为什么中国的企业纠纷经常和图章有关

作者：Alice的学习笔记

注意：文中的英文文本来自《经济学人》，中文翻译和注释仅供参考。

无注释原文

有注释版

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China is in the vanguard of new technology, from facial recognition to 5G networks. Many Chinese firms, though, rely on something from an earlier age: a hard, usually rubber chop with a firm’s name engraved on it, to be dipped in crimson ink and stamped on important documents. Chopping is seen as more authoritative than a mere signature. The 2,000-year-old tradition may seem quaint. But in China, who controls the chop controls the company.

中国现在正走在新科技的前沿：从面部识别到5G网络。然而，很多中国的公司仍然在依赖某种早期的东西：一个硬质的、一般是橡胶材质的，刻有公司名称的图章，在深红色的印泥里蘸过之后，被印在重要的文件上。印章被认为比单一的签名更为权威。这种有2000年历史的传统也许看起来非常古雅。但是在中国，谁控制了图章，谁就控制了公司。

• chop
  1）做动词表示砍、劈、剁，也可表示（大幅度地）削减，降低
     The country was chopped into small administrative areas.
     这个国家被分割为若干个小的行政区。
     The share price was chopped from 50 pence to 20 pence.
     股价由每股50便士猛降至20便士。

   2）做名词可以表示印章，通常是指中、日、韩等东亚国家使用的印章。

• dispute
  可做名词或动词，表示争吵，吵闹，或者对……表示异议
     Nobody disputed that Davey was clever……
     毋庸置疑，戴维是聪明的。
     ……a disputed border region
     有争议的边境

• vanguard
  （政治、艺术、工业等社会活动的）领导者，先锋，先驱者。英文解释如下：
  If someone is in the vanguard of something such as a revolution or an area of research, they are involved in the most advanced part of it. You can also refer to the people themselves as the vanguard.
     The company is proud to be in the vanguard of scientific progress.
     这家公司以处于科学发展的领先地位而自豪。
     Such thinking puts Kedak in the vanguard of a movement reshaping the computer industry……
     这种想法使得柯达走在了改造计算机产业运动的最前沿。

• crimson
  深红色的，暗红色的

• stamp
  名词形式表示印章，作动词表示给……盖章，打戳

• quaint
  新奇有趣的，古色古香的

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Consider three ongoing kerfuffles. On June 4th the board of Arm China, the Chinese joint venture of a chip designer owned by Japan’s SoftBank, voted to remove its boss, Allen Wu. Just one snag: Mr. Wu refused to go. Because he still holds the chop, he has continued to act in Arm China’s name and threatened legal actions to defend his position. A week later Bitmain, which makes bitcoin mining computers, announced that it had replaced its old chop with a new one. They looked virtually identical—Bitmain’s Chinese name in a red circle around a star—except for a new serial number. But it was enough to indicate that one of the feuding co-founders, Micree Zhan, now has the upper hand.

仔细想想以下这三起正在发生的闹剧。在6月4日，Arm China（安谋中国），一家由日本SoftBank持有的中国合资芯片设计商，它的董事会投票表决希望罢免它的老板Allen Wu。只有一个小问题：吴先生拒绝了。因为他仍然持有图章，所以他仍然以安谋中国的名字在活动，并且以提起法律诉讼为威胁来保住自己的位置。一周之后，Bitmain公司（比特大陆，主要是制作比特币挖掘计算机的）宣布，它将用全新的公章取代旧的。两个公章看起来实际上完全相同——Bitmain的中文名字围着一颗星星行成一个红色的圆圈——除了新的序列号。但是这已经足够表明其中一个积怨已久的联合创始人Micree Zhan现在已经取得优势。

• kerfuffle
  骚乱，喧闹，混乱，英文解释为：unnecessary noise and activity

• board
  做名词可表示董事会，理事会

• snag
  1）做动词表示把（尤指衣物）勾破，使绊住

   2）做名词表示（尤指意外的，不严重的）小困难，小问题。
      It's an interesting job. The only snag is that it's not very well paid.
      这份工作很有趣，唯一的问题就是薪水不高。
      Let me know if you hit/ run into any snags
      要是遇到什么麻烦就告诉我

• feud

1. 做名词表示世仇，积怨，英文解释为：an angry and often violent quarrel between two people or groups that continues for a long time.
   有一部美剧就叫Feud，中文翻译成“宿敌”，讲述了好莱坞黄金时代两个传奇女明星，贝蒂戴维斯和琼克劳馥的恩怨情仇，推荐大家观看。

   2) 做动词表示长期争吵，结怨，结仇。
      He feuded with his ex-wife……
      他和前妻积怨已久。

• have/gain the upper hand
  占上风，处于有利地位，有优势，英文解释为：to have more power than someone else so that you are able to control a situation.
        It was easy to see who had the upper hand.
        不难看出谁占上风。

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The oddest recent chop bust-up occurred in April. Li Guoqing, the ousted co-founder of Dangdang, a once-popular e-commerce platform, broke into its headquarters and, in a bid to retake the company, removed dozens of its official chops (besides the main chop, others are used for things like contracts and tax receipts). Dangdang declared the seized chops to be invalid. But on June 13th it was reported that the police had cleared Mr.Li of wrongdoing, implying the chops are his for now.

