As a pioneer of China's diplomacy, Qian Qichen has experienced almost all periods of New China's diplomacy and can be called a witness to the history of China's diplomatic development.
Qian Qichen not only made outstanding contributions to diplomacy, but also maintained a strict and enlightened attitude towards his children, and his son Channing, under his influence, has become an excellent writer.
Qian Qichen's ancestors were from Jiading, Zhejiang Province, and his ancestors were Qian Daxin, a famous hermenist in the Qing Dynasty. Qian Qichen was born in Tianjin, and his family moved to Shanghai when he was a teenager.
In his youth, Qian Qichen was very sad to see the country destroyed by the enemy army, so he joined the revolutionary movement as early as the age of 14 and became an important backbone of the Shanghai underground party.
After the end of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Qian Qichen had been leading the student movement in Shanghai, and after the liberation of Shanghai, Qian Qichen became an important cadre in the construction of Shanghai. Because of his excellent work, Qian Qichen was transferred to the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League in the early 1950s.
In the diplomatic history of New China, a large number of outstanding diplomats such as Zhou Enlai and Qiao Guanhua have emerged. Among these diplomats, Qian Qichen was the only one who experienced major diplomatic events from the 1950s to the new century.
In 1955, at the request of Premier Zhou to recruit outstanding young cadres to supplement the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Qian Qichen was transferred from the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and soon after became the second secretary of the Chinese Embassy in the Soviet Union.
During the 1950s, Qian Qichen formulated a set of guidelines and specific policies for foreign students to study in China, which are still in use today, which provides a guarantee and convenience for cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries.
In the 1970s, Qian Qichen went to Guinea and other countries in Africa as an ambassador.
Since the 1980s, Qian Qichen has successively served as the director, vice minister, minister and other important posts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In the 1980s, the Soviet Union, Poland and other countries in the socialist camp began to fall into turmoil.
In this turmoil, Qian Qichen seized the opportunity to quickly reach reconciliation with the Soviet Union and other Eastern European countries and improve diplomatic relations.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia, Kazakhstan and other countries became independent. Qian Qichen seized the opportunity and immediately went to Russia to meet with Yeltsin and others, laying the foundation for the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Russia.
After seeing the soviet threat disappear, the United States began to strengthen sanctions against China, and other Western countries followed suit, so in the early 1990s, China's diplomacy faced a difficult environment.
In this difficult period, Qian Qichen, as foreign minister, thought about it and decided to take the initiative.
Geographically, China's diplomacy has taken Africa as a breakthrough point and economic cooperation as the main means to actively strengthen relations with African countries. After Qian Qichen, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs formed the tradition of foreign ministers visiting Africa at the beginning of the year.
In order to break the encirclement of Western countries, Qian Qichen judged the hour and sized up the situation and actively carried out relations with neighboring countries. The establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea in 1992 was one of the diplomatic achievements led by Qian Qichen.
Qian Qichen's influence in the 1990s allowed China to break down many of the barriers set up by the United States and lay the foundation for its WTO accession in 2001.
Qian Qichen not only knows how to seize the opportunity to improve the relations between neighboring countries, but also knows how to keep pace with the times, and the diplomatic spokesman system was also established because of Qian Qichen's suggestions.
After his retirement, Qian Qichen truthfully recorded the major diplomatic events he had experienced and wrote "Ten Notes on Diplomacy", and he also became the first national leader in China to publish a memoir.
Qian Qichen attaches great importance to this book, because he believes that many events have many different versions abroad, and if these events are not truly expressed, the foreign version will become the most popular version, and the true face of history will be submerged in the ocean of time.
Although Qian Qichen died in 2017, his diplomatic philosophy still influences a new generation of Chinese diplomats today.
Qian Qichen has contributed to China's diplomatic cause for most of his life, and has traveled to nearly 200 countries around the world in his lifetime. For the country, Qian Qichen has no regrets.
For the family, especially for the education of children, Qian Qichen is really difficult to take care of because of his work relationship, but as long as he has time, Qian Qichen will try his best to educate his children.
Qian Qichen and his wife Zhou Hanqiong had a son and a daughter, and Channing was Qian Qichen's only son.
Channing was born in 1960, and during Channing's childhood, his parents spent most of their time working abroad and had little time to take care of him. The absence of his parents created his independent character, and from elementary school to high school, he always took care of himself.
In 1976, Channing chose to join the army as a soldier. Qian Qichen was very sympathetic to Channing's choice, believing that the army was a good place to train Channing. During his years in the army, Channing's body was tempered and he had a strong will.
