Will you seek afar off? You surely come back at last,

In things best known to you finding the best or as good as the best,

In folks nearest to you finding also the sweetest and strongest and lovingest…

Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass

I’ve met amazing people all over China, from the mother in remote Inner Mongolia who earns enough making traditional Mongolian snacks to pay her daughter’s university tuition to first secretaries who live and work with the poorest of the poor to lift every single household from poverty. And I’m astounded by the sheer number of Chinese who volunteer to serve in extreme conditions like 5,000 m high Tibetan villages. I could write an entire book on each of these people. But Walt Whitman would not be surprised that I’ve met some of the most inspiring people right outside my own front door.

How I Failed at Teaching English

In the early 1990s, four campus laborers asked me to teach them English each day during lunch. I politely declined with, “I’m really sorry, but I teach business. I’ve never taught English.” One laughed and said, “No problem! We’ve never studied it either!”

After three months of little progress, they finally abandoned the idea, though they insisted the fault was theirs, not mine. For months, every time I saw them on campus with shovel or pickaxe in hand, I felt guilty for being such a poor English teacher and for letting down these young men. They gradually moved on, but five years later, one showed up at my office with a large basket of fruit. “I was a poor student,” he said. “I barely learned the ABCs. But your faith in us gave me confidence to take night classes in accounting. I then got a good job, worked hard, and over time was promoted. I’ve just built a new house in my hometown for my family and I hope you will visit!”

I also had two friends who lived in a tiny loft above a clothing shop outside the university. The two of them ran the shop which was so small that with arms outstretched I could touch both walls with my fingertips. They worked 24/7 but were cheerful and optimistic and ready to serve tea every time they saw me. “There’s great opportunity now if you work hard!” they said. Their shop faced Nanputuo Temple, a top tourist spot, so business was brisk and in a few years they opened a second shop, and then a factory to produce their own clothing, and bought a truck for deliveries. They’re now well off with a beautiful home and drive an imported luxury sedan.

From XMU Maid to Millionaire Philanthropist

My favorite story is that of Ms. Yangying, the farm girl with four years of education whose dream in 1981 was to rake in 20 Yuan a month as a Xiamen University professor’s maid. She was already a multimillionaire philanthropist in 1997 when I helped her start Xiamen International School (XIS). Today, Yang Ying still comes across as a shy farm girl but owns several international schools and an innovative biotechnology company. And like many newly rich Chinese, she’s giving back to her country by giving 60 million Yuan to charity, earmarking 300 million Yuan for 1,000 Hope schools and supporting each of the 400+ retirees in her rural hometown. But when I met her in her home, David Wei, XIS principal, pointed out to me that she was still wearing the same 20 Yuan shoes she’d worn for years. She reddened, and said shyly, “Both Buddhism and Christianity teach ‘selfish to self, generous to others.’”

I know many rags-to-riches stories like Yang Ying, but China’s goal is not a nation of millionaires, which is impossible, but “moderate prosperity” for all—and this is exemplified by my friend Mr. Li. For over 20 years he has worked hard as a street sweeper and grounds keeper at Xiamen University. He takes his job seriously, and is proud of his contribution to helping Xiamen University keep its reputation as the most beautiful campus in China. He works rain or shine, and when a typhoon devastated our campus, he was out with his colleagues cleaning up even before the winds and rain had ceased. But Mr. Li’s pride and joy is his son, who attended university. A street sweeper’s son in university? That too is the Chinese Dream.

Walt Whitman was right; truly the folks closest to me are the best, but I completely underestimated one man I’ve seen almost daily for seven years.

XMU Gate Guard Scholar

In the summer of 2019, just as I was leaving for my 20,000 km drive around China, several friends asked if I knew that my friend Zhou Dexin, a 53-year-old university gate guard, had just received a Xiamen University degree in law. “I had no idea!” I said, though knowing Dexin, I should not have been surprised.

For years, Dexin has saluted me sharply every time I enter XMU’s gate, and I return his salute (not as sharply, I’m afraid) because I respect this former soldier for his professionalism and discipline. But I never suspected just how driven he was until I learned he had graduated from XMU after five years of part-time study, and two of those five years was honored as an “outstanding” student.

Reporters who knew that Dexin was my friend asked me so many questions about him that I finally suggested a group interview in my apartment because I too wanted to know what put our university gate guard on a path towards the legal profession. Many people have shared that they were influenced by a devoted teacher, or an inspirational book, but Dexin was the first person to tell me that his passion for law was kindled in childhood by a foreign movie.

