来源：北京大学国家发展研究院

题记：2023年6月30日上午，北京大学南南学院2023年毕业典礼在北大承泽园举行。北大国发院、南南学院助理教授刘诗尧作为本届毕业典礼的教师代表发言。本文根据刘诗尧在典礼上的英文演讲整理，中文为编者翻译。

各位尊敬的来宾，同事们，同学们，远道而来的亲友们，以及各位毕业生们，大家好！

作为学院目前最年轻的教师，最初被选为教师代表发言时，我有些忐忑。不过，在意识到我的发言能够起到事半功倍的作用之后，我就松了一口气：我既可以作为教师代表发言，也可以作为校友代表发言，更可以按照学院一贯以来的期待，发出一些青年人的声音。这不仅能减少演讲者的数量，降低协调成本，提高效率，而且更有意义的是，能够为今天的嘉宾张向晨大使，也是“大学”的另一名校友，留出更多的发言时间。在这里，我谨代表“大学”的各级校友，欢迎各位毕业生加入校友大家庭！

你们可能会注意到，我刚刚没有使用北京大学的全称，而选择用“大学”（the University）这个词。在麻省理工学院学习时，我在哈佛大学法学院的朋友曾经告诉我，他们一般用“法学院”这个词来指代自己的学院，而用全称（如某某大学法学院）来称呼其他大学的法学院，这是因为他们认为哈佛大学的法学院对美国来说地位特殊，是全国至今仍持续运作的法学院中最古老的，在美国的法治发展过程中发挥了至关重要的作用。这与北京大学的地位有着异曲同工之妙：它是中国第一所现代化大学，自成立之日起就持续为国家发展贡献着源源不断的力量。“大学”的前身京师大学堂成立于1898年，是“百日维新”这一现代化运动中的重要成果。“大学”也见证了马克思主义在中国的早期传播，在出席中国共产党一大的13名代表中，有6人曾在北京大学工作或学习。世界上没有任何一所其他大学，像“大学”这样，与国家和人民的命运如此深刻和紧密地联系在一起。

大概13年前，也是一个六月，我参加了高考，并成为了上海市文科高分考生。当时我有两个选择，北京大学或者是香港大学。直到今天，你们或许还可以找到当时报纸对这件事的报道，标题是“本市‘文科状元’拒港大全奖选北大”。俗话说，“狗咬人，没新闻；人咬狗，上头条”。虽然这个比喻欠佳，但足见我当时的选择令人意外。

人们的惊讶不难理解。首先，当年几乎所有的高校国际排名中，港大都排在北大之前。此外，港大还承诺为高分考生提供约50万人民币的奖学金。在我参加高考之前的三年和之后的两年里，港大是上海几乎所有其他高分学生的选择。

然而，我还是收拾好行李，坐火车到了北京。如果你问当年18岁不谙世事还有些天真的我，这个决定背后的原因是什么？我必须承认，这并不完全是理性选择的结果。我对两所大学都知之甚少，而唯一的了解来自一节高中历史课上对北大的介绍：1919年，北京大学确立了 “爱国、进步、民主和科学 ”的传统。

我告诉自己，“我要去。” 不过回想起来，我必须承认，当时我并不知道这个传统是否还在北大延续着。如果这是学位论文中的一个结论，我一定会像在答辩中质疑在座各位一样质疑自己。“论文作者提到的传统是九十多年前的，那作者有没有什么实证证据能说明该传统在今天在延续和发扬？” 我想每位在座的毕业生都切身体会过我的各位同事和我所组成的答辩委员会对各位的严格要求。这个决定确实听起来很冲动，但那时我毕竟只是一个高中生而已，就像前两天工体的那位年轻的梅西粉丝一样。

不管怎么说，我还是来到了“大学”，在这里度过了四年，并获得了两个学士学位。四年里的每时每刻，我都见证着“爱国、进步、民主、科学”的传统在每个北大人的血液中延续——无论她们是教授、职员、前辈、同侪还是校友，每个人都在践行着这个传统。

