美国网友问为什么中国从未能够成为一个全球性的军事大国？

　　中国地居东亚，南方是各种群岛组成的东南亚地区，东部是广袤的太平洋，西部则是连绵的高山山脉，这就导致中国唯一可以算的上的敌人就是来自北方的游牧民族，古代历史也可以说是一部南方农耕民族和北方游牧民族的斗争史，欧亚大陆的另一边则在工业革命之后开始了国力的飞跃，西方各国在全世界进行殖民扩张，葡萄牙西班牙荷兰英国在世界上进行角逐，他们以世界为棋盘，把各国当作棋子，就此进行原始的资本积累。在美版知乎Quora上，美国网友提问道：为什么中国从未能够成为一个全球性的军事大国？这个问题引起各国网友的争议，我们来看看他们的观点。
　　问题：中国为什么从未称为一个全球性军事强权国家？
　　英国专家麦道克•威廉姆斯的回答
　　First of all, China has always been a country dominated by agricultural civilization. It has always focused on its own security and stability. In all dynasties, only when the country was pided would it struggle to become a unified country through endless civil war. The plateaus, deserts and seas around China are buffer zones to prevent foreign invasion, while the natural environment in the region is superior and there is no need to expand and seize resources. This is an important reason why the Chinese nation has not focused on West Asia, Europe and Africa.
　　首先，中国一直是一个农耕文明主导的国家，它一直专注于自身的安全和稳定。历朝历代，只有在国家分裂的时候，它才会通过无休止的内战为成为一个统一的国家而奋斗。中国周围的高原、荒漠和海洋是阻止外族入侵的缓冲区，而域内自然环境优越，不需扩张掠取资源，这是中华民族没有着眼于西亚、欧洲和非洲的重要原因。
　　First of all, China has always been a country dominated by agricultural civilization. It has always focused on its own security and stability. In all dynasties, only when the country was pided would it struggle to become a unified country through endless civil war. The plateaus, deserts and seas around China are buffer zones to prevent foreign invasion, while the natural environment in the region is superior and there is no need to expand and seize resources. This is an important reason why the Chinese nation has not focused on West Asia, Europe and Africa.
　　第二，中国一直知道战争的代价是昂贵的，战争夺走了可用于建设健康繁荣社会的宝贵资源。罗马、奥斯曼帝国、葡萄牙、西班牙、荷兰、法国和英国等西方列强建立了庞大的军事力量进行征服，他们有能力做到这一点，因为他们对其他国家资源的掠夺弥补了庞大的军事开支。
　　China does not think so. It does not like war. It prefers peaceful coexistence. This is not only a pragmatic point of view, but also a cultural and philosophical point of view.
　　中国不是这样想的，它不喜欢战争，它倾向于和平共处，这既是一种务实的观点，也是一种文化和哲学的观点。
　　In the past 42 years, China has never fought a war! Not to mention that China has never taken the initiative to start a war!
　　在过去42年中，中国没有打过一场战争！更不要说中国从来没有主动挑起过一场战争！
　　Throughout history, western countries have experienced resistance and war, which is the cultural basis for their survival. No wonder China considers them ＂barbarians＂. This is still the case in the West today. Look at America
　　纵观历史，西方国家曾经历过抗争，也曾经历过战争，这是他们生存的文化基础，难怪中国认为他们是＂野蛮人＂。直到今天，西方仍然是如此。看看美国…
　　• in 2020, the US military expenditure was US $778billion, accounting for 3.7% of its GDP, more than the sum of the next 11 countries!
　　•2020年，美国在军事上的支出为7780亿美元，占其GDP的3.7%，超过了接下来11个国家的总和！
　　美军军事基地
　　• 800 military bases in 70 countries;
　　•在70个国家拥有800个军事基地；
　　• there are 11 super carriers, and the 12th is under construction;
　　•有11艘超级航母，第12艘正在建造中；
　　• it has a total of 5550 nuclear weapons and 1700 deployed;
　　•它总共拥有5550件核武器，部署了1700件；
　　• what are these munitions used for? Of course, the United States is the real global hegemony by bullying every country on the earth and subjecting it to the feet of the Americans.