Indian Movie Sparks a Chinese Dream

“I’m from Chongqing,” Dexin began, “the home of hotpot. I had many brothers and sisters so life was hard for my family, but when I was young, I happened to see a 1951 Indian movie, Vagabond (Awaara),Footnote 1 and I was very shaken by the plot. The prejudiced judge believed that a good man’s sons are always good and a bad man’s sons are always bad. I knew this was wrong, however, and I wondered in my heart if I could find a way to diligently study law, and seek true justice for everyone, showing partiality to no one, whether righteous or evil. But that childhood dream died as I got older and entered technical school. And even then I was unhappy with life so I entered the military to see if I could do better.”

“How old were you then?” I asked

“I was not quite 18, so I stretched my age a little so I could join. I was assigned to the Northwest Field Army.”

The Northwest Field Army had a proud tradition. In the 1940s, it had repelled a Kuomintang offensive against the revolutionary bases in Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia, which allowed the army to regroup and lead a successful counteroffensive. But in the mid-1980s, conditions across China were difficult—especially in the army. “We mainly ate steamed buns but I was a Southerner used to eating rice. I couldn’t stand steamed bread three times a day so I didn’t last long in the army.”

Losing the Dream

Young Dexin rejoined civilian life just as China’s reform and opening up was gaining steam, and he astutely saw that the future was in the east. “The greatest opportunities were in coastal cities, especially special economic zones like Xiamen, so we moved here,” Dexin said. “But as an outsider I felt lost when I arrived. I first labored in a factory and then ran a small shop for myself, but after a dozen years I finally realized there was no future in this. By 2013, I no longer had clear, long-term plans – just the same, simple goal as any other wage-earner. But then I got a job at Xiamen University as a gate guard, and on occasion I’d see in the news that Peking University had accepted gate guards as students, and I wondered if that would be possible at Xiamen University.”

XMU Rekindles Zhou’s Dream

Peking University was a pioneer in giving free training to migrant workers but the target was young people around 20 years old, and the classes were in career development, culture and work skills. But in 2014, Xiamen University went a step further when it boldly offered degree programs for campus staff and workers.

Dexin’s childhood dream of studying law was rekindled and he applied. “It was not easy,” Dexin said. “I was one of the last people to receive the admission notice. At that time, the university was not that keen on me because they feared that, being so old, I would give up halfway.”

“Yes, this attitude towards older people is a problem,” I said, “but it is improving, probably because more and more people in China are old like me!”

“Things are improving,” Dexin agreed. “At that time, only Xiamen University gave such an opportunity, and they’d only started in February 2014. Today, everyone offers such opportunities – so I really want to thank the school for leading the way. I buckled down for five years, working by day and studying by night. But I also received much help from many Xiamen University teachers and students, and after five years of hard work I reached my small goal.”

“Small goal?” I laughed. “Xiamen University is one of China’s Top 30 schools. Even full-time students find it challenging but for you it was just a ‘small goal’?”

“Bigger Utensil Takes Longer to Make”

Mr. Zhou started late in life, but I suspected he still had further plans. “What do you plan next?” I asked.

“My next step,” he said, “is to take the national legal qualification examination at the end of this month. After the exam, I will do an internship at a law firm for over a year, and then take the exam for the lawyer’s professional qualification certificate. That’s roughly my plan.”

“You’ve obviously changed a lot since you quit the army because you could not stomach steamed bread three times a day,” I said. “What does your wife think of your achievements?”

“My wife and child now live here in Xiamen with me, but they are very stolid about my ambitions. Regardless of what I do, or whether the media seek me out or not, in their view I’m still the husband, still the father. They neither support me nor object to anything I do. I accept that, but I never imagined that society at large would look so favorably on what I’ve done.”

Zhou’s Greatest Lesson

“So what has been your greatest lesson in all this?” I asked Dexin.

“In summary, I would say that study can improve our own knowledge while also heightening our awareness of the world around us. But, frankly, another purpose for my study was to show people that if I could do it, they too could certainly do it. I’m over half a century old, and my memory obviously can’t compare with that of young people. So I just want to tell young people that in today’s social environment, and especially in Xiamen University, they can change their destiny through study.

“For example, after getting an undergraduate degree, you can take the law test. After that you can be a lawyer, prosecutor and judge. As a law student, you can have an advantage in competing for any civil service position, or else get a relatively easy job in any work unit. Every work unit needs legal persons to deal with the contradictions encountered in some daily affairs. So—be sure to study!

“If you lack ability or talent to achieve your dream, you can only improve yourself through your own efforts. Just calm down and study. The beauty of life is in the struggle, not in sitting back waiting for glory to come to you.”

