异类之不一样的成功启示录 第163期:欧洲与中国农民的差异

 　　And, most of all, it's autonomous¹.

　　重要的是，大多数的农民是有自主权的，

　　The peasants of Europe worked essentially² as low-paid slaves of an aristocratic landlord, with little control over their own destinies.

　　在欧洲的农民只能从他们所属的贵族那里得到一点微薄的报酬，而且他们几乎无法主宰自己的命运。

　　But China and Japan never developed that kind of oppressive feudal³ system, because feudalism simply can't work in a rice economy.

　　但是中国和日本的体制有所不同。西欧的体制不适合稻田农业文化，

　　Growing rice is too complicated and intricate for a system that requires farmers to be coerced⁴ and bullied⁵ into going out into the fields each morning.

　　种地是件很复杂的事，体制无法强迫或威逼农民每日很早起床去田里干活。

　　By the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, landlords in central and Southern China had an almost completely hands-off relationship with their tenants⁶:

　　在14世纪到15世纪，中国中部和南部地区的地主同租户的关系已不具有所属关系。

　　they would collect a fixed⁷ rent and let farmers go about their business.

　　地主只收取固定的土地出租费用，其他的事情全部都由农民自主决定。

　　"The thing about wet-rice farming is, not only that you need phenomenal amounts of labor⁸, but it's very exacting," says the historian Kenneth Pomerantz.

　　“对于种植水稻来说，不仅仅是需要很多的人力，而且还是件很吃力的工作，细微的差别就会造成产量上很大的差异。”历史学家肯尼思·波马雷兹说道，

　　"You have to care. It really matters that the field is perfectly⁹ leveled before you flood it.Getting it close to level but not quite right makes a big difference in terms of your yield.

　　“浇水的时间也非常关键。

　　It really matters the water is in the fields for just the right amount of time.There is a big difference between lining¹⁰ up the seedlings¹¹ at exactly the right distance and doing it sloppily¹².

　　插秧时，秧苗的距离和力度对产量也会产生很大的影响。

　　It's not like you put the corn in the ground in mid-March and as long as the rain comes by the end of the month, you're ok.

　　这不是你想象的那么简单——只要在3月中旬，把种子洒在地里，然后在月底的时候下场雨就可以等待收成了，

　　You're controlling all the inputs¹³ in a very direct way.

　　你必须按部就班地点进行每项作业。

　　And when you have something that requires that much care, the overlord has to have a system that gives the actual labor some set of incentives¹⁴,

　　对于需要特别关注的田地，地主就会通过一定的奖赏制度来激励农民。

　　where if the harvest comes out well, the farmer gets a bigger share.

　　如果收成很好，那么农民也会得到更多的分成。

　　That's why you get fixed rents, where the landlord says, I get twenty bushels, regardless of the harvest, and if it's really good, you can get the extra.

　　这就是为什么地租是固定的。地主会说，不管收成如何，我都要收20担粮食，因此如果收成超出地租需要交纳的粮食，你就会有收获很多余粮。

1 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

2 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

3 feudal   

adj.封建的，封地的，领地的

参考例句：

• Feudal rulers ruled over the country several thousand years.封建统治者统治这个国家几千年。
• The feudal system lasted for two thousand years in China.封建制度在中国延续了两千年之久。

4 coerced   

v.迫使做( coerce的过去式和过去分词 )；强迫；（以武力、惩罚、威胁等手段）控制；支配

参考例句：

• They were coerced into negotiating a settlement. 他们被迫通过谈判解决。
• He was coerced into making a confession. 他被迫招供。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 bullied   

adj.被欺负了v.恐吓，威逼( bully的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• My son is being bullied at school. 我儿子在学校里受欺负。
• The boy bullied the small girl into giving him all her money. 那男孩威逼那个小女孩把所有的钱都给他。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 tenants   

n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者

参考例句：

• A number of tenants have been evicted for not paying the rent. 许多房客因不付房租被赶了出来。
• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。

7 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

8 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

9 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

10 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

11 seedlings   

n.刚出芽的幼苗( seedling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Ninety-five per cent of the new seedlings have survived. 新栽的树苗95%都已成活。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• In such wet weather we must prevent the seedlings from rotting. 这样的阴雨天要防止烂秧。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 sloppily   

adv.马虎地，草率地

参考例句：

• Do things neatly, not sloppily. 办事要利落，不要拖泥带水。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Land market after behind-the-scenes plotting concern: how much land can act sloppily? 关注土地市场重重黑幕：有多少土地可以胡来？ 来自互联网

13 inputs   

n.输入( input的名词复数 )；投入；输入端；输入的数据v.把…输入电脑( input的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Uncheck the inputs checked for optimization in the previous stage. 不测试那些已经测试过的优化了的以前步骤的inputs.（变量参数）。 来自互联网
• Just in case, save in a file the inputs obtained at the previous stage. 以防万一，保存以前步骤获得的inputs（变量参数值）到一个文件中去。 来自互联网

14 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法