3月20日，哈佛大學校長巴科(Lawrence S。 Bacow)在北京大學作主題為《真理的追求與大學的使命》的演講，這是巴科擔任哈佛大學校長后首次出訪。演講中，他鼓勵各學科和領(lǐng)域的學者在大學里一起辯論，各自尋找證據(jù)來支持自己的理論，努力理解并解釋我們的世界?，F(xiàn)在，我們就和大家一起來分享一下哈佛大學校長這次的演講內(nèi)容吧。

   　演講全文內(nèi)容 ：

　　謝謝您，郝校長。各位同行、同學、朋友，大家好。今天來到北京大學，我非常榮幸，感謝你們對我的熱情歡迎。請接受我對貴校一百二十周年校慶的誠摯祝賀。

　　更令我感到榮幸的是，我這次到訪，恰好是在五四運動百周年紀念日即將到來之際。五四運動是中國歷史上一個值得驕傲的時刻。它是一代中國青年對世界的宣言：我們要追求真理，我們相信真理改變未來的力量。

　　時至今日，我們還能聽到蔡元培校長的聲音：“大學者，‘囊括大典，網(wǎng)羅眾家’之學府也…此思想自由之通則，而大學之所以為大也。” 北大人勇于探索新知，敢于推動變革，這首先得益于蔡元培校長的遠見卓識。

　　大學，為思想自由而建

　　今天我來到這里，就更熱切地想要了解這所創(chuàng)立最早的中國大學之一。北大是為大學之道而建的大學，是為思想自由而建的大學。

　　我來過中國很多次，既有私人旅行，也有公務(wù)訪問。這次我作為哈佛大學校長訪問中國，造訪中國優(yōu)秀的高等學府，感受尤為不同。

　　哈佛和北大都有著對高等教育的堅定信念，兩校的學生和學者之間有著深厚的聯(lián)系和緊密的合作。無論是藝術(shù)和建筑，醫(yī)學和公共衛(wèi)生，還是工程和環(huán)境科學，他們在各個領(lǐng)域中共同創(chuàng)造的知識，都將讓世界變得更加美好。

　　我們應(yīng)該記住，蔡元培不僅領(lǐng)導過北大，還協(xié)助創(chuàng)建了中央研究院、上海音樂學院以及國立藝術(shù)院。他的努力提醒我們，人文和自然科學都能夠提升人類的精神境界，改善人類的生存處境。

　　從上上個世紀開始，哈佛大學就一直向東方探求知識，謀求合作。1879年，戈鯤化先生帶著妻子和六個子女，不遠萬里從上海來到波士頓，成為了哈佛的第一位中文教師。他從中國帶來的經(jīng)典書卷，是哈佛獲得的第一批亞洲語言文獻，也是哈佛燕京圖書館最早的館藏。

　　一百四十年之后，哈佛燕京圖書館已經(jīng)發(fā)展成為擁有一百五十萬冊藏書的大型圖書館，是亞洲以外最大的東亞學術(shù)資料庫，其體量在哈佛全校八十余座圖書館中位居第三。哈佛燕京圖書館有很多數(shù)字化館藏，比如“明清婦女著作”數(shù)據(jù)庫，向全球的學者在線提供北大和哈佛共同收藏的珍貴文史資料。

　　在哈佛大學各學院的教授學者中，有超過三百位中國問題專家利用我們的東亞資料從事研究。我們研究中國的學者數(shù)量，在全美所有大學中首屈一指。這些學者和老師們從方方面面推動著我們對中國更深入的理解，包括中國的文化、歷史、宗教、人類學、社會學、法律、教育、公共衛(wèi)生、公共政策，以及商學。

　　上個月，為了準備本次訪華，我和他們當中的一些學者共進了午餐，了解了他們豐富的學術(shù)成果。那真是一次思想的盛宴。他們讓我看到了以多重視角研究復雜的中國問題的必要性，更讓我深刻領(lǐng)會了與世界分享中國知識的重要意義。當然，任何個人的能力都比不上集體的力量。

　　哈佛成立了一系列的研究中心和研究所來支持、推廣研究。費正清中國研究中心、哈佛亞洲中心以及哈佛中國基金等機構(gòu)，全面地影響著哈佛對中國的思考方式，從教學研究到交流合作。

　　它們當中最老的是哈佛燕京學社。九十年前，哈燕社正是在這里，從燕京大學的故址起步的。今天它仍然在支持各個領(lǐng)域的中國青年學者的學術(shù)成長。我們的這些機構(gòu)當中最新的是哈佛全球研究基金。