近来最奇葩的公章争执发生在四月份。李国庆——被罢免的“当当”（风靡一时的电商平台）联合创始人，为了夺回公司，闯入了"当当"的总部，拿走了许多的公章（除了主要的公章，其他的是用来处理合同和税票之类的事务）。“当当”已经宣布被拿走的公章全部作废。但是在6月13日，据报道，警察已经证明李国庆的不法行为罪名不成立，意味着这些公章现在属于李国庆。

• oust
  剥夺，罢免，驱逐，英文解释为：to force someone out of a position of power, especially so that you can take their place.

• in a bid to do sth
  努力争取，尝试取得。bid除了可以表示投标，还可以表示努力，尝试，企图（动词名词都可以）
     I don't think she is bidding to be Prime Minister again.
     我想她不会再次竞选首相。
     a desperate bid to free himself from a loveless marriage
     他绝望地尝试着从这段无爱的婚姻中解脱

• clear
  做动词可以表示证明无罪吗，证实无过错，英文解释为：if someone is cleared, they are proved to be not guilty of crime or mistake.
     In a final effort to clear her name, Eunice has written a book.
     尤尼斯写了本书，最后一次试图证明自己的清白。

• wrongdoing
  不法行为，坏事，作恶，英文解释为：illegal or immoral behavior

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Chops have figured in business fights elsewhere. In 2007 Russian police seized seals from Hermitage, an investment firm owned by Bill Browder, a deported financier, and used them to re-register its companies under others’ names. But in 2015 Russia eliminated the need for company seals. In Japan and South Korea, where chops are still used, tussles over them are rare.

公章在其他商战中也同样出现了。2007年一个俄罗斯的警察没收了Hermitage公司（一家投资公司，归Bill Browder——一个被驱逐出境的金融家所有）的公章，并用他们重新注册了新的公司。但是在2015年，俄罗斯取消了公司印章的必要。在日本和韩国，公章仍然被使用，但是在这方面的争斗却很少。

• figure in
  出现，包括（在……中），英文解释为：if a person or thing figures in something, they appear in or are included in it.
     Human rights violations figured prominently in the report.
     有关侵犯人权的部分在报告中占据了重要地位。

• deport
  驱逐（非本国居民）出境

• tussle做名词表示争执，争夺。
     ……a legal tussle over who gets custody of the children.
     关于争夺孩子抚养权的法律纠纷
     After quite a tussle, I finally wrenched the letter from him.
     经过一顿争夺，我终于从他那里把信抢回来了。

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In China’s sharp-elbowed business world chop rows remain more common—and mostly unreported. Managers sometimes misuse seals to enter side contracts. Lawsuits to reclaim a chop can drag on, says Eric Carlson of Covington & Burling, a law firm, so many cases are resolved out of court. But, he notes, technology is catching up with tradition. China is starting to deploy electronic chops, which are easier to monitor—and to strip from aggrieved wielders.

在中国的商业世界，那一排排的印章仍然普遍，并且绝大多数都是不公开的。管理者有时会用印章来签署附带协议。来自Covington & Burling律师事务所的Eric Carlson说，有关重新取回印章的诉讼案件会持续很久，所以许多案件都是在庭外解决的。但是他指出，科技正在努力跟上传统。中国正在部署电子印章，它们更容易监控，也更容易从那些愤愤不平的行权者手中剥夺。

• sharp-elbowed
  elbow表示手肘，sharp表示锋利的，组合在一起似乎是“锋利的手肘”，人和人之间如果靠的很近，就会接踵摩肩，但是如果有人有着很"锋利"的手肘，那么他一定是不好接近的，也不会存在彼此相互协作的情况，所以我认为可以引申为竞争激烈的意思。（如有不对，请指正）
  拓展：
  elbow作动词表示排挤，用手肘挤。
     Non-state firms gradually elbow aside the inefficient state-owned ones...
     非国有企业逐渐挤掉了效率低下的国有企业。
     Environmental concerns will elbow their way right to the top of the agenda.
     环境问题将挤到议事日程之首。

• enter into a contract
  订立契约，与……签订合同。
     Don't sign/enter into any contract before examining its conditions carefully.
     没有仔细核查合同条款，不要签定任何合同。

• drag on
  不必要地拖延，拖得过久，英文解释为：You say that an event or progress drags on when you disapprove of the fact that it lasts for longer than necessary.
     There's no profit in letting meetings drag on. *
     会议拖拖拉拉没什么好处。*

• note
  作动词表示注意，重视，留意，强调，支出等意思。
     The report notes that export and import volumes picked up in leading economies.
     报告特别指出经济大国的进出口量攀升。
     Please note that there are a limited number of tickets.
     请注意，票的数量有限。

• deploy
  部署，有效地利用，调动。
     to deploy arguments / resources
     利用论据/资源

• aggrieved
  1）愤愤不平的;委屈的，英文解释为：If you feel aggrieved, you feel upset and angry because of the way in which you have been treated.
        I really feel aggrieved at this sort of thing.
        我真为这种事感到委屈。

   2) 受害的；受委屈的。
         the aggrieved party (= person) in the case
         案件中的受害方

• wield
  使用工具，掌握，运用，行使(权利)
     He remains chairman but wields little power at the company.
     他还是主席，但在公司没有什么实权了。