　　•这些军火是用来干什么的？当然，欺负地球上的每一个国家，让他屈服在美国人的脚下，美国才是真正的全球霸权。
　　澳大利亚网友瑞珊•贾拉尔的回答
　　In the Han Dynasty 2100 years ago, Chinese ancestors had reached most of the present borders. How do you think this is achieved? Obviously, this is through conquest and assimilation. But unlike the European colonial powers, the ancient Chinese did not have gunboats, machine guns or artillery to trample on the local people. The Chinese built their own empire in the traditional way. They joined forces and fought with cold weapons against opponents with roughly the same technical level.
　　2100年前的汉朝，中国的先民已经到达了现在的大部分边界。你认为这是如何实现的？显然，这是通过征服和同化。但与欧洲殖民列强不同，古代中国人没有炮艇、机枪和大炮来进行对当地人的践踏。中国人以传统的方式建立自己的帝国，合众连横，与技术水平大致相同的对手用冷兵器对抗。
　　The Qin Dynasty unified China through a series of bloody wars, became the largest country in the world through reform, created a unified text, track and measurement, and created a world miracle that we can only see today.
　　秦朝通过一系列血腥的战争统一了中国，通过改革集中成为当时世界上最大的国家，创造了统一的文字、轨道和度量衡，创造了我们今天只能看到的世界奇迹。
　　Through the Silk Road, the Han Dynasty dominated the economy, repulsed the Hun Confederation to the north, conquered most of China, and spread its influence to Southeast Asia.
　　通过丝绸之路，汉朝在经济上占据主导地位，向北击退了匈奴邦联，征服了中国的大部分地区，并将其影响力传播至东南亚。
　　The Tang Dynasty won most foreign wars. It successfully defeated Korean, Japanese, Mongolian, Vietnamese, Tibetans and countless rebels in Koguryo. It even defeated the Abbasid Caliph for a time. Their protectors were all over the Gobi and Siberia.
　　唐朝赢得绝大多数的对外战争，它成功地击败了高句丽朝鲜人、日本人、蒙古人、越南人、藏人、无数叛军，甚至一度击败了阿巴斯哈里发，他们的保护国也遍布戈壁和西伯利亚。
　　The Yuan Dynasty was a military power worshipped by the West. It was defeated in Japan only because of the typhoon. Otherwise, Kyushu would probably fall into the hands of the Mongols and even the Chinese today.
　　元朝是一个受西方崇拜的军事强国，只因台风袭击而在日本战败，否则九州很可能落入蒙古人乃至今天的中国人之手。
　　The Ming Dynasty had many innovations in gunpowder, and had the most effective, largest and most advanced army at that time. They were the first to innovate and explore gunpowder, defeated the Mongols for many times, conquered Vietnam and Korea, even defeated the Portuguese twice in the naval battle, and defeated the Dutch once in the Tamang battle and the Sino Dutch conflict. The Ming Dynasty was even able to colonize Australia and the horn of Africa because they launched several naval expeditions. The only reason for their non intervention and colonization is that China basically has an isolationist policy, and it is impossible to govern so many people except in overseas colonies.
　　明朝在火药方面有许多创新，拥有当时最有效、规模最大、技术最先进的军队。他们是第一个在火药方面进行创新和开拓的人，并多次击败蒙古人，此外还征服了越南和朝鲜，甚至在海战中击败了葡萄牙人两次，在塔芒战役和中荷冲突中分别击败了荷兰人一次。明朝甚至有能力在澳大利亚和非洲之角等地区进行殖民活动，因为他们发起了几次海军远征。他们不干预和殖民的唯一原因是，中国基本上有孤立主义政策，除了海外殖民地之外，不可能治理这么多人。
　　During the period of the Republic of China, the Chinese bravely resisted the Japanese army for eight years and faced many humiliating war crimes along the way. More than 300000 people were murdered during the Nanjing occupation, including 80000 women who were deliberately raped. Chinese residents were thrown in front of trains, buried in trenches and let tanks pass. Chinese farmers were beheaded in the frenzied competition of Japanese officers.
　　民国时期中国人勇敢地抵抗了日本军队长达8年之久，一路上面对了日军许多屈辱性的战争罪行。超过30万人在南京占领期间被谋杀，其中8万名妇女被蓄意强奸。中国居民被扔到火车前面，埋在战壕里，让坦克驶过，中国农民在日本军官丧心病狂的比赛中被斩首。
　　抗战
　　In addition, Unit 731 also conducted experiments on more than one million Chinese and Korean people, writing about the crimes of the Nazis. In the later period of the war, with the stagnation of the Japanese campaign, China won one victory after another. After the end of the war, China was regarded as one of the three major countries tied with the Soviet Union and the United States.