　　它從四年前啟動時開始，就一直為不同規(guī)模的研究項目提供資金支持，大部分是關(guān)于中國的。為氣候變化、網(wǎng)絡(luò)安全、國際關(guān)系等重大挑戰(zhàn)提供有效研究方法的解決方案，這不是一所大學、甚至一個國家所能做到的。

　　要在這樣的領(lǐng)域推動變革和進步，需要很多人跨學校、跨行業(yè)、跨文化、甚至跨政府的共同合作。正因為如此，我們現(xiàn)在如何培養(yǎng)人才和智力資本，就至關(guān)重要。

　　在哈佛的校園里，我們歡迎來自世界各地的有志者;我們相信他們能為我們的社區(qū)以及更廣闊的世界作出貢獻。今年一年之內(nèi)，就有一千多名中國學生和超過一千名中國學者來到哈佛求學求知。這比來自其他任何國家的學生學者都多。他們的足跡遍布哈佛的每個學院。

　　我們還有超過兩千五百名中國的校友。如果戈鯤化先生今天能回到波士頓，看到很多和他一樣生于中國的學者在哈佛任教，一定會感到欣慰。他如果得知中文已經(jīng)成為哈佛第二熱門的外語科目，一定會感到高興。

　　大學社區(qū)的成員意味著什么

　　我剛才介紹的這些數(shù)據(jù)和舉例顯示了我們對中國社會文化的濃厚興趣，以及我們?yōu)橹鞒龅木薮笈?。但?shù)字并不能完整地解釋，作為一個大學社區(qū)的成員意味著什么。

　　哈佛校園里的每一次對話，每一種互動，都透露著謙遜和希望。我們隨時都愿意承認“我不知道”，我們隨時都愿意和伙伴們相向而行，面對挑戰(zhàn)和失敗，在追求知識的道路上一起憧憬成功的喜悅。

　　發(fā)現(xiàn)和創(chuàng)新的過程總是復雜而艱辛的。這個過程需要創(chuàng)造力和想像力，但更重要的是勤奮的工作。卓越不是輕而易舉可以獲取的，且誰都不可能僅憑一己之力取得成功 。

　　追求和創(chuàng)造知識的人們之間，總是有一種跨越時空的相互關(guān)懷。我還記得七十年代后期，我還是麻省理工學院的年輕教員時，一個中國學術(shù)代表團對學校進行過一次歷史性的訪問。漫長的分離一點都沒有削弱師生同事之間的美好感情。

　　他們中的很多人已經(jīng)幾十年沒有見過面了，但他們就像剛分開不久的朋友一樣相互問候，然后又開始討論共同關(guān)心的學術(shù)課題。對我來說，這生動地證明，在嚴峻的經(jīng)濟政治社會條件下，大學仍然可以成為力量的來源。

　　我還想到第一屆帕格沃什 [Pugwash] 科學與世界事務(wù)大會。在1957年緊張的冷戰(zhàn)局勢下，來自世界各地的二十二位著名科學家聚集在加拿大新斯科舍省，討論熱核武器的發(fā)展及其對文明的威脅。

　　他們的集體努力為1963年部分禁止核試驗條約、1968年不擴散核武器條約和其他若干重要協(xié)議奠定了基礎(chǔ)。這二十二位與會者中，七位來自美國，三位來自蘇聯(lián)，三位來自日本，兩位來自英國，兩位來自加拿大，另外各有一位來自澳大利亞、奧地利、中國、法國和波蘭。

　　物理學家周培源教授是這二十二人中唯一的中國人。他后來還擔任了北京大學的校長，并在1978年率團訪美，談判促成了中美之間的學者交流。我們應(yīng)該感謝像周培源教授這樣富有遠見和勇氣的領(lǐng)導者，始終把和平和共識放在首位。

　　當下，我們兩國政府之間正在就一系列重要問題進行談判。這些談判有時很艱難;它們的結(jié)果將對全世界產(chǎn)生深遠的影響。我相信，保持學者之間跨越國界的交流，對我們今天在座的所有人來說都至關(guān)重要。不僅如此，任何關(guān)心高等教育在人類生活中所起作用的人，都應(yīng)該能夠理解其中特殊的意義。

　　在這樣的關(guān)鍵時刻，優(yōu)秀的學府更應(yīng)該發(fā)揮積極的作用。當然，哈佛在美國，北大在中國，我們都有責任為各自的社會做出貢獻，促進各自國家以及全世界的發(fā)展。

