A rising sun sets
By Francesco Sisci
BEIJING - The landslide victory（很形象的巨大胜利，排山倒海似的胜利） on Sunday of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) over the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) - which has ruled Japan almost without interruption（连续的一个同义表达） for the past six decades - is the latest signal of a momentous transformation in Asia.
signal：
1 : SIGN, INDICATION
2 a : an act, event, or watchword that has been agreed on as the occasion of concerted action b : something that incites to action
3 : something (as a sound, gesture, or object) that conveys notice or warning
4 a : an object used to transmit or convey information beyond the range of human voice b : the sound or image conveyed in telegraphy, telephony, radio, radar, or television c : a detectable physical quantity or impulse (as a voltage, current, or magnetic field strength) by which messages or information can be transmitted
The past many decades, marked by（以什么为标志） Japan's political primacy and power in the area, have really ended; and the more distant past, signified by（marked by的同义表达） China's regional dominance, has returned.
In a way, history is repeating itself. Taro Aso, the LDP's outgoing（即将离去的） premier, who was crushingly（这个词也很形象） defeated（惨败） in Sunday's vote, is the great-great-grandson of Toshimichi Okubo, one of the three men who led the Meiji Reformation in the mid-1800s and who is widely regarded as a founding father of modern Japan. That era has come to a close, and something else is about to start in Japan and Asia - exactly a month before neighboring China proclaims a new beginning. On October 1, Beijing celebrates the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
For about 150 years, Japan could claim it was the best Asian student of Western powers. It beat waning China in the 1880s, taking over Korea and Taiwan; it crushed fading Russia in 1905, gaining a foothold in Manchuria; it chose the right side in World War I, helping to expel the Germans from the Far East. All these successes whet its appetite, went to its head（头脑发热）, and made Japan think it could push all the white men out of Asia, replace the Western colonies with its own rule, and even conquer the once-mighty China.
wane：
1 : to decrease in size, extent, or degree : DWINDLE: as a : to diminish in phase or intensity ? used chiefly of the moon, other satellites, and inferior planets b : to become less brilliant or powerful : DIM c : to flow out : EBB
2 : to fall gradually from power, prosperity, or influence
whet：
1 : to sharpen by rubbing on or with something (as a stone) *whet a knife*
2 : to make keen or more acute : EXCITE, STIMULATE *whet the appetite* *whetted her curiosity*
go to one's head:
1. Make one dizzy or drunk, as in Wine always goes to her head. [c. 1900]
2. Make one proud or vain, as in All this money is going to his head. [Early 1900s]
It turned into a bad dream. Japan was eventually stopped in the late 1980s, when America won on two fronts(在两条战线上赢了) - against Tokyo's technological and financial threats and against the Soviet Union, which after seven decades crumbled.
It was a sudden halt for Japan, but at the time it seemed temporary. Japan looked poised to come back in one way or another. In 1989, the Soviet Union also seemed ready to turn a new leaf（洗心革面） and begin again, when it let all the Eastern European countries slip out of its grip and enter the West's fold. China, conversely, with the Tiananmen crackdown in 1989, seemed to have turned back the clock and appeared set to become once more the sick man of Asia.
poised：
adj.
Assured; composed.
Held balanced or steady in readiness: stood poised for the jump.
be poised to:准备就绪，信誓旦旦
fold: a group of people or institutions that share a common faith, belief, activity, or enthusiasm
Everything turned out differently. Twenty years later, the relative position of these countries is totally different: In a year or two, China should become the first economy of Asia in a century to overtake Japan's gross domestic product (GDP).
In the meantime, Japan's decline has become more than simple statistics. The social contract that guaranteed lifetime jobs, family values and security is falling apart. Japanese papers report of elderly people who let themselves die at home, without family or friends to take care of them and without a pension to live on. Other elderly people resort to petty theft to increase their meager purchasing power.
