高西慶，曾擔任中國證監會副主席、全國社保基金理事會副理事長、中國投資公司總經理。
高西慶在杜克大學畢業典禮上的演講：不忘初心
i was going to speak today about the necessity for an open-mind as you approach new opportunities, new environment and new paradigm, the need to have stamina in times of difficulty and to not be afraid to take the road less travelled. but i believe most of you know this or you wouldn’t be here today in the first place.
我今天本來想跟大家講講未來當你們面對新的機會、新的環境以及新的模式時保持開放心態的必要性，以及遇到困難時應該怎樣保持堅持不懈的努力和擁有另闢蹊徑的勇氣。可是，我相信在座的大部分人都已經十分明白這些道理，否則你們不會取得今天的成績。
so i'm just going to give you a piece of avuncular advice, tell my story and be boring:
所以我只想從一個長者的角度給你們一點建議，講講我的故事，或許這會比較無聊。
close to thirty years ago, i was where you are today and only a few years before that, it would have seemed impossible to me that i would ever sit where you are today. you have earned this seat, through intelligence, diligence and discipline, my deepest congratulations to all of you. for all the cynicism in the world today, especially given how people perceive the practice of law, i encourage all of you to preserve your optimism, idealism and passion for what you do.
大約30年前，我正坐在你們現在坐的位置上;如果再倒回幾年的話，我完全不敢想像自己有朝一日會成為你們其中的一員。你們通過自己的才智、勤奮和自律贏得了坐在今天畢業典禮上的資格，我衷心地祝賀你們。面對現今橫行於世的犬儒主義，尤其是人們對整個法律行業的負面看法，我鼓勵你們不要丟掉做自己想做事時的那份樂觀、理想以及激情。不忘初心，方得始終。
you have proven that you have a lot to offer this world, now you need to prove you can make a difference, whether that be in the courtroom, classroom, ngo or office lead by example because anything is possible! i want to share with you some of my experience in the hopes that it encourages you to not accept barriers at any cost.
各位同學已經證明你們有能力為這個世界貢獻良多，但是現在你需要去證明你確實可以通過努力讓這個世界變得不同。這種變化可以發生在法庭上、教室里，也可以發生在民間組織或是政府部門之中，因為一切皆有可能!我想和你們分享一些我的經歷，希望以此鼓勵你們面對挑戰、勇往直前。
as a teenager, i was sent to a railroad construction site deep in the mountains in western china. food was rationed and workload was heavy. however, what made it more unbearable was the lack of knowledge and information. i devoured every piece of paper that had any word on it, like a hungry man. together with a few co-workers we started a study group called "the communist laborer's night school", with the few old text books we brought with us, and a radio we used to learn english from voa and bbc, at the risk of imprisonment for listening to "enemy stations".
當我還是一個十幾歲少年的時候，我被送到中國西部的大山區里修建鐵路。在那裡，食物實行配給制並且工作強度很大，所以我們總是處於飢餓狀態。但是，更加讓人痛苦的是知識與信息的缺失。我貪婪地去看每張偶爾得到的寫有字的紙片，如饑似渴。我還和其他幾位工友們成立了一個“共產主義勞動夜校”。我們一同學習一些舊課本，冒著被判刑的風險用一台收音機聽“敵國電台”：從“美國之音”和bbc學習英語。
after 3 years of hard labor and a head injury, i was given a job in an artillery factory making machine guns. i biked about 10 miles twice a week to learn english taught in the radio engineering school of a university in xi'an. most of the 200 people quitted the class during the one-year study, and i was one of the dozen remaining, together with the chief engineer of my factory, who later put in a strong recommendation for me to go to college in beijing, without having ever been to a high school.
經過三年繁重的勞動和一次腦部受傷，我被分配到西安一家兵工廠製造機關槍。我每周兩次下班後騎腳踏車去10英里外一所大學的無線電工程系學習英語。在這一年的學習中，200多名學員中的大多數並沒有堅持。但是我是那堅持下來的十幾個人之一，一同留下來的還有我工廠里的總工程師。他後來在我甚至沒有上過高中的情況下強烈推薦我去北京讀大學。
after graduating from both college and law school in bj, i was sent as an exchange scholar to work in a law firm in california. boy i remember the cultural shock i had when i first arrived in sf in 1982! there i realized that my knowledge of law was utterly inadequate to deal with international transactions, which i was supposed to teach back in beijing. i decided to go through the hardship of studying for a jd degree in the us. that started my honey-decades with duke law, which gave me a full scholarship and a fuller education in american law.
