Learn to get along with China

A prominent American's letter to his grandchildren

　　By Stuart Symington Jr

　　The writer, a Harvard law professor, comes from a prominent American family. His great-grandfather John Hay had served twice as Secretary of State. His father had been a Senator and Secretary of the Air Force and his younger brother a former congressman. Finding China's phenomenal progress awesome after a recent trip there, he wrote a letter to his grandchildren on the importance to get along with China, which he said may become the most powerful country in the world.

　　Dear Grandchildren,

　　This is a letter from your grandfather to all of his grandchildren. The ones who are old enough to read are getting it direct. I'm sending it to the parents of the ones who are not old enough to read.

　　The purpose of this letter is to encourage all of you to study as much as you can about China. The reason is that we live in an increasingly internationalised world. The tragic attacks of September 11 show that the oceans no longer protect us from our enemies. We need all the friends abroad we can get. To that end we should study how to get along with China, the most populous country in the world. Based on your grandmother's and my recent trip to China, it may also become the most powerful country in the world during your lifetime. Another reason for getting along with China, whether you like to get along or not！

　　There are many ways to learn about a foreign country. At a minimum, I urge you to pay special attention to the history of China, its geography, geology, political and economic system, ecology, culture, （ethnicity, different ethnic groups—what we call “minorities”） religious groups and beliefs, architecture and archeology.

　　There are 1.25 billion people in China. That makes China's population about five times ours. So a very small percentage of the Chinese population can be a lot of people by our standards—scientists, athletes, businessmen, customers, philosophers, poets and friends. On the other hand, what may seem a lot of people to us may be just a tiny minority to the Chinese. We might think a crowd of 10 or 20 thousand people a big number, but by Chinese standards it would not be big at all.

　　One way to learn about a country is to collect its stamps. They tell you a lot about what is going on in the country.

　　When your grandmother and I asked our granddaughter Janey what kind of college she was interested in, she had a one-word reply: “Diversity.” I agree with her 100%. I think that tolerance of diversity will be the key to the survival of the United States in the 21st century.

　　Beyond the basics of special attention to China in your school courses, and any electives you have an opportunity to take in college, I encourage you to try to get to know Chinese people in the United States, and to travel to China if you get the chance, to see for yourselves what is going on there.

　　What is going on there can be described in one word. Awesome！ China has a booming free market economy. Its liberal Communist government has given free enterprise all the latitude that most of the people can live with. China has had terrible famines in the past. Twenty million Chinese perished of hunger under Mao's Great Leap Forward. The Chinese do not hate Mao for that. He made a mistake, they say. But they used to eat grass, and now they eat wheat and rice, so they are not bitter about Mao.

　　China does deny civil rights, and its society is not perfect, no society is perfect. But your grandmother and I were very impressed by the energy of the Chinese people, their work ethic, their pride in their country and culture, their practicality, and the rapid development of the Chinese economy. We flew all over China, in planes that were all new, made by Boeing in a Chinese plant.

　　Beyond study, stamps, acquaintanceship and travel lies still another way to learn about China. That is by studying the Chinese language. It is difficult, but it is fascinating. Selective schools and colleges already offer Mandarin, the principal dialect. The way to learn is by immersion—to talk it all the time in class, and spend a term, a year or a long summer vacation in the country.

　　I feel comfortable about bringing the subject of the Chinese language to your attention, because our family is apparently genetically programmed to speak foreign languages. Use the skills you have. Already, Janey and Stuartie are working on being tri-lingual, and their parents have achieved this.

　　We have another family connection with China that you should know about. About one hundred years ago, your great, great, great grandfather, John Hay, was the United State's Secretary of State. He initiated what was called the Open Door policy, which at the time we thought was a good thing for both China and the United States. I think that the Chinese did not agree, then or now, that it was good for China. But that is the true history of the past involvement of our family with China.

　　Mr. Hay was once asked by reporters about the results of a conference he had just had with the Chinese ambassador to the United States, Mr. Wu. Mr. Hay responded, “I am not sure. After conferring for three hours, Mr. Hay was woozy and Mr. Wu was hazy.”

　　The history books are full of the total inability of parents, and maybe grandparents too, to convince their children how to live and what to do. A famous example of this is the letters Lord Chesterfield wrote giving good advice to his son. They are considered the outstanding examples of good advice. Unfortunately, the son paid absolutely no attention to what his father told him.

　　Please take this letter as an effort by your loving grandfather to peer ahead into a world that will not be as easy for you as we expected it would be before September 11. You all live far away and I do not often get the chance to talk with you. Please do not consider this letter as a demand. I wanted to tell you my thoughts, the product of a two-week trip to China, a place I never imagined I would have the opportunity to see.

　　If any of you want to talk about this subject some more, please write or e-mail me your thoughts, or we can talk about your ideas when you are here this Christmas.

　　Much love to you all,

　　Your Grandfather,

　　Stuart Symington, Jr.