Young people aren't faring much better. Many have abandoned hopes for one of the few safe sources of lifetime employment, and they practice job-hopping as if it were a hobby. Unlike their parents, they are not driven and dedicated to their companies - yet why should they be? Japan is still quite well off, and they can still afford a decent life - but there is no big dream or ambition to fight for when opportunities are fewer.
fare：
1 : GO, TRAVEL
2 : GET ALONG, SUCCEED *how did you fare on your exam?*
3 : EAT, DINE
The time is right. Sixty years ago, the foundation of the People's Republic of China decided Japan's destiny in Asia. America lost China, its old ally was reduced to Taiwan, and it needed to rebuild a strong Japan to counter the strategic threat of Mao. Now that Mao's shadow is fading, and China's economy looks like the possible locomotive of future growth and an exit from the global financial crisis, Japan could emerge not as the Asian alternative to China, but a bridge - some kind of glue or guarantor - between the US and China.
Asia has about a year to see whether or not the DPJ can act on its promises and change Japan. Next year, there will be a vote for the Upper House and Hatoyama needs to gain an absolute majority there. If he fails, and fails to convince voters of his determination to change, the old LDP might return - and then hopes for change might fade as China steams ahead in the region and in the world.
一轮即将升起的红日－中国
（北京）－－周日，日本民主党在大选中对自民党的压倒性胜利――自民党过去60年几乎没有中断在日本的统治――是一个亚洲正在经历重大转变的最新信号。
过去几十年，日本是该地区的政治强国，这个时期，已经真正结束了；在遥远的过去，曾是该地区主宰的中国，已经回来了。
从某种意义上来说，历史正在重演。选举惨败即将离任的自民党首相麻生太郎是19世纪中叶领导明治维新的大久保利的玄孙（大久保利是明治维新3位领导核心人物之一，被普遍视为现代日本的国父）。那个时代已经结束，在日本和亚洲将要发生新的事件――正好离邻国中国宣布一个新的开端一个月的时间。10月1日，中国将庆祝建国60周年。
在大约150年的时间里，日本可以声称它是西方列强最好的亚洲学生。19世纪80年代，它击败了衰弱的中国，接管了高丽和台湾。1905年，它又打败了衰落的俄罗斯，获得了在满洲的立足点。在第一次世界大战中，它帮助驱逐了远东的德国人。所有这些刺激了它的胃口，头脑发热，认为日本可以将所有白人逐出亚洲，自己来统治西方殖民地，甚至征服曾经强大的中国。
结果变成了一场噩梦。最终在上世纪80年代后期，日本发展停滞。当时美国在两条战线上赢得了胜利――战胜了日本对美国的技术和金融威胁，以及战胜了苏联－苏联在成立70年后崩溃。
对日本来说，这是突然的停滞，当时，日本发展停滞似乎暂时的。看上去日本想以这种或那种方式重新发展。 1989年，苏联似乎也准备重新开始翻开新的一页，当时它让所有的东欧国家脱离其控制而进入了西方的怀抱。相反，1989年的中国，似乎要让时光倒流，好像要再次成为东亚病夫。
结果，一切都大为不同。 20年后，这些国家的相对地位完全不同：一两年后，中国会超过日本的国内生产总值（GDP），成为一个世纪里亚洲第一经济体。
与此同时，日本的经济衰退甚于简单的统计数字。保证一辈子工作的社会合同、家庭观念和安全正在崩溃。有日本报纸报道，老人任由自己死在家中，没有家庭或朋友照顾他们，也没有赖以生存的退休金。一些老人小偷小摸，以增加他们微薄的购买力。
年轻人的日子也好不到哪儿。许多人放弃了对很少几个安全的终身雇用资源的希望，他们跳槽，好像这是一个爱好。与他们的父母不同的是，他们不受公司利益驱动并为公司奉献一切――但他们为什么要这样呢？日本依然很好，他们仍然过得起体面的生活――但当机会太少时，他们没有争取机会的大的梦想和雄心。
时间总是正确的。60年前，中华人民共和国的成立决定了日本在亚洲的命运。中国的经济目前看起来像是未来世界经济增长的火车头，一个全球金融危机的出口。在美中之间，日本替代不了中国，而有可能是亚洲的一个桥梁――作某些紧密的联系或担保人。
亚洲有大约一年的时间，看日本的民主党能否贷现承诺，改变日本。明年，日本上院将会有一次投票表决，鸠山由纪夫必需赢得绝对多数。如果失败，他就不能使投票的议员们相信他改变日本的决心，自民党可能会卷土重来――然后，改变日本的希望渐渐消失，而中国则在该地区和世界滚滚向前。
楼主: thatll
发表于 2009-8-31 10:11:12
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