刘晓明大使在“纪念辛亥革命一百周年图片展”开幕式上的讲话
Remarks by H.E. Ambassador Liu Xiaoming at the Opening Ceremony of the Photographic Exhibition Marking 100th Anniversary of the 1911 Revolution
2011年10月19日，伦敦
October 19, 2011 London
尊敬的全英华人华侨社团联合总会李文兴会长，
尊敬的各位议员，
尊敬的各位侨领，
各位来宾，
女士们、先生们：
President Li Wenxing,
MPs, My Lords,
Chinese community leaders,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
欢迎大家出席“纪念辛亥革命一百周年图片展”开幕式。此次展览是中国驻英国大使馆举办的“百年辛亥”系列纪念活动之一，希望能以图文并茂的方式向大家展现一个世纪前神州大地爆发的这场划时代重大事件及其深远影响。伦敦是展览的第一站，本月底和下月初，在我馆和中国驻曼彻斯特总领馆及驻爱丁堡总领馆共同主办下，展览还将先后“北上”利物浦和爱丁堡。我也要感谢新华社伦敦分社和全英华人华侨社团联合总会协办此次图片巡回展，感谢中远英国有限公司等诸多机构的大力支持。
I very much welcome you to this photographic exhibition marking the 100th anniversary of the 1911 Revolution.
This exhibition is part of a collection of events hosted by the Chinese Embassy to remember the 1911 Revolution.
These photos provide vivid records of how this history-making revolution came about in China one century ago. The images can help us grasp what the 1911 Revolution meant to the Chinese people and how it left a lasting mark on China.
Following its first leg in London, the exhibition will go on a UK tour. It will be in Liverpool later this month and Edinburgh in early November, with assistance from the Chinese Consulates in Manchester and Edinburgh.
I must thank the Xinhua News Agency London Bureau and the Confederation of Chinese Associations UK for your contribution to the exhibition. And my thanks also go to China Ocean Shipping Company UK for your kind support.
今年，中国及海外有华人的地方都在纪念辛亥革命，辛亥革命的意义是什么?
This year is the centenary of the 1911 Revolution in China. The Chinese people at home and in many parts of the world are commemorating this epoch-making event.
People may ask: what does this revolution mean to China?
有人把历史的发展比作长江大河之运行，川流不息、奔腾向前、前后承续;又比作登临崇山峻岭，必须由低及高、拾级而上，每一个台阶都是通往顶峰的必经阶梯。辛亥革命的意义就在于它是中国历史进程中的一股洪流、一个台阶，它为中国的进步冲开了一道闸门，开创了一段新里程。
正如胡锦涛主席在纪念辛亥革命100周年大会上所指出的：辛亥革命“极大推动了中华民族的思想解放，打开了中国进步潮流的闸门，为中华民族发展进步探索了道路”。
President Hu Jintao gave a precise answer during recent celebrations in China. He said:
“The revolution of 1911 greatly freed the minds of the Chinese people, opened the flood gates for progress in China and explored a path for the development and progress of the Chinese nation.”
Some compare history to a great river, flowing day and night unceasingly.
Some say the progress of history is like mountaineering. To climb higher and reach the summit, you must go step by step.
The 1911 Revolution is important in the sense that it represents an irresistible current and a significant step in the course of the Chinese history.
It’s remembered as a seminal event that carried the Chinese revolution into a new stage.
To be specific, the 1911 Revolution’s importance is three-fold.
第一，辛亥革命推翻了满清腐朽统治，扫除了中国历史前进道路上的一大严重障碍，结束了中国长达两千多年的君主专制制度，建立了共和政体。这是一个了不起的胜利。
First, the revolution overthrew the corrupt Qing Dynasty.
This action removed a major hurdle holding back China’s progress:
· It put an end to more than 2000 years of autocratic monarchy in China.
· It set the Chinese people on a course to build a republic.
· All these were great achievements that in hindsight have utterly transformed China during the past one hundred years.
第二，辛亥革命作为一次革命运动和重大政治事件，带来了20世纪中国的思想大解放和社会变革。辛亥革命提出“中华民族”概念，号召民族平等;提倡“人民公仆”观念，主张人民至上;推动社会改良，实行移风易俗，中国男子剪掉了头上的辫子，中国妇女扔掉了缠足的绑带。中国社会为之气象一新。
Second, as President Hu Jintao observed, the revolution was a significant political event that freed people’s minds. For the first time ever, a set of modern, democratic thoughts were brought forward by the revolutionaries. This new thinking included these concepts:
· The ‘Chinese nation’;
· ethnic equality;
· ‘serving public interests’;
· and putting people first.
These ideas awoke the Chinese people to the path forward.
This force of new thinking guided the movement and pushed forward sweeping changes.
This swept away the outdated way of life and added momentum to great social transformation. Men in China happily shaved off their pigtails, which were imposed by the Qing rulers. Women threw away the cloth that bound their feet. The Chinese society took on a new and modern look.
A new chapter was thus written in China’s history.
（责任编辑:allen）
