This man is clean from appearance to soul The "mother version" of this "Biography of Wu Jinglian" is a long oral history interview I conducted with Mr. Wu Jinglian, which took place between August and September 2009. I proposed to do an oral history for Wu Jinglian in 2007.Under the guidance of Dr. Zhou Xuelin from China Europe International Business School, one afternoon in June, I went to visit the old man at CEIBS in Pudong, Shanghai.His office is very small, only accommodating three or four people.At that time, Wu Xiaolian, the eldest daughter of Wu Jinglian, had just published a new book "My Father Wu Jinglian and Me". He and his wife Zhou Nan seemed to be hesitant about my suggestion. He said mildly that if there is an outline, we can discuss this matter again.

Since then, the matter has been dragged down.I have been immersed in the creation of "A Hundred Years of Ups and Downs". During that marathon writing process, I repeatedly "encountered" Wu Jinglian, and I found that he participated in almost all important economic reform debates after 1978. Starting from the evolution of his thought, we can outline the rough curve of China's economic reform ideas.I bought almost all of his works, read them intermittently, and took notes. Every time I met Zhou Xuelin, I expressed my willingness to do an oral history. The turning point came in the spring of 2009.One day, Dr. Zhou called me suddenly and said that Mr. Wu seemed to agree that he would have an intensive lecture schedule at CEIBS from August to September, and he could arrange to complete the oral history during this period.I was overjoyed.

Thus, there was an oral history record of more than 20 hours. The interview with Wu Jinglian was conducted 6 times before and after, each time more than 3 hours, with a break of about 15 minutes in between, most of the time was between 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. All were recorded by CBN with two cameras. In the eyes of many people, Wu Jinglian is one of the most accomplished economists in the reform history of contemporary China.And the reason why I am willing to devote myself to this work is not only for this reason, besides academic contribution, I respect Wu Jinglian who consciously is a public intellectual.In today's world, there are very few people like him who are clean from appearance to soul.

During the interview at the end of August, it was the midsummer rainy season in the south of the Yangtze River. In the afternoon in Shanghai, there would be a heavy rainstorm. The sky and the earth were dark, like the end of the world, but after more than two hours, it was clear again, and the water marks on the concrete floor It will evaporate quickly, as if nothing happened, which reminds me of the stormy lives of many outstanding elites.It is in such a passage of time that Wu Jinglian, who is about to be 80 years old, slowly narrates that history is like a limping walker, slowly approaching slowly, and then slowly walking away, a magnificent life unfolds like a picture scroll. Suffering and joy overlap, which can be understood but not described.

At that moment, as a listener, I wondered whether the efforts that a generation of people dedicated their blood and wisdom to have been realized?They don't do it for payback, but are they remembered and honored as they should be?