我要在此引用院长林毅夫教授的话：“只要民族尚未复兴，我们的责任就没有完成，只要天下还有贫穷的人，就是我们自己的贫穷，只要天下还有苦难的人，就是我们自己的苦难”。

在快要念完博士的时候，我在就业市场上寻求教职，并立刻向“大学”递交了申请。和13年前相类似的是，在诸多选择中，我再次面临着“大学”，还是另一所港校的选择。但与18岁时不同，这一次，我的选择不再是道听途说的结果。这一次，我坚定地选择了北京大学南南合作与发展学院，因为我清楚地知道，“爱国、进步、民主、科学”的精神仍然在这里延续，也将在这里得到持久的发扬。

顺便说一句，今天，在大多数高校排名中，“大学”都已经位于任何一所香港高校之前：无论是过去还是现在，顺风还是逆境，“大学”的传统始终如一，不曾改变。

我还记得在开学典礼上，执行院长姚洋教授曾经说，不要把中国的经验看作是“放诸四海而皆准”的模板，而要将其看作一面镜子。因为在镜子里，你看到的不是中国，而是你自己的国家，是本国的发展问题。

亲爱的毕业生们，英文里毕业典礼叫做“commencement”，因为这对你们来说意味着一个新的开始（译者注：commencement有“开始”的含义）。当你们踏上新的旅途时，请允许我作为教师代表和“大学”的校友，把“大学”的传统传递给你们。无论在顺境还是逆境中，请记得 “爱国、进步、民主、科学”的精神——全心全意服务国家发展，脚踏实地谋求进步，找到适合本国人民最佳福祉的民主治理模式，并确保在所有政策制定过程中秉持科学精神，理智分析。如果你们的决策不够科学，请想想你们是不是还想经历一轮毕业论文答辩！ 

最后，我想告诉你们，南南学院永远是你们的家，学院和全体教职工永远是你们坚实的后盾。一封邮件，我们就到，常回来看看！

谢谢大家！

SPEAKER：

Prof. Liu Shiyao, 

Assistant Professor of Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development,

Peking University

Dear honorable guests, our colleagues, students, families, and friends, and most importantly, the graduands of the Institute, hello!

Being the youngest faculty member of the Institute for now, I was feeling a bit anxious when the committee voted me to speak here.

Later, I became a bit relieved when I realized that by having me here, the committee could check two boxes at the same time. They got a faculty speaker, and an alumni speaker, besides their intention to bring in the voice of the young.

One speaker fewer, lower cost of coordination, higher efficiency, and more meaningfully, five more minutes for our distinguished guest speaker, and another alumnus of the University, Ambassador and Dr Zhang. 

So humbly on behalf of the alumni network of the University, to all our graduands, welcome!

You may have noticed that I am not using the full name of the University but am only referring to her as the University. When I was studying at MIT, my friend at Harvard Law School told me that all they used “the Law School” to refer to their alma mater but use full names of other law schools when talking about others.

They told me it was because their school was special for their country. Harvard has the oldest continuously operating law school in the US and has also played the most important role in their development of rule of law.

Well, I guess you may have seen the reasoning – the University, is China’s first modern university, continuously in operation and contributing to our national development. She was established as “the Imperial University of Peking” in 1898 as part of a series of modernization efforts called “Hundred Days’ Reform”. Later, she witnessed the early introduction of Marxism into China. Among all 13 delegates to the Inaugural National Congress of the CPC, 6 of them have worked or studied at the University. There is no other university in the world, not Harvard nor Oxford, has such a deep and unalienated connection with the fate of her nation and her people.

About 13 years ago, it was the year when the 18-year-old I sat for the National College Entrance Examinations. It was also a June. As the top scorer of Shanghai, I was offered two options – HKU or the University.

