Authoritarian regimes use them to intimidate. Democracies use them to commemorate. Military parades are both grand spectacle and potent message.

威权政权用它们恐吓。民主国家用它们纪念。阅兵既是壮观的场面，也是有力的信息。

In a few days, the streets of Washington will host one of their own. The occasion, at least officially, is the 250th anniversary of the United States Army. It also just so happens to be President Trump’s 79th birthday.

再过几天，华盛顿街头也将举行自己的阅兵式。至少在官方意义上，这是纪念美国陆军成立250周年。同时也正好是特朗普总统的79岁生日。

The motives of countries that stage such parades may vary, but the events all tend to share a common visual vocabulary.

各国举办此类仪式的动机可能各不相同，但这些活动往往都有共同的视觉词汇。

Here is what to look for.

下面是值得留意的东西。

Iconic settings

标志性建筑

北京的中国国庆阅兵，2019年10月

From Tiananmen Square to the Arc de Triomphe, many military parades take place against the backdrop of a country’s most recognizable landmarks, often symbols of national identity and history. That heightens the visual and emotional impact.

从天安门广场到凯旋门，许多阅兵式都以一个国家最著名的地标为背景，这些地标建筑往往是国家身份和历史的象征。这加强了视觉和情感上的冲击。

It can also signal that military power is deeply intertwined with the fabric of the nation and reinforce a sense of unity among its people.

它也可以表明军事力量与国家结构紧密相连，并加强人民的团结意识。

“There is definitely a deep meaning to these locations: They are to evoke and symbolize military triumphs and national sovereignty preserved in wars and paid for with enormous sacrifices,” said Leon Aron, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a think tank.

智库美国企业研究所高级研究员莱昂·阿隆说，“这些地点肯定有深刻的含义，它们唤起并象征着在战争中维护的军事胜利和国家主权，这些胜利和主权是以巨大的牺牲换来的。”

The parade in Washington on June 14 will begin at the Pentagon and make its way toward the National Mall, passing Mr. Trump’s viewing stand on Constitution Avenue, according to Army officials.

据陆军官员称，6月14日在华盛顿举行的阅兵式将从五角大楼开始，前往国家广场，途经宪法大道上特朗普所在的观礼台。

Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, a Democrat who was once chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said in May that if Mr. Trump were not in power, the celebrations for the Army’s anniversary would most likely have been much more modest and taken place at Fort Myer in Arlington, Va.

罗德岛州民主党参议员、曾任军事委员会主席的杰克·里德今年5月表示，如果特朗普没有上台，陆军的周年纪念活动很可能会低调得多，会在弗吉尼亚州阿灵顿的迈尔堡举行。

“But this is Trump,” he said.

“但这就是特朗普，”他说。

Strategic seating charts

用意深刻的座席排位

2025年5月

Military parades also offer a perfect photo op for leaders who want to show the world who their allies are.

阅兵也为想向世界展示谁是盟友的领导人提供了绝佳的拍照机会。

In Russia, President Vladimir V. Putin has long invited foreign leaders to attend the annual Victory Day Parade in Moscow. But after Russia invaded Ukraine and the West moved to isolate it, Mr. Putin’s guests of honor took on outsize significance.

俄罗斯总统普京长期以来一直邀请外国领导人参加在莫斯科举行的一年一度的胜利日阅兵。但在俄罗斯入侵乌克兰、西方开始孤立乌克兰之后，普京的贵宾们显得格外重要。

“When the regime is fully confident of its legitimacy, the loyalty of the people and their armed forces… you don’t need this sort of display,” said Dr. Aron, “The more you need to display it, I think, the more you show that there is an issue of legitimacy.”

“当一个政权对自己的合法性、人民及其武装力量的忠诚完全有信心时……你就不需要这种展示，”阿隆说。“我认为，你越是需要展示，就越说明存在合法性问题。”

Mr. Putin is hardly alone in inviting foreign leaders to his parades. The goal, in part, is to project grandeur.

普京并不是唯一邀请外国领导人参加阅兵的人。在某种程度上，邀请外国领导人是为了营造宏伟的氛围。

“That’s why the N.F.L. likes celebrities at the Super Bowl,” said Dr. Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Project at Middlebury Institute of International Studies.

明德国际问题研究所东亚防扩散项目主任杰弗里·刘易斯说，“这就是NFL喜欢邀请名人参加超级碗活动的原因。”

French leaders have made an art of it. From Emmanuel Macron to Nicolas Sarkozy, they frequently invite prominent foreign leaders to their military parades — especially the ones they wish to court.

法国领导人们把这当成了一门艺术。从马克龙到萨科齐，他们经常邀请外国著名领导人参加他们的阅兵式——尤其是那些他们想讨好的人。

During Mr. Trump’s first term, President Emmanuel Macron invited him to the Bastille Day parade in 2017, hoping to maintain dialogue after the American leader pulled the United States out of the Paris climate agreement.

在特朗普第一任期内，法国总统埃马纽埃尔·马克龙邀请他参加2017年的巴士底日阅兵，希望在这位美国领导人让美国退出巴黎气候协定后仍然保持对话。

Mr. Trump returned home feeling good about the French — “He’s a great guy,” he said of Mr. Macron — and about military parades. So good that he wanted one of his own, he said.

回国后，特朗普对法国人感到很满意——“他是个很棒的人，”他在谈到马克龙时说——对阅兵也很满意。他说，太棒了，他自己也想要一个。

That time, the Pentagon was able to dissuade him. This year is another story.

那一次，五角大楼劝住了他。今年则是另一番景象。

Displays of might

展示力量

平壤的朝鲜战争结束70周年阅兵式，2023年7月

Military parades are, first and foremost, a show of power, and no one may understand that better than North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un.

