Chinese leaders aren't the only ones frustrated with the nation's lack of 「soft power」 influence--Jet Li is, too, and he wants to do something about it.
並非只有中國領導人糾結於中國缺乏「軟實力」影響，功夫明星李連杰也這麼認為。他想做些努力以改變這一現狀。
The Chinese martial artist-turned-movie star is starting a taichi school with Alibaba Group Chairman Jack Ma, which he hopes will break stereotypes of taichi as an art practiced only by old people in parks. Mr. Li said he wants it to one day be as cool to practice taichi as it is watch American movies, watch Japanese animation or study South Korea's taekwondo.
Steven Shi/Reuters2011年9月10日，中國功夫明星李連杰在杭州出席第八屆全球網商大會。武術大師出身的電影明星李連杰和阿里巴巴集團（Alibaba Group）董事局主席馬雲正聯手創辦一家太極學校。李連杰希望此舉能打破太極只是老年人在公園練習的一種活動的刻板印象。李連杰說，希望有朝一日練習太極能成為像看美國大片和日本動畫以及學習韓國跆拳道一樣酷的活動。
「China is an economic powerhouse,」 Mr. Li said at Alibaba Group's annual summit for small to medium-sized business owners in Hangzhou. But the world's most populous country has little cultural influence compared to the U.S., South Korea and Japan, he said.
李連杰在杭州阿里巴巴集團年度網商大會上說，中國是個經濟大國，但和美國、韓國和日本相比，中國這個全球人口最多的國家在文化上幾乎沒有影響力。
The actor's new venture could indeed give a boost to China's efforts to export its culture, which have involved investments in the billions of dollars but have been criticized as unimaginative. Among Beijing's recent soft-power plays: an international network of state-sponsored language institutes, a 17-minute long promotional film panned by Chinese Internet users as blatantly propagandistic and a giant advertisement in Times Square showing photos of wealthy and successful Chinese people who most Americans don't recognize.
李連杰的這一新事業可能確實會極大地促進中國輸出本國文化的努力，中國為此已經投入了數十億美元，但卻被外界批評為缺乏想像力。中國政府最近展現「軟實力」的舉措包括：構築國家資助的中文語言學院的全球網絡；一部被中國網友惡評為帶有明顯宣傳意圖的長達17分鐘的宣傳影片；在《紐約時報》廣場投放巨幅廣告，展現成功富有的中國人的照片，只是大多數美國人都不認識這些中國人。
Mr. Li, who has starred in major movies on both sides of the Pacific including the 2002 Zhang Yimou epic 「Hero,」 lamented that Hollywood and other cultural industries make up a significant portion of GDP in the U.S. but represent only a fraction of China's economy. 「Italian coffee is better than Starbucks,」 but consumers around the world recognize Starbucks more than Italian coffee 「because it's a cultural experience,」 he said.
李連杰感嘆道，在美國，好萊塢和其它文化產業在國內生產總值中所佔比例顯著，但這類產業在中國經濟中只佔了一小部分比重。李連杰說，義大利咖啡比星巴克更好，但世界各地的消費者對星巴克品牌的辨識度高於義大利咖啡，因為到星巴克消費是一種文化體驗。李連杰曾在太平洋兩岸的多部大片中擔任主角，其中包括張藝謀在2002年執導的史詩大片《英雄》（Hero）。
He did not disclose financial details of his partnership with Mr. Ma, but said the company will be called Taichi Zen International Culture Company.
李連杰沒有透露他和馬雲合作的財務細節，但他說這家公司的名字將叫做太極禪國際文化公司。
For China not to have a contribution to the rest of the world would be a 「pity,」 he said. 「I feel shame before my ancestors,」 he added, saying he wants kids to be proud of their 「national culture.」
李連杰說，中國未能對世界其它國家做出貢獻是一個「遺憾」。他又說自己在祖先面前感到羞愧，並說他希望孩子們能為自己的「祖國文化」感到驕傲。