　　而我們作為大學，要真正承擔起這樣的責任，唯一的方法就是踐行和維護那些能夠超越國界的學術(shù)價值。我去年十月發(fā)表就職演說時，曾經(jīng)談到過這些基本價值。

　　當時出席就職典禮的，有哈佛大學成百上千的學生、教授、職員、校友和友人，也有來自全球二百二十所院校的代表。我想現(xiàn)在和大家分享一些我當時發(fā)表的想法。

　　偉大的大學堅持真理

　　偉大的大學堅持真理，而追求真理需要不懈的努力。真理需要被發(fā)現(xiàn)，它只有在爭論和試驗中才會顯露，它必須經(jīng)過對不同的解釋和理論的檢驗才能成立。這正是一所偉大大學的任務(wù)。各學科和領(lǐng)域的學者在大學里一起辯論，各自尋找證據(jù)來支持自己的理論，努力理解并解釋我們的世界。

　　追求真理需要勇氣。在自然科學中，想要推動范式轉(zhuǎn)移的科學家常常被嘲諷，被放逐，甚至經(jīng)歷更大的厄運。在社會科學和人文學科里，學者們常常需要防備來自各個方面的政治攻擊。

　　正因為這樣，開創(chuàng)性的的思想和行動往往是從大學校園里開始生長。改變傳統(tǒng)思維模式需要巨大的決心和毅力，也需要歡迎對立觀點的意愿，需要直面自己錯誤的勇氣。

　　偉大的大學培養(yǎng)這些品質(zhì)，鼓勵人們傾聽，鼓勵人們發(fā)言。不同想法可以切磋，也可以爭論，但不會被壓制，更不會被禁止。

　　要堅持真理，我們就必須接受并欣賞思想的多元 。對挑戰(zhàn)我們思想的人，我們應(yīng)該歡迎他們到我們中間來，聽取他們的意見。最重要的是，我們必須能夠敏銳地去理解，但不急于作出評判。

　　我擔任哈佛大學校長，還不到一年。但在這短暫的時間里，我們的校園里已經(jīng)至少六次出現(xiàn)過有爭議的問題，引起了熱烈的討論，有時甚至是激烈的爭吵和公開的抗議。

　　參加爭論的有學生，有教職員工，也有校友和學校的友人。這樣的爭吵可能會讓人感到不快。但它是一個社區(qū)健康的標志，是積極的公民參與的象征。

　　事實上，如果有一個學期完全沒有發(fā)生這樣的辯論，那才是不正常的，甚至會讓人感到不安。當意見沖突發(fā)生時，我們就不得不自問：我們想要一個怎樣的社區(qū)?而正是這個問題維系并強化著我們的集體，讓我們對真理的追求更加深刻。

　　我作為校長的職責往往并不是決定學校“正確”的立場，而是確保討論渠道的暢通。從遠處看，哈佛大學好像有一個統(tǒng)一的聲音。但實際上，哈佛是不同聲音交響共存的地方。而我們最為重要也最為困難的任務(wù)之一，就是讓社區(qū)的所有成員都覺得他們可以暢所欲言。

　　改善我們的社區(qū)，改善我們的世界，這是我們大學的職責。目前，哈佛本科學院最熱門的課程之一是“中國古典倫理與政治理論”。上個學期有425名本科生選修了這門課。當授課教授被問及對哈佛學生有什么建議時，他說，“我們的世界是由人類活動創(chuàng)造的。如果我們對世界不滿意，我們就應(yīng)該去改變它。千萬不要落入危險的思想陷阱，以為世界本來就是這樣。世界永遠都在改變。”

　　偉大的大學追求卓越

　　偉大的大學不僅堅持真理，而且追求卓越。在我的就職演說中，我特別強調(diào)了哈佛師生卓越的天賦和驚人廣泛的學術(shù)與事業(yè)追求。才華不僅綻放在課堂和實驗室里，也飛揚在餐桌、操場和舞臺上。

　　和伙伴們共同學習生活為他們創(chuàng)造了改變和成長的機會，而這些機會，也許只有在這樣的環(huán)境里才能存在。多樣性之所以重要，是因為我們能夠從我們的差別中受益。我們很容易想象，如果所有人的背景、興趣、經(jīng)驗和想法都一樣，大學只會變得沉悶無趣。

