您可以在百度里搜索“海外教育六十年 艾草文学(www.321553.xyz)”查找最新章节！

　　笔谈

　　OEC, Yuánfèn and Me!

　　Dr. Bill Brown

　　(Xiamen University School of Management；Academic Director, SMXMU OneMBA)

　　I was born in the Year of the Monkey (1956)—the same year that Xiamen University’s Overseas Education College (OEC) was founded half a planet away. Who could have dreamed that in 1988 I’d end up at OEC and spend half my life at XMU? Yuánfèn! (Fate!)

　　Even when I was only 20 years old, I was very close to OEC—though I did not know it until a decade later. From 1976 to 1978, I was in the U.S Air Force on the “Jade Island” of Taiwan, just 100 miles from the “Garden Island” of Xiamen (historic Amoy). But the Mainland was the “enemy,” so I had no interest in the other side of the Taiwan Strait—until I got a letter straight from heaven! Letters from Heaven

　　Like most gems, the “Jade Island” is beautiful but small. I cycled and hiked the entire island many times but I still caught island fever. One summer day, I sat on the beach staring across the Taiwan Strait and wondering what it was really like just 100 miles across the water. And like Newton and his apple, the answer dropped right on my head.

　　Only days later, a flurry of Mainland propaganda leaflets floated right onto our CCK (Chiang kaishek) Air Force base. They’d barely touched the ground when Taiwanese soldiers scurried out of the woodwork like ants on the scent of sugar and stuffed the contraband leaflets into sacks. I could not read Chinese, so they did not interest me—at least until a soldier screamed, “Don’t look at them!” That made me curious, of course, and when another soldier yelled, “Touch them and you go to jail!”, I knew they had to be good..

　　I bent to tie my shoes and stuff a few leaflets in my pocket. In my dorm room that night, curtains pulled shut, I studied the forbidden leaflets. Even though I could not read them, the photos caught my attention. To my surprise, Mainlanders looked just like the Taiwanese I’d come to love! And when I learned that of Taiwan people were from the Mainland, I decided that one day I’d study Chinese in China—though I certainly never said this to the Taiwanese or the Air Force.

　　Today, 40 years later, I still have one of those forbidden leaflets in my office at XMU. That “letter from heaven” led me straight to OEC—though in my case Yuánfèn took 10 years.

　　I decided to study Chinese so I could decipher the Mainland leaflets. I bought 1,000 Chinese flash cards to memorize but gave up when I learned I needed to know 3,000 just to read a newspaper. Months later, I took two semesters of Mandarin from a University of Maryland extension class in Taiwan. I aced both courses but could still barely say “how are you?”, and my tones were terrible. When I left Taiwan in 1978 for training in Washington D.C. as an OSI agent, I saw a flight magazine advertisement that promised mastery of almost any language in 90 days or double my money back. I bought the course but it didn’t help. And they never refunded my money.

　　I began to think I’d never learn Chinese or get to China. After leaving the OSI, I prepared for eventual Chinese study by getting a Masters in Cross-Cultural Studies with a focus on linguistics—but I also got married. Susan Marie, a blond American girl born and raised in Taiwan (“Made in Taiwan!”) also wanted to go to China, but I had to start a business to pay off tuition bills and care for my new family, and China seemed farther away than ever.

　　In 1986, I paid a Chinese in Los Angeles ＄500 per month for 12 months to tutor Sue and I for one hour five days a week in my office. After one year, I was ＄6,000 poorer and my Chinese had barely improved.

　　In 1987, I decided I’d never get to China unless I burned my bridges—or, as Chinese say, “break the kettles and sink the boats (pòfǔ chénzhōu 破釜沉舟).” I’d heard that China needed business education so I started a PhD in business, and in September I sold my business to work full-time on my doctoral dissertation. Family and friends thought I was crazy to give up a six-figure income to study Chinese in Mainland China, with no idea of what I’d do after that. But I’d told everyone for years that my business was temporary, and our goal was China. Ten years was long enough. Even so, I had no idea where to go in China—until Yuánfèn again stepped in.

