Bring China to the world
By Enid Chen
Photos by Yao Fan

致双语周刊读者: 福建沿海城市经济繁荣发展, 即将创刊三周年的双语周刊为广大读者提供了丰富的文化信息. 衷心祝愿你们取得更大的成功. 罗伯特·劳伦斯·库恩

"This is my first visit to Xiamen but I feel so close to it. Long before this trip, I have learnt about the beauty of Xiamen. It was raining heavily when I arrived this morning, but I could still see and feel its beauty. I will probably come back again to really appreciate the city's beauty. Xiamen is a pioneer city in China's reform and opening up." American author Dr. Robert Lawrence Kuhn began his speech with these remarks during his book-signing visit to Xiamen, August 13, at Fushan Xinhua Bookstore. Through his latest book, "The Man Who Changed China: The Life and Legacy of Jiang Zemin", Dr. Kuhn hopes to tell the true story of China to the world, and American readers in particular.

周六下午, 厦门大雨滂沱, 富山新华书店却是人头攒动. 《他改变了中国--江泽民传》一书的作者, 60岁的美国人罗伯特·劳伦斯·库恩博士, 在此签名售书, 向广大读者介绍了此书的创作原由. 这位健谈的"中国通", 对中国几十年来所取得的进步感到由衷的喜悦, 言语中无不流露出他对中国的深厚感情.



About Dr. Kuhn and the biography

Dr. Robert Lawrence Kuhn is an internationally renowned investment banker and corporate strategist who has a long-established relationship with the People's Republic of China.
Since 1989, Dr. Kuhn has advised ministries and enterprises in China at the highest levels. Dr. Kuhn is both the creator and executive producer of the first documentary series, co-produced with CCTV, on China's economic reform, produced for both Chinese and American audiences.
Dr. Kuhn has been the author or editor of more than 25 books. His latest book, "The Man Who Changed China", a biography of former Chinese President Jiang Zemin, has aroused great interest among readers and critics alike -in both the US and China.



Motivation to show the real China to the world

Q: Why did you, as a foreigner, write a book about Chinese history and Chinese leadership?

A: Because I wanted to tell the story of China, specifically the detailed period of history spanning the past seven or eight decades, which was a remarkable period in history.

I would like to tell you of my personal history in China to show my emotional feelings towards China. I was first invited to China in 1989 by China's Science and Technology Ministry to restructure the country's science and technology industry. Since then, I have come to China three or four times every year. But when I returned to the US and told people about China's remarkable transformation, no one believed me. The media and audiences, even some of my scientist colleagues have a stereotyped, naive and negative impression of China, just like in the 1950s. I found that really annoying and frustrating and decided to do something.

We embarked on a series of projects to introduce the ‘real' China to American audiences, including the Arts and Cultural Exhibition of China's Civilization in the US and an English documentary TV show which presents the richness of China's civilization through in-depth stories about China.

Later, I began to write this book. It is not a glorification for an individual, but rather it uses one person's life as the vehicle to show China's history to the world. The book has increased the visibility of China's contemporary history, its richness and complexity.



An objective and unbiased biography

Q: How did you ensure that your writing was objective and unbiased through interviews with third parties?

A: My book describes a human being's life including political stories in a broader sense. I have managed to conduct dozens of first-person interviews with people who have been close to Jiang throughout his life, including his three best friends and his sister, who was very close to him, having memories of events and stories that enriched his personality. In the meantime, I researched 30 million words of reports from around the world about Jiang. Then what I tried to do was take all of my historical analysis and combine them with the core of those first-person interviews, creating a living history, so that the world can appreciate China through the life of Jiang Zemin.

Q: The book was originally intended for western audiences. However, sales in China have been much bigger than in any other country since its publication. What's your reaction to that?

A: In the course of writing this book, we did not expect to publish it in China. It was not until the book was almost finished that we began to consider the possibility of publishing it in China. The publisher of this book, Random House, has stated that the book will be in print forever, as the book reflects the history of China. It is quite popular in the West. As a matter of fact, there has been a second print, which doesn't normally happen within a single year.



Writing for 8 hours at night every day

Q: Considering all of your business activities, how did you find the time and energy to write this book?

A: It took me about four and a half years to finish this book. I usually wrote at night and on weekends. I wrote for eight hours every night and still went to work every day. Even when I was asleep, I would wake up sometimes, worried about some of the wording, and go to the computer to change it. I was so careful about the wording, because I knew that a book about China would have a significant influence in the world.

Q: Of all your professions, which one do you like best and why? In which of these fields you personally believe that you are doing the best?

A: I have three children. Your question is like asking which child I like best. I was trained to be a scientist. I was trained to look at things from a scientific point of view. I strive for success and try my best in whatever I'm doing. You have successes and you have failures. Once, when a reporter asked me why I was so successful in so many fields, I replied that I'm not. People always see the successes, but not the failures. Successes are made based upon failures. I prepared myself to be energetic and learn new things throughout my entire life. I have successes as well as failures. However, the successes are more visible than the failures.



Vocabulary
motivation 动机
stereotyped 有成见的
naive 幼稚的
frustrating 令人沮丧的
embark on 着手
glorification 赞颂