有人算过，人类文明大概 6000 年的历史中，中国的西周、秦朝、西汉中期、隋朝前期、唐朝前期、宋、金、元、明朝前期、清朝前期等都曾是世界第一强国，加起来大概有 1000 年。这就意味着，在人类文明的历程里，中国约有六分之一的时间是世界第一强国。在美版知乎 Quora 上，有美国网友发问：中国在古代一直是世界第一的超级大国吗？这引得各国网友纷纷围观和热烈讨论，咱们来瞧瞧他们的看法。
For most of the old times, it was always the country with the largest population, the most advanced technology and the most wealth on Earth. Early China (like the Han Dynasty) was similar to the Roman Empire in terms of territory, wealth, population (about 60 million) and technology. By the Tang Dynasty, China had reached the peak of its prosperity. After that, it was either the most powerful country in the world or a part of the most powerful one. Here are two examples:
在古代的很长时间里，它一直是地球上人口最多、技术最领先、最有钱的国家。早期的中国（像汉朝）在领土范围、财富数量、人口（大概 6000 万）还有技术这些方面跟罗马帝国差不多。到了唐朝，中国达到了繁荣昌盛的顶点。从那以后，它要么是世界上最强的国家，要么是最强国家的一部分。下面我给您举两个例子：
A few days ago, scholars from Inner Mongolia University and Mongolia discovered a cliff inscription on Khangai Mountains in Mongolia. It was carved to remember the battle of jiluo mountains by Ban Gu (AD 32–92).
匈奴以前是北方特别厉害的游牧民族，老是往南侵扰秦汉政权。就在前些天，内蒙古大学还有蒙古国的学者在蒙古的康爱山找到了一块石刻。这石刻是班固（公元 32 - 92 年）为了纪念稽洛山之战刻下的。
In 89 AD, General Dou Xian killed a marquis. Scared of getting executed, he pleaded for a chance to attack the North Xiongnu so he could be forgiven after achieving a meritorious deed.
在公元 89 年，将军窦宪把一个侯爵给杀了，因为怕被皇帝杀头，他就请求能给他一个去攻打北匈奴的机会，好让自己戴罪立功能被赦免。
Then he was given the title of General of chariots and cavalry and commanded three armies, a total of 46,000 soldiers. The armies gathered in Zhuoye Mountains and surrounded the North Xiongnu chanyu in Jiluo Mountains (the eastern part of the Altai Mountains). Even though the chanyu managed to break through, 13,000 Xiongnu soldiers were killed and a large number of Xiongnu soldiers and common people, a total of 200,000, surrendered. After this battle, Dou asked his client, historical figure Ban Gu, to compose Inscription of Yanran and carve it on Yanran Mountains (Khangai mountains), which is about 1,000 kilometers away from the Great Wall.
后来呀，他当上了车骑将军，统领着三支军队，总共 46000 名士兵。这些军队在涿邪山集结，把阿尔泰山东部稽洛山的北匈奴单于给围了。单于虽然打了一仗，可 13000 名匈奴士兵被杀掉了，还有好多匈奴士兵和平民，加起来 20 万人都投降了。这仗打完，窦宪就让他弟子史书班固写了【燕然铭文】，刻在燕然山上。这山距离长城大概 1000 公里。
The Xiongnu Empire used to control the Mongolia Plateau, southern Siberia and the Hexi Corridor, and enslaved the states in Xinjiang and Central Asia. But after the first Han-Xiongnu war (133 BC - 36 BC), the powerful Xiongnu ended up becoming a vassal state of the Han.
匈奴帝国曾经掌控着蒙古高原、南西伯利亚以及河西走廊，还奴役着新疆和中亚的诸多国家。但是，经过第一次汉匈奴战争（公元前 133 年 - 公元前 36 年），强大的匈奴最后变成了汉朝的附属国。
In 654 A.D., the Sasanian Persian Empire was taken over by the Arab Empire (Umayyad dynasty). Peroz III (in Chinese: 卑路斯), the son of the last Persian king Yazdegerd III (伊嗣埃), ran away and went to Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Empire, to see Emperor Gaozong of Tang (唐高宗) and ask for military help to restore the Sasanian Empire.
公元 654 年，萨珊波斯帝国让阿拉伯帝国（倭马亚王朝）给征服了。Peroz III（中文：卑路斯三世）的儿子伊嗣埃三世跑了出来，跑到长安，也就是唐帝国的都城，去见唐高宗，请求派军帮忙让波斯萨珊王朝帝国恢复过来。
In 661 A.D., China established the Governorate of Persia in Zabul. They appointed Peroz as the general and governor and sent troops to escort him back. Three years later, Tang made Peroz the king of Persia. The Tang empire supported Peroz to fight against the Arabic army around the border between Iran and Afghanistan and tried to free the state from the Arabs' rule. But by 675 A.D., the resistance failed. Peroz came back to Chang'an and spent the rest of his life there.