阅兵首先是一种权力展示，没有人比朝鲜领导人金正恩更了解这一点。

The parades there are a rare window into a famously closed-off country, and an opportunity for the regime to show its most advanced weapons to adversaries. For years, Mr. Kim has used them to let the world know how far his nuclear program has advanced.

那里的阅兵是了解这个以封闭著称的国家的难得窗口，也是这个政权向对手展示其最先进武器的一个机会。多年来，金正恩一直利用阅兵向世界展示其核计划的进展。

Some experts believe that North Korea has paraded trucks with empty missile silos or nonfunctional equipment. But in the world of propaganda, that does not really matter.

一些专家认为，朝鲜阅兵式中的卡车上装的是空的导弹发射管或不能使用的设备。但在政治宣传的世界里，这并不重要。

“These parades often parade fiction more than fact,” said John Spencer, chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute. “You can have obsolete tanks, undertrained soldiers and failing logistics, but the image is what matters. In fear societies, perception is power.”

“这些阅兵往往是虚构，而不是事实，”现代战争研究所城市战争研究主任约翰·斯宾塞说。“你可以拥有过时的坦克，训练不足的士兵和问题重重的后勤，但形象才是最重要的。在恐惧社会里，感知就是力量。”

While Mr. Kim often likes to showcase his latest military advancements, China makes an impression through sheer volume.

金正恩经常喜欢展示他最新的军事进步，中国则通过庞大的数量给人留下深刻的印象。

Its 2019 National Day parade stretched for miles down the avenue in front of Tiananmen Square. It featured more than 500 pieces of military equipment, including tanks, ICBMs and hypersonic drones.

2019年国庆阅兵队伍在天安门广场前的大街上绵延数公里，展示了500多件军事装备，包括坦克、洲际弹道导弹和高超音速无人机。

It is an unmistakable message, intended in part for Taiwan, which Beijing has designs on, and its backer, the United States, said Scott Kennedy, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “That is meant to be flashing red lights to the rest of the world, including their adversaries, about China’s capabilities,” Mr. Kennedy said.

战略与国际研究中心高级顾问甘思德(Scott Kennedy)说，这是一个明确无误的信息，在一定程度上是针对北京所图谋的台湾及台湾的支持者美国。“这意在向包括对手在内的世界其他国家亮起关于中国能力的红灯，”甘思德说。

Intimidating choreography

恐吓性的阅兵式编排

卡拉沃沃州，2024年6月

Formations of soldiers marching in perfect sync are a hallmark of every military parade.

整齐划一的士兵列队行进是所有阅兵式的标志。

The message is not subtle: These are disciplined troops, well-trained and ready to defend their homeland. For citizens at home, it stirs up pride; for potential adversaries abroad, it may give pause.

这样的信息并不隐晦：这些部队纪律严明，训练有素，随时准备保卫祖国。对于国内的公民来说，这激起了他们的自豪感；对于国外的潜在对手来说，这可能会让他们望而却步。

Some countries incorporate acrobatic performances by soldiers, showcasing specialized skills.

有些国家还会加入士兵的特技表演，展示他们的专业技能。

Many countries take to the skies for their parades, wowing crowds with tightly coordinated aircraft flyovers.

许多国家的阅兵式是在天空中进行的，飞机的飞行表演配合默契，令观众叹为观止。

Given the striking spectacle of aerial displays, it is not surprising that the Pentagon has arranged for some 50 helicopters to take part in the parade in Washington.

考虑到空中表演的壮观场面，五角大楼安排了大约50架直升机参加在华盛顿举行的阅兵式，也就不足为奇了。

Faces of power

权力的面孔

2019年北京阅兵式上赞颂中国发展的花车。

Sometimes, it is not just a country projecting strength at a parade.

有时，在阅兵式上展示实力的不仅仅是国家。

At some military parades — especially those staged by authoritarian regimes — a political leader is front and center. Parade participants carry posters, floats and banners with the leader’s image. These are visual symbols of loyalty intended to glorify the leader and suggest that the nation’s strength is inseparable from the leader’s personal authority.

在一些阅兵式上，特别是在威权政权举行的阅兵式上，政治领导人是最显眼的焦点。游行参与者手持印有领导人头像的海报、物品和横幅。这些是忠诚的视觉象征，意在颂扬领袖，暗示国家的力量与领袖的个人权威密不可分。

Unlike some authoritarian leaders, Mr. Putin does not have his face appear on banners or posters during military parades. He opts for a more subtle display of loyalty: the orange-and-black ribbon.

与一些威权领导人不同，普京的面孔不会出现在阅兵式上的横幅或海报上。他选择了一种更微妙的表达忠诚的方式：橙黑相间的丝带。

Known as the St. George ribbon, it has long been used to honor war veterans, but more recently has become a symbol of support for Mr. Putin’s foreign policy — his war in Ukraine.

这些所谓的圣乔治丝带长期以来一直被用来纪念退伍军人，但最近却象征着支持普京的对外政策——他对乌克兰的战争。

Western democracies generally avoid the glorification of their leaders. The absence of their images at parades signify the separation of military and political power.

西方民主国家通常避免颂扬其领导人。阅兵式上不会有他们的画像，这标志着军事和政治权力的分离。

It remains to be seen how the parade will unfold in Washington, but Mr. Kennedy of the Center for Strategic and International Studies believes that Mr. Trump may be seeking a personal boost.

华盛顿的阅兵式将如何展开还有待观察，但战略与国际研究中心的甘思德认为，特朗普可能是在寻求个人支持。

“It’s possible that he hopes that in some ways people’s respect for the military and its capabilities rubs off on him,” Mr. Kennedy said.

甘思德说：“他可能希望人们对军队及其能力的尊重能在某种程度上让他沾光。”