　　此外，731部队还对100多万中国人和朝鲜族人进行了实验，写满了纳粹的罪恶。在战争的后期，随着日本战役的停滞不前，中国取得了一个又一个胜利。战争结束后，中国被视为和苏联和美国并列的三大国家之一。
　　In its 70 year history, the people＂s Republic of China has defeated India, the United States, the Republic of Korea, many United Nations forces, the Soviet Union, Vietnam, etc. in border conflicts and proxy wars. It has become the world＂s third largest military and the world＂s second largest economy. Look at the growth rate of the Chinese Navy! They will soon take over American influence.
　　中华人民共和国在其70年的历史中，在边界冲突和代理战争中击败了印度、美国、韩国、众多联合国部队、苏联、越南等，并成为世界第三强军和世界第二大经济体，看看中国海军的成长速度吧！他们接下来很快将接管美国的影响力。
　　China is not weak.
　　中国并不软弱。
　　The geographical map of China was gradually finalized during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. He stopped expanding only because it reached the geographical limit worth conquering. Look at all the countries bordering China: South Korea, Vietnam, Mongolia, Afghanistan, etc. these countries do not provide too many benefits for those living in China. Their indigenous peoples are very fierce.
　　中国的地理版图在清朝乾隆年间逐渐定型，他停止扩张仅仅是因为它达到了值得征服的地理极限。看看所有与中国接壤的国家：韩国、越南、蒙古、阿富汗等，这些国家没有为那些生活在中国的人提供太多的好处，他们的土著民族非常凶猛。
　　Therefore, in the long history, China has the most successful military force. Before European colonialism, it conquered all countries close to China culturally, from the Korean Peninsula to Southeast Asia to Lake Baikal. Fenglang juxu was the highest title for ancient Chinese generals.
　　所以在漫长的历史长河中，中国拥有最成功的军事力量。在欧洲殖民主义之前，它征服了所有在文化上接近中国的国家，从朝鲜半岛到东南亚再到贝加尔湖，＂封狼居胥＂就是对中国古代将领的至高称谓。
　　中国网友李鹏利的回答
　　The rule of the Qing Dynasty may be the main reason why China failed to become a global military power. Although the Qing Dynasty was the closest predecessor of modern China, they were actually foreign invaders who controlled China＂s political institutions at that time.
　　清朝的统治可能是中国未能成为全球军事强国的主要原因，虽然清朝是现代中国最接近的前身，但他们实际上是当时控制中国的政治机构的外族侵略者。
　　Most of the conquests took place in the 17th century, the beginning of American colonization. As a reference, the first colony to become part of the United States was founded in 1607, and the United States as a country was founded in 1776. Therefore, when Europeans obtained resources from the lands colonized and never developed in the Americas, the local population was ravaged by diseases, while the Ming Dynasty was fighting against invaders.
　　大部分征服发生在17世纪，这也是美洲殖民的开始。作为参考，第一个成为美国一部分的殖民地成立于1607年，美国作为一个国家成立于1776年。因此，当欧洲人在美洲殖民并从未开发的土地上获取资源时，当地人口遭受疾病的蹂躏，而明朝则在抗击入侵者。
　　Since the defeat of the Ming Dynasty, the Han people have now been under the rule of the Manchu and Qing invaders. Therefore, when the Europeans continued to explore, conquer and colonize the weak countries, the Qing Dynasty had to stabilize its rule over the conquered lands. This is an arduous task, because the population of the Qing Dynasty was far less than that of the Han people.
　　自从明朝大败，汉人现在就处于满清侵略者的统治之下。因此，当欧洲人继续探索、征服和殖民弱国时，清朝不得不稳定对其征服土地的统治。这是一项艰巨的任务，因为清朝入关时的人口远远少于汉族人。
　　The Qing Dynasty became arrogant because of its conquest and domination of China, and then had a dispute with Britain over the opium trade, leading to the first Opium War in 1840. Britain forced the Qing government to make concessions to the first treaty called ＂unequal treaty＂ by China at the beginning of the ＂humiliating century＂.
　　清朝由于征服和统治中国而变得自大，随后与英国就鸦片贸易发生争端，导致1840年第一次鸦片战争。英国迫使清政府在＂屈辱世纪＂之初向中国称之为＂不平等条约＂的第一个条约让步。
　　In the long history, the corrupt Qing government had to suppress half a dozen or more rebellions, the largest of which was the Taiping rebellion from 1850 to 1864. This is the largest civil war in world history, with an estimated death toll of 30million to 50million. The total number of deaths in the Second World War was 70-80 million, of which about 15-20 million came from China. So you can see how destructive these civil wars were to the Qing state.
