Green grass at the end of the world

Author: Fei Xiaotong / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: Let me tell you about my next encounter with this elderly gentleman. That day, the seating area of Se Ming Na Li was already crowded with many people, and Malinowski was sitting in his large chair, talking to others. He was an elderly man in his late sixties, highly nearsighted, bald, thin, and very perceptive. Fei called me over to introduce me to him. He glanced at me and said a few amusing things, which was also his specialty; then he said he would go for tea with me during the break and left to talk to others again.
Tea drinking is an important institution in British social life, where it is customary to have tea from 4 to 5 PM every afternoon. Tea serves as an introduction, while socializing is the essence. Schools are no different. At this time, teachers and students stop working and gather in the tea room to chat. Teachers have their own tea rooms, where they exchange opinions and communicate with each other; sometimes they also invite students to tea to strengthen bonds. During tea, I learned he had just returned from the United States. He had attended the 300th anniversary celebration of Harvard University and even received an honorary degree. In the U.S., he met Mr. Wu Wencao, who already knew I had arrived in England.
After a while, he invited me for tea again, but this time not in the large tea room. In a private booth, there were only the two of us. He asked about my situation since arriving in London, and I told him I had settled on a thesis topic with Fei. He picked up the phone and called Fei, speaking briefly just to say that he would take charge of my matters from now on. This meant he had taken me over from Fei, becoming my mentor. Then he asked where I was staying. After I explained the situation, he immediately said, "Move out quickly—he has a friend who can help you."
P29 They do not say that a person who is well-off is a good person, but rather that a good person will inevitably be well-off. Wealth and abundance are gifts from God, and God will only bestow them on those worthy of the blessing. Ordinary observers can see that Americans adhere to the principle of "self-help with divine help." A person who does not strive to improve themselves is morally deficient, and God will bring disaster upon them to make them suffer. How can one help those who God dislikes? Americans always carry some skepticism toward social insurance programs. Poverty is self-inflicted. Many opposed Roosevelt's New Deal because they believed it fostered dependence, hindering God's system of rewards and punishments for everyone.
Puritans were frugal, hardworking, and lived a very serious life, constantly self-reflecting as if keeping account for God. In my previous articles, I have analyzed the social background of American society and explained how they developed such a competitive mentality. This mentality is closely aligned with their religious beliefs. When they compete, succeed more easily, find solutions, and become wealthier, it shows they are more favored by God and, therefore, better people. Material wealth is moral. In a society with abundant opportunities, where one does not need to rely on exploiting others to achieve prosperity, this belief has some objective basis. Frugal people build wealth, while lazy ones go bankrupt. Heaven is vast, and rewards and punishments are never in vain. This belief is encouraging for those who succeed but not for those who fail. If failure is truly due to one's own mistakes, one can use it as an opportunity for self-examination. But if it is not due to laziness or negligence, the situation is different.
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