從對外經貿大學的法學碩士班畢業後，我獲得了去加州一家律所實習的交換機會。我仍然記得1982年當我第一次抵達舊金山時所能感受到的文化衝擊。在那裡，當處理一些有關國際交易的案子時，我意識到自己有關美國法律的知識非常匱乏，而這卻是我回國之後準備教授的。我決定在美國咬著牙讀一個法學博士學位。杜克法學院資助了我全額獎學金讓我能夠系統地學習美國法律，從此開啟了我和杜克法學院長達三十年源遠流長的甜蜜之旅。
i was once asked by a hard-struggling law student from china why i seemed so happy and content with my studies then, living mostly in the law library. i answered, if you have experienced the deprivation of knowledge for so long as i have, you would, too, view this place as the heaven of learning. i said that despite the many occasions when a few professors would vote against granting the scholarship to a "red chinese", or some fellow students spoke right in my face that they were "abhorred" by the chinese communist system. when i was later asked of a similar question as a junior associate in the sweat shop of a wall street law firm, i happily told the fellow associate that vladimir lenin taught me to learn your skills so to dig the grave for capitalism.
曾經有一個深受法學院學習壓力痛苦折磨的中國學生問過我這樣一個問題：“你幾乎成天以圖書館為家，為什麼還那么開心和滿足?”我回答說，如果你像我那樣，經歷過如此之長的缺乏精神食糧的歲月，那么你同樣會把這地方當做是求知的天堂。當然求學過程中也有很多不盡人意之處，比如有那么幾位教授反對給我這個來自紅色中國的人發獎學金，或者有幾位學生曾當面對我說他憎恨中國的共產主義制度。我後來在華爾街一所律所里當律師的時候，也被問到這個問題時，我很開心地回答道，列寧教導我要學習西方的先進知識，才可以為資本主義挖掘墳墓。
the ensuing 1987 financial crisis jolted me to an opposite direction, though. i was so fascinated by the intricacies of the capitalistic financing machines that i decided to study it carefully and try to transplant it to my own home country. i went back to china in the summer of 1988, after visiting most of the stock exchanges in europe and some in asia, in a seemingly fool-hardy effort to persuade the chinese government forthe establishment of a capital market.
然而，隨後1987年的金融危機卻將我拉向了另外一個方向。我對這精妙的資本主義籌融資機器體系產生了巨大的興趣，所以我決定認真仔細地研究它並且將這架機器移植到我自己的祖國。在自費調研過歐洲以及亞洲大部分證券交易所後，我於1988年夏天回國，以近乎愚公移山的努力說服中國政府建立中國的資本市場。
among all the people who were skeptical of our idea, was an american consul in beijing. after suspiciously questioning my intention to have gone back to china and hearing my explanation about my ambition to start the stock market there, he said, this is all bs, and tore up my application forms. this is in early 1990, when i applied to come to teach a short course at duke law. by the end of that year, we have helped the opening of two stock exchanges, the shse and the szse, which have a combined market cap of several trillion dollars today. two years after, the unintended consequences started to show and the central government finally adopted our proposal of setting up the regulatory agency and persuaded me to join it.
在所有質疑我這個想法的人群中，有一位是駐北京的美國領事。在懷疑我回中國的動機並且聽完我想要在那裡建立股票市場的想法後，他說，這完全是扯淡，並且撕碎了我美國簽證的申請表。記得那是1990年初，我當時去申請美國簽證回杜克法學院教幾周課。當年年底，中國自己的兩個證券交易所就建成了：上海證交所和深圳證交所。今天，這兩家證券交易所交易的股票總市值達到上萬億美金。隨後的兩年，中央政府最終接受了我們的提議並啟動成立了證券市場監管機構，並且勸說我加入其中。
being a regulator is like being a matchmaker, when the marriage is successful, the couple would think it's their own good fortune, will be busy enjoying themselves and very seldom grateful to you. but if anything goes wrong, then both sides blame you for it. i got just that sort of treatment, blamed all the time, for good or bad reasons. i was yanked out of the agency to run the newly established social security fund in XX, and then, 4 and half years later, the sovereign wealth fund. after almost 7 years serving as an investor, i'm finally relieved of my duty and allowed to retire to do what i love the most, i.e., working with young people every day, teaching and, more importantly, learning.