　　在历史的长河中，腐败的清政府不得不镇压了半打或更多的叛乱，其中最大的一次是1850年至1864年的太平天国起义。这是世界历史上规模最大的内战，估计死亡人数为3000万至5000万。第二次世界大战的总死亡人数为7000-8000万，其中约1500-2000万来自中国。所以你可以看到这些内战对清国的破坏性有多大。
　　Along with these civil wars, China has seen decentralization, splitting the country into many regions controlled by warlords. Later, the Kuomintang, a warlord faction, successfully unified most of the country＂s population around 1930. About ten years later, in 1937, Japan launched the second Sino Japanese war.
　　伴随着这些内战，中国出现了权力下放，将国家分裂为军阀控制的许多地区。后来，国民党，一个军阀派系，在1930年左右成功地统一了该国大部分人口。大约十年后的1937年，日本发动了第二次中日战争。
　　After Japan＂s surrender, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China opened up an internal relationship. Although the initial victory was unfavorable to the Communist Party of China, in the end, they defeated the Kuomintang and took control of China in 1949. The Kuomintang retreated to Taiwan.
　　日本投降后，国民党同中国共产党开启的内在，尽管最初的胜算对中国共产党不利，但最终，他们击败了国民党并于1949年控制了中国，国民党撤退到了台湾岛。
　　After the Korean War, China was not involved in any major war, which gave China ample time to realize industrialization and modernization. Modern China now has the ability to become a global military power. The only thing they lack is a foreign military base as a transit point for global operations. At present, they have only about five bases abroad.
　　朝鲜战争后，中国没有卷入任何重大战争，这给了中国实现工业化、现代化带来了充裕的时间。现代中国现在有能力成为一个全球军事大国，他们唯一缺少的是外国军事基地，作为全球行动的中转站。目前，他们在国外只有大约五个基地。
　　Therefore, basically, China is not a global military power, because since the first appearance of the technology to become a global military power after the great geographical discovery, China has been invaded many times and waged war with aggressors and other countries. However, modern China is very close to becoming a global military power, and can become a global military power through extensive diplomatic efforts.
　　因此，基本上，中国不是一个全球军事大国，因为从地理大发现后成为全球军事大国的技术第一次出现的时候起，中国就多次受到侵略，并与侵略者和其他国家进行战争。然而，现代中国已经非常接近成为一个全球军事大国，并且可以通过广泛的外交努力成为一个全球军事大国。
　　美国网友雷克斯•穆特罗的回答
　　Because China chose not to do so.
　　因为中国选择了不去这样做。
　　Yongle Emperor Zhu Di reigned from 1402 to 1424. As early as his reign, China carried out large-scale expansion, fought back against the Mongols and conquered Vietnam. However, his greatest achievement was the construction of 3500 naval ships, many of which were more than 400 feet long and 150 feet wide.
　　永乐皇帝朱棣于1402年至1424年在位。早在他统治时期中国就进行了大规模扩张，反击蒙古人，征服越南。然而，他最大的成就是建造了3500艘海军舰艇，其中许多舰艇的长度超过400英尺，宽度超过150英尺。
　　In contrast, the combined fleet of Britain, France, Spain, Russia and the Netherlands has less than 2200 ships at sea. Since the 9th century, Chinese ships have visited ports in northeast Africa and Asia Minor around the Persian Gulf, the Indian sea and the Pacific Ocean. However, under the command of Zhenghe, China under the leadership of Emperor Yongle will make seven voyages, including discovery, treasure hunt and Conquest (affiliated countries) into Africa, and may sail south along East Africa to modern Mozambique.
　　相比之下，英国、法国、西班牙、俄罗斯和荷兰的联合舰队，在海上只有不到2200艘船。从9世纪起，中国船只访问了位于波斯湾、印度海和太平洋周围的东北非和小亚细亚的港口。但在郑和的指挥下，永乐皇帝领导下的中国将进行七次航行，包括发现、寻宝和征服（附属国家）进入非洲，可能沿东非向南航行，直至现代的莫桑比克。
　　There are also strong indications that Chinese coins found in the Northwest Pacific and anchor stones found on the west coast of the United States show that Chinese ships sailed eastward to North America nearly a century earlier than Columbus. (I don＂t think the Chinese are trying to settle in North America, because there is no good archaeological evidence to show that, like the Vikings left in Canada, but I do believe that Chinese ships may have reached the coast of California.).