　　In April, 1988, a stranger phoned us from Thailand and said, “I heard you sold your business to study Chinese in China. Have you ever heard of Xiamen University?”

　　“No,” I said. “But my wife just had a baby, so we can’t go now. Thank you anyway.”

　　One week later, another man that I did not know—and who did not know the man who’d phoned from Thailand—called us from Orange, California. In almost the same words, he said, “I heard you left your business to move to China and study Chinese. Have you ever heard of Xiamen University?” Déjà vu!

　　“Yes, I have—just last week!” Yuánfèn!

　　Early the next morning, Sue and I drove to the man’s office in Orange to learn more about Xiamen University. We had no idea where Xiamen was, and were shocked to learn that, in such a vast country, Xiamen was directly across the Strait from where Sue and I had lived in Taiwan. Even more surprising, Xiamen had started China’s first college for overseas students and the OEC had offered correspondence courses to international students 40 years before the internet led the West to emphasize distance education. For many reasons, OEC seemed a match made in heaven, and we decided right then to go to XMU.

　　Some people argued that it was better to study Chinese in North China, but we still chose OEC for three reasons:

　　1. OEC teaches “standard” Mandarin, just as they do up north.

　　2. It is much nicer studying Chinese on the “Garden Island of Xiamen” and on China’s most beautiful campus than in freezing cities up north.

　　3. You don’t mess with Yuánfèn!

　　By August, only 4 months later, we’d sold or given away almost everything we had. With our small mountain of luggage, we flew from California to Hong Kong and boarded the 18-hour overnight boat up the coast to Xiamen. As we sailed into Hépíng Harbor, the view seemed right out of a Chinese painting, with XMU’s beautiful classic architecture on one side and Gulangyu Islet on the other, and a blue bay busy with giant ships, graceful junks and bobbing sampans. I could understand why Father Martin de Rada wrote in 1575:

　　“The entrance of that ［Xiamen］ port was a fine sight, for besides being so large that a great number of ships could be contained therein, it was very safe, clean and deep… and so many ships were cruising under sail on each one of them that it was an amazing thing to see….”

　　The ship glided smoothly into the dock, and it seemed so peaceful—until we got off the boat. I had never seen so many people in one place (my hometown has 15,000 people; XMU now has 40,000 students!). I remembered an Air Force captain in Taiwan had told me, “One in four people in the world are Chinese.” I had replied, “Not true. My family has four people, and none of us are Chinese”. But at Heping Harbor, I could well believe that China had 1.3 billion people—and that half of them were right outside our ship.

　　The dock was crowded and loud, and I had no idea what the Chinese were saying, but their smiles were universal. Years later, I read that foreigners had loved Xiamen for centuries because of the great harbor (one of the 10 best natural harbors in the world) and the local people’s friendliness, open-mindedness and integrity in doing business. In 1843, Allom and Wright wrote,

　　“…Our embassies and expeditions have uniformly found a kindlier spirit, a more generous feeling, predominant at Amoy, towards foreigners, and traders, and visitors, than at other parts of China…”

　　This ancient “Spirit of Amoy” helped explain Xiamen’s centuries of success in both business and education—especially international education, such as OEC.

　　Unlike elsewhere in China, Xiamen people have always welcomed foreigners, and their close cooperation bore fruit. By 1900, tiny Gulangyu islet not only had 20 educational institutes but was also “the richest square mile on earth”, with consulates from 14 countries and thousands of beautiful “Amoy Deco” mansions. (Over 1,000 stand to this day, which is why Gulangyu will soon be designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site).

　　Most of Xiamen’s great wealth was from Chinese entrepreneurs such as Tan Kah Kee, who rose from poverty to become the “Henry Ford of Asia”. In 1921, Tan founded XMU to “embrace global cultures”, and all buildings were designed with a mix of Chinese and Western architecture to reflect his goal of modern education rooted in traditional Chinese values. In 1920, the year before XMU opened, Paul Hutchinson wrote,

　　“This school ［XMU］ is entirely a Chinese institution…The course of study is being made very practical… When we think of the future days, it is one of the most encouraging things to be seen in the whole of China.”

