Chapter 31 Chapter 6 Soft power touches the world even more

In September 1985, Mr. Rawlins, the head of state of Ghana, visited China, hoping to understand and learn from China's reform and opening up experience. On the morning of September 18, Deng Xiaoping met with him in the Fujian Hall of the Great Hall of the People, and I acted as an interpreter.Mr. Deng was in a good mood during that time, and the major issues he was most concerned about were handled relatively smoothly: the rural reform was very successful, new breakthroughs were made in the construction of special zones, and the urban reform started well.Deng Xiaoping told Rollins: "We are exploring a development path that suits China's actual conditions. It seems that we are on the right path." When Deng Xiaoping said this, I felt as if he was relieved.In such a large country, to explore a road that has never been taken before, after 7 years of hard exploration, the top leader who is now guiding this experiment said, "It seems that we are on the right path" and walked out of a road Neither follow the Soviet model, nor copy the Chinese-style development path of the Western model.It's a lot like a teacher grading a self-directed experiment: a good result.

When Rawlins implored Deng Xiaoping to talk about China's reform and opening up experience, Deng Xiaoping said: "If there is any applicable experience in China, I am afraid that it is seeking truth from facts, that is, formulating its own policies and plans according to the actual situation of the country. "Deng Xiaoping further explained, "In the process of advancing, we must sum up experience in time. Persist in good things and carry them through, and correct them in time if they are bad or not right." Then he took a puff of cigarette and added, "I'm afraid This experience is more generally applicable.”

Rollins told Deng Xiaoping that he would go to Xiamen for a visit. Deng Xiaoping said happily: "That is our special zone. There are some achievements. You can look at it, but don't copy our experience." Indeed, Deng Xiaoping's attention to the construction of the special zone , It can embody the spirit of "seeking truth from facts" advocated by him.As early as January 1984, Deng Xiaoping made a special inspection trip to the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone. He greeted the local leaders from the very beginning: "I will not express my opinion for the time being, mainly to watch and listen." "Very controversial.Sure enough, Deng seldom commented during the inspection process, and did not write an inscription for Shenzhen. A few days later, Deng Xiaoping arrived in Guangzhou and thought about what he saw and heard in Shenzhen, and then he wrote an inscription for Shenzhen: "Shenzhen's development And experience proves that our policy of establishing special economic zones is correct.” After visiting Shenzhen, Deng went to inspect Xiamen Special Economic Zone. It’s better.” And he said, “When we establish special economic zones and implement an open policy, there is a guiding ideology that must be clear, that is, it is not closing, but opening.”

Later, I accompanied Rollins to visit the Xiamen Special Economic Zone. He was very interested all the way, saying that many of China’s practices have inspired Ghana. He also said to the leaders of Fujian Province: “Westerners always set a model for you, and you can only copy it. , but your Deng Xiaoping said, don’t copy our model, but seek truth from facts. Only a country with thousands of years of civilization can say such a thing. This is a kind of wisdom that the West is far behind.” I later visited Ghana After two visits, I have some perceptual understanding of the reforms promoted by Rollins according to his own national conditions after his visit to China. These reforms have increased the vitality of Ghana's economy.

Recalling these past events is nothing more than to illustrate one point: the initial success of China's reform and opening up, the core of its guiding ideology is the concept of "seeking truth from facts", and the significance of this concept goes beyond China's national borders. "Seeking truth from facts" is a very Chinese concept. It was first seen in "Hanshu · Hejian Xianwang Zhuan": "Learning to study ancient times, seeking truth from facts." "It is also interpreted as discovering laws and laws through the exploration of things themselves. The English translation is seek truth from facts (seeking truth from facts), which should be said to be relatively in place.Later Chairman Mao Zedong elevated it to the essence of thought guiding the Chinese revolution to victory. In 1978, Deng Xiaoping raised this concept again, arguing that Chairman Mao Zedong’s mistakes in his later years were because he violated his own concept. Deng Xiaoping also formally established “emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts” as the guiding ideology of China’s reform and opening up.

Thanks to such a value of "seeking truth from facts", in the past 30 years, China has become one of the countries with the least ideological prejudice in the world, which allows China to use rare courage to extensively learn from others in the process of modernization. The experience has greatly promoted the development of China in all aspects.From the construction of special economic zones to the formation of a market economy, from enterprise management to government operations, from the insurance industry to the stock market, from technology research and development to commercial logistics, it can be said that in all our industries, all fields, and all departments, we have boldly We have learned from the good experiences and methods of other countries.

This concept has brought Chinese people an awakening towards modernization, much like the Enlightenment Movement experienced in Europe. The Chinese also experienced a process from believing in God during the "Cultural Revolution" to believing in practice and rationality. China's "seeking truth from facts" "It has something in common with the "rational supremacy" advocated by the European Enlightenment, that is, both sides got rid of the shackles of rigid ideology, highlighted the rational spirit of human beings, and both promoted their respective epoch-making industrial revolutions.But there are also differences between the two: "seeking truth from facts" is, after all, the product of the interaction between ancient Chinese culture and modern civilization. results to test, and the test standard is: beneficial to the overall interests of the people.

