Mayor Feng, Governor Cheng, Secretary Li,
Ni Men Hao. Thank you for the key to your city and for this magnificent welcome.
Here in this ancient capital, China seems very young to me tonight, blessed with both a proud history and the promise of tomorrow. I'm delighted to begin my journey in Xi'an, once the capital of China, still the heartland of the Chinese people. I was raised in the heartland of my country. I know that the character of a nation is determined by the hard-working people who live here.
Over a thousand years ago during the Tang Dynasty, which I have seen recreated tonight, Xi'an was perhaps the most open and culturally advanced city in the entire world. From this place, trade routes extended through Asia to Europe and Africa. And to this place, great thinkers came, spreading philosophy and new ideas that have contributed to the greatness of China.
I look forward to seeing the Terracotta Warriors, the old city walls, the Mausoleum quarter. I look forward to learning more about China's great contributions to the store of human knowledge from medicine and printing, to mathematics and astronomy. Discoveries on which so much of the whole world progress is based. And I want to see more of the new nation you are building on a scale even the emperors could not have foreseen.
China that gave us printing, now boasts fax machines, computers and cell phones. Xi'an is home to film-makers, internet explorers, business people of every description. Here in this city, famous for calligraphy, a new chapter in China's story is being written.
We Americans admire your accomplishments, your economy, your hard work, creativity and vision, your efforts against hunger and poverty, your work with us on peace and stability in Korea and South Asia. A new day is dawning for the Chinese people. For China's greatness lies as always with its people.
Our own history has convinced Americans that the greatness of any country is measured in its people, in their shared reverence for family and community, for work and learning, and in their individual thoughts, beliefs, and creativity.
In this global informatinn age where both economic growth and individual opportunity are based on ideas, a commitment to providing all human beings the opportunity to develop their full potential is vital to the strength and success of the new China as well.
As I travel across China, I hope to learn as much as I can about the Chinese people, your history, and your dreams for the future. And I hope to help the Chinese people understand more of America's history, the lessons the American people have drawn from it, and the dreams we hold for the 21st Century.
I believe both Chinese and Americans aspire to many of the same things: to provide for our families, to teach our children, to build our communities, to protect our Earth, to shape our own futures and pass brighter possibilities on to our children.
There may be those here and back in America who wonder whether closer ties and deeper friendship between America and China are good. Clearly the answer is yes. We have a powerful ability to help each other grow. We can learn much from each other. And as two great nations we have a special responsibility to the future of the world. The steps we take over the next week can lead to far greater strides for our people in the years ahead.
Here in this city of your magnificent history we must always remember that we too are ancestors. Someday our children and their children will ask if we did all we could to build just societies and a more peaceful world. Let our monument be their judgment that we did that. Let our progress include all people with all their differences moving toward a common destiny.
Let us give new meaning to the words written in the ancient Book of Rites, that you call the Li ji: When the great way is followed, all under heaven will be equal.
Xie Xie. Thank you very much.
By Bill Clinton
［参考译文］
在西安欢迎仪式上的演说
比尔·克林顿
冯市长、程省长、李秘书：
你们好！感谢你们让我进入你们的城市，感谢你们隆重的欢迎仪式。
在这座古老的城市里，今天晚上在我看来中国显得很年轻，它很幸运，既有值得自豪的历史，又有充满希望的将来。我很高兴西安是我中国之行的第一站，它曾是中国的古都，现在仍然是中国人民的中心地带。我是在美国的中心地带长大的。我知道一个民族的性格取决于在那里生活的勤劳的人民。
今天晚上我看到一千多年前唐朝风采的再现。那时的西安可能是全世界最开放、文化最先进的城市。从这里开始，贸易之路穿越亚洲延伸至欧洲和非洲。汇集到这里来的很多思想家传播了哲学和新思想，对中国的伟大事业作出了贡献。
我期待着参观兵马俑、古城墙和秦皇陵。我期待着更多地了解中国对人类知识宝库的伟大贡献，从医学和印刷术到数学和天文学，因为整个世界的进步在很大程度上都是基于你们的这些发现。我想多看一看，你们这个新国家的建设，其规模如此之大以至昔日的皇帝们也无法预见。
中国给我们带来印刷术，现在拥有传真机、计算机和手提电话。西安是电影摄制者、因特网探索者和各界商业人士的基地。在这座以书法闻名的城市，中国历史新的一页篇章正要写就。
我们美国人钦佩你们的成就、你们的经济、你们的勤奋、创造性和远见，你们为克服饥饿和贫穷所作出的努力，钦佩你们和我们一起致力于朝鲜和南亚的和平与稳定所做的工作。中国人民的新曙光正在出现，因为中国的伟大一直在于她的人民。
我们自己的历史告诉我们，衡量任何一个国家的伟大之处的标准就在于她的人民，在于他们对家庭、社会、劳动和学习的共同热爱，在于他们个人的思想、信仰和创造力。
尊重每个公民的价值、尊严、潜力和自由是美国的力量和成功的重要源泉。在这个全球信息时代，经济发展和个人机遇都取决于为所有的人提供充分发挥其潜能的机会，这也将是新中国强大和成功的重要因素。
我在中国访问期间，希望尽可能多地了解中国人民，了解你们的历史和你们对未来的憧憬。我还希望帮助中国人民更多地了解美国的历史、美国人民从历史中吸取的教训以及我们对21世纪的展望。
我相信中国人民和美国人民在很多方面都有共同的思想，例如供养家庭、教育儿童、建设社区、保护地球、构思共建我们的未来、把更加光明的未来传给我们的下一代。
在这里和在美国国内，可能有人会问中美两国建立更紧密的联系和更深的友谊是否有好处。答案显然是肯定的。我们互相帮助共同发展的能力是巨大的。我们可以彼此学到的东西会是很多的。作为两个伟大的国家，中美对世界的未来担负特殊的责任。我们在未来一周所采取的步骤可以使两国人民在今后的岁月里更加大踏步地前进。
在这里，在你们这座有着光辉历史的城市里，我们必须永远记住，我们以后也是祖先。有一天，我们的孩子和他们的孩子会问，我们是否尽心尽力来建设公正的社会和更加和平的世界。如果他们认为我们是尽了全力，就让他们的判断成为我们的纪念碑。让我们的进步，包括有这样或那样差异的人为了共同的抱负前进。
你们的古籍《礼记》上这样说过：“大道之行也，天下为公。”让我们赋予这句话新的意义。
谢谢。非常感谢。
［注释］
Terracotta Warriors : 兵马俑
-calligraphy [kəˈlɪɡrəfɪ] n. 书法 the art of fine handwriting
-reverence [ˈrevərəns] n. 尊敬，敬重 a feeling of profound awe and respect
［作者简介］
比尔·克林顿（Bill Clinton, 1946- ），美国第四十二任总统，自富兰克林·罗斯福之后美国唯一一位民主党总统。克林顿执政期间，美国经历历史上前所未有的和平、经济富足时期。当时，失业率和通货膨胀率都达到最低。