　　学会和中国打交道

　　——一个美国名人给孙儿们的信

　　● 史托尔。西敏顿

　　作者是哈佛大学法学院博士,来自一个极具声望的美国家庭。他的曾外祖父海依曾任两届国务卿。父亲曾是参议员和空军部长,弟弟也是前众议员。他最近到中国旅游,深感中国的快速发展令人敬畏。因此,他写了一封信给他的孙子们,告诉他们中国可能成为世界上大的国家,不管他们喜不喜欢,都得学会和中国交往。

　　亲爱的孙子们:

　　这是你们的祖父写给他所有孙儿们的信。我已经直接写给那些能够独立阅读的孩子们,至于现在还不会阅读的孩子们,我则将信寄给你们的父母,由他们把内容转告你们。

　　写这封信的目的,是鼓励你们尽可能多多学习有关中国的知识,因为我们现在是生活在一个越来越国际化的世界里。九一一悲剧告诉我们,辽阔的海洋再也不足以保护我们免受敌人的攻击。我们需要朋友,越多越好。因此,我们需要研究如何同中国,这个在世界上拥有最多人口的国家交往。根据你们的祖母和我最近到中国旅行的经历,我们认为中国有可能在你们有生之年,成为世界上大的国家。也就是说,不管你们喜不喜欢,都要学会和中国打交道。

　　要了解一个国家有很多途径,最起码,我鼓励你们要特别关注中国的历史、地理、地形、政治和经济体制、生态、文化、民俗、不同的种族（也就是我们所说的少数民族）、宗教组织和信仰、建筑和历史遗迹。

　　中国有12亿5000万人口,是我们人口的五倍。所以一小部分的中国人对我们来说,就是一个很大的绝对数字——例如科学家、运动员、商人、客户、哲学家、诗人和朋友等。从另一角度来看,我们眼里的一大群人,对中国来说,只是一小部分人。例如,我们认为一万或者两万人是一大群人,但以中国的标准来说,这数目可以说是微不足道。

　　收集一个国家的邮票,是了解这个国家的一个简单的办法。邮票会让你知道许多这个国家正在发生的事情。

　　当你们的祖母和我问我们的外孙女简妮,她想上什么样的大学时,她的回答是“提供多样化课程的大学”。我完全赞成她的选择。我认为容忍多样化是美国在21世纪生存的关键。

　　除了特别关注学校里的中国课程,和可以选读的任何有关中国的课程,我也鼓励你们多认识身在美国的中国人,或者到中国去旅行,亲身体验那里的一切。

　　那里发生的一切可说是令人敬畏。中国有一个蓬勃的自由市场经济,共产党给予企业家大多数人可以接受的发展空间。中国过去发生过可怕的饥荒。在毛泽东的大跃进时代,饿死了两千万人。中国人民并不因此憎恨毛泽东。他们只是说,他犯了一个错误。他们那时只能吃草,现在却能够吃小麦和大米,所以他们从不曾痛恨毛泽东。

　　中国确实不尊重人权,其社会也远非完美。但是,没有一个社会是完美的。中国人民旺盛的精力、对工作的认真态度、对自己国家和文化的自豪、务实的精神和快速增长的经济,给你们的祖母和我留下深刻的印象。我们飞遍了中国,坐的都是波音公司在中国制造的崭新飞机。

　　除了学习、收集邮票、和中国人交朋友和到中国旅行,还有一个办法认识中国,就是学习华文。这很难,但是却充满乐趣。一些学校和大学已经有普通话班。普通话是他们用来沟通的主要语言。学习语文的方法就是完全投入——在班上用华语交谈,或者在中国住上一个学期、一年或一个长暑假。

　　我不觉得向你们提出学习华文有什么问题,大概是因为基因的关系,我们的家族很善于说外国语言。好好利用你们的优点。简妮和斯图尔迪已经在努力学习,要和他们的父母一样精通三种语文。

　　我应该告诉你们,你们和中国还有一层特殊的关系。百余年前,你们的高曾祖（编按:即前后六代人）约翰海依（John　Hay）,是当时的美国国务卿。他首先向中国提出了开放门户的要求,即的“开放门户政策”。那时我们认为这对中国和美国,都是一项有利的政策。我想中国人并不认为这对他们有利,不管是当时还是现在。这段历史,是我们家族和中国的一段渊源。

　　有一次,在和中国清朝驻美国的吴大使会谈后,有记者在记者会问我的外祖父即你们的高曾祖会谈的结果,他幽默的说:“我不能肯定,经过了三小时的商谈,我依然困惑,吴大使则还是毫无头绪。”

　　历史书里充满了父母,甚至祖父母,完全无法让孩子依照他们的教诲做人的故事。举一个有名的例子,切斯特菲尔德爵士在给他的孩子的信里,提出很多有用的劝告,但是他的孩子总是不以为然。

　　请把这封信当成深爱你们的祖父,对九一一悲剧以后,更加艰难的世局的一种探索。因为你们都住得很远,我很少有机会和你们交谈。不要把这封信看做是我对你们的要求,它是我在中国,一个我曾经认为我自己永远都不会有机会去拜访的国家,度过两个星期后的一些感想。

　　如果你们想继续讨论中国的问题,可以写信或电子邮件给我,或者我们也可以在圣诞节见面时再谈。