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Dialogue Between Principals of Peking
University and Stanford University
By Li Guanyu
PKU NEWS 2004—09—15
http://ennews.pku.edu.cn/news.php?s=95411731
Peking University, Beijing, Sep 15th, 2004: Broadcasted by CCTV, the dialogue
between the principals of two well-known universities, Peking University and
Stanford University, caused widely concern in the society. With humorous and
ingenious words, several successful former students of either university who
attended the talk deeply impressed the audience.
From the dialogue the two universities shared their similarity and diversity. The
Stanford spirit of adventure and creation, displayed in the metaphor of ―taking off the
ties around the neck‖, is the same spirit that Peking University showed during the
process of its present reformation. On the other side, it could be easily found out that
different history and culture caused the different ways of thinking in the two
universities. As one of the honorary guests said, the difference could be detected
from the mottos: Peking University put more emphasis on the responsibility to serve
the community while Stanford always puts adventure and creation in the first place.
This could be easily understood if taking a look at the histories and social
circumstances of China and USA.
The friendship between Peking University and Stanford University can be best
explained by their students. On the scene there are students who graduated from
both universities. Their simple narrative of their ways to success (including the two
principals) was inspiring. What‘s more interesting, a couple present was made up of
a husband from Stanford and a wife from Peking University. Their own excellence
and encouragement to each other determined their success and happiness.
No doubt that the cooperation between these two celebrated universities must be
fruitful, and no doubt that ―while we are proud of our university today, she will feel
proud of us some day in the future,‖ as principal Min Weifang said.
Edited By : Wang Fanfan
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