Yanwen’s blog

Happy birthday to the most wonderful son in the world!

When you were a little baby, I often took you outside to get some sunshine. A friend of mine saw this, knowing that I was working on my dissertation and also teaching, said to me, "You'd better pause your writing and wait till your son grows up and supports your Ph.D dream."

That moment I was determined to get my degree before deadline and do something that would make you proud. I'm still trying.

I grew up in an army courtyard during the years of Cultural Revolution where it was cool to use vulgar words. I carried the same tradition until one day I heard you imitating these words in your sweetest baby voice. That moment I made a promise to rid myself of any uncivilized language.

In high school I watched you learning the business of web server management, something above my knowledge and ability. I knew you would be okay when you were following your interest and passion. It turned out I was right!

Thank you for transforming me into a better person, for teaching me to be humble and to learn to empathize with people, and for motivating me to keep trying even in my senior years.

I'm glad to see 长江后浪推前浪 (Cháng jiāng hòu làng tuī qián làng), a Chinese saying, the latter waves push on the former ones, meaning the new generation advances and surpasses the old generation.

Enjoy your birthday, son, with love, pride, and deep appreciation from mom!

I heard this news a few days ago, China implemented a visa-free policy for citizens from several European countries, including Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium, and Luxembourg. They can travel to China visa-free. They are allowed to stay in China for up to 15 days for purposes such as business, tourism, family visits, etc. 

It was often interpreted as for the purpose of facilitating tourism and enhancing communications, understanding and good feelings between peoples. Undoubtedly it will do all this.

I perceive a deeper significance in terms of China's openness to the Western world. I believe it takes tremendous amount of courage and self-confidence to be open.

I grew up in the era of culture revolution, especially in early 1970s when people were not allowed to freely talk to foreigners, for fear of saying something negative about the country. At that time, China was obsessed with keeping decent appearances, covering up the negative, showing to foreigners the brightest side of the country. It was almost a crime to say anything disparaging about the country because it implied a criticism against the authorities.

This extreme cover-up, this fear of criticism are all signs of weakness, fear and of lack of self-confidence.

Along this line of thinking, today's new visa-free policy further opening its door to outsiders demonstrates an unprecedented level of courage, strength and self-confidence.

开放需要勇气 (Kāi fàng xū yào yǒng qì) It takes courage to be open. So it is with a country, so it is with individuals.

Yesterday I read an article re-posted on facebook, "Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Adult Mental Health Outcomes," JAMA Psychiatry, March 6, 2024.

They started the research with this question: Are ACEs associated with poor mental health in adulthood after adjustment for familial confounding due to shared genetic and environmental factors?" They ended with this expected finding: yes.

Their findings align with a large body of research in the field of psychology and public health and also with the theory first formulated by Sigmund Freud. In fact, plenty of studies have demonstrated fully the profound impact that ACEs can have on people's mental health throughout their lives.

Freud, founder of psychoanalysis, first proposed that early childhood experiences, particularly interactions with parents or caregivers, could profoundly influence personality development and psychological well-being. 

Beyond ACEs, Freud's understanding of childhood experiences includes a broad range of factors, such as parental relationships, attachment patterns, or lack of attachment, and unresolved conflicts.

Freud suggested that children are very vulnerable and highly impressionable, and sensitive to their surroundings. Subconsciously there's no forget-and-forgive. All will stay. Even if a person consciously forgets an event, the underlying emotions and memories associated with it persist. The unresolved conflicts or repressed memories from childhood could continue to influence individuals subconsciously, impacting their psychological functioning and behavior in adulthood.

Hopefully all parents are taught about the importance of a happy childhood for the mental and psychological health 心灵健康(xīn líng jiàn kāng) of their children in their lifetime.

Recently I re-read The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Time by Will Durant. The book is a collection of articles like "Ten Greatest Thinkers," "Ten Greatest Poets," "The 100 best books for an education." 

While sharing his lists of the greatest, he also encouraged readers to form their own list in "The Country of the Mind," a realm where the heroes of our species dwell.

His list of 10 greatest thinkers includes Confucius, Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Copernicus, Bacon, Newton, Voltaire, Kant and Darwin. One criterion for his choice of greatest thinkers is its influence on the minds of men and women.

Number one: Confucius, who was a moral philosopher, not a preacher in religious faith. His pursuit of noble act is based on secular motive rather than supernatural considerations. He far more resembled Socrates than Jesus. 

Will Durant expressed great admiration for Chinese civilization. He envisioned, prior to China's implementation of reform and an open-door policy, a future where China's huge productive capabilities once liberated, equipped with its rich spiritual and cultural heritage, would create remarkable wealth. Durant foresaw the potential for China to surpass the United States in economic prowess.

As a historian, Durant provided a perspective that appreciates the vast historical and cultural richness of Chinese civilization. Perhaps he also foresaw a historical pattern in a large time frame.

There are so much for us to learn in the long river of history 历史长河(Lì shǐ cháng hé).

Sunday evening, my Korean student sounded stressful and worried when she told me the news of her husband losing his job. The headquarter of the company is in London. They close the stores in the United States and Canada.

She told me, "Now I have to support the whole family. It’s a huge burden on me. We have to cut cost at every corner." She told me jobs in Korean companies are very very secure, but not in American companies.

My Korean student's experience captures a significant concern that we all share as the first generation of immigrants: a sense of insecurity coming from lack of support from our extended family in the new country and the fear of unexpected hardships like job loss or health loss.

I told her, many Americans become homeless once they lose their jobs and incomes. Here in America we have to create our own safety net by saving up while we have, so we can survive at least a year without any income.

In addition, if you are looking for something that you can count on in America, that's your skills. I can't overemphasize enough the value of skills and lifetime learning as the reliable asset in America, especially relevant in today's ever-changing economic landscape.

I remember this is from Mao Zedong’s quotations: 自力更生，艰苦奋斗（Zì lì gēng shēng, jiān kǔ fèn dòu), self-reliance and hard work especially in times like this.