中國，我不見外

文/潘維廉（William Brown） 譯/劉暢

潘維廉在講授MBA課程

1988年，我舉家搬到廈門。那時候我們從來沒想到，中國的變化將如此之大，我們的生活也會隨之改變。即使最近為了實現(xiàn)長期可持續(xù)發(fā)展，中國經(jīng)濟速度放緩，步入新常態(tài)，中國的改變依然更加廣泛、更加精細。這為中外人民創(chuàng)造了前所未有的機遇，讓我萌生了推遲幾年，甚至幾十年再退休的想法。

2012年，我的書《老廈門——現(xiàn)代中國商業(yè)與工商管理教育的搖籃》由廈門大學(xué)出版社出版。我寫這本書是為了說明：如果你真的了解中國的歷史和文化，中國的巨大進步便不足為奇了。習(xí)近平總書記還是福建省省長的時候，我有幸見到他，他鼓勵我要多多了解中國的歷史。2001年的一次晚宴上，他曾說：“你寫的是廈門，你的第二故鄉(xiāng)。你也應(yīng)該寫寫泉州（古代海上絲綢之路的起點），它是你的第三故鄉(xiāng)。”

2012年，我還幫一個曾經(jīng)獲獎的電影團隊來福建為《美國國家地理》雜志拍攝關(guān)于鄭成功的紀(jì)錄片。我加入這個團隊之前，雖然鄭成功平生大部分時間在大陸生活，但這個團隊只打算在日本和中國臺灣省，也就是他的出生地和逝世地取景。這讓我意識到，盡管中國很了解世界，世界還不了解中國。

2012年本文作者（左）在阿聯(lián)酋

2013年，我?guī)椭鷱B門舉辦國際花園城市大賽，該賽事也被稱為“宜居社區(qū)界的奧斯卡獎”。2002年廈門奪得國際花園城市大賽的金獎，我也幫助13個中國城市獲得16金。2009年起，我成為國際花園城市大賽志愿活動協(xié)調(diào)員。2013年，我便辭去這一職位，專心教書和寫作。此時恰逢其時。

2013年，我很榮幸應(yīng)廈門市政府的邀請寫一本有關(guān)于海滄區(qū)的書，名為《我愛海滄——七個理由》。這本書讓我認識到，我對福建知之甚少，更不要說是整個中國了。

同年，我在老鼓浪嶼照片博物館擔(dān)任顧問，助力鼓浪嶼申報聯(lián)合國UNESCO遺產(chǎn)保護地區(qū)，2017年鼓浪嶼申遺成功。

很多中國人，特別是年輕人，都沒有充分意識到中國豐富的文化遺產(chǎn)和驚人的變化。2013年，我開始共同創(chuàng)作和主持一些有關(guān)于中國歷史、文化、旅游、食物的電視節(jié)目。我一共參與了362期中文節(jié)目，其中學(xué)到的中文比我過去25年學(xué)到的還多。

2013年的大事之一，也包括我的小兒子Matt在美國與Jessica完婚（2015年我榮升為爺爺）。我們也非常期待我們的兒子Shannon和他的廈門妻子Miki的兒子快快將臨。

2014年，在國家外國專家局成立60周年之際，我入選了“十大功勛外教”，我備覺感動。我聽到其他九位獲獎?wù)叩氖论E之后，深覺自己還不夠格。但是我知道，新的機會就在我的面前。

2015年，我非常榮幸地成為廈門大學(xué)管理學(xué)院MBA中心“2014先進工作者”，也成為廈門大學(xué)OneMBA項目的教務(wù)主任。OneMBA是一個聯(lián)合項目，由5個國家的5所學(xué)校共同組成。我們有100名來自30多個國家的學(xué)生，他們住在世界上7個國家（中國、印度、巴西、墨西哥、荷蘭、波蘭和美國）。運行這個項目不那么容易，2014年是人數(shù)最少的一年，2017年學(xué)生人數(shù)達到新高！

我是管理學(xué)教授，知道廈門需要戰(zhàn)略營銷。所以2016年，當(dāng)我聽說廈門航空推出直飛美國的航班時，我給他們想了新的宣傳口號“廈門航空帶你大開眼界（New Horizons With Xiamen Airlines）”。2017年，廈門市也采用了我設(shè)計的旅游宣傳口號“享受廈門！（Enjoy Amoy!）”（Amoy是17世紀(jì)以來外國人對廈門的稱呼）。

最讓我興奮的項目是我的新書《我不見外》。1988年以來，我一直堅持寫信幫助朋友們和家人了解中國的生活。雖然我自己沒有留下這些信的復(fù)印件，但我的朋友們保留了數(shù)百封信，他們甚至保留了信封。北京外文出版社將出版這本書的中英文版。我希望這本書能幫助中外人民感受中國過去三十年間的巨大變化。

在《我不見外》中，我也寫了一些了不起的人的故事。比如有一位，她從農(nóng)場少女而后成為教授的女傭，再到現(xiàn)在創(chuàng)辦國際學(xué)校、生物科技公司，成為為貧困兒童建學(xué)校的富翁。她的故事，和其他無數(shù)像她的人一樣，證明中國的成功不僅僅在于富有遠見的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人自上而下制定的政策，也在于自下而上群眾不屈不撓的積極進取、幾千年來的“前人栽樹，后人乘涼”。

1919年Mary Ninde Gamewell寫道，“中國不似古埃及，國家猶存但風(fēng)采已逝。中國舉足輕重，她發(fā)展的潛力就在眼前。一種鮮活的生命力正貫穿著整個國家的血脈”。

如今Gamewell的預(yù)言和百年之前一樣準(zhǔn)確！2018年是中國改革開放40周年，我很幸運能親眼見證了其中的30年，我也希望能見證未來30年的發(fā)展——我100歲的時候，廈門大學(xué)都還沒有解雇我！

When our family moved to Xiamen in 1988, we never dreamed China would change so quickly, and that our own lives would change with it. And even with the economy's recent slowdown to the “new normal” needed for long-term sustainability, the scope and quality of China's changes have continued to improve. This has created more opportunities than ever for both Chinese and foreigners-and moved me to delay retirement for a few more years, maybe decades.

