Foreign families achieve their Chinese dream?
Honored guests visit county where their ancestors once lived?
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When Mark Becker climbed a mountain in Fuzhou in the eastern province of Fujian with his aunt and wife last week, he praised efforts of President Xi Jinping that helped his family fulfill their dream of visiting the place where their ancestors lived and sometimes fought.?
In the early 1900s, Becker's great-grandfather, Harry Caldwell, arrived in Guling (previously known in the West as Kuliang), a mountainous county in Fuzhou. He spent about 40 years doing missionary work there and improving the county's educational facilities before returning to the United States during World War II.?
"My grandfather's first language was really Chinese. He only spoke English until he was 3 or 4 because all his friends were Chinese children," said Becker, one of 19 people from seven families the Fuzhou government invited to visit their ancestors' old home.?
Missionaries first arrived in Guling in 1886. Later, the county attracted diplomats and merchants who wanted to avoid the summer heat in Fuzhou, one of five Chinese treaty ports opened in the wake of the First Opium War (1839-42).?
Becker also expressed gratitude for the efforts Xi made 25 years ago to help a widow visit Guling. "I don't think we'd be here if he hadn't done that. We've all dreamed of coming here for years. We all grew up with the same stories. So for him to help us come was a wonderful thing to do," he said.?
In 1992, when Xi was Party secretary of Fuzhou, he read a story in People's Daily about Elizabeth Johnson Gardner, who wanted to honor her late husband's wish to revisit his childhood home by traveling to Guling herself.?
In February 2012, when Xi, who was then vice-president, visited the US, he told the story of how he helped to fulfill her Guling dream.?
Milton Gardner (1901-86), a professor of physics at the University of California, lived in Guling for the first nine years of his life, until 1911. He repeatedly muttered "Kuliang, Kuliang" in the final hours of his life, according to his family.?
Xi said that after reading the touching but sad story, he immediately had government officials contact Gardner and invite her to visit Guling. Four months later, Gardner completed her trip to the county.?
"Mrs. Gardner was so excited that she had finally fulfilled her husband's last wish. She said she would cherish this bond of friendship between her husband and the people of China, because after seeing for herself the beauty of Guling and the warmth of the Chinese people, she understood why her husband had been so deeply attached to the country," Xi said later.?
Xi called on the two countries to strengthen people-to-people exchanges and build stronger public support for mutually beneficial cooperation between China and the US.?
"I am sure there are many such touching stories between our two peoples," he added.?
Xi still attaches great importance to people-to-people exchanges in the promotion of international relations.?
At the conclusion of the BRICS summit in Xiamen, Fujian, this month, people-to-people exchanges were highlighted, along with economic and political cooperation among the five members: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.?
Mark Becker has good understanding of the friendship between the people of China and the US. His great-grandfather killed 30 to 40 tigers to protect local residents from harm.?
"There was a Chinese man whose nickname was 'Dada', who was a very good friend of my great-grandfather and hunted tigers with him. They were best friends. He became a sort of uncle to my great-grandfather and his brothers," he said.?
He added that his relatives lost contact with Dada when they left China: "That's one of the things my family has always wondered about - if there would be a way to get in touch with his family."?
Undying affection?
Elyn Gregg Cheney MacInnis, daughter-in-law of Donald MacInnis who came to China in the 1940s and fought the Japanese as a member of the Flying Tigers air squadron, said her father-in-law had fallen in love with China.?
"When my husband's father passed away in 2005, he sat there still, with Christmas cards from his Chinese friends held tightly in his hands," she said. "He loved China throughout his entire life."?
In the last year of his life, Donald MacInnis visited China and taught English and journalism at a university in Nanping, Fujian.?
He contracted meningitis during his trip and died several months later after returning to the US, she said.?
"In this beautiful place they shared love with the people here and were loved in return. And this love was so deep that it has reverberated through the generations, and we have been called back to this place our family once called home," she added.?
The grandparents of Andrea Kathryn Condit founded a middle school in Minqing, Fujian, in the early 1900s.?
Condit said that throughout the trip, she wanted to learn a great deal more about the life of her great-grandmother, who came to China alone as a single woman at age 26 and then taught at a girls' school in Fuzhou.?