　　人們常常問我哈佛成功的秘訣。我們所有的成功，都是在他人的幫助下實現(xiàn)的。如果沒有全球其他優(yōu)秀高等院校的挑戰(zhàn)和激勵，如果不能向同行學習、與他人合作，我們絕不會像現(xiàn)在這么成功。

　　僅僅在美國，就有四千余所大專院校。它們驚人地多樣，有的專注于本科教育，有的兼顧本科生、研究生和職業(yè)教育;有的專注于藝術(shù)和音樂等單個學術(shù)領(lǐng)域，有的同時推動多學科的發(fā)展。它們都在為人才和資源競爭;但它們又都以其他學校為榜樣，謀求自己的進步。

　　哈佛也不例外。我們向或遠或近的鄰居們學習。我們正在和麻省理工學院的合作伙伴們一起探索如何通過技術(shù)讓更多的人享受我們的教育資源。我們的聯(lián)合在線教育平臺 edX 已經(jīng)為超過一千八百萬名學習者提供了教育機會，而這一數(shù)字還在增加。與此同時，這些學習者們也為我們提供了教育科學的新視角。

　　從2013年開始，北大也加入了我們的平臺。在參加 HarvardX 課程的同時，學生同樣可以選修 PekingX 課程。從民俗和語法，到音樂和藥物發(fā)現(xiàn)，再到營養(yǎng)學和機器人，這些課程包羅萬象。

　　北大的聽課學生，因此增加了幾十萬人。更廣泛地共享知識的寶藏，是我對哈佛和其他所有高等院校的期望。我們能夠而且應(yīng)該用我們的卓越來幫助那些也許永遠沒有機會踏入我們校園的人們，讓他們的世界也變得更好。

　　偉大的大學意味著機會

　　最后，偉大的大學意味著機會。我的父母是作為難民來到美國的。我的父親幼年時為了逃離迫害從東歐移民美國。我的母親是奧斯維辛集中營的幸存者。

　　他們在飽經(jīng)喪亂之后遠渡重洋，通過自己的努力獲得了進學求知的機會。他們認識到教育在他們新的國家的重要性，并支持我升學深造。如果沒有他們的支持和教育的幫助，我今天不可能來到這里，和你們暢談我的感悟。

　　和無數(shù)其他人的經(jīng)歷一樣，上大學讓我能夠成功。我希望中國以及世界各地的青年們都能理解這樣一個簡單的道理：如果你想要有所成就，教育將幫你實現(xiàn)夢想。

　　我們的大學必須繼續(xù)堅持這些讓我們在歷史的長河中與眾不同的價值：真理，卓越，和機會。我們必須維護和強化我們之間的學術(shù)交流，讓我們能夠攜手共進、引領(lǐng)世界。

　　最后，我引用中國偉大的現(xiàn)代詩人阿布都熱依木·吾提庫爾的詩結(jié)束這次演講：

　　漫漫人生路上，我尋覓真理，

　　向往正義的途中，我苦思冥想。

　　我時時刻刻祈望著傾訴的機會，

　　用哪些充滿意義和魅力的詞語。

　　來吧，我的朋友們，

　　讓我們暢所欲言，各抒胸臆。

　　哈佛大學和北京大學正在共同的道路上前行。我們的師生們維系并拓展著我們的聯(lián)系，繼續(xù)探索研究，增進善意。讓我們繼續(xù)相互學習，在知識和智慧中成長!

　　再次感謝你們的熱情歡迎。來到北大是我的榮幸。愿我們兩校的師生在未來的對話中繼續(xù)暢所欲言，各抒胸臆。

　　演講英文原文：

　　Thank you, President Hao. Thank you, colleagues, students, and friends. It is an honor to be here at Peking University, and I am very grateful for the warm welcome you have given me. Please accept my congratulations on your recent 120th anniversary.

　　It is a special honor for me to visit you as you approach another anniversary, the centennial of the May Fourth Movement, a proud moment in your history that demonstrated to the world a deep commitment on the part of young Chinese to the pursuit of truth—and a deep understanding of the power of truth to shape the future. Even now, President Cai Yuanpei speaks to us. “Universities are places for grand learning,” he said. “They are grand because they follow the general principle of free thought.” Under his visionary leadership, tremendous intellectual exploration and dramatic social change were unleashed.