　　还有很强的迹象表明，在太平洋西北部发现的中国钱币和在美国西海岸发现的锚石表明，中国船只向东航行到北美的时间比哥伦布早了近一个世纪。（我不认为中国人试图在北美定居，因为没有任何好的考古学证据表明，像维京人在加拿大留下的那样，但我确实相信，中国船只很可能已经到达加利福尼亚海岸）。
　　Then, at the end of Emperor Yongle＂s reign in 1421, after six voyages, the voyage was suspended. The Chinese began to tear down ships and let other ships rot. The country is closed to the outside world and the sea is forbidden. Trade is restricted to regional areas. Only ships are allowed to be built. In the 1970s, all Zhenghe＂s logbooks were deliberately destroyed in an attempt to erase these records so as not to induce other emperors and naval generals to repeat their voyages.
　　然后，在1421年永乐皇帝统治接近尾声时，经过六次航行后，航行被中止了。中国人开始拆毁船只，让其他船只腐烂。闭关锁国，实行海禁，贸易被限制在地区范围内进行，只允许建造的船只。14世纪70年代，郑和的所有航海日志都被故意销毁，试图抹去这些航海记录，以免诱使其他皇帝和海军将领重复航海。
　　An eternal mystery is why the voyage stopped. It was said that the cost of building and maintaining these vessels was too expensive compared with the benefits of navigation. However, the Ming Dynasty did not pay much for this. Others said that the focus of Daming shifted to Vietnam and Mongolia. Although Zhu Di had conquered Vietnam, there was no moment of peace in the region. The Chinese had to maintain considerable force in Vietnam to maintain peace. Moreover, despite the weakness of the Mongols in the late 14th and early 15th centuries, their powerful leaders successfully United several Mongolian tribes and threatened China＂s borders.
　　一个永恒的谜团是为什么航行会停止。有人说，建造和维护这些船只的费用与航行带来的效益相比过于昂贵。但是，明朝并没有为此付出太多代价。其他人则表示，大明的重点转移到了越南和蒙古。虽然朱棣已经征服了越南，但该地区并没有片刻得到安宁，中国人不得不在越南保持相当大的武力来维持和平。而且，尽管蒙古人在14世纪末和15世纪初一直很虚弱，但其强大的领导人成功地团结了几个蒙古部落，威胁到了中国的边境。
　　The third explanation is that these voyages opened up new trade channels, which were not entirely controlled by the emperor and his court. Therefore, in order to ensure full control of international trade, the navy was disbanded.
　　第三种解释是，这些航行开辟了新的贸易渠道，而这些贸易渠道并非完全由皇帝及其宫廷控制。因此，为了确保对国际贸易的完全控制，海军被解散。
　　Whatever the reason, with the disintegration of the treasure fleet in the mid-14th century, China began to turn its attention to its own country until European imperialism reached Asia in the 17th and 18th centuries. By that time, it was too late, China had lost the ability to build an advanced navy, and the Europeans completely controlled the Pacific Ocean from North America to Africa. What would it be like if the Chinese kept their fleet and became what the British looked like in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean in the Pacific?
　　不管是什么原因，随着14世纪中期珍宝舰队的解体，中国开始将注意力向国内转移，直到17世纪和18世纪欧洲帝国主义到达亚洲。到那时，为时已晚，中国已经失去了打造先进海军的能力，欧洲人完全控制了从北美到非洲的太平洋。如果中国人保留他们的舰队，并在太平洋上成为英国人在大西洋和地中海上的样子，会是怎样的一番光景呢？
　　So why didn＂t China take the opportunity to become a global military power? When they had the opportunity to become a global military power, they chose not to do so. The Chinese did not expand their territory throughout the South Pacific, nor could they expand to North America, Central America and South America. Instead, they destroyed their fleets and became a veritable isolationist power.
　　那么，为什么中国没能趁机成为一个全球军事大国？当他们有机会成为全球军事强国时，他们选择了不这样做。中国人没有在整个南太平洋扩张领土，也没有可能扩展到北美洲、中美洲和南美洲，反而摧毁了他们的舰队，成为了一个名副其实的孤立主义大国。