Chinese leaders aren't the only ones frustrated with the nation's lack of “soft power” influence--Jet Li is, too, and he wants to do something about it.

　　并非只有中国领导人纠结于中国缺乏“软实力”影响，功夫明星李连杰也这么认为。他想做些努力以改变这一现状。

　　The Chinese martial artist-turned-movie star is starting a taichi school with Alibaba Group Chairman Jack Ma, which he hopes will break stereotypes of taichi as an art practiced only by old people in parks. Mr. Li said he wants it to one day be as cool to practice taichi as it is watch American movies, watch Japanese animation or study South Korea's taekwondo.

　　Steven Shi/Reuters2011年9月10日，中国功夫明星李连杰在杭州出席第八届全球网商大会。武术大师出身的电影明星李连杰和阿里巴巴集团（Alibaba Group）董事局主席马云正联手创办一家太极学校。李连杰希望此举能打破太极只是老年人在公园练习的一种活动的刻板印象。李连杰说，希望有朝一日练习太极能成为像看美国大片和日本动画以及学习韩国跆拳道一样酷的活动。

　　“China is an economic powerhouse,” Mr. Li said at Alibaba Group's annual summit for small to medium-sized business owners in Hangzhou. But the world's most populous country has little cultural influence compared to the U.S., South Korea and Japan, he said.

　　李连杰在杭州阿里巴巴集团年度网商大会上说，中国是个经济大国，但和美国、韩国和日本相比，中国这个全球人口最多的国家在文化上几乎没有影响力。

　　The actor's new venture could indeed give a boost to China's efforts to export its culture, which have involved investments in the billions of dollars but have been criticized as unimaginative. Among Beijing's recent soft-power plays: an international network of state-sponsored language institutes, a 17-minute long promotional film panned by Chinese Internet users as blatantly propagandistic and a giant advertisement in Times Square showing photos of wealthy and successful Chinese people who most Americans don't recognize.

　　李连杰的这一新事业可能确实会极大地促进中国输出本国文化的努力，中国为此已经投入了数十亿美元，但却被外界批评为缺乏想象力。中国政府最近展现“软实力”的举措包括：构筑国家资助的中文语言学院的全球网络；一部被中国网友恶评为带有明显宣传意图的长达17分钟的宣传影片；在《纽约时报》广场投放巨幅广告，展现成功富有的中国人的照片，只是大多数美国人都不认识这些中国人。

　　Mr. Li, who has starred in major movies on both sides of the Pacific including the 2002 Zhang Yimou epic “Hero,” lamented that Hollywood and other cultural industries make up a significant portion of GDP in the U.S. but represent only a fraction of China's economy. “Italian coffee is better than Starbucks,” but consumers around the world recognize Starbucks more than Italian coffee “because it's a cultural experience,” he said.

　　李连杰感叹道，在美国，好莱坞和其它文化产业在国内生产总值中所占比例显著，但这类产业在中国经济中只占了一小部分比重。李连杰说，意大利咖啡比星巴克更好，但世界各地的消费者对星巴克品牌的辨识度高于意大利咖啡，因为到星巴克消费是一种文化体验。李连杰曾在太平洋两岸的多部大片中担任主角，其中包括张艺谋在2002年执导的史诗大片《英雄》（Hero）。

　　He did not disclose financial details of his partnership with Mr. Ma, but said the company will be called Taichi Zen International Culture Company.

　　李连杰没有透露他和马云合作的财务细节，但他说这家公司的名字将叫做太极禅国际文化公司。

　　For China not to have a contribution to the rest of the world would be a “pity,” he said. “I feel shame before my ancestors,” he added, saying he wants kids to be proud of their “national culture.”

　　李连杰说，中国未能对世界其它国家做出贡献是一个“遗憾”。他又说自己在祖先面前感到羞愧，并说他希望孩子们能为自己的“祖国文化”感到骄傲。