　　I join you today eager to learn more about one of the oldest universities in China—a university devoted to grand learning and free thought. My personal and professional travels have brought me to China many times. But it is truly extraordinary to experience this country and some of its great institutions as the president of Harvard University. Harvard and Beida share a deep and enduring commitment to higher education. We enjoy many strong connections and collaborations among our students and our faculty, who are generating knowledge that will change the world for the better—be it through art and architecture, through medicine and public health, or through engineering and environmental science. We should remember that that Cai Yuanpei not only led this university, but also helped to found the Academia Sinica, the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, and the China Academy of Art. His example reminds us of the power of both the arts and the sciences to elevate the human spirit and improve the human condition.

　　Harvard has long looked eastward for expertise and partnership. In 1879, Mr. Ge Kunhua traveled from Shanghai to Cambridge with his wife and six children to become Harvard’s first instructor in Mandarin Chinese. The volumes he carefully transported to our campus were Harvard’s first books in any Asian language, and they became the original holdings of the Harvard-Yenching Library. One hundred and forty years and more than 1.5 million volumes later, it is now the largest academic library for East Asian studies outside of Asia—and the third largest of the University’s dozens of libraries. Among its many digitized collections are Chinese women's writings of the Ming and Qing periods—an online archive that makes important materials from both Beida and Harvard accessible to scholars worldwide.

　　These tremendous resources are used by some of the more than three hundred faculty across Harvard who study China—the largest group at any American university. These scholars and teachers deepen and strengthen understanding of Chinese culture, history, religion, anthropology, sociology, law, education, public health, public policy, and business. Last month, in preparation for this trip, I joined some of them for lunch to learn more about their diverse scholarship. It was nothing short of an intellectual feast, and I was reminded of the tremendous value of studying China in all its complexity and of sharing knowledge of China with the wider world.

　　Of course, no one person can hope to accomplish as much as a team of people can. My university supports and amplifies the important work of our faculty through a variety of centers and institutes. The Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, the Harvard Asia Center, the Harvard China Fund: these initiatives have shaped how Harvard thinks about its engagement with China in every dimension—from teaching and research to exchange and collaboration. The oldest of these is the Harvard-Yenching Institute, which got its start right here on the grounds of the old Yenching University some 90 years ago, and which continues today to support the training of outstanding young Chinese scholars in every field. The Harvard Global Institute, the newest of our efforts, was launched four years ago to provide funding for small- and large-scale research projects, the majority of which are focused on China. Effective approaches and solutions to challenges posed by climate change, cybersecurity threats, and international relations will not be developed by a single university—or a single nation. Change and adaptation in these and other areas will require many people collaborating across schools, sectors, and societies, as well as governments.

　　For this reason, how we choose to nurture human and intellectual capital at this moment is extraordinarily consequential. At Harvard, we welcome to our campus individuals from around the world who we believe will make meaningful contributions to our community and to the wider world. This year, over 1,000 students and more than 1,000 scholars have joined us from China—the largest cohort from any nation. They are learning and working in every School at the University. We also have more than 2,500 alumni who call China home. If Ge Kunhua were to return to Cambridge today, no doubt he would be gratified to see that there are many Harvard professors who, like him, were born in China and are now teaching at the University; he would also be pleased, I think, to learn that Chinese is the second-most widely studied foreign language at Harvard.

　　The numbers and examples I have just shared communicate important and meaningful commitments, but they cannot fully capture what it means to be a member of a university community. Each interaction that unfolds, each relationship that blossoms on our campuses depends on both humility and hope—a willingness to say to others “I do not know,” to look in the same direction with them, and to imagine success—and risk failure—in the joint pursuit of knowledge. The work of discovery and innovation is messy and laborious. It requires creativity and imagination, but it mainly requires hard work. Excellence is never achieved easily—and nobody gets anywhere of consequence in this world on his or her own.

　　People who seek and generate knowledge share a special connection across time and that extends across space. I recall being a young faculty member at MIT in the late 1970s and witnessing a historic visit from a delegation of visiting scholars from China. Long separation had not weakened the bonds of affection among students and their teachers or faculty and their colleagues, some of whom had not seen each other for decades. They greeted one another as if they had been apart for only a short while and soon found themselves engaged again in areas of common interest. It was powerful evidence to me that universities can be sources of strength through tough economic, political, and social times.