Dexin must be a mind reader, because just as I was thinking he epitomized the Chinese Dream, he said, “Everyone talks about the Chinese Dream, but what is it? It is the dream of the Chinese civilization, nation and people – the dream of learning and the dream of passing the college entrance examination. Learning is the way for everyone to realize their dream. That is why Xi Jinping has always emphasized that China must be a learning power. Only through learning can we know and understand the world.”

Zhou’s Chinese Dream

“What is your Chinese Dream, Mr. Zhou?” a reporter asked.

Dexin thought a moment, and then replied, “My dream is that I will have opportunities to learn throughout my entire life. Then together we can carry forward the spirit of our nation. The soul of a nation has a great impact on a person. We must have backbone. But nowadays the Chinese Dream has a physical problem, too. Many Chinese, young and old, are potbellied and sickly. They don’t have the constitution to carry out the Chinese Dream, or cope if we face an emergency.”

“You remind me of Mao Zedong’s first published article,” I said, which he published in 1917 when he was 24. “In ‘A Study of Physical Education’, he encouraged people to exercise because if the people were not strong, the country could not be strong.”

Mao wrote: “The only calamity that can befall a man is not to have a body. What else is there to worry about? If one seeks to improve one’s body other things will follow automatically.”

Dexin is certainly not sickly. He pushes himself as much physically as mentally with such a strict military regimen of exercise that from the neck down he looks just like the Kung Fu legend Bruce Lee—not an ounce of fat on his body.

Dexin smiled. “As Mao Zedong also said, ‘The body is the capital of the revolution.’”

“And today,” I added, “the body is the capital of reform and opening up.”

Dexin sombered as he went silent, then said, “Six of my classmates in my junior high school photo have already passed on. People need to be alive and healthy, to eat and drink, and to read and learn. In this way, the dream of happiness is in reach of everyone – or that’s my understanding, at least.”

Zhou Dexin’s Philosophy of Life

A reporter said, “I think Mr. Zhou has his own philosophy of life.”

“Yes,” Dexin agreed. “What is most beautiful is to let nature take its course. Only in this way can we be more relaxed, and have the time and energy to achieve our goals one by one. And if we succeed or fail, what does it really matter? I’m not the only one to fail at something.”

“And your dream is still to pursue law?” the reporter asked.

“Yes, I’ve always been interested in law, and law is very practical for the world today. Just look at China and the United States, for example. What were once called trade wars were then labeled trade disputes and are now simply trade frictions. There are many key issues between nations because countries, like people, may be selfish.”

The reporter had one last question. “Now that you are famous, Mr. Zhou, and getting more and more attention, what changes do you expect in your life?”

Dexin chuckled. “Regardless of circumstances, my priority is always to continue doing my job well. The job of campus security is very challenging, but overcoming these challenges can improve both myself and my entire team.”

As Mr. Zhou and the reporters left, I was thankful that I live and work daily with people like him. As I’ve often said, China has a common language but does not have any common people. Thank you, Zhou Dexin, for showing not just your team but the rest of us as well that to achieve the Chinese Dream, we must fortify mind, body and spirit.

And if I ever need a lawyer—I’ll call Zhou Dexin.

How China Enlightened Seventeenth Century Europe

It was good to be back in Xiamen after driving 20,000 km in 32 days, but I only had one night in my own bed before heading to the Fuzhou capital, where I felt honored to give a lecture to provincial government leaders.

I’ve watched how China produces leaders during my three decades in Xiamen. Xi Jinping, for example, was a very young Xiamen vice mayor until the summer we moved to China. He was then assigned to Ningde, one of China’s 18 poorest counties. He tackled poverty so passionately that he was promoted to provincial leadership, then on to Shanghai and up the ranks to president. He was promoted because he was passionate and proficient. I’ve also known others who did only what was required, and they were not promoted. And that’s ok, because we also need people with experience at the bottom levels as well.

China has been a meritocracy for most of 2,000 years, which is why many seventeenth and eighteenth century European leaders felt China’s greatest innovation was not its four great inventions but its “Art of Government”. China’s government was so unlike the West’s staid hereditary aristocracies that the Jesuits’ translations of Chinese political and social philosophies helped stoke Europe’s seventeenth–nineteenth century Age of Enlightenment.

I hope that New China will inspire the world to seek an Age of Moderate Prosperity—and that might happen, thanks to people like Dr. Huang Chengwei, former director of the National Poverty Alleviation and Education Center of the State Council Poverty Alleviation Office. I was honored to meet Dr. Huang in his Beijing office and gain a better grasp of China’s fight against poverty—and not just at home but abroad.

But first—an introduction to China’s 5th Great Inventions, which continues to this day to produce leaders like Dr. Huang.