“Imagination, Courage, and Trust” 

     Ten years ago, the Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School was begun.  It was an act of imagination, and it was an act of courage, undertaken jointly by the leaders of the city of Shenzhen and the leaders of Peking University.

    十年前，北京大学深圳研究生院刚刚起步。那是北京大学和深圳市的领导者，满溢着想象也承载着勇气的共同担当。

    It is not easy for us, here, today, to imagine what it must have been like for those leaders, ten years ago.  We are here in a beautiful building, on a beautiful campus.  When we look around us we see thousands of the most talented students in China, studying with some of the most accomplished professors in the world.

    今天的我们坐在这里，实难想象十年前的领导者所处之境。时至今日，我们有漂亮的大楼和美丽的校园，我们可以看到围坐周围的数千名来自国内的优秀学子，与来自世界各地的最优秀的教授们一起学习。

    But ten years ago there was nothing here.  No campus, no facilities, no people.

    但是十年前这里什么都没有。没有校园，没有设施，也没有人。

    The leaders of the city had to have the imagination to see, in their own minds, how the city of Shenzhen could be transformed by creating University Town, something that had never been done before in this city and had never been done before in China.  They had to see how higher education can change a city by bringing in a special kind of talent.  They had to see how drawing the very best universities in China to Shenzhen would dramatically change the image of Shenzhen around the world.

    那个时候，这个城市的领导者一定要利用他们头脑中丰富的想象力，去畅想建造大学城对深圳蓬勃发展的意义，去探索这个城市从未尝试过的，中国从未尝试过的事情。他们一定要有远见，看得到吸引特殊人才的高等教育对整个城市的改变。他们一定要明白将中国最好的大学带到深圳，对深圳在世界的形象会有多么大的提升。

    And the leaders of the university had to have the imagination to see, in their own minds, how Peking University could be transformed by opening a true branch campus, far away from Beijing.  They had to see how such a campus can be a place for bold experimentation that would be impossible within a large, established structure – even within a university that has the innovative history of Peking University.  They had to see how giving Peking University a second heart would make it stronger, how giving Peking University a second face would make it even more beautiful.

    那个时候，这个大学的领导者也一定要利用他们头脑中丰富的想象力，去畅想一个远离北京的分校区对北大蓬勃发展的意义。他们一定要看到在一个庞大成熟的体系里，要撑起这样的一个大胆的试验是如何的艰难– 即使，是有着创新历史的北京大学。他们一定要看到赋予北京大学第二个心脏会使她变得更强，给与北京大学第二张面孔会令她变得更加美丽。

    Imagination, however, was not enough.  These leaders also needed courage.  I have been reading a wonderful book, The Mystery of Courage, by the scholar William Miller, in which he explores with great subtlety our complex feelings about what it means to overcome fear – especially what it means for soldiers to overcome their fears of being killed in war.  The leaders of Shenzhen and the leaders of Peking University were not worried about being killed in war when they decided to open this campus.  But they must have worried that they might be wasting scarce resources and endangering their institutions by opening this campus.

    然而，仅仅想象是远远不够的。这些领导者们还需要勇气。我最近在读学者威廉米勒所写的一本书，《勇气的谜》。书中充满着复杂和细腻的情感，深入探究着克服恐惧的意义，尤其是士兵在战争中克服死亡的恐惧。深圳和北京大学的领导者虽然在建立这个校区时不需要克服战争中死亡的恐惧，但是仍旧不可避免的要担心资源浪费及名声损毁的风险。

   Shenzhen was and is prosperous, but when its leaders decided to open this campus they were investing enormous amounts of money and energy that could have been devoted to housing or job creation.  Beida was and is a symbol of excellence, but when its leaders decided to open this campus they were gambling with its reputation.

   此时彼时的深圳都是繁荣昌盛的，但是当那时的领导者决定建立这个校园时，他们将本可投资本地房产或就业的巨大金钱与精力投入到校园的建设中。此时彼时的北大都是杰出的象征，但是那时的领导者决定建立这个校园时，他们押上了学校的名声。

   I am confident those leaders fully understood the risks they were taking.  They must have been afraid they would be remembered as people who made a terrible mistake.

    我相信领导者们在决策时，他们非常清楚这样做的风险。他们也一定害怕自己被人们认定为犯了严重错误的人。

    Where did they find the courage to go forward?  Partly they drew it from their imagination.  In their minds they could see possibilities that shined so brilliantly and so compellingly that these leaders could transcend their fears.

    他们是如何找到勇气前行的呢？一部分勇气是来自于他们自身的想象力。在他们的脑中他们看到闪耀的成功在向他们招手，如此激励人心，使得他们最终超越内心的恐惧。

    But partly these leaders drew courage from trust.  The leaders of Beida had trust in the leaders of the city – trust that they would keep their commitments, that they would be true partners, and that they would continue to make the investments that true quality requires.  And the leaders of Shenzhen had trust in the university – trust that Beida would not treat this campus as a second-class stepchild but would instead commit itself fully to the Shenzhen campus as a new shining star in the Beida Universe, a star that glows with a brilliance equal to Beijing.

    但是还有部分是这些领导者从信任中找到了勇气。北大的领导者相信深圳的领导者– 相信他们会信守诺言，他们会是真正的合作伙伴，不断投入，满足真正的高质量的需求。深圳的领导者相信北大的领导者- 相信北大不会将这个校区看成二等的继子，而是将深圳校区打造成北大宇宙的一个耀眼的明星，一个可以和北京校区共同闪耀的杰出之星。

    The example of those leaders from ten years ago points the way for the future.  Because today, just as much as ten years ago, we still need imagination, we still need courage, and we still need trust. 

    十年前的领导者们为今日的我们指引了一条道路。因为今天就像十年前一样，仍旧需要想象，需要勇气，需要信任。

    If the leaders of the city or the university stopped dreaming, this campus would freeze in its tracks.  If they lost the courage to take intelligent risks, bureaucrats would prevent progress.  If they lost trust in each other, innovation would become impossible.

    如果市领导者或校领导者停止想象，这个校区就会停滞不前。如果他们失去了理性冒险的勇气，官僚主义者就会阻止进程。如果他们失去对彼此的信任，创新就变得毫无可能。

   But I, for one, have complete confidence in the future of this remarkable campus.  I believe that this special community remains the symbol of imagination, courage, and trust for all of China.  Thanks to the Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, leaders from around the world now think of Shenzhen not only as an economic center but also as an intellectual center.  Thanks to the Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Beida is home to a new engine for educational innovation – for the creation of interdisciplinary, international research and teaching at the frontiers of academic inquiry. 

    但是首先，我，对这个校区的未来发展充满信心。我相信这个特殊的社区会成为中国想象，勇气和信任的象征。感谢北京大学深圳研究生院，来自世界各地的领导者们都认为深圳不仅仅是一个经济中心，更是一个才智中心。感谢北京大学深圳研究生院，北大成为教育创新新引擎的家园– 在学术研究的前沿领域，创造着跨学科、国际化的研究和教学。

    Ten years from now, we will gather again to celebrate another decade of progress.  We will celebrate an effort that will have become a center of innovation not only for Shenzhen, for Peking University, and for China, but a center of innovation for the entire world.  And we will celebrate the special partnership between a great city and a great university that will have made it all possible.

    十年之后，我们会再次相聚共同庆祝另一个十年的进程。我们会再次歌颂为了深圳，北大和中国甚至整个世界，所作出的这份定将成为创新核心的努力。我们会继续庆祝实现一切可能的一个伟大城市和一个伟大大学的特别联姻。