After transferring from the army, Channing chose to continue his studies, and Qian Qichen did not intervene in this regard, because he believed that it was enough to do a good job in educating his children, and he should not intervene in his life choices, so he respected his son's choice very much.
Qian Qichen liked classical literature, and under the influence of Qian Qichen, Channing also became interested in literature. During Channing's study, Qian Qichen also deliberately asked people to send the newly published "Ci hai" to Channing.
Under the influence of "Ci Hai", Channing's writing skills are outstanding. Therefore, after graduating from university, Channing successfully entered the People's Daily and became an enviable journalist.
Although Qian Qichen rarely gave the Channing family a major in major matters, Channing faced two choices before going to graduate school, majoring in literary and art theory and classical literature. For this reason, Channing specifically asked Qian Qichen that literary and art theory belonged to a new profession at that time, so Channing was very touched by this. After thinking about it, Qian Qichen said to Channing: "Classical literature is better."
It was precisely because of Qian Qichen's suggestion that Channing chose classical literature, and later Channing was able to read ancient books and write research articles on classical literature such as the New Analects, which were inseparable from Qian Qichen's suggestion.
After working for the People's Daily for several years, there was a wave of study abroad in the society at that time. Because the West was more advanced than China in all aspects at that time, Channing, who was eager to learn advanced knowledge, resolutely resigned and went to the University of Michigan in the United States to study and join the tide of studying abroad.
After graduating from the University of Michigan, Channing stayed on to teach. During his stay in the United States, Channing interviewed other international students while reading, and after several years of collation, Channing wrote the best-selling book "Study in the United States", which was welcomed by readers at home and abroad, has been translated into many languages, and is still one of the important documents for studying the history of Chinese study abroad.
In 1995, Channing returned to China. When he learned that his son had returned to China, Qian Qichen was very happy, and he said a meaningful word to Channing: "It is more meaningful to return to China to work." This sentence impressed Channing very deeply, because he felt his father's deep patriotism from this sentence.
In the 1980s and 1990s, young talents such as Channing went abroad, and many of these international students were high-level talents trained by the state at public expense.
Regrettably, because China's material and development conditions at that time did not reach the Western level, many people stayed abroad. This is a loss and a pity for the country.
At this time, China was already changing with each passing day, and Channing was very excited to see China's development, and he was ready to make a career. After returning to China, Channing worked as an investor, a businessman, and an executive in a commercial company.
After half a year of preparation, Channing saw the confusion that Chinese encountered in the process of development, so he quit his high-paying job in a commercial company and began to concentrate on creating.
Because of his love of classical literature, Channing focused his creation on ancient characters and ideas. Since his student days, he has always liked the history of the Qin Dynasty and also admired Li Si, an important figure who helped Qin Shi Huang unify the Six Kingdoms, so his first work was "Qin Xiang Li Si".
With a humorous and humorous writing, "Qin Xiang Lisi" reveals the magnificent and tortuous life of this famous figure of the Qin Dynasty for the reader. Although the book did not receive a fiery response from the market after its launch, it strengthened Channing's creative belief. After "Qin Xiang Lisi", Channing's "New Analects" and "Sages" written by Confucius as the protagonist have been affirmed by the cultural circles.
It is worth affirming that when Channing was engaged in business activities or promoting his books, he never mentioned "Qian Qichen's son", because he obeyed his father's teachings and was not willing to rely on his power to gain benefits for himself.
Although he is busy at work, Qian Qichen is still concerned about Channing's career.
After "Study in America" became a bestseller, Qian Qichen took the time to read his son's works, and although he admired his son's writing, Qian Qichen still found a mistake in Channing's book, in which Channing confused the Anglo-French alliance and the Eight-Nation Alliance.
Qian Qichen's carefulness and knowledge made Channing feel very impressed. It made Channing regret that when he wrote the New Analects, his father was already seriously ill and could no longer read with peace of mind.
Because of His excellent writing and familiarity with the cultural backgrounds of China and the United States, Amazon Online Bookstore invited him to be the CEO of Amazon Chinese Bookstore. Today, Channing is still active in The Chinese cultural circle and is still persistently creating.
From Qian Qichen and Channing, we can see how important it is to cultivate a good family style. The family style cannot be seen or touched, but it deeply affects the development of everyone, especially the family style of leading cadres, and has a huge impact on society.
Channing relied on his father's influence to work in the government department, and Qian Qichen did not use his power to pave the way for his son's career, and this spirit is worthy of praise and learning.