有人算過，人類文明大概 6000 年的歷史中，中國的西周、秦朝、西漢中期、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強國，加起來大概有 1000 年。這就意味著，在人類文明的歷程裏，中國約有六分之一的時間是世界第一強國。在美版知乎 Quora 上，有美國網友發問：中國在古代一直是世界第一的超級大國嗎？這引得各國網友紛紛圍觀和熱烈討論，咱們來瞧瞧他們的看法。
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:
在古代的很長時間裏，它一直是地球上人口最多、技術最領先、最有錢的國家。早期的中國（像漢朝）在領土範圍、財富數量、人口（大概 6000 萬）還有技術這些方面跟羅馬帝國差不多。到了唐朝，中國達到了繁榮昌盛的頂點。從那以後，它要麽是世界上最強的國家，要麽是最強國家的一部份。下面我給您舉兩個例子：
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).
匈奴以前是北方特別厲害的遊牧民族，老是往南侵擾秦漢政權。就在前些天，內蒙古大學還有蒙古國的學者在蒙古的康愛山找到了一塊石刻。這石刻是班固（公元 32 - 92 年）為了紀念稽洛山之戰刻下的。
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，將軍竇憲把一個侯爵給殺了，因為怕被皇帝殺頭，他就請求能給他一個去攻打北匈奴的機會，好讓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.
後來呀，他當上了車騎將軍，統領著三支軍隊，總共 46000 名士兵。這些軍隊在涿邪山集結，把阿爾泰山東部稽洛山的北匈奴單於給圍了。單於雖然打了一仗，可 13000 名匈奴士兵被殺掉了，還有好多匈奴士兵和平民，加起來 20 萬人都投降了。這仗打完，竇憲就讓他弟子史書班固寫了【燕然銘文】，刻在燕然山上。這山距離長城大概 1000 公裏。
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.
匈奴帝國曾經掌控著蒙古高原、南西伯利亞以及河西走廊，還奴役著新疆和中亞的諸多國家。但是，經過第一次漢匈奴戰爭（公元前 133 年 - 公元前 36 年），強大的匈奴最後變成了漢朝的附屬國。
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，薩珊波斯帝國讓阿拉伯帝國（倭馬亞王朝）給征服了。Peroz III（中文：卑路斯三世）的兒子伊嗣埃三世跑了出來，跑到長安，也就是唐帝國的都城，去見唐高宗，請求派軍幫忙讓波斯薩珊王朝帝國恢復過來。
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，中國於查布爾設定了波斯省，讓佩羅茲當將軍和總督，還派軍隊護送他回去。過了三年，唐把裴魯士封為波斯王。唐朝支持裴魯茲在伊朗跟阿富汗的邊境抵禦阿拉伯軍隊，想要讓國家擺脫阿拉伯人的統治。一直到公元 675 年，抵抗沒成功。佩魯茲回到長安，在那過完了一生。
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.
雖說唐朝實際上沒能把整個波斯掌控住，不過這能表明唐朝的影響力已經覆蓋了整個中亞，還延伸到了中東。讓人意外的是，在 7 世紀交通和運輸條件都很差的時候，古代的中國居然能夠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.
「超級大國」這一概念在歷史上算是挺新的。就像有人說的，中國在歷史的好多時候確實是個了不起的「地區」大國。在一定程度上，古代的交通手段限制了人的活動區域，我覺得古代世界不管哪兒都不存在全球性的力量。中國向來很謙遜，從古至今都沒說自己是個「超級大國」。
In almost every historical period, China has been a global superpower.
但實際上，中國在幾乎每一個歷史階段都是全球的超級大國。
The sole exception was the century of humiliation, which was from 1850 to 1949, or during the era of imperialism.
唯一的不同情況是那屈辱的一個世紀（1850 - 1949），也就是帝國主義時期。
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.
先秦那會，名義上中國是由商周的統治者管著。他們的地盤，雖說比現在的中國小，可比起同時代的古希臘和古埃及，還是要大些。這兩個文明的技術差不多。差不多中國的每個遊牧部落都讓周朝統治下的中國給收服了。部落的人也被中文化，變成「中國人」。在這個時候，中國文化發展得很旺。好多思想團體，像儒家、法家啥的，都在這個時代冒出來了。
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.
美國打建國那會起就想著稱霸。它那個「天定命運」學說，就是給殺害北美土著和搶他們土地找借口的哲學依據。等自己國家強大了，又弄出個「蒙路主義」，差不多就是沒經過相關國家同意，就說地球都歸它管。冷戰結束後，多數美國人盼著「和平紅利」能帶來繁榮，可美國的軍工聯合體跟政府勾結，搞出了「具有傳教義務的例外論」這一理念。習慣成自然，這傾向真不好改。
The real cause of the chaos we witness in the world nowadays is the resistance from those who don't wish to be controlled.
那些不想被別人管著的人的抗爭，才是如今我們看到的世界亂糟糟的真正緣由。
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，跟這世上大多數人一樣，就想生活在一個人人平等的和諧社會中。美國人得明白，認可不同文化的差別還有尊重人權，得是普遍都能做到的，不能光在美國這樣。哪個國家都沒權說自己特殊。可攻擊那些意見不同的人，硬逼他們同意，這永遠都不對。這哪是超級大國該有的做派！
