I once listened to Han Suyin talk about current affairs at Hangzhou University |

□ Li Jianliang

During my stay at Hangzhou University, I also had the privilege of listening to a lecture by an international friend. The speaker is Ms. Han Suyin, a famous British-Chinese female writer.

The famous Chinese female writer Han Suyin. According to CFP

In 1952, Ms. Han Suyin's autobiographical novel "Treasure" in English caused a sensation in the Western world and established her position in the international literary world. Since the 1980s, her works have been translated into 17 languages, including Chinese. However, the content of Ms. Han Suyin's lecture does not involve her novel creation, but some current political issues that everyone cares about.

The lecture was divided into two sessions. The first session was led by Ms. Han Suyin, and the latter session was to answer questions from the audience, which is an interactive session in today's terms.

The main lecture covers three aspects: reform and opening up and learning English, China's status in the world, and socialism with Chinese characteristics. First of all, she hopes that everyone will learn more English. She believes that in reform and opening up, we cannot understand only one language, otherwise it will be difficult to understand the culture of other languages. Take Switzerland, for example, which has a population of 5 million, but is spoken in French, Italian and German. When talking about China's position in the world, she pointed out that China is very big, rich and strong, and some countries are a little afraid, they do not want China to be strong. When talking about the topic of socialism with Chinese characteristics, Ms. Han Suyin said that Deng Xiaoping inherited and developed Chairman Mao's theory. Ms. Han Suyin also pointed out that some people do not understand China now. There are also people who deliberately say that China is a capitalist country, and they want this to be so. In this regard, Ms. Han believes that China is a very promising country, and no country in the world has been as successful as China. This success is hard work and struggle.

Comparatively speaking, the topics in the answer to the audience's questions were more extensive, involving diplomacy, Sino-British negotiations in Hong Kong, Sino-US relations, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the issue of going abroad fever, and the refusal to write a biography of Jiang Qing. These questions and interactions not only reflect the fine tradition of Hangzhou University students' concern for history and the present, but also reflect Ms. Han Suyin's rich historical knowledge and broad international vision. For example, when talking about the Sino-British negotiations in Hong Kong, Ms. Han Suyin pointed out that of the 250,000 British passports given to Hong Kong by the United Kingdom, only 14% of them wanted to go out, and some of them returned. Some people want British passports but are reluctant to leave Hong Kong. Ms. Han Suyin believes that Hong Kong will prosper and stabilize.

Ms. Han Suyin's lecture at Hangzhou University was on the afternoon of December 3, 1993. The venue is the Hangzhou Auditorium (now demolished). The lecture was presided over by Professor Shen Shanhong, then President. Today, Ms. Han and Principal Shen are both ancient. Fortunately, the manuscript of Ms. Han's lecture was compiled by Mr. Jin Zhen, then vice president of Hangzhou University, and published in the Journal of Hangzhou University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition) in the first issue of 1994 under the title of "The Conversation between the Famous British Writer Ms. Han Suyin and teachers and students of Hangzhou University". The "Press" under the title describes the background of the lecture: "Ms. Han Suyin, a famous British writer, was invited to arrive in Hangzhou on December 2, 1993. On the 3rd, he was a guest at Hangzhou University. In the morning, he accepted the letter of appointment of Professor Shen Shanhong, president of Hangzhou University, served as an honorary professor of Hangzhou University, and issued a check on the spot to establish the Han Suyin Literature Fund of Hangzhou University; in the afternoon, he spoke to more than 1,000 representatives of teachers and students of Hangzhou University and answered questions raised by the audience. "I was returning to Hangzhou University to study for my PhD, so I was fortunate enough to catch this rare lecture. What is even more honored to me is that in that issue of the Journal of Hangzhou University, one of my academic papers was also published. Therefore, that lecture, for me, is particularly vividly remembered.

Many years later, I met Mr. Zhu Jiongqiang, a senior professor of the Department of Foreign Languages of Hangzhou University, and learned that Ms. Han Suyin came to Hangzhou University to give a lecture and serve as an honorary professor, which was contacted by Professor Zhu Jiongqiang.

About author:Li Jianliang, Doctor of Literature. Graduated from the Department of Chinese and the Institute of Ancient Books (Bachelor's, Master's, Doctoral Degree) of Hangzhou University. Professor of the Department of Chinese, Zhejiang University of Technology.

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