"The signs that pointed to different places, like the cultural center, the swimming pool and the church, are well-preserved. We are very grateful that the government has preserved the history we share with the local people," she said.?
Dean Raymond Billing, grandson of Arthur W. Billing, a Methodist missionary who lived in Guling from 1900 to the 1940s, said Xi had made great efforts to help the visitors trace their ancestors' Chinese roots.?
"There used to be so many Westerners here, there was real connection. Xi has restored that connection. Before that it was hard to travel here. Some people in my family thought about it, but you could not do it," he said.?
After discovering that the house his grandfather built was still standing, Billing said it was "amazing". His family and the current owner of the villa feature in a photo taken in front of the house.?
Lin Yinan, an expert in Guling culture at East China University of Science and Technology, said the county was the first home of many Westerners who were born there, and as a result, they regarded the place as their hometown.?
"This is their homesickness, and the seven families are looking for their family roots here," he said, adding that people-to-people exchanges have played an important role in boosting bilateral relations.?
外國家族喜圓“中國夢”?
——跨國鄉(xiāng)愁歸根福州鼓嶺?
上周，當(dāng)馬克?貝克與他的姑媽和妻子一起登上了位于中國東部的福建省福州市的一座山峰后，他盛贊習(xí)近平主席為幫助他的家族實(shí)現(xiàn)夢想所做出的努力——邀請他們參觀祖輩曾居住、生活和戰(zhàn)斗過的地方。?
20世紀(jì)初，貝克的曾祖父柯志仁來到了位于福州的山城鼓嶺（此前在西方被稱為Kuliang）。一直到返回美國參加第二次世界大戰(zhàn)之前的近40年時(shí)間里，他在那里從事傳教活動(dòng)，以及改善當(dāng)?shù)氐慕逃O(shè)施。?
“我祖父會(huì)講地地道道的中文。他從三四歲開始，就不怎么講英語了，因?yàn)樗械呐笥讯际侵袊⒆?，”貝克回憶說。貝克是受福州市政府邀請參觀鼓嶺祖居的7個(gè)家庭的19人之一。?
1886年，西方傳教士第一次來到了鼓嶺。第一次鴉片戰(zhàn)爭后，福州成為中國五個(gè)通商口岸之一，而鼓嶺成為西方外交官和商人在福州的避暑勝地。?
貝克還對習(xí)近平25年前幫助一位美國遺孀訪問鼓嶺、實(shí)現(xiàn)先人夢想的努力表示了感謝?！叭绻麤]那么做，我想我們現(xiàn)在不會(huì)在這里。我們所有人這幾年來都期望能夠回到這里，我們都是在同一個(gè)故事里長大的。他能夠幫助我們回到這里，真是太好了！”?
1992年，當(dāng)習(xí)近平擔(dān)任福州市委書記時(shí)，他在《人民日報(bào)》上讀到一篇關(guān)于伊麗莎白·約翰遜·加德納的故事。加德納夫人希望能夠尊重已故丈夫的遺愿，親自到訪鼓嶺——她丈夫童年居住生活的地方。?
2012年2月，時(shí)任國家副主席的習(xí)近平在訪問美國時(shí)，講述了自己是如何幫助加德納夫人實(shí)現(xiàn)她的“鼓嶺夢”的。?
密爾頓·加德納（1901—1986）是加利福尼亞大學(xué)物理學(xué)教授，在鼓嶺一直生活到1911年他9歲的時(shí)候。據(jù)他的家人說，在他生命的最后幾個(gè)小時(shí)里，他反復(fù)呢喃“Kuliang，Kuliang”。?
習(xí)近平說，他在讀了這篇感人但悲傷的故事之后，立即通過有關(guān)部門與加德納夫人取得了聯(lián)系，專門邀請她訪問鼓嶺。四個(gè)月后，加德納夫人完成了她的鼓嶺之旅。?
“加德納夫人當(dāng)時(shí)激動(dòng)地說，丈夫的遺愿終于實(shí)現(xiàn)了，美麗的鼓嶺和熱情的中國人民使她更加理解了加德納為什么那樣深深地眷戀著中國，”習(xí)近平回憶說。?