　　In Eastern China,” 1920

　　With such a heritage, it is no wonder that XMU, the “Strength of the South,” led China not only in OEC’s international education but also in everything from oceanography (China’s 1st PhD in oceanography) and aviation to law, chemistry, music, art—and of course business, which I teach. In addition to being China’s #1 in Accounting and #3 in finance, we gave China’s 1st MBA degree, China’s first PhD in accounting and auditing, graduated almost 1/3 of all China’s accounting PhDs and awarded China’s 1st accounting PhD to a foreigner!

　　A Small Sampling of XMU’s many firsts:

　　China’s only key university founded by an Overseas Chinese

　　China’s only key university in a Special Economic Zone

　　China’s most beautiful campus (only Wuhan University comes close).

　　China’s largest university auditorium (overlooking the sea)

　　China’s first modern college for foreigners (OEC, 1956)

　　China’s pioneer in correspondence education (OEC since 1956)

　　A “Cradle of modern aviation”

　　A “Cradle of modern Chinese oceanography” (1st PhD in Oceanography)

　　China’s 1st to award the MBA degree

　　China’s 1st EMBA to enroll students (4th most popular E-MBA today)

　　China’s largest number of enrolled EMBA students

　　China’s leading chemistry department

　　China’s 1st Institute of and degrees in Higher Education

　　China’s leading mathematicians, including talents like Chen Jingrun.

　　China’s closest university ties with Taiwan.

　　China’s 1st Taiwan Research Center

　　China’s 1st Taiwan research quarterly)

　　China’s 1st institute of S.E. Asian and Overseas Chinese Studies

　　China’s 1st Anthropology Museum

　　One of China’s 1st universities to teach International Law

　　One of China’s Leaders in Political Affairs Research

　　China’s only Public Economics Dept. designated as a “National Key Branch of Learning”

　　One of China’s 1st Dept. of Economics and Trade

　　China’s leading economics college (China’s 1st economics journal, in 1959)

　　China’s #1 State Key Laboratory in Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces

　　China’s only Key Laboratory in Analytical Sciences (the Materials and Life Chemistry)

　　Inter-university ties with at least 89 foreign institutes

　　And the list goes on…

　　OEC At Last!

　　After a decade of delays, we were excited to finally reach XMU. We quickly saw that XMU’s well deserved its reputation as China’s most beautiful university, with its unique Chinese and Western architecture, gardens and lakes nestled between the sea and the 5 Old Men Mountains 五老峰. In spite of our excitement, however, and the beauty of the place, we still felt homesick at times, especially during Chinese holidays. But from the very beginning, XMU teachers and leaders “adopted” us, inviting us to their homes for Chinese New Year, or for Mid-Autumn Festival, which in Xiamen is even livelier than Spring Festival, thanks to the centuries-old Mooncake Game.

　　The living conditions were of course not that good in 1988, but they improved rapidly for both Chinese and foreigners. In those days, none of us could have dreamed that by 2004, UNESCO would honor Xiamen as one of the most livable cities on the planet—and that Xiamen would become China’s #1 holiday destination. Today, Sue and I sometimes take a “vacation” right here in Xiamen, booking a local hotel for the weekend so we can enjoy our beautiful island from a tourist’s perspective.Mad About Mandarin

　　“If ever our Europeans shall become thoroughly studied in the Chinese tongue,’ it will be found that the Chinese have very many words whereby they express themselves in such elegancies as neither by Hebrew or Greek, or any other language how elegant so ever can be expressed…”

　　John Webb. The Antiquity of China, 1678

　　The greatest part about Xiamen was of course our language study at OEC. For a decade, I’d tried everything to master Mandarin and failed every time. OEC was a dream come true—and my last hope.

　　I slowly fell into a routine, rising at 4AM to study Chinese before Sue and the boys awoke (often holding one sleeping child while I studied). After morning and afternoon classes in writing, reading, listening and oral Chinese, I did homework and then helped Sue with the daily chores or pedaling her and the boys around the island on our 3-wheeled pedicab shopping for peanut butter or toothpaste.

