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Messages behind Gates' dinner
盖茨晚宴背后的启示
I wonder if Bill Gates agonized over the dinner prepared at his residence for Chinese President Hu Jintao.
我想知道盖茨是否会为在他住处为中国国家主席胡锦涛准备的晚宴感到痛苦。
Did the richest man in the world ever consider the option of \"going Chinese\" and playing host as a typical super-rich Chinese guy would?
这位世界首富难道没有考虑过选择“中国化”一些的方式，像一位典型的中国富人那样当一会主人吗？
By that I mean wining and dining with at least two dozen courses. Since Gates' wealth is many times that of the wealthiest Chinese, maybe he would multiple the number of courses by that rate and make it, say, a nice and nifty 100 or an auspicious 99.
我是想通过它来说明一个至少有24道菜的宴席。既然盖茨的财富是中国最富有的人的许多倍，那么或许他会按照财富的比率成倍地增加菜的数量，比方说，比较时新的100道菜或者是比较吉利的99道菜。
The Microsoft chairman took away the pleasure of the onlookers and the commentators by sticking to proper etiquette of Western society, serving wine and appetizers, main entree of three choices and dessert.
微软的主席只是用了西方社会原有的礼节，提供酒和开胃小吃，三道可供选择的主菜和餐后甜点，这让旁观者和评论人大扫兴致。
That didn't stop Chinese pundits from making a fuss over it.
这并没有阻止中国的博学之士对此大惊小怪。
An author of one circulating opinion piece mistakenly believes that Gates was using the occasion to teach a lesson to China's wealthy who would squander a king's fortune on something as publicized as that dinner.
一种流行观点的作者错误地认为盖茨是在利用这个机会来教训中国的富人，这些富人会把一个君主的财富浪费在像那次宴会一样宣扬的事情上。
But it certainly shows that whatever Gates does, in his haloed position, would be endlessly interpreted and imitated.
但是，这的确显示出无论盖茨做什么，在他这个光环笼罩的位置上，都将会有无穷无尽的解释和模仿。
Thank God he didn't \"customize\" the dinner for the Chinese way of hospitality. It would have impressed all the Gates-wannabes in this country who will happily play catch-up and throw more lavish banquets than the ones they are already devouring, or more accurately, frittering away.
谢谢上帝，他没有按中国式的请客方式来“定制”这次宴会。这将给这个国家里所有盖茨的赶超者留下深刻的印象，他们很愿意跟风，他们会推掉比他们已经吃掉的，更准确地说是浪费掉的宴会更多的极度奢侈浪费的宴会。
But Gates did intend to send one message through the meal, which he did by including Granny Smith apples and Walla Walla onions, local state produce. The feast was designed partly as a sampling of unique products from Seattle and the surrounding Pacific Northwest.
但盖茨的确是想通过这次宴会传递一个信息，通过当地产的Granny Smith 苹果和Walla Walla洋葱他的确达到了这个目的。这次宴会部分是作为来自西雅图和太平洋西北（美国西南部的一个地区，通常包华盛顿和俄勒冈州）周围地区的一个独立产品展示会来设计的。
Too bad Microsoft Windows and Boeing 747 aircraft cannot be made into edibles. Or maybe they could. A Chinese chef could have carved miniature models of these made-in-Washington state products out of radish.
糟糕的是微软的Windows和波音747飞机不能做成好吃的。或许也能。一位中国厨师已经将华盛顿州的产品的模型用萝卜给雕成微型模型了。
But I digress. To us Chinese, eating is not just about filling up the stomach. It is an art that we love to overindulge ourselves with. It may be the only art form that remains legal and yet savoured by people across every social stratum.
但是，我跑题了。对我们中国人而言，吃不仅仅是填饱肚子。那是一种我们喜欢用来犒劳自己的艺术。这可能是唯一的仍然为社会各阶层的人所品尝的正当的艺术形式。
The main reason we would overdo all these things is because we live in scarcity or constant fear of it. When one barely has enough to eat, he makes sure that once a year he can eat like there's no tomorrow.
我们把这些事情做得过火的主要原因是因为我们的生活在物质短缺或者是害怕物质匮乏之中。当一个人没有足够的东西吃的时候，他就会让自己一次吃个够，就像没有明天。
There's a reverse correlation between abundance of food and conspicuous consumption of food. In the 1980s, whenever there was a buffet party, there would be people stuffing their pockets left and right. Fat chance you can find that today.
在食物充裕与食物消费之间存在着一个悖论。在八十年代，无论什么时候有自助宴会，都会有人把自己的左右口袋装得满满的。今天你很难再有机会看到这种场景。
When I was in graduate school, a meal for a table of 10 at the campus restaurant would cost more than my monthly stipend. Yet I would never look at the table full of leftovers, let alone squirm over them.
我在大学的时候，在学校里十道菜一桌子的饭会比我一个月的生活费花的还要多。尽管是我从那些摆满剩菜的桌子旁边经过，但我从不去看桌子。
Then someone who returned from the United States asked for a plastic bag to take them home. We were aghast, and couldn't believe for a single second that it was a custom he had picked up from his overseas experience. We thought he had just found a lame excuse for being a miser.
后来，从美国回来的一个人要了一个塑料袋把剩菜带回家了。我们都感到很奇怪，几乎不能相信那是他从他海外的经历中学来的一个习惯。我们当时认为他是在为他守财奴的形象找一个蹩脚的借口。
You'll probably laugh it off as stupid if I say that banquets in China have grown less sumptuous in the past two decades. But in relation with the quantity and quality of food one consumes on a daily basis, it is definitely true. It is very rare today for a restaurant meal to set the epicure back an entire month's earning.
如果我说在过去的20年里中国的宴会的奢华程度没有多少提高，你可能会认为这是种愚蠢的说法而付之一笑。但是在一个人日常生活的基础上来考虑食物的数量和质量的确是提高了。今天很少说是去餐馆美餐一顿就会花掉整个月的工资。
However, at many official functions, a feast still comprises a dozen or more courses. The first three are always the most delicious. Anything beyond the fifth course is increasingly transformed from gastronomic delight to palate and stomach workout.
然而，在许多公开的仪式上一桌酒席仍然会有十二道菜或者更多道菜。头三道菜的味道总是最好的。第五道菜以后的菜就开始由烹饪的喜悦转变为上腭和胃部的锻炼。
And not surprisingly, the higher the poverty level of the place, the higher the number of courses.
一点也不奇怪，一个地区的贫困程度越高，上菜的种类越多。
Maybe Gates should preinstall a Chinese version of his menu along with Windows.
或许，盖茨应该随Windows一起把他的菜谱预装一个中国版的。
（原载4月22日《China Daily》专栏） |
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发表于 2006-4-29 23:10:26