在公元 661 年，中国于查布尔设置了波斯省，让佩罗兹当将军和总督，还派军队护送他回去。过了三年，唐把裴鲁士封为波斯王。唐朝支持裴鲁兹在伊朗跟阿富汗的边境抵御阿拉伯军队，想要让国家摆脱阿拉伯人的统治。一直到公元 675 年，抵抗没成功。佩鲁兹回到长安，在那过完了一生。
Though Tang actually never controlled all of Persia, this shows that the influence of Tang spread throughout Central Asia and reached the Middle East. It's astonishing that ancient China had the ability to interfere in the politics of Persia and Arabia, especially in the 7th century when communication and transportation were so poor.
虽说唐朝实际上没能把整个波斯掌控住，不过这能表明唐朝的影响力已经覆盖了整个中亚，还延伸到了中东。让人意外的是，在 7 世纪交通和运输条件都很差的时候，古代的中国居然能够插手波斯和阿拉伯的政治。
The idea of is a fairly new one in history. As others have said, China has actually been a major power for much of its history. To a certain degree, old ways of transportation restricted the range of human activities. I think there weren't any global forces anywhere in the ancient world. Of course, China has always been very modest and has never claimed to be a from ancient times till now.
「超级大国」这一概念在历史上算是挺新的。就像有人说的，中国在历史的好多时候确实是个了不起的「地区」大国。在一定程度上，古代的交通手段限制了人的活动区域，我觉得古代世界不管哪儿都不存在全球性的力量。中国向来很谦逊，从古至今都没说自己是个「超级大国」。
In almost every historical period, China has been a global superpower.
但实际上，中国在几乎每一个历史阶段都是全球的超级大国。
The sole exception was the century of humiliation, which was from 1850 to 1949, or during the era of imperialism.
唯一的不同情况是那屈辱的一个世纪（1850 - 1949），也就是帝国主义时期。
In the Pre-Qin dynasties, China was (sort of) ruled by the Shang and Zhou rulers. Their lands, though smaller than present-day China, were still larger than those of contemporary civilizations like ancient Greece and ancient Egypt. The technology was at least on par with both. Just about every nomadic tribe within China was conquered by the Chinese states during the Zhou dynasty. The tribal folk were sinicized and turned into "Chinese." At this time, Chinese culture thrived. Many ideological groups (such as Confucianism, Legalism, and so on) emerged in this period.
先秦那会，名义上中国是由商周的统治者管着。他们的地盘，虽说比现在的中国小，可比起同时代的古希腊和古埃及，还是要大些。这两个文明的技术差不多。差不多中国的每个游牧部落都让周朝统治下的中国给收服了。部落的人也被汉化，变成「中国人」。在这个时候，中国文化发展得很旺。好多思想团体，像儒家、法家啥的，都在这个时代冒出来了。
About 300 to 400 years before the Industrial Revolution, General Zheng He from the Ming Dynasty in China led the world's largest fleet. The so-called "superpower" America always adheres to the ideas of "fate determined by heaven", the "Monroe Doctrine", the "peace dividend", and the "exceptional doctrine with missionary obligations". Habitual tendencies are truly hard to get rid of.
美国打建国那会起就想着称霸。它那个「天定命运」学说，就是给杀害北美土著和抢他们土地找借口的哲学依据。等自己国家强大了，又弄出个「门罗主义」，差不多就是没经过相关国家同意，就说地球都归它管。冷战结束后，多数美国人盼着「和平红利」能带来繁荣，可美国的军工联合体跟政府勾结，搞出了「具有传教义务的例外论」这一理念。习惯成自然，这倾向真不好改。
The real cause of the chaos we witness in the world nowadays is the resistance from those who don't wish to be controlled.
那些不想被别人管着的人的抗争，才是如今我们看到的世界乱糟糟的真正缘由。
I, just like the majority of people in this world, want to live in a world that's harmonious and where everyone is treated equally. Americans should know that accepting cultural differences and respecting human rights should apply everywhere, not only in the US. No country has the right to claim to be an exception. Anyway, attacking those who have different opinions and forcing them to agree is never okay. This isn't what a superpower should be like!
我呀，跟这世上大多数人一样，就想生活在一个人人平等的和谐社会中。美国人得明白，认可不同文化的差别还有尊重人权，得是普遍都能做到的，不能光在美国这样。哪个国家都没权说自己特殊。可攻击那些意见不同的人，硬逼他们同意，这永远都不对。这哪是超级大国该有的做派！