Western rationalism, while creating a great industrial civilization, has also brought racism, colonialism and other evil results.China's practice shows that, unlike the rise of Western powers under the guidance of their rationalism, China's rise under the guidance of "seeking truth from facts" has not brought war to the world, but has brought more peace and development opportunities. In fact, China today is truly adhering to the skeptical spirit and rationalism advocated by the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates, constantly reflecting on and criticizing concepts and beliefs that have not been tested by China's own practice, and constantly exploring and seeking solutions to China's problems and new ways of thinking about world problems.In contrast, I think the West is self-styled and even rigid in thinking.For example, the West always believes that in terms of development models, they have exhausted the truth, and Fukuyama's "end of history conclusion" represents this point of view.In fact, with the richness of world culture, the solemnity of history, and the splendor of civilization, there is no end to the exploration of truth and various development models.From a philosophical point of view, the idea of ​​"seeking truth from facts" is infinitely superior to "the end of history".

Chinese people have the virtue of modesty and eagerness to learn. The idea of ​​"three people must have my teacher" has influenced generation after generation. Establishing a learning society is our slogan today. defeated.I have traveled a lot in this world, and I often see some ignorance, prejudice, and even arrogance. Sometimes I can't help but talk about the wisdom of the Chinese people, and "seeking truth from facts" is such wisdom.I think that if the Bush administration in the United States had a little Chinese spirit of "seeking truth from facts", it would not have made the big mistake of invading Iraq and promoting American-style democratization in the Middle East.How many people warned the U.S. government before Bush launched the invasion of Iraq that the U.S. can overthrow the Saddam regime, but it cannot govern this non-ethnic country composed of Shia Muslims, Sunni Muslims and Kurds, but the U.S. cannot listen go in.I have traveled to more than a dozen countries in the Middle East, including Israel and all the countries bordering it. It can be solved by naive Americans relying on the slogan of "democratization".

In fact, if the United States likes it, it can continue to promote its "Middle East democratization" plan, but the result must be very funny: Palestine has elected a Hamas government that is a headache for the United States, and Egypt will also elect a headache for the United States The "Muslim Brotherhood" is in power.Now some Westerners are cheering for the so-called "Arab Spring", but I estimate that the "Arab Spring" will soon turn into an "Arab Winter", and the interests of the West may suffer even more. Similarly, if the Russian leaders had a bit of the Chinese "seeking truth from facts" spirit, they would not have adopted the "shock therapy" designed by the Americans for it, and implemented this radical method throughout the country without small-scale experiments. shift, which hastened the collapse of the economy.To this day, Putin's assistants are still lamenting why they didn't learn a little bit of Chinese wisdom.Similarly, if some of our Asian neighbors had the spirit of "seeking truth from facts" at the beginning, they would not have believed in the US's suggestion when the conditions were far from ripe, and rashly opened their own capital markets. As a result, an Asian financial crisis caused these countries China's economy collapsed and its development set back 20 years.

In fact, wisdom knows no boundaries.I can also make an inappropriate comparison here: China's practice-first view seems to be closer to the empiricism in British political reform.Empiricism is also a kind of wisdom.Historically, both the British Industrial Revolution and the French Revolution took place in the second half of the 18th century, known as the "Dual Revolution".In our long-term domestic education, the French Revolution has always been praised a lot.This radical storm-like revolution has also affected China. From the "Cultural Revolution", we can see the influence of the French Revolution. It is necessary to make a revolution in the depths of people's souls, and to transform the politics of a society according to a lofty ideal. and cultural forms.But in the west, many thinkers are more cautious about the French model of political change, which many believe is too costly.Some historians even believe that it was the success of the British Industrial Revolution in the 18th century that made the British economy far ahead of France and other countries in the world, thus enabling Britain to avoid the bloody revolution in France. France's idealistic path now seems costly indeed. After the French Revolution in 1789, there were more than 20 years of Napoleonic Wars, followed by a 30-year recession, then the 1848 Revolution, and then the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, in which France was defeated.France's political system has always been relatively turbulent. It was not until the Fourth Republic in 1946 that it was not stable. It was not until the Fifth Republic in 1962 that the presidential system was established, and the country's political system was truly stable.But there is one point in the French experience that deserves China's attention, and that is to insist on its own political and cultural characteristics.They think that Anglo-American culture always emphasizes weak government, but the French never deny that weak government is not our tradition, our tradition is strong government. China has experienced the "Cultural Revolution" and endless wars and turmoil since the Opium War in 1840. Finally, under the guidance of Deng Xiaoping's thought of "emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts", China began the reform and opening up in 1979 that has continued to this day. China's Industrial Revolution.In a sense, it is precisely because of the success of this revolution that we have avoided the "shock revolution" experienced by the former Soviet Union, and through our own industrial revolution, people's lives have been greatly improved, and China's modernization cause has taken off smoothly. And formed the Chinese people's consensus on "seeking truth from facts" and gradual reform.We still have many problems in the process of modernization, and we will encounter new challenges in the future, but as Deng Xiaoping said, "We must sum up experience in time in the process of advancing. If it is good, stick to it, and if it is not good, it will not If there is a big enemy, it will be corrected in time."As long as we do this, we can gradually solve various problems that arise in our modernization process. I once visited the Churchill Memorial in London. The guide told me that Churchill made important contributions to the theory of international relations, because he and President Roosevelt of the United States drafted the "Atlantic Charter". The evolution of international relations in the postwar period.I told him that there is another Chinese named Deng Xiaoping, who changed a country of 1.3 billion people in China with only four words, and is influencing and changing the pattern of the whole world. These four words are: "Seek truth from facts".With the further rise of China, the concept of "seeking truth from facts" as the guiding ideology of China's modernization will gradually be understood and accepted by the outside world, and become an important part of China's political soft power, providing a way to solve various challenges faced by all mankind. new source of ideas.