有这样一句话在中国古书中流传至今，人们相信并认可它：“天命所归”。中国人相信善和恶本身的力量，因此他们接受降临到他们身上的善或恶。他们不相信变革，这种观念原封不动未一直流传到今天的人们身上。我听说，历史上很少有人试图改变中国的政体——这种政体比世界上任何其他政权体制都存在的时间都要长得多。毫无疑问，在将一个伟大的民族团结在一起、历经许多世纪而不破裂的粘合剂中，一定存在有其美德。最了解中国人的人告诉我，他们谨慎、行动缓慢、保守；他们性格独立，热爱自己的权利。他们很少采用外人的方法，而是以自己的方式达到同样的目的。我已经看到中国人的性格中有很多值得尊重的地方，也看到很多在我看来不吸引人、感觉不好的地方；但我时刻牢记，在其他国家也存在着苦口良药和毒药。

THE following is found in the ancient books of China and is handed down to the present time, believed and sanctioned: "The powers that be are ordained of Heaven." Believing in the power of bad as well as of good, the Chinese accept the bad or the good that comes to them. They do not believe in change, and this idea, unmodified, has come down to the people of to-day. I am told that history records few attempts to modify the Chinese form of government — a government that has reached over a far greater period of time than any other system of authority on earth. Surely there must be virtue in a cement that will bind together a great people unbroken through many centuries. Those who know the Chinese best tell me that they are cautious, slow, and conservative ; that they have a sturdy independence of character and a strongly developed love for their rights. They rarely adopt the methods of other people, but reach the same end in their own way. I have already seen much in the Chinese character to respect, and much that, to me, is unattractive and bitter; but I try constantly to keep in mind the fact that there are bitter herbs and poisons to be found in other lands.

我作为一个在中国的观察者，觉得中国人憎恨外国人并不奇怪。外国人在这个并不是他们自己的帝国里，经常颐指气使，把中国人当成狗一样对待，没有任何权利——难怪中国人会气忿咆哮，有时还会咬外国人一口。但愿这些来自基督教国家的人能向他们展示更多的基督精神！无论是相对“年轻的西方”，还是相对“年轻的美国”，其知识储备并不包罗一切。用心观察和搜索难道不是件好事吗？即使在所谓“黑暗”的国度，也有可能发现未知的光明。

As I am here and watch, I do not wonder that the Chinese hate the foreigner. The foreigner is frequently severe and exacting in this Empire which is not his own. He often treats the Chinese as though they were dogs and had no rights whatever — no wonder that they growl and sometimes bite. Would that more of the Christ-spirit could be shown them by these people coming from Christian lands! Neither the " young West," nor "young America," has all in its store of knowledge. Might it not be well to watch and search? Even in the "dark" nations unknown lights might be discovered.

我经常把中国这个伟大的帝国的复杂体系比作时钟；它有大大小小的轮子，有许多齿轮，每个齿轮都在做着自己的工作。外国人对它的机制一无所知，过来说，“我不喜欢那个齿轮；它令人反感，我要把它拆下来。”这样，他们就破坏了一个历经数个世纪而形成的系统，这个系统赋予每个齿轮必需的、决定性的工作。在打破齿轮的过程中，同时把整个系统弄乱了，而又没有更好的系统来取代它。

I often liken the intricate system of this great empire to a clock; it has its wheels, great and small, with their many cogs, each doing its own part. Foreigners, ignorant of its mechanism, come along and say, "I don't like that cog; it is objectionable, and I'll remove it." Thus they break into a system that through the centuries has been worked out, and that gives to each wheel its necessary, decisive work. In this breaking of cogs, the whole system is disarranged, and no better one is put in its place.

皇帝的旨意是最终命令，最高官员必须服从。他们经常早出晚归，忙于许多工作，几乎没有时间吃饭或睡觉。据说这些官员是中华帝国中最勤奋的一群人。所有阶层似乎都工作缓慢，但都努力用心勤奋。当我和这些中国人在一起和琢磨他们的品性时，我感到他们的性格中有一种深刻、内敛的力量，终有一天会在未知的方向上展现出来。

The will of the Emperor is the final command and the highest officials must obey. They often struggle with their many duties early and late, with scarcely time to eat or sleep. These officials are said to be the hardest- worked people in the Empire. All classes seem to be slowly, but diligently, industrious. As I am with these Chinese and study them, I feel that there is a deep, reserved force in their character that will some day show itself in unknown directions.

人们发现，中国对祖先的崇拜与该种族一样古老，是他们所有宗教形式中最根深蒂固的。中国人每年两次前往祖先的坟墓朝圣，祈求神灵照顾和保护他们祖先的亡灵。这种崇拜具有传接美德和提升品性的作用。他们在与父母在一起生活时表示最大的尊重和关心，拜访父母的坟墓时则带着鲜活的思念。

The worship of the Chinese ancestors, so far as discovered, is as old as the race, and is the most deeply rooted of all their religious forms. The Chinese make pilgrimages to their tombs twice a year to petition the gods to care for and protect the departed souls of their ancestors. This worship has its virtuous and elevating effect upon these people. They show their parents the greatest respect and consideration while with them, and visit their tombs with a living thought.

原文：Conger, Sarah Pike. 1910. Letters from China : with particular reference to the Empress Dowager and the women of China. p45-46