懷堅忍不拔之志，走與眾不同之路

I was going to speak today about the necessity for an open-mind as you approach new opportunities， a new environment and new 1）paradigm， the need to have 2）stamina in times of difficulty and to not be afraid to take the road less travelled. But I believe most of you know this or you wouldn’t be here today in the first place.

So I’m just going to give you a piece of 3）avuncular advice， tell my story and be boring：

Close to thirty years ago， I was where you are today and only a few years before that， it would have seemed impossible to me that I would ever sit where you are today. You have earned this seat， through intelligence， diligence and discipline， my deepest congratulations to all of you. For all the cynicism in the world today， especially given how people perceive the practice of law， I encourage all of you to preserve your optimism， idealism and passion for what you do.

You have proven that you have a lot to offer this world， now you need to prove you can make a difference， whether that be in the courtroom， classroom， NGO or office. Lead by example because ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE！ I want to share with you some of my experience in the hopes that it encourages you to not accept barriers at any cost.

As a teenager， I was sent to a railroad construction site deep in the mountains in Western China. Food was rationed and the workload was heavy. However， what made it more unbearable was the lack of knowledge and information. I devoured every piece of paper that had any words on it， like a hungry man. Together with a few co-workers we started a study group called “The Communist Laborer’s Night School”， with the few old text books we brought with us， and a radio we used to learn English from VOA and BBC， at the risk of imprisonment for listening to “enemy stations”.

After 3 years of hard labor and a head injury， I was given a job in an 4）artillery factory making machine guns. I biked about 10 miles twice a week to learn English taught at the Radio Engineering School of a university in Xi’an. Most of the 200 people quit the class during the one-year study， and I was one of the dozen remaining， together with the chief engineer of my factory， who later put in a strong recommendation for me to go to college in Beijing， without having ever been to high school.

After graduating from both college and law school in Beijing， I was sent as an exchange scholar to work at a law firm in California. Boy I remember the cultural shock I had when I first arrived in San Francisco in 1982！ There I realized that my knowledge of law was utterly inadequate to deal with international 5）transactions， which I was supposed to teach back in Beijing. I decided to go through the hardship of studying for a 6）JD degree in the U.S. That started my honeydecades with Duke law， which gave me a full scholarship and a fuller education in American law.

I was once asked by a hard-struggling law student from China why I seemed so happy and content with my studies then， living mostly in the law library. I answered， if you have experienced the deprivation of knowledge for so long as I have， you would， too， view this place as the heaven of learning. I said that despite the many occasions when a few professors would vote against granting the scholarship to a “red Chinese”， or some fellow students spoke right in my face that they were“7）abhorred” by the Chinese communist system. When I was later asked of a similar question as a junior associate in the sweat shop of a Wall Street law firm， I happily told the fellow associate that Vladimir Lenin taught me to learn your skills so to dig the grave for capitalism.

The ensuing 1987 financial crisis 8）jolted me to an opposite direction， though. I was so fascinated by the 9）intricacies of the capitalistic financing machines that I decided to study it carefully and try to transplant it to my own home country. I went back to China in the summer of 1988， after visiting most of the stock exchanges in Europe and some in Asia， in a seemingly foolhardy effort to persuade the Chinese government to establish a capital market.

Among all the people who were 10）skeptical of our idea， was an American 11）consul in Beijing. After suspiciously questioning my intention to have gone back to China and hearing my explanation about my ambition to start the stock market there， he said， this is all BS， and tore up my application forms. This is in early 1990， when I applied to come to teach a short course at Duke law. By the end of that year， we had helped the opening of two stock exchanges， the 12）SHSE and the SZSE， which have a combined market cap of several trillion dollars today. Two years after， the unintended consequences started to show and the central government finally adopted our proposal of setting up the 13）regulatory agency and persuaded me to join it.

Being a regulator is like being a matchmaker， when the marriage is successful， the couple would think it’s their own good fortune， will be busy enjoying themselves and very seldom grateful to you. But if anything goes wrong， then both sides blame you for it. I got just that sort of treatment， blamed all the time， for good or bad reasons. I was yanked out of the agency to run the newly established Social Security Fund in 2003， and then， 4 and half years later， the 14）Sovereign Wealth Fund. After almost 7 years serving as an investor， I’m finally relieved of my duty and allowed to retire to do what I love the most， i.e.， working with young people every day， teaching and， more importantly， learning.

Why do I want to tell you the boring story of a personal life？ Because I can’t help offering you my advice， having made so many mistakes and suffered so many 15）detours. Here are the few things I learned in life in the vain hope that you would avoid them.

1. Different views， different people， different culture and different ideology may not necessarily be a bad thing. They just teach you to be more tolerant and open minded. Vive la difference， as the French would say.

2. Taking hardship is not necessarily a bad thing， it may pay in the long run. Of course in the long run we will all be dead， as 16）Maynard Keynes said. And that’s why we need the next suggestion.

3. Taking the road less travelled is not necessarily a bad thing， it just makes your life much more interesting. Let’s try to live an interesting and significant life.

4. Setting high material demands in this world today is not necessarily a good thing， as it may keep you from realizing your ideals or keeping your vision.

I want to leave you today with the words of the great American poet， Max Ehrmann because he said it infinitely better than I can. Hope you guys can remember this as you go forth.

Go 17）placidly amid the noise and the haste，

and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible without surrender

be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly，

and listen to others，

even the dull and the ignorant；

they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons；

they are 18）vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others，

you may become vain or bitter；

for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career， however humble； it is a real possession

in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs；

for the world is full of 19）trickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is； many persons strive for high ideals；

and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.

Neither be cynical about love；

for in the face of all 20）aridity and disenchantment it is as 21）perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years，

gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.

Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline，

be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe，

no less than the trees and the stars；

you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you，

no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

22）Therefore be at peace with universe，

and whatever your labors and aspirations，

in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its sham， drudgery， and broken dreams，

it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy.

今天，我原本打算談一下當你們面對新機會、新環境以及新模式時保持開放心態的必要性，以及遇到困難時需有堅忍不拔之志，無所畏懼，走與別人不一樣的路。可是，我相信你們大部分人都懂得這個道理，否則你們都不會走到今天。

所以我只想從一個長者的角度給你們一點建議，講講我的故事，或許會沉悶無趣。

大約30年前，我就身處你們現時的位置；如果再倒回幾年的話，成為你們其中的一員，對我來說就像是不可能的事。你們通過自己的才智、勤奮和自律贏得了畢業典禮上的席位，我向你們致以最衷心的祝賀。面對現今橫行于世的犬儒主義，尤其是人們對整個法律行業的負面看法，我鼓勵你們為自己選擇的事業保持樂觀、理想和激情。

各位已經證明了你們有能力為這個世界多作貢獻，但是現在你們需要去證明你們可以改變世界。這些變化可以發生在法庭上、教室里，也可以發生在非政府組織或是政府部門之中。你們要以身作則，因為“一切皆有可能”！我想和你們分享一些我的經歷，希望以此鼓勵你們面對艱難險阻決不退縮，勇往直前。

十多歲時，我被送到中國西部的深山里修鐵路。當時食物實行配給制，而且工作強度很大。但是，更加讓人難以忍受的是知識與信息的缺乏。我貪婪地閱讀每一張寫有字的紙，如饑似渴。我還和幾位工友一起成立了一個稱為“共產主義勞動夜?！钡膶W習小組。我們用的是一些自己帶來的舊課本，還有一臺收音機，冒著或因收聽“敵國電臺”而被判刑的風險，從“美國之音”和BBC學習英語?！?br>