監管者的角色就好比是媒人，如果做媒成功，男女雙方會認為這是他們自己的好運氣，沉溺於愛河中而沒有時間來感謝你。但一旦失敗，雙方都會指責你的不是。我就獲得了那樣的待遇：不管是什麼樣的原因，總是被罵。XX年，我被調離證監會成為新成立的全國社會保障基金的負責人，四年之後，又成為中投公司的總經理。在七年的投資生涯之後，我總算可以卸下身上的責任並且獲準退休去乾我最想幹的事情——那就是每天和年輕人在一起，教授他們，更重要的是，向他們學習。
why do i want to tell you the boring story of a personal life? because i can't help offering you my advice, having made so many mistakes and suffered so many detours. here are the few things i learned in life in the vain hope that you would avoid them.
為什麼我想向你們講述我自己沒有多大意思的人生經歷?因為我在犯過如此多錯誤、走過無數次彎路之後，忍不住想提供給你們一些我的建議。下面就是我的一點人生體會，希望你們能夠有所感悟，避免走我所走過的彎路。
1. different views, different people, different culture and different ideology may not necessarily be a bad thing. they just teach you to be more tolerant and open minded. vive la difference, as the french would say.
1. 不同的思想、不同的人、不同的文化以及不同的意識形態或許並不是一件壞事。他們只是在教你更加寬容，保持更加開放的心態。就像法國人說的那樣，vive la difference(差別萬歲)。
2. taking hardship is not necessarily a bad thing, it may pay in the long run. of course in the long run we will all be dead, as maynard keynes said. and that's why we need the next suggestion.
2. 吃苦或許不是一件壞事，總有一天你會獲得回報。當然凱恩斯也說過：從長遠來看，我們都會死的。但這也就是為什麼我們需要下一個建議。
3. taking the road less travelled is not necessarily a bad thing, it just makes your life much more interesting. let's try to live an interesting and significant life.
3. 另闢蹊徑走自己的路或許不是一件壞事，這只是意味著我們的生活會更加精彩。讓我們嘗試去過一種精彩並且有意義的生活。
4. setting high material demands in this world today is not necessarily a good thing, as it may keep you from realizing your ideals or keeping your vision.
在當今社會，對物質生活的過分追求或許不是一件好事。因為這將使你遠離夢想，不能開拓你的視野。
i want to leave you today with the words of the great american poet, max ehrmann because he said it infinitely better than i can. hope you guys can remember this as you go forth.
最後，我想送給你們偉大的美國詩人max ehrmann的詩篇，他講得比我好多了。我希望你們在前行的道路上，能夠記住這首詩。
go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. as far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons.
speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.
avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. if you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. but let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.
be yourself. especially, do not feign affection. neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity anddisenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.
take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. but do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. you are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. and whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
therefore be at peace with universe, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. with all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. be cheerful. strive to be happy.
在嘈雜和匆忙中，平靜地前行吧，
也別忘了在寂靜中，能找到多好的安寧。
可以的話，儘量不放棄原則而與所有人和睦相處。
細語清晰地說出你的肺腑之言，也聆聽別人的說話，
別人的話縱然又枯燥又無知，總會有他們的故事。
避開大聲說話和好鬥的人;他們是擾亂心性的人。
不要跟其他人比較，否則可能變得虛榮自負或忿忿不平，
因為一定有人比你偉大，也一定有人比你渺小。
享受計畫，也享受成就。
無論自己的事業有多卑微，維持對它的興趣;
在一生多變的命運中，它是你真正擁有的東西。
謹慎處理生意，因為這世界充斥著欺詐。
但是，不要因此而看不見人間美德;
很多人為崇高理想而奮鬥，生命到處都有英勇的事跡。
做你自己。
尤其不要虛情假意。但也不要把愛視為虛偽;
因為儘管生命有時枯燥乏味、有時令人迷醉，
愛，卻如青草般日久常在。
不輕視因年老而獲得的閱歷，
並得體地捨棄年輕時擁有的東西。
培育心靈上的力量，以面對突然而來的不幸。
但不要杞人憂天以致心神不寧。
眾多的恐懼，源自疲乏和孤獨。
要既不踰矩，又善待自己。
你是宇宙的孩子，身份不次於樹木和星星;
身處這裡是你的權利。
不管你是否明白它的奧秘，
毫無疑問宇宙在按其規律展現自己。
因此，不管在你心中宇宙是什麼模樣，和他和睦相處吧。
也不管你怎樣勞累和胸懷大志，在生命的煩囂和困惑中，
要保持心靈上的安寧。
不管經歷了多少偽善、苦役、和破碎的夢，世界依然是美麗的。要保持輕鬆開朗。要努力讓自己快樂。