習(xí)近平呼吁進(jìn)一步加強(qiáng)中美兩國人文交流，厚植中美互利合作最堅(jiān)實(shí)的民意基礎(chǔ)。“我相信，像這樣感人至深的故事，在中美兩國人民中間還有很多很多。”他說道。?
對于人文交流在提升國際關(guān)系方面的作用，習(xí)近平也高度重視。本月在福建省廈門市舉行的金磚國家領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人會(huì)晤上，“金磚五國”（巴西、俄羅斯、印度、中國和南非）的人文交流以及經(jīng)濟(jì)政治合作受到了重點(diǎn)關(guān)注。?
對于中美兩國的民間友誼，馬克·貝克感同身受。他的曾祖父曾獵殺三四十只老虎，以保護(hù)當(dāng)?shù)鼐用衩馐軅Α?/span>?
“有一個(gè)外號叫‘達(dá)達(dá)’的中國人，是和我曾祖父一起獵虎的好朋友。他們是最好的朋友，我的曾祖父及其兄弟們把他當(dāng)作伯父，”貝克爾說，“我的親人在離開中國后就失去了與‘達(dá)達(dá)’的聯(lián)系，我和家人一直想知道，是否有辦法和他的家人取得聯(lián)系。”?
永恒的感情?
穆靄仁的兒媳婦穆言靈說，她的公公愛上了中國。穆靄仁在20世紀(jì)40年代來到中國，曾作為“飛虎隊(duì)”空軍中隊(duì)的成員與日本侵略者作戰(zhàn)。?
“2005年，在我公公去世前，他靜靜地坐在那里，手里拿著他的中國朋友寄來的圣誕卡，”她說，“他一生都熱愛中國?！?/span>?
在生命的最后一年，穆靄仁訪問了中國，并在福建南平的一所大學(xué)教授英語和新聞。他在旅行期間感染了腦膜炎，幾個(gè)月后返回美國，不幸病逝。?
“在這個(gè)美麗的地方，他們與當(dāng)?shù)厝朔窒韾?，也收到?dāng)?shù)厝藧鄣幕貓?bào)。這段感情太過深刻，以至于在幾代人之間產(chǎn)生了反響，我們也被召回到這個(gè)我們的家人曾稱之為家鄉(xiāng)的地方，”她說道。?
20世紀(jì)初，安德里亞?凱瑟琳?康迪特的祖父母在福建省閩清縣創(chuàng)辦了一所中學(xué)。?
康迪特說，在整個(gè)旅程中，她都想要更多地了解曾祖母的生活。曾祖母26歲時(shí)獨(dú)自來到中國，在福州的一所女子學(xué)校教書。?
“鼓嶺那些指向不同地方的路標(biāo)，比如文化中心、游泳池和教堂，都保存得很好。我們非常感謝當(dāng)?shù)卣４媪诉@段歷史，以供我們及當(dāng)?shù)孛癖娏私?，”康迪特說。?
迪恩·雷蒙德·柏齡（Dean Raymond Billing）說，習(xí)近平主席為幫助外國來訪者追溯祖輩的中國根源作出了巨大的努力。迪恩?雷蒙德?柏齡的祖父柏齡威（Arthur W. Billing）是一位衛(wèi)理公會(huì)傳教士，曾于1900年至1940年生活在鼓嶺。
“這里曾經(jīng)有很多西方人，鼓嶺和他們之間有著真切的聯(lián)系，而習(xí)近平主席恢復(fù)了這種聯(lián)系。在此之前，我們很難在這里旅行。我的家族中有人曾想來旅行，但卻無法成行?！彼f。?
發(fā)現(xiàn)他祖父建造的房屋依然存在之后，柏齡用“驚人”一詞來評價(jià)。柏齡一家人和房屋現(xiàn)任主人在房前還拍了一張難忘的合影。?
華東理工大學(xué)鼓嶺文化專家林軼南說，對于很多在鼓嶺出生的西方人來說，鼓嶺是他們的第一個(gè)家，因此他們把那里當(dāng)作他們的家鄉(xiāng)。?
“這里是他們的鄉(xiāng)愁。這七個(gè)家庭來這里也是為了尋根?！彼a(bǔ)充道，并強(qiáng)調(diào)人文交流在促進(jìn)中美兩國關(guān)系方面發(fā)揮了不可磨滅的重要作用。
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