毛澤東英文信件90萬美元在倫敦被拍賣(雙語)

A 1937 letter from Chinese Communist Party leader Mao Zedong to then-Labour Party leader Clement Attlee has sold at auction for 605,000 pounds ($918,000).

　　毛澤東在1937年給英國工黨領袖艾德禮(Clement Attlee)的信件以60.5萬英鎊（91.8萬美元）被拍賣。

　　In the letter, Mao asks Attlee for "practical assistance" in battling Japanese troops who had invaded China.

　　信中，毛澤東呼籲英國採取實際行動，為中國的抗日戰爭提供幫助。

　　Auctioneers Sotheby』s said the historical letter was an "exceptionally rare" example of Mao』s signature. The lot far exceeded its 100,000-150,000 pounds estimate and was bought by a Chinese private collector.

　　拍賣公司Sotheby說道，這份歷史信件是毛澤東親筆簽署的「極其罕見物品」。最終成交價遠遠超過了10-15萬英鎊的預估，最後被一位中國私人收藏家買走。

　　Call for help

　　尋求幫助

　　In the typed letter signed by Mao, the communist leader tells then-opposition leader Mr Attlee: "We believe that the British people, when they know the truth about Japanese aggression in China, will rise in support of the Chinese people, will organise practical assistance on their behalf, and will compel their own government to adopt a policy of active resistance to a danger that ultimately threatens them no less than ourselves."

　　這封毛澤東親筆簽名的信中，中國共產黨人說：「我們相信，當英國人民了解到日本侵華的真相后將響應中國人民，為中國人民提供實際援助，並將敦促英國政府採取積極抵抗的政策來應對這一最終將給英國人民帶來同等威脅的危險。」

　　The letter was written from Yan』an in north-west China, where the communists set up their headquarters following the Japanese invasion.

　　毛澤東於延安寄出此信。延安是日本全面侵華后中國共產黨的根據地。

　　Sotheby』s said the timing of the communication was significant because Attlee had started to lead the party away from its "long-held pacifist position", and became "a major critic of the Conservative government』s policy of appeasement towards Nazi Germany and her allies".

　　富蘇比拍賣公司表示，這次交流是非常重要的，因為英國Attlee 已經開始放棄「長期的和平主義立場」，成為「保守黨對待納粹德國及同盟國實行綏靖政策」的批評者。

　　A 』curiosity』

　　一個「好奇」

　　Mao』s letter was sent to Atlee by the journalist James Bertram, who added an accompanying note to Attlee advising the British politician to "keep the enclosed letter, if only as a curiosity".

　　毛澤東簽名的這封信由James Bertram 記者送往英國，James 附加了一封信，建議Attlee 不讓英國政治家看，留作秘密。

　　Gabriel Heaton, Sotheby』s specialist in books and manuscripts said the letter was "an extraordinarily early instance of Mao engaging in international diplomacy, and is an exceptionally rare example of Mao』s signature". He added it was "only the second document signed by Mao to appear on the international auction market in recent decades."

　　蘇富比拍賣行的書籍和手稿專家Gabriel Heaton表示，毛澤東寫信尋求英國對中國抗日的支持是其早期參與國際外交的卓越事迹之一。這是近幾十年來國際市場上出現的第二份有毛澤東簽名的文件。

　　The sale, in London, comes after several weeks of interest in China following the much-publicised four-day visit to the UK by Chinese President Xi Jinping in October.

　　10月份，中國國家主席習近平前往英國進行了為期4天的國事訪問，幾個星期後，倫敦就進行了這次拍賣。

　　Chinese history gained further attention last month when Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell threw a copy of the Chinese Communist Party leader』s Little Red Book at Chancellor George Osborne in Parliament, claiming UK assets were being sold to the Chinese.

　　上個月，內閣大臣John McDonnell 在議會上從George Osborne大臣那裡拿出了中國共產黨小紅本，聲稱英國資產賣給了中國人，中國歷史再一次受到了關注。

　　Elsewhere on Tuesday, a red prime ministerial dispatch box belonging to the late Margaret Thatcher has sold at auction for 242,500 pounds.
周二，英國前首相撒切爾夫人的總理派遣箱以24.25萬英鎊的高價被拍賣。

　　Who was Mao Zedong?

　　誰是毛澤東？

　　Born in 1893, Mao Zedong was one of the founders of the Chinese Communist Party and was an influential 20th Century thinker.

　　毛澤東，生於1893年，是中國共產黨創始人之一，20世紀非常有影響力的思想家。

　　He helped build the Red Army, led it on a 6,000-mile "long march" to escape its nationalist foes, and emerged as the most powerful party figure. After victory over the nationalists in 1949, Mao proclaimed the People』s Republic of China and became its first leader.

　　他建立了紅軍，為擺脫國民黨的圍剿，領導了6000 英里長征，成為最成功的共產黨領導人。1949年戰勝了國民黨，毛澤東宣布成立中華人民共和國並成為開國領袖。