December 6, 2005

Dear Colleague,

Thank you so much for your birthday greetings! They are a very pleasant surprise. I wouldn't have logged on to them if Melanie hadn't forewarned me. (Thanks, Melanie).

I remember being interviewed by Dave Cronon in the dean's office. I remember explaining to him what I had in mind when I wrote the little monograph "The Hydrological Cycle and the Wisdom of God," thinking, as I walked out of the office, "Good God! The dean will think he has interviewed a theologian, not a geographer."

That was twenty-two years ago. Now, seventy-five years old, I wonder whether I am still capable of learning. The answer is yes. Self-discovery continues, but it is not always pleasant or flattering. For instance, only last month I discovered that I can be abysmally ignorant in areas that I claim some expertise. What area? Well, I am not an expert on China, but I have written a book on it and I certainly talk a lot about it, especially after the recent trip. A city I often mention is Chongqing, China's wartime capital and the last Chinese city I lived in before moving overseas. Here is the surprise. It never occurred to me to ask what the two Chinese characters mean. Once the thought did occur to me, I could see that they mean "double (chong) celebration (qing)." Now I have to ask myself, "What is the story behind this unusual name?" After a bit of research, I discovered that "Double Celebration" referred to crown prince Dun Zhao's subjugation of the area and his ascent to the throne the following year, in 1189.

I must have given more than a hundred public lectures in the course of a long career, and, like all public speakers, I dreaded the prospect of being asked a question to which I should know, but don't know, the answer. And I won't be able to wiggle out of my dilemma because the question is a factual one. Imagine me sounding off on Chongqing to a learned society, at the end of which someone raises his hand and asks, "All this is good and interesting, professor, but I have often wondered--and I am sure you can tell me--what does Chongqing mean?"

Silence! It's a miracle that I have not yet been caught. But, then, that's what a long and pleasant life means: it means "getting away" with things; it means not being caught by a sharp listener in the audience, and, more seriously, by a deadly virus or a drunken driver.

Best wishes,

Yi-Fu