纽约时报中文网 - 中英对照版-中英华盛顿大熊猫美香一家返回中国熊猫外交时代结束了吗

The two adult pandas, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, and their 3-year-old cub, Xiao Qi Ji, are scheduled to be loaded into crates that day and driven in trucks to a FedEx Boeing 777 called the Panda Express.

两只成年大熊猫——美香和添添——以及它们三岁的幼崽小奇迹按计划将在那天装进箱子，用卡车运往一架名为“熊猫特快”的联邦快递波音777飞机。

They will then be flown 19 hours from Dulles International Airport to China, where they will join about 150 other pandas in a lush nature preserve in the misty mountains of Sichuan Province.

然后，它们将从杜勒斯国际机场飞行19个小时回中国，与大约150只大熊猫一起，生活在四川薄雾笼罩的山峦中一处郁郁葱葱的自然保护区里。

And with that, an era of panda diplomacy will end, at least for now.

至此，一个熊猫外交时代也将结束，至少就目前而言。

It began when Patricia Nixon, the first lady, mentioned her fondness for pandas — “I love them” — to China’s premier, Zhou Enlai, during the landmark visit she and President Richard Nixon made to Beijing in 1972. Within two months, China had sent a female and a male panda, Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, to the National Zoo.

熊猫外交始于1972年。那年，美国总统尼克松对中国进行了具有里程碑意义的访问，随行的第一夫人帕特里夏·尼克松向周恩来总理提到她喜爱大熊猫，说“我爱它们”。不到两个月，中国就把一对大熊猫——玲玲和兴兴——送到了美国国家动物园。

The panda presence in Washington has persisted ever since as a symbol of the ties between the United States and China.

从那时起，大熊猫在美国首都华盛顿的存在几乎没有中断过，它们成了中美关系的象征。

The black-and-white fur balls that might as well be waddling stuffies had always struck me as natural diplomats: When I was living and working in Beijing, I took my family to the panda research center in the city of Chengdu, and my 3½-year-old daughter developed an enduring obsession with them.

大熊猫有着黑白相间的毛皮，体型圆得像球，看起来像摇摇晃晃行走的毛绒玩具，我一直觉得它们是天生的外交官。我在北京生活和工作时，曾带着家人参观过成都的熊猫研究中心，我女儿那时三岁半，之后她迷上了熊猫。

But U.S.-China tensions have been rising for years, and now there is speculation that China is asking for the return of the pandas because of the diplomatic deep freeze.

但中美紧张关系多年来一直在加剧，现在有猜测称，中国要求美国归还大熊猫，是因为外交关系处于深冻状态。

Zoo officials and scientists say the actual reason comes down to biology, or “panda time.” The three pandas, they say, are each at an age when they should be going back to China.

动物园官员和科学家说，真正的原因可归结为生物学，或“熊猫生命阶段”。他们说，这三只熊猫都已到了应该返回中国的年龄。

Mei Xiang and Tian Tian arrived in 2000, about one year after Hsing-Hsing was euthanized due to kidney disease and eight years after Ling Ling’s passing from heart failure. The two new pandas stayed for a decade under the first formal pact, then remained under two consecutive five-year agreements. That last one ended early in the pandemic, and the partner association in China agreed to a three-year extension, which is about to expire.

美香和添添是2000年抵美的，大约是在兴兴因患肾病被安乐死一年后，玲玲已因心力衰竭于八年前去世。这两只新来的大熊猫先是按照一份正式协议租借给美国十年，双方后来又签了两次延期协议，每次延期五年。最后的一个五年延期在新冠疫情暴发初期就结束了，协议的中方合作伙伴同意再延期三年，这三年也即将结束。

Mei Xiang gave birth in August 2020, at an age when scientists had thought she would no longer be able to have a baby. And so the cub was named Xiao Qi Ji, or Little Miracle. He was her fourth surviving cub born in Washington.