If you Google my name in Chinese, you may still find an early piece of news from the official Shanghai newspaper, with the headline “Our Top Scorer Says No to HKU and Decides to Join Peking”.

Well, you may have heard the saying that “a dog biting a human, no news; a human biting a dog, a headline”. Although not fully accurate, you can feel the surprise my article carried.

The surprise was understandable – First, nearly all international rankings put HKU ahead of Peking in those years. Besides, HKU promised scholarships of half a million Chinese yuan for top scorers. It was also the choice of almost all other top scorers of the city for 3 years preceding, and 2 years following mine.

Still, I packed my bag and took the train to Beijing. If you asked the innocent 18-year-old me, what was behind my decision? I must admit, frankly, at that time, it was not a fully informed one. I knew little about the two universities, and the only relevant information I had was from a lecture in my high school history class: In 1919, the University started her tradition of “Patriotism, Progress, Democracy and Science”. – For Chinese speakers, 爱国, 进步, 民主, 科学.

“I must go” I told myself, although in retrospection, I had to confess that, by then, I did not know whether the tradition was still here.

I would challenge myself if this were a conclusion in a thesis. Isn’t the tradition mentioned in a history class talking about 1919, which was more than 90 years ago (in the year of 2010)? Will the tradition still be relevant today? Almost every graduand can certify how challenging my colleagues and I have been during your defense.  

The decision of the 18-year-old me sounds impulsive, but what else can you expect from a high school student? Look at our young Messi fan at Beijing Workers Stadium.

Nevertheless, I arrived, spent four years, and obtained two bachelor's degrees. Since the moment I got here, every minute in the four years on this campus, I was seeing clearly the tradition running in the blood of every PKUers, be them professors, staff members, seniors, classmates, or alumni.

Let me quote our Dean, Professor Lin on this, “As long as the nation has not yet revived, it means our mission is yet to be complete. If there are still poor people in the world, it is our own poverty. When there are still suffering people in the world, it is our own suffering”.  

“只要民族尚未复兴，我们的责任就没有完成，只要天下还有贫穷的人，就是我们自己的贫穷，只要天下还有苦难的人，就是我们自己的苦难”。

When I was graduating from my PhD program and started to look for jobs in academia, I immediately applied for the University. In that season, again, I came across a similar situation, two options among other job offers – the Institute vs another top university in Hong Kong.

Different from the 18-year-old me, whose choice was mostly because of a “hearsay”, this time, I firmly decided to join the Institute, because I know precisely, the tradition of “Patriotism, Progress, Democracy and Science” is still here, and will continue to be here.

By the way, most, if not all, international rankings have placed the University steadily ahead of any other university in Hong Kong nowadays. Regardless, the University keeps her tradition, be it a headwind or a tailwind.

I still remember what our Executive Dean, Professor Yao told us during the opening ceremony – not to consider the experience of China as a one-size-fits-all template, but as a mirror. In a mirror, you are not seeing China, but yourself, the national development problems in your home country.

Dear graduands, we call the graduation ceremony a commencement, because it indicates a new start for all of you. As you are commencing, please allow me to pass on the tradition of the University, both as a faculty member and as one of the alumni. Please bear in mind “Patriotism, Progress, Democracy and Science”, whether in good times or bad.

Serve your country with your whole heart, keep making progress step by step, find a democratic governance that suits the best interest of your people, and make sure to be scientific and analytical in all policy making processes. We would challenge you, as in a thesis defense, if the decision is not scientific enough.

Finally, I would also like to remind you, we are always here for you – the Institute, all the faculty, and all our staff members. Do drop by, and we are only one email away!

Thank you very much.

编译：冯莉雯

特别声明：以上内容仅代表作者本人的观点或立场，不代表新浪财经头条的观点或立场。如因作品内容、版权或其他问题需要与新浪财经头条联系的，请于上述内容发布后的30天内进行。