"The word God is for me nothing but the expression and product of human weaknesses."
Einstein's 1954 letter tackles the debate between science and religion.
1922年，阿爾伯特·愛因斯坦與妻子開啟了長達五個半月的旅程，探索新的世界：遠東和中東。沿途，他寫了一本旅行日記，使用了時有歧視的極端詞彙記下了他對停留香港、新加坡、中國、日本、印度和巴勒斯坦時所見之人的印象。
在中國大陸各地，他看到了「勤勞、骯髒、遲鈍的人」。他寫道，「如果中國人取代所有其他種族，那就太遺憾了。對我們這樣的人來說，光是這樣想想，就覺得特別沮喪。」
Newly published travel diaries reveal the scientist's racist and xenophobic views, particularly towards the Chinese.
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《衛報》的文章舉出了以下幾個例子：
愛因斯坦稱中國人"勤勞、骯髒、愚鈍"。他注意到，"中國人吃飯時不坐在凳子上，而是像歐洲人在樹林裏如廁那樣蹲著……（中國人）安靜、拘束，就連孩子看上去都很呆板、愚鈍。"
愛因斯坦還寫道，中國人"生很多孩子"、"繁衍能力很強"。他隨後對此觀察的反思是，"如果這些中國人取代了所有其他種族，那真是遺憾。對我們這樣的人來說，就連那樣想一想都是無可言喻的悲傷。"
日記的翻譯這樣評論
《衛報》援引加利福尼亞理工學院"愛因斯坦文獻計劃"負責人之一、資深編輯羅森克蘭茲（Ze'ev Rosenkranz）說，"其中許多評論都會令人感到不悅，特別是他說中國人的那些話。
"那些話和愛因斯坦偉大人道主義偶像的公眾形像反差鮮明，讀過之後再對比一下他的公開評論，感覺會很震驚。"
不過羅森克蘭茲也說，那些日記是愛因斯坦在"毫無防備"的情況下記錄下的私人想法，愛因斯坦從來沒有想過這些日記有朝一日會被發表。
羅森克蘭茲是《愛因斯坦旅遊日記》的編輯和翻譯。
The newly unveiled English translation of Einstein's travel diaries caused outrage by revealing some disparaging remarks the physicist wrote about the Chinese in the 1920s.
......愛因斯坦在二十年代初，雖兩度路過中國，但逗留時間不長，對中國人僅有浮光掠影的印象。這次日記曝光，最深入民心的地圖炮，就是稱中國人「勤奮、骯髒、遲鈍」（industrious, filthy, obtuse）。愛因斯坦日記寫的是德文，我向來對翻譯有點戒心，所以嘗試翻查原文。據德媒《明鏡》（Spiegel）的〈愛因斯坦是種族主義者嗎？〉（War Einstein ein Rassist？），愛因斯坦稱中國人為「emsige, schmutzige, stumpfsinnige Menschen」，「勤奮」（emsige），「骯髒」（schmutzige）都沒問題，但「stumpfsinnige」譯作「遲鈍」，似可商榷。「遲鈍」，我們一般理解為反應緩慢，側重於智力一面，譯「obtuse」沒錯，「stumpfsinnige」也有這意思，但這個德文字還有一個更根本的意義，表示漠不關心、態度冷淡。
我不肯定德媒所引，到底是直接取自愛因斯坦日記原文，抑或二度翻譯普林斯頓的英譯本。假如愛因斯坦用的真是「stumpfsinnige」一字，我傾向相信他的原意，是說中國人麻木不仁，而非腦筋遲鈍，因為他那樣走馬看花，怎可能憑目測就洞悉到中國人的IQ呢？至於冷漠態度，則較顯而易見，正如魯迅筆下那群「看殺頭」的群眾，類近的現象比比皆是。莫說百年前中國，今天大部分中國人，包括主流香港人，不也對真正要緊的事，展露出一種精神上的麻木嗎？中國人的靈活狡黠，是世界聞名的；假如愛因斯坦真的認為中國人在智力方面「遲鈍」，那麼他的問題不在種族主義，而在觀察有誤。
以公開的日記內容來說，我不覺得愛因斯坦「侮辱」了中國人。「勤奮」、「麻木」，都是大致準確的描述，百年前如是，今天亦然；「骯髒」則未免以偏概全了，但也是他的所見所聞，如果是事實，就唯有是事實。他說「中國人吃飯時不坐在長櫈上，而是像歐洲人在森林方便時那樣蹲着」（Die Chinesen sitzen nicht auf Baenken, waehrend sie essen, sondern hocken wie Europaeer, wenn sie sich im Wald erleichtern），的確有點刻薄，但也不能否認這比喻很到肉。......