美香在2020年8月产崽，当时她已到了科学家认为无法再生育的年龄。所以，动物园给这只幼崽起名“小奇迹”。小奇迹是美香在华盛顿产下的第四只存活下来的幼崽。

Zoos that host pandas outside of China usually agree to send cubs back before they turn 4, and to send adults back when they are elderly — Mei Xiang is 25 and Tian Tian 26.

租借大熊猫的中国境外动物园通常同意把在当地产下的幼崽满四岁之前送回中国，并在成年大熊猫年纪较大时将它们送回国，美香现年25岁，添添26岁。

“They are at the age when they should be in China,” said Melissa Songer, a conservation biologist at the zoo who has worked with the pandas for 23 years. “I don’t want to have a panda pass away outside of China.”

“它们处于它们应该在中国生活的年龄，”动物园的保护生物学家梅丽莎·宋格说，她已经为这些大熊猫工作了23年。“我不想看到一只大熊猫在中国境外去世。”

Zoo Atlanta now has the only giant pandas in the United States — parents and twin cubs — but they are expected to return to China next year. An aging mother and her son in San Diego Zoo returned in 2019, and Ya Ya, a female panda in Memphis Zoo, flew back this April. Her companion, Le Le, was due to return with her but died in February from heart disease at age 25, an event that infuriated some Chinese citizens.

亚特兰大动物园现在是美国唯一有大熊猫的动物园，但预计那里的一对成年大熊猫和它们的双胞胎幼崽将于明年返回中国。圣地亚哥动物园的一只老年雌性熊猫和她的雄性幼崽已于2019年回到中国，孟菲斯动物园的雌性大熊猫丫丫也已于今年4月回国。丫丫的雄性伴侣乐乐原定与她一起回去，但在今年2月因心脏病去世了，享年25岁，这件事曾激怒了一些中国民众。

It takes more than bamboo groves to host a panda. For starters, the National Zoo paid a fee to a Chinese conservation partner of $500,000 per year for a pair (down from $1 million during Mei Xiang and Tian Tian’s first decade here).

想租借大熊猫的动物园需要的不只是竹林。首先，美国国家动物园每年为这对熊猫支付给中国野兽动物保护协会50万美元（比美香和添添在美国的第一个十年期间的每年100万美元低了一半）。

Despite the costs, the four American zoos that have consistently hosted pandas have worked with two separate conservation groups in China to secure the agreements. Ms. Songer said the National Zoo intends to ask its partner, the China Wildlife Conservation Association, for a new pair.

尽管费用不菲，但曾租借大熊猫的四家美国动物园为了获得协议仍一直与中国两家不同的动物保护组织合作。宋格说，美国国家动物园打算与其合作伙伴中国野生动物保护协会讨论获得一对新熊猫的问题。

When asked about that prospect, Liu Pengyu, the Chinese Embassy spokesman, did not answer. But he did say that giant pandas are “friendship ambassadors of the Chinese people” and that the collaboration between China and the National Zoo “has played an important role in enhancing the mutual understanding and friendship between the Chinese and American peoples.”

当被问及这一前景时，中国驻美国使馆发言人刘鹏宇没有回答。但他确实说过，大熊猫是“中国人民的友谊使者”，中国与美国国家动物园的合作“为增进中美两国人民的相互了解和友谊发挥了重要作用”。

Zoo officials said they had not asked the State Department to get involved, nor did they intend to prod President Biden to put in a word with Xi Jinping, China’s leader, when the two meet in California next week.

动物园官员说，他们没有要求美国国务院介入，也不想麻烦拜登总统下周在加州与中国领导人习近平会面时替动物园说句好话。

Until recently, pandas were considered endangered, and so scientists at the National Zoo researched reproductive cycles to help with panda breeding. Ms. Songer said a female panda is fertile for only one or two days each year, and scientists monitor hormone levels using urine samples to determine when to do artificial insemination. That is how Little Miracle was born.

