長眠的闡釋——高斯的後語會進入歷史

長眠的闡釋——高斯的後語會進入歷史嗎？





高斯在芝加哥大學舉辦的「中國經濟改革研討會議」今年七月十八日終結時，作了簡短的後語。事前他花了十分鐘寫了一點初稿，但講時沒用上，只是毫無準備地說了一些話。這些話感人，聽者流淚，站起來鼓掌兩三分鐘，而高斯自己也熱淚盈眶。王石當時在場，事後給我一個短信，說：「切身感受高斯老教授對中國的真誠關懷。」



這個沒有文稿的後語按錄音翻出來了，高斯說要修改一番才發表。但這一次——只這一次—— 我不尊重他老人家，一意孤行地在這裡刊登原文。理由有二。其一是他將會修改過的不是現場有感而發的話。其二是因為有感而發，這後語有機會打進將來中國的經濟歷史去。這裡先發表，過後我會放進自己的結集中，檔案明確，有憑有據，將來寫中國歷史的要怎樣取捨是他們的選擇。



下面先刊英語原文，前思後想，認為要補加翻譯。難譯，是由我翻的，其中「長眠」（long sleep）一詞如何闡釋有爭議。不便問高斯，但按上文下理讀者或可解通。全文如下（是錄音翻出的沒有文稿的講話，文字上這裡那裡有點沙石）：



Although I knew that I would have to say something at the end of the conference, I am nonetheless taken by surprise when I had to do it and I am not sure I know what I am going to say. Which puts me in the same position you are in, you don't know what I am going to say.



This conference has clearly been a great success. I wanted this conference to take place because what happened in China was a great surprise to me. If you are surprised at what happens, it means you don't understand it, and I don't understand it. And I thought we should have a conference in which the participants in the events in China could speak as against having people who didn't take part in the events and whose opinions weren't always very reliable. So we tried to get businessmen, government officials, academics who had been involved in the transformation to speak to us.



I must say I had belief in China's future for a long time. As a young boy I read Marco Polo, and just as he was amazed at what he found, so was I, and I felt here is a country with great potential but somehow didn't achieve it. And it was a puzzle to me as to why didn't achieve it and I was very surprised when, in the period after 1978 it seemed it was going to achieve its potential. And what I heard in this conference has confirmed this view. I now have a feeling that the events which were set in motion in 1978 will be a great success.



However, human beings have a great capacity for messing things up. You will understand that, when I describe what happened in my life. When I was born in 1910, the industrial revolution has been absorbed in Europe. The social system seemed stable. And what happened when I was four the Great War opened. It was a stupid war. It achieved nothing worthwhile, in fact it did harm, and millions of men were killed. People lost faith in the social system and then communism came in. It was absolute disaster and it destroyed changes in attitude in people and resulted in a world a good deal worse than it was when I was born.



Now if you think of the present situation, that is, we have a situation in which everything seems be going along well, that's what I'd learnt from this conference. When I wrote the forward to Steven Cheung's book of English articles, I said that the struggle for China is the struggle for the world, that I truly believe. Well, will we actually achieve this desirable result? Well of course I will never know although you will. All I can do is to say that our discussions carried out will make it possible. But to make it possible as we know is not enough. The political regime has to carry out its actions. Whether it will or not, I don't know. All I can do is to hope it will and to wish you well in the next hundred years. And I can now thank you…thank you.



What you are going to do, as I am sure you are, is to bring about desirable results. And I would think of you now, because it would be difficult to do much thinking in that long sleep which I am going to have. But it makes me happy to think that you will, as is shown by what you said in this conference, make the efforts. That makes me happy and I thank you.



中譯如下：



「雖然我知道在這會議終結時我要說一些話，事到臨頭我卻驚訝於自己一定要說，而又不能肯定要說些什麼。這就把我放在你們的位置上：你們不知道我將會說些什麼。



「這個研討會議取得巨大的成功是清楚的。我要這個會議出現，因為中國發生了的事給我很大的驚奇。如果你對發生的事感到驚奇，是說你不明白。我不明白。於是想，我們應該有一個研討會議，讓參與過中國發展的人說話，這會比那些沒有參與過的人的見解來得可靠。我們於是嘗試找那些參與過中國經濟改革的商人、幹部與學者來對我們說。



「必須說的是我相信中國的前途有很久的時日了。作孩子時我讀馬哥孛羅，正如他吃驚於所遇，我也是，而我當時覺得那是個潛力龐大的國家，不知為什麼沒有發揮出來。對我來說，不能發揮這潛力是一個謎，而使我震驚的，是一九七八之後的跡象顯示，這潛力彷彿開始體現了。這個會議我聽到的，證實著這個觀點。現在我有這樣的感受：一九七八激活了的發展，將會是個偉大成就。



「然而，人類有很大的可以把事情搞得一團糟的能耐。告訴你我一生遇到的，你會明白。一九一○我誕生的時候，歐洲正在神往於工業革命。社會的制度看來是穩定的。但四歲時，世界大戰爆發了。是一個愚蠢的戰爭。爭取到的毫無價值，事實上做成損害，百萬計的人死了。人們對社會的制度失卻了信心，共產制度於是來臨。絕對是大災難，這制度毀滅了人們的態度轉變，效果是世界變得比我出生時壞很多。



「現在你們想想目前的情況，那就是我們面對的情況，看來進展得好，而這是我在這次會議中學得的。當我為張五常的英語論文結集寫前言時，我說中國的奮鬥是世界的奮鬥。這一點我是深信的。但我們真的會爭取到良好合意的效果嗎？這問題的答案我永遠不知道，但你們是會知道的。我能做的只是說，我們的研討增加了這合意效果的可能。然而，我們知道增加這可能不足夠。政治系統要以行動帶來實踐。是成是敗我不知道。我只能希望這系統會履行，也希望今後百年你們萬事如意。現在我可以感謝你們……感謝你們。



「你們將會做的，我肯定你們會做的，是要帶來良好的合意效果。現在我會想著你們，因為在我將要有的長眠中多想什麼不容易。但當我想到你們將會盡力而為——會議中你們這樣表達過——我高興。你們使我高興，我感謝你們。」



朋友，人非草木，你哭了嗎？有點爭議的，是高斯在最後說自己將要長眠，有兩個解法。其一是會議開了五天，他累了，要好好地睡一長覺。其二是他近九十八歲了，快要離開人世，永遠地長眠去也。哪個解法才對呢？我知道答案，不說，讀者自己闡釋吧。



高斯的思想對中國改革的貢獻我說過多次了。他對中國的真誠關懷我知道了四十年——他當年千叮萬囑要我回到香港去給中國的同胞解釋經濟制度的運作。今天所見，神州未富先驕，為爭取自己利益而不顧大局的人那麼多，效與願違的政策層出不窮，高斯的希望能得到實踐的機會不大。但如果他的希望真能體現，我認為上述的感人後語會在將來的中國歷史上佔有一個可愛的註腳。