　　But it was challenging learning 15 to 20 new Chinese characters every day. Fridays, it seemed like I’d learned 70 or 80 new characters and forgotten 100 old ones. No wonder the Englishman, Desmond Neil, who studied Chinese in the 1940s in Xiamen, wrote of the “incipient insanity” of any foreigner studying Chinese:

　　“The memorizing of characters was a strain largely on the memory, helped by a little ingenuity in writing every character on a blank visiting card….To help memorize a character one was tempted to draw it out on the hand on in thin air with a finger. It was on these occasions that outside observers immediately diagnosed that incipient insanity which is prognosticated for anyone learning Chinese.”

　　Neil, 1956

　　In spite of the challenges, I stuck at it. Even in my spare time, I read Chinese dictionaries for fun. I was fascinated by how just two or four characters evoked China’s rich history and culture. I laughed when I learned “horse horse tiger tiger” meant “so so.” I loved the legends behind Chinese saying such as “Spear Shield” (Máodùn)—an “irreconcilable contradiction.” Máodùn arises from the story of the ancient Chinese arms merchant who sold both unstoppable spears and impenetrable shields.

　　I also loved the sheer beauty of Chinese calligraphy and how the characters evolved. I enjoyed watching master calligraphers, in whose hand the brush sometimes danced across the page like ballet, and at others stomped on the page, bold and forceful, like a Russian Cossack. Someday, I hope to return to OEC and study calligraphy!

　　Xiamen, XMU and OEC have changed greatly since we arrived in 1988, but even after 3 decades, we don’t take the Yuán fèn that brought us to this beautiful place for granted. Almost every evening, Sue and I stroll the campus or boardwalk, admiring the gardens and architecture or watching ships sail the harbor that 700 years ago was part of Zayton, the start of the Maritime Silk Route from which Marco Polo sailed home. What a rich heritage! But I believe we have an even greater future. As Gamewell wrote in 1919,

　　“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, 1919

　　Gamewell’s writing is as relevant today as it was in 1919. Even with two decades of phenomenal growth behind us, China’s greatest opportunities are still ahead of her, not behind her. And China offers opportunities can be win-win for the rest of the world as well, but only if we improve our understanding of China. This is why OEC is more important than ever.

　　Even Xiamen kindergartens now have foreigners teaching English, but in the West, even many universities lack Mandarin Chinese courses. The Chinese have learned so much about the world but the world has learned very little about China. No wonder Chinese have such an advantage over the rest of the world!

　　For the sake of more open communication and trade—and for peace, which hinges on understanding and trust—I hope more Western schools will teach Mandarin. But words and vocabulary are not enough. To grasp a language, one must also understand the history and culture behind them, as well as the modern forces reshaping even Mandarin Chinese. This is why I’ve long encouraged foreigners to study at OEC.

　　Gap Year at OEC!

　　Many European students take a “Gap Year” between high school and college to travel the world, experience life and clarify their goals before resuming studies. I suggest Western youth take that Gap Year right here at OEC.

　　Regardless of one’s career plans, a mastery of both Chinese and English is a big advantage in today’s world. And happily, OEC has one of the lowest cost on-campus language programs in the world—about USD 8000 per year for tuition, room and board. OEC also offers numerous scholarships, as well as opportunities through its 16 Confucius Institute partner universities around the world. And language study is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the China adventure.

　　Since coming to OEC in 1988, I’ve driven over 200,000 km. around China (including the Gobi Desert and Tibet), met with Chinese premiers and presidents, written over 100 articles and a dozen books, and acted in TV series. During the past two years alone, I co-wrote, filmed and hosted over 400 episodes of TV programs—all in Chinese. None of this would have been possible without OEC’s teaching and encouragement, and the close relationship with them that continues to this day.

　　OEC, clearly, was my Yuánfèn—and I hope it is yours as well.

　　See you in Amoy!

　　Dr. Bill Brown

　　SMXMU OneMBA Academic Director

　　Xiamen University

　　Proud Alumni of OEC! 海外教育六十年