已从大众视线中淡出的中国前总理朱镕基重新回到台前──至少以出书的形式。

Like a specter from the past, Zhu Rongji is back on the stage in China -- at least in book form.

《朱镕基答记者问》出人意料地成为了今年中国的畅销书之一。这位中国前总理自2003年退休之后就一直保持着低调，这本书并不是他的新作，而是朱镕基最精华言论的合集。该书整理了他在每年全国人大会议记者招待会上回答中外记者提问以及接受境外媒体采访的部分内容，时间跨度为1993年至2002年，提供了一个了解这段时期的窗口。朱镕基在这段时期负责中国经济事务，为中国在这个十年的迅速崛起奠定了基础。

One of the unexpected bestsellers in China this year is 'Zhu Rongji Answers Journalists' Questions.' It's not a new work by the former Chinese premier--who has kept a low profile after retiring in 2003, but a collection of his greatest hits: transcripts of interviews he gave at the annual press conferences at the National People's Congresses and to media from around the world. The interviews run from 1993 to 2002, giving a snapshot of an era when Zhu called the shots on China's economy and set the stage for the country's meteoric rise this decade.

《朱镕基答记者问》今年早些时候由人民出版社发行；人民出版社副社长任超说，该书印刷了108万册，已售出超过70万册。他说，该书销量强劲主要来自于外界对上世纪九十年代中国那段艰难改革历程的兴趣；当时中国应对着因为大型国有企业倒闭而产生的大量工人下岗问题，同时进行着加入世界贸易组织(WTO)的谈判。

According to Ren Chao, deputy director of the People's Publishing House, which put out the book earlier this year, 1.08 million books have been printed, with more than 700,000 sold. Ren says the strong sales stem from an interest in the tough reform years of the 1990s, when China grappled with mass unemployment following the closure of large state enterprises and also negotiations to join the World Trade Organization.

任超说，我已经在大型出版社工作了20多年。一本书在如此短时期内获得这样出色的销量，这是非常少见的。

'I've worked in large-scale publishing houses for over 20 years. It is quite rare that one book has such good sales in such a short period of time,' he said.

他还说，朱镕基只能以铁面形容的行事作风也是吸引读者兴趣的因素。这使得朱镕基成为了中国最具争议的人物之一──他在外国人士和支持改革的中国人中受到欢迎，但数百万在朱镕基实施改革之后失业的工人显然不这么认为，似乎朱镕基对他们也没有什么要说的。不同于中国当前领导层注重营造温情印象，并获取中国新生的社会舆论支持，在朱镕基执政的那个时期，领导中国的都是颇为铁腕的技术派官员。

Plus, Ren says, there's the matter of Zhu's style, which can be only described as blunt and no-nonsense. That made him one of China's most polarizing figures--popular among foreigners and reform-oriented Chinese, but unpopular among the millions of employees who got laid off in the wake of his reforms and to whom he seemed to have little to say. In contrast to the current leadership, which is concerned with making a warm impression and court China's nascent public opinion, Zhu harkens back to an era when the country was run by unabashed technocrats.

任超说，一个有趣的事实是很多读者似乎更为年轻。这或许表明读者对朱镕基的浓厚兴趣，因为与当前的领导人相比，朱镕基具有强烈的个人魅力，从不拐弯抹角。同样不同于当前领导人的是，朱镕基接受采访的数量占据绝对优势。中国国家主席胡锦涛和总理温家宝很少接受采访，尤其是不接受外国媒体采访，而朱镕基却接受了众多外国媒体采访，而且能够应对尖锐甚至是不愉快的问题。

Ren says one interesting fact is that many readers seem to be younger. This might indicate fascination with a leader who, in contrast to today's leadership, was charismatic and didn't beat around the bush. Also a difference from today's leadership is the sheer number of interviews he gave. While top Chinese leader Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao rarely give interviews, especially not to foreign press, Zhu gave numerous foreign interviews and ably fielded tough, even unpleasant, questions.

1999年4月2日朱镕基接受《华尔街日报》采访时，这一点展现无疑。当时朱镕基谈到了*以及令美国人难以忘怀的一张照片：一个年轻人只身站在坦克前。朱镕基说，这个人并没有被杀；他还以自己的反驳作出了回应。朱镕基说这张照片令他想到了另一张照片：在美军飞机袭击之后，一名被汽油弹烧伤的越南女孩赤裸地在大街上奔跑。朱镕基还说，我们都不希望看到这样的事情重演。

This was on display in an interview that Zhu gave to The Wall Street Journal on April 2, 1999. Zhu was talking about the * Square massacre and an enduring image for Americans: a lone figure who stood in front of a tank. Zhu noted that the man hadn't been killed and replied with a zinger of his own: He said it reminded him of a photo of napalmed Vietnamese girl running naked down the street after an attack by U.S. warplanes. He also said 'We all hope not to witness the recurrence of such things.'

有趣的是，这些内容在书中都没有被删除──这或许象征着朱镕基的铁面直言通过了中国的新闻审查，得以付诸出版。

Interestingly, none of this was excised from the book--a sign that Zhu's blunt talk made it through China's censors and into print.