https://hk.lifestyle.appledaily.com/lifestyle/columnist/16633979/daily/article/20180616/20421796
California Institute of Technology - Caltech
Einstein, like most of us, needed a vacation from work sometimes. In 1922, he traveled through the Middle East, Hong Kong, China, Japan, and Spain. A new book from an editor of the Einstein Papers shares the diary Einstein kept during his journey. Read the Q&A here: www.einstein.caltech.edu/
News
June 6th: Princeton University Press Releases Ze’ev Rosenkranz’s latest book The Travel Diaries of Albert Einstein: The Far East, Palestine, and Spain, 1922 – 1923
Q&A With The Author:Q: How does your work as an editor at the Einstein Papers Project compare to, or inform your work as an author?
A: My work as an editor and former curator of the Einstein Archives has given me amazing access to and great familiarity with the materials over many years. As an author, I can express my opinions on the subject matter, whereas as an editor I need to be as objective as possible in selecting, presenting, and annotating the materials.
Q: In a book replete with detail and historical accuracy such as The Travel Diaries of Albert Einstein: The Far East, Palestine, and Spain, 1922-1923, what do you edit out of the book?
A: The major exclusion from the book are the 20 pages of calculations Einstein wrote at the other end of the diary (he turned it upside down and started noting them there). We included those in Vol. 13 of The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein but not in this edition, which is for a popular audience. Similarly, I only included quotes and titles in English in the annotations instead of in the original languages. In addition, this book contains a smaller collection of auxiliary materials (letters, speeches, articles) from the period.
Q: What are the ethics of writing about a historical figure?
A: In previous eras, biographers viewed a historical figure's private life as completely off-limits. I don't subscribe to that point of view. A historical figure's personal life can provide some of the most fascinating insights we can gain about these famous personalities. The intention is not salacious but rather a genuine attempt to understand what makes such celebrities tick. This is particularly pertinent in Einstein's case, where there is such a great discrepancy between the public image and the actual historical individual. Few studies manage to gain a deeper insight into the interrelations between private lives, public personae, political activities, and scientific and intellectual output. Consequently, I don't think there are no-go areas when it comes to the private life of an individual such as Albert Einstein.Q: Are you planning other books about Einstein or other subjects?
A: I'm currently working on a study of the relationship between Albert Einstein and his second wife Elsa. It will examine topics such as Einstein's masculinity, emotionality, and sexuality through the lens of this crucial relationship; Elsa was also his first and second cousin. It will place the relationship in the context of gender and men's studies, the social history of family and couple relations, and the history of emotions.
Q: Are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
A: I think I have been moving more towards an examination of Einstein's private life with each book. Increasingly, with each publication, I have tried to reach some conclusions about Einstein's personality and how our public image of this celebrity squares up or juxtaposes with the private man. 6-6-18
Photo Credits: Ze'ev Rosenkranz's latest book The Travel Diaries of Albert Einstein: The Far East, Palestine, and Spain, 1922–1923; book design by Chris Ferrante of Princeton University Press. Sketch by Ippei Okamoto, "Albert Einstein or The Nose as a Reservoir for Thoughts," on train journey to Nikko, Japan, 4 December 1922.
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