　　I am also reminded of the first Pugwash Conference on Science and World Affairs. In 1957, as Cold War tensions mounted, twenty-two of the world’s eminent scientists gathered in Nova Scotia to discuss the development of thermonuclear weapons and the threat their use posed to civilization. Their collective work helped to pave the way for the Partial Test Ban Treaty of 1963 and the Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968, among other consequential agreements. There were twenty-two attendees—seven from the United States, three from the Soviet Union, three from Japan, two from the United Kingdom, two from Canada, and one each from Australia, Austria, China, France, and Poland. Professor Zhou Peiyuan, a physicist and the sole Chinese member of the group, later became president of this great institution and, in 1978, led a delegation that arranged for scholarly exchange between China and the United States. We owe thanks to people like Professor Zhou Peiyuan for their farsighted and courageous leadership and for putting peace and mutual understanding above all other considerations.

　　As I speak to you now, our governments are engaged in important and at times difficult discussions over a range of issues—and those discussions have implications that reverberate around the world. I believe that sustaining the bonds that join scholars across borders is of the utmost importance for all of us gathered here today—and for anyone who cares about the unique role that higher education plays in the lives of countless people.

　　It is at crucial times like these that leading universities have a special role to play. To be sure, Harvard is an American university, and Beida is a Chinese university. Our institutions have a responsibility to contribute positively to our own societies and to the national good, as well as to the world at large. But as universities we fulfill this charge precisely by embodying and defending academic values that transcend the boundaries of any one country. I spoke about some of those values when I delivered my inaugural presidential address in October. In the audience were hundreds of students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends from Harvard, as well as delegates from 220 colleges and universities from around the world. I thought I would share with you now some of the thoughts I shared then.

　　Great universities stand for truth, and the pursuit of truth demands perpetual effort. Truth has to be discovered, revealed through argument and experiment, tested on the anvil of opposing explanations and ideas. This is precisely the function of a great university, where scholars in every field and discipline debate and marshal evidence in support of their theories, as they strive to understand and explain our world.

　　This search for truth has always required courage, both in the sciences, where those who seek to shift paradigms have often initially met with ridicule, banishment, and worse, and in the social sciences, arts, and humanities, where scholars have often had to defend their ideas from political attacks on all sides.

　　It is no wonder, then, that transformational thought and action often take root on university campuses. Overturning conventional wisdom takes a remarkable amount of grit and determination, as well as a willingness to welcome contrary views and to risk being proved wrong. Great universities nurture these qualities. They are places where individuals are encouraged both to listen and to speak, where the value of an idea is discussed and debated—not suppressed or silenced.

　　If we stand for truth, we must appreciate diversity in every possible dimension. We must invite into our communities those people who challenge our thinking—and listen to them. Most of all, we must embrace the difficult task of being quick to understand and slow to judge.

　　I have been president of Harvard for less than a year. In that short span of time, no less than half a dozen controversial issues have arisen on our campus, generating impassioned discussions—and even some spirited arguments and public protests—among students, faculty, and staff, as well as alumni and friends of the University. Such arguments can cause discomfort. But they are signs of a healthy community and of active and engaged citizenship. In fact, it would be unusual and, frankly, unsettling if a semester went by without any episode of disagreement. When conflict does arise, it forces us to ask: What kind of community do we want to be? And that question sustains and strengthens us—and enriches our search for truth.

　　In many circumstances, my role as president is not to define the “correct” position of the University but to keep the channels of discussion open. From a distance, Harvard can appear to be a place that speaks in one voice. It is, in fact, a place of many voices. And one of the most important—and most difficult—of our tasks is to ensure that all members of the community feel empowered to speak their minds.

　　Changing our communities—changing the world—is our responsibility. One of the most popular classes at Harvard College is an ethical reasoning course called Classical Chinese Ethical and Political Theory—425 undergraduates took it last semester. When the professor who teaches the course was asked if he had any advice for students at Harvard, he said, and I quote, “The world we’re living in has been created by human activities, and if we’re not happy with the world we’re living in, it’s up to us to change it. Never fall into the danger of thinking this just is the way things are. The world is always changing.”

　　Great universities stand not just for truth, but for excellence. At my inauguration, I focused on the remarkable array of pursuits to which students and faculty apply their considerable talents. Brilliance is demonstrated not only in classrooms and laboratories, but also around dinner tables, on playing fields, and on the stage. Living and learning with others creates opportunities to change and grow, opportunities that may not exist in other contexts. It is important to embrace diversity because we learn from our differences. Universities would be dull places indeed if everyone shared the same backgrounds, interests, experiences, and ideas.

　　I am often asked to share the secret of Harvard’s excellence. Whatever we accomplish, we accomplish with the help of others. Without the world’s other excellent institutions of higher education to challenge and inspire us, without others