global chord. World football body Fifa, keen to cultivate the country, has already given recognition to the theory that the game owes its origins to China's ancient state of Qi. And retired British submariner Gavin Menzies has won fame and fortune with his thinly-argued thesis that Chinese sailors mapped the Americas long before Columbus.

在中国重新崛起成为世界强国的过程中，像这样对文化科技的早就发展了的主张引起了全球共鸣。国际足联体，恳切于培育中国市场，已经承认了足球运动起源于中国古代齐朝的论断。前英国潜水军官盖文孟奇斯也由于一片论据不足的论文--中国航海家早在哥伦布之前就在地图上绘著了美洲大陆而获得了殊荣与金钱。

Such claims often appear less than solid. China's borders have only enveloped the sites of the ancient skiers and noodle-slurpers in relatively modern times. There is also a shortage of evidence linking classical Chinese ball games with today's golf and football. And Mr Menzies' argument for the discovery of America appears too far-fetched even for nationalist Chinese scholars.

这些说法常常难以自圆其说。在现今，中国争论的范围仅仅是古代的滑雪者和面条餐具。而中国古代的球类游戏与今天的高尔夫球运动和足球运动也缺少关联证据。孟奇斯先生关于发现美洲大陆论断对于那些带有民族主义情节的中国学者来说也太过牵强。

There is no denying the appeal to Beijing of stressing national historical achievements, however. The " Four Great Inventions" - paper, printing, gunpowder and the compass - are a staple of Chinese children's " patriotic education" .

热然中国政府强调国家历史成就的号召力是毋庸置疑的。四大发明--造纸术，印刷术，火药和指南针，是中国儿童爱国主义教育的范本教材。

Still, some in China take a more nuanced view. Local discussion of the Great Inventions often centres on why they found their greatest development in upstart Europe.

当然，在中国有些人对此保持了谨慎。这些中国人的争论主要集中在为什么四大发明在欧洲发展的初期取得了巨大发展而不是在中国。

Indeed, the fact that many classical discoveries were later completely forgotten is a reminder of a key reason why China was eventually eclipsed: its failure to invent anything like western science, with its sceptical philosophy, shared nomenclature and peer reviews.

实际上，中国许多的古代发明后来被完全淡忘，这一事实的确揭示了中国最终没落的原因：中国没能发明类似于西方的科学。

These days, China is trying to make up lost ground, promoting greater innovation to reduce the dominance of foreign companies' technology and brands. After all, China's historical golfing credentials will not help local sporting goods retailers and manufacturers accused of selling counterfeit clubs.

现在中国又在试着收复失地，大力推进创新，以消弱外企在技术和品牌方面的垄断。毕竟中国争夺高尔夫球发明殊荣的行为并不能够帮助当地体育商品销售商和制造商免遭其受到的销售假冒伪劣商品的指责。

Perhaps if the ancient Chinese had been really smart, they would have invented not golf, but intellectual property rights.

也许如果古代中国人真聪明的话，他们应当发明知识产权而不是“高尔夫球”权。

The writer is the FT's Beijing correspondent

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008