直到不久前，大熊猫曾一直被认为是濒临灭绝的动物，所以美国国家动物园的科学家们为帮助大熊猫繁殖后代，研究过它们的繁殖周期。宋格说，雌性大熊猫每年只有一两天能生育，科学家们用尿液样本来监测雌性大熊猫的激素水平，以确定什么时候进行人工授精。小奇迹就是这样诞生的。

“We have it figured out, China has it figured out,” Ms. Songer said. “It’s been a huge success to reproduce them under human care.”

“我们已经弄清楚了，中国也已经弄清楚了，”宋格说。 “让熊猫在人类照料下繁殖已取得了巨大成功。”

The panda population in China has grown, and now scientists are experimenting with reintroducing pandas into the wild.

中国境内的大熊猫数量已在增长，科学家们目前正在尝试让它们重返野外。

Early Sunday morning, my daughter, Aria, now 11, and I watched as mother, father and son lumbered around their separate indoor and outdoor enclosures, chewing on bamboo, tumbling with plastic balls and clambering over boulders.

周日一早，我和我现在11岁的女儿阿丽亚去看了熊猫妈妈、熊猫爸爸和熊猫儿子，它们在各自的室内或室外围场里憨态可掬地走来走去，咀嚼竹子，与塑料球一起翻滚，爬石头。

They looked about as cuddly as the stuffed pandas that Aria slept with every night. Aria regaled me with endless panda trivia: “Did you know that they eat 14 hours a day?”

它们看上去与阿丽亚每晚睡觉时抱着的毛绒熊猫一样可爱。阿丽亚没完没了地给我讲有关熊猫的细枝末节：“你知道它们每天花14个小时吃东西吗？”

The crowds ballooned, creating a sense of panda-monium.

来看熊猫的人群暴增，制造了一种熊情沸腾的感觉。（panda-monium是用“群情沸腾”[pandemonium]造的词——译注。）

Some had been coming daily, and some were making a repeat visit after popping in during the nine-day Panda Palooza festival earlier this fall. Others had heard the pandas were leaving and had traveled hundreds or thousands of miles to catch a glimpse.

有些人每天来，有些人在参加了今秋早些时候举办的为期九天的大熊猫盛会(Panda Palooza)后，再次来到这里。还有些人听说大熊猫要离开后，不远千里来看它们一眼。

“This will be the only animal I check out all day,” said Denise Fesser, 47, who had driven nearly three hours that morning from New Jersey. She had a zoo membership because of the pandas and visited several times a year. When she travels abroad, she flies in and out of Washington so she can see them.

“我在动物园里一整天只看这个动物，”现年47岁的丹妮斯·费瑟尔说，她那天早上从新泽西开了近三个小时的车来看大熊猫。因为动物园有大熊猫，她办了会员卡，每年来几次。她出国旅行时，每次都从华盛顿的机场进出美国，这样她能来看看大熊猫。

“Xiao Qi Ji is the most fun to watch,” she said as she shot a few photos of him using a zoom lens. “It was one of those moments of pure joy when he was born during the pandemic.”

“看着小奇迹最让人开心，”她一边说，一边用变焦镜头给他拍了几张照片。“他在新冠疫情期间出生，给人们带来了一个由衷的快乐时刻。”

The Allen family drove eight hours from Charlotte, N.C., to see the pandas for the first time.

艾伦一家开了八个小时的车从北卡罗来纳州夏洛特市来到这里，这是一家人第一次来看大熊猫。

“I watched the panda cam every day during the pandemic,” said one of the children, Anna Kate, referring to cameras that the zoo had set up years ago to broadcast a panda reality show online.

“疫情期间，我每天都看熊猫直播，”艾伦家的孩子之一安娜·凯特说，她指的是国家动物园多年前用安置的摄像头在网上发布熊猫实况的视频。

“Maybe they’ll figure out how to make a pact for them to come back here to their home,” her mother, Gillian Allen, said. She paused. “But China is really their home.”

“也许他们会想出达成协议的办法，让熊猫回到它们在这里的家，”孩子的母亲吉莉安·艾伦说。她想了一下后又说，“但中国才是它们真正的家。”