In 2012, the year of the 18th National Congress, I published my book“Old Xiamen-Birthplace of Modern Chinese Business and Business Education”with Xiamen University Press. I wrote this book to show that, if you understand Chinese history and culture, the country's amazing progress is not really that surprising. Fortunately for me,when Xi Jinping was Fujian governor, he encouraged me to learn more about China's history. During a dinner in Fuzhou in 2001, he said, “You wrote about Xiamen, your 2nd home. You should write about Quanzhou (start of the ancient maritime silk road), your 3rd home.”

In 2012, I also helped an award-winning film team come to Fujian for a National Geographic documentary on Koxinga (Zheng Chenggong). Until I intervened, they'd planned tofilm only in Japan and Taiwan, where he was born and died, though he lived most of his life in the mainland. It reminded me that Chinese have learned much about the world but the world still needs to learn more about China.

In 2013, I helped Xiamen host the International Livcom Awards, the “Oscar of Livable Communities”. After helping Xiamen win Livcom's gold medal in 2002, I helped 13 Chinese cities win 16 golds, and in 2009 I agreed to be the Livcom volunteer Operations Director, but in 2013, I resigned from Livcom to focus my time on teaching and writing-and it was perfect timing.

In 2013, I was very honored when Xiamen government asked me to write a book about Haicang District, which I entitled, “7 Reasons I Love Haicang” . Researching that book reminded me of how much I myself still had to learn about Fujian, much less China.

That same year, I became a consultant for an Old Gulangyu Photographic Museum to help bolster Gulangyu's application for UNESCO World Heritage Site. (I became a consultant for Gulangyu in 2010 and Gulangyu received the honor in July of 2017. )

Because many Chinese, especially youth, also don't fully appreciate the country's rich heritage or amazing changes,in 2013, I also began co-writing and co-hosting TV programs about China's history, culture, travel, food, etc. As I cohosted and co-wrote 362 episodes in Chinese, I learned more of the language than I had in the past 25 years.

The biggest event of 2013, of course, was our youngest son Matt's marriage in the U.S. to Jessica (and I was promoted to grandpa in 2015). We're still anxiously awaiting a Sino-American joint venture grandchild from Shannon and his Xiamenese wife Miki.

In 2014, at SAFEA's 60th anniversary, I received a very moving honor in Beijnig: China's top 10 foreign educators.But when I learned of the amazing achievements of the other nine recipients, I realized I'd not really done that much-but new opportunities were right on my doorstep.

In 2015, I was honored by XMU's School of Management for my teaching and also became Academic Director of our OneMBA program. Listed by Financial Times as one of the planet's Top 30 Executive MBAs, OneMBA is a unique consortium of 5 universities in 5 countries. Our 100 students from over 30 countries attend classes and residencies in 7 countries (China, India, Brazil, Mexico,the Netherlands, Poland and the U.S. ) , It has been challenging, but SMXMU has gone from the smallest class in 2014 to the largest in 2017！

As a management professor, I know that Xiamen needs strategic marketing, so in 2016, when I learned Xiamen Airlines was flying direct to the U.S., I gave them their new slogan, “New Horizons with Xiamen Airlines”. And in 2017, Xiamen adopted my tourism slogan, “Enjoy Amoy!”(Amoy was the foreigners' and Overseas Chinese' name for Xiamen since the 17th century. )

My most exciting project is my new book “Letters from China”. Since 1988, I've written letters, “Off the Wall,”to help friends and family understand life in China.Though I did not save copies of the letters, my friends saved hundreds-they even saved the envelopes-and in December, 2018, Beijing's Foreign Languages Press will publish the book in Chinese and English versions. I hope the book will help both foreigners and Chinese appreciate China's tremendous changes over these 3 brief decades.

In “Letters from China,” I also share the stories of amazing people such as the farm girl who became a professor's maid and today is a multimillionaire who has started international schools, a biotech company and 1,000 schools for poor children. Her story, and many others like hers, are proof that China has always owed its success not just to top-down policies from farsighted leaders but also to bottom-up initiatives from an indomitable populace that through the millennia have “planted trees that future generations may enjoy the shade.”

In 1919, Mary Ninde Gamewell wrote, “China is not like ancient Egypt, whose greatness has departed though she still lives on. China is a vital force whose largest possibilities of development lie before and not behind her. A new fresh life is beginning to course through the nation's veins... ”

Gamewell's prophetic words are as pertinent today as they were a century ago！

I've been blessed to witnessfirsthand 30 of China's 40 years of reform and opening up and I hope to see the next 30 years as well-and that XMU doesn't retire me until I'm 100！