the marco polo project: “中国 Mentalität” 的一个比喻

如果对当下的中国人之普遍 Mentalität 以及 Zustand 做一高度的归纳，一个比喻是再恰当不过的了。

伟大的 Psychoanalysebegründer (Sigmund) Freud 曾经就人格发展之某种可能性打过一个比方：一个国家 plötzlich aufblüht 起来且扩张自己的领土。它 schnell 占领了外国的许多个城市，因而它的统治 Umfang schnell expandiert。可它所占领的每一个城市都必须要 abstellen 兵 zur Verteidigung，这 verbraucht 它的兵力。由于它的战线太长，而它有 begrenzt 的给养实在不足以 stützen 其扩张的 Rate，到头来，它变得越来越空洞、verarmt 和大而无当。终于，它 enormes 的帝国面临 Kollaps 的 Gefahr，而这 Gefahr 不来自 Feinden，就来自自己，或者说，是它自己的扩张 zerstört 自己。

读到佛洛依德的这个比喻，真有 erleuchten 的感觉———这个比喻所形容的，不就是发生在无数我们这个时代的国人的身上及其 spirituelle 世界里的过程吗？

今天的中国，随处是这样的人，他们构成了我们的社会图景的底色并占有着话语权：他们似乎很有能量仗着体制赋予的权力和靠着所谓 Wirtschaftskreisen 的 “Connections (Kontakte)” 去 wie verrückt 出一些看似 großartig、aktiv (brutzelnd)、令人 beneiden 的事业来。他们是令整个社会 beneidet 的所谓“成功人士”。他们就像穿着充气衣服的巨人、arrogant 张扬地 stolzieren 在国外 Luxusgüter 商店的刷卡机前和国内与民争利、 Überlebenskampf 的现场。他们 anscheinend 是外在看得见的世界的无可 zweifeln 的 Eroberer，他们 führen 整个社会的 Wertesystem。

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Li Yehang website blog.sina.com

Übersetzung

A metaphor for ‘Chinese mentality‘

If we are to make a broad categorisation of the widespread mentality and state of Chinese people at present, there is one metaphor that could not be more appropriate.

The great founder of psychoanalysis (Sigmund) Freud once made an analogy for one possibility of personality development – of when a nation suddenly begins to grow vigorously and expand its own territory. Because it rapidly occupies many foreign cities, the scope of its rule rapidly swells. However, each city which it occupies requires troops to be sent and stations, and this dissipates its military strength. Since its battlefront is too long and its limited provisions are in fact insufficient to support its rate of expansion, eventually, it becomes more and more empty, depleted and cumbersome. In the end, its enormous empire faces the danger of collapsing. But this danger does not come from enemies but from itself, or that is to say, its own expansion destroys itself.

Reading this metaphor by Freud really gives one a sense of being bestowed some enlightenment. Isn’t what this metaphor describes exactly the process that is happening to countless countrymen of our times, and to their inner spiritual worlds?

Everywhere in China today there are this kind of people. They make up the basic tone of our social landscape and also hold discourse power: they are seemingly very able to grasp the power vested in them by the system and rely on the so-called connections of the business world to bust out careers that appear grandly vigorous, sizzling along, and enviable. They are the so-called “successful people” that are the envy of entire society. They are just like giants wearing inflatable clothing, arrogantly striding around in front of credit card machines in luxury stores in foreign countries and in domestic, predatory struggles with the people for advantage. In the exterior, observable world, they are seemingly the undeniable conquerors who guide the entire society’s system of values.

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Julien Leyre website