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本帖最后由 woikuraki 于 2012-3-31 13:25 编辑
【中文标题】北京精神
【原文标题】Beijing Spirit
【登载媒体】纽约时报
【原文作者】ERIC ABRAHAMSEN
【原文链接】http://latitude.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/29/beijing-spirit-campaign-reveals-chinese-governments-habit-of-control/?ref=china
在我居住的那个北京小区的各个路口，这样的宣传标语已经挂出来好几个星期了。
这样的标语——白色的方块字，加上从苏联共产主义借鉴来的红色底色——在半个世纪以来，就是中国共产党宣传机构运作的必要工具。人们对它太熟悉了、太习以为常了，以至于在中国居住上几年的人，都会对这东西形成视网膜上的盲点。
我家街道上的这幅标语，是为了宣传一项名为“北京精神”的政治运动，值得人们注意的是标语两端都有类似印章的图案。我的第一反应是：“宣传标语上竟然有艺术设计元素？在我的北京绝不可能！”就好像你收到的税务局稽查通知，是用烫金字体印刷在喷有香水的精美纸张上。
北京精神运动是试图建立公民身份认同感，以及施加政府软实力的一系列行动之一。其内容枯燥乏味。运动组织者试图让我们相信，北京的精神包括4个抽象名词：爱国（可以解读为“服从”，这一条总被摆在第一位）、创新（即“经济竞争力”）、包容和厚德。最后两个词是为了响应胡锦涛主席伟大的政治口号“和谐社会”。
市政府在贯彻这项运动时，表现出异乎寻常的创造力。标语的字体和图片千变万化，有些甚至不知所云。下面这张图用刺绣垂饰和有2200多年历史的书法“隶书”字体，体现出中国传统文化。
下边这两张，似乎是照搬50年代美国的广告海报创意，激起人们的家庭观念北京市的地标建筑物。
但是下边这个彻底回归原始。
这种苍白、严肃的宣传方式与借鉴于西方现代化社会的温和语言“我们的北京，我们的精神”结合起来，显得如此格格不入。不认识中文的人会觉得这是市政府对辖区人民的某种威胁口号。
最糟糕的莫过于其讽刺含义。当局或许没有考虑过，最好由北京人来定义“北京精神”的含义。在高校和研究机构中抽调一个专家小组，其中选出4个人来研究口号，另外一个人是在网络上公开投票选出的。但是口号中没有一句话是专门针对北京的——它可以是世界上任何一个城市的市长的美好心愿。连候选的口号都没有。
尽管我们欣喜地看到，中国政府意识到一个强大文明社会中文化的重要性，但同样令人高兴不起来的是，他们无论如何不愿意让中国社会自己来定义文化的内涵。控制的思想如此根深蒂固，以至于从来没人想过最好的方法就是无为而治。
那么究竟什么样的口号才能真正抓住北京精神的精髓呢？如果沿袭不征求北京人意见的习惯，我建议使用以下几个形容词。“自豪”：北京人从未忘记他们是中国最后一个帝王的子嗣。“直率”：与出租车司机或者老胡同里的人谈话，往往会让你惊恐不已。“精明”：身处国家权力机构的所在地，让本地人对政府工作有一种敏锐的嗅觉，他们为往往能穿透迷雾看到本质。“忠诚”：你可以毫无保留地相信北京人说的话，前提是你要允许他们开口。
原文：
BEIJING — At the mouth of the traditional Beijing alleyway where I live, this propaganda banner has hung for several weeks:
Signs like this one — their chunky white characters and primary-red background borrowed from Soviet Communism — have been an integral tool of the Chinese Communist Party’s message-machine for more than a half-century. They are so familiar, and so predictable, that they tend to wear a blind spot into the optic nerve of anyone who’s lived in China for more than a few years.
The banner on my street, which promotes a political campaign called “Beijing Spirit,” catches the eye with its attractive little chop-like flourishes on either end. My first reaction was, “Design elements on propaganda posters? Not in my Beijing!” It’s a bit like getting audit notices from the I.R.S. on scented cream paper with gilt lettering.
The Beijing Spirit campaign is one in a series of attempts to create a sense of civic identity, ultimately a part of the government’s soft-power push. Its contents are vapid. Organizers would have us believe that Beijing Spirit consists of four flavorless abstract nouns: “patriotism” (read: “obedience,” which is always given pride of place), “innovation” (that is, “economic competitiveness”), “inclusiveness” and “virtue,” the last two a homage to President Hu Jintao’s more venerable political slogan, “harmonious society.”
The municipal government has shown some unwonted creativity in executing the campaign. The range of style and imagery is varied — some might say unfocused. This poster evokes traditional Chinese culture with an embroidered pendant and a 2,200-year-old calligraphic style known as “clerical script” typeface:
These two, vaguely derived from 1950s American advertising imagery, draw on family values and Beijing landmarks:
But then it all falls down:
Here the harsh, imperative style of the propaganda banner is mixed with a slogan borrowed from more modern Western advertising language: “Our Beijing, Our Spirit.” The two elements clash so badly that the billboard reads like some sort of a threat by the city government against its own people.
Worst of all is the unintentional irony of the message. The authorities failed to consider that “Beijing Spirit” is something that might have been best left to Beijingers to define. A panel of experts drawn from universities and research institutes came up with five candidates for slogans, one of which was chosen in an open online vote. None of the options was remotely specific to Beijing — all could have been the product of wishful thinking by any mayor of any city in the world. There were no write-in candidates. (Those might have gone like this.)
Though it’s encouraging that the Chinese government is recognizing the importance of a strong civil society and culture, it’s utterly discouraging to see how unwilling it is to allow Chinese society to do the job itself. The habit of control is so strong, it seems not to have occurred to anyone that the best solution might be simply to let go.
So what slogan might have encapsulated the true spirit of Beijing? Continuing the trend of not asking Beijingers themselves, I propose the following four adjectives. “Proud”: Beijingers have never forgotten that they are the descendants of China’s last imperial dynasty. “Earthy”: the conversation of cabbies and the old folks in the city’s traditional alleys can be truly hair-raising. “Canny”: living in China’s seat of power has given locals a keen sense of how their government works, and how to penetrate official smoke screens. “Staunch”: You can take Beijingers at their word. Provided you let them speak.
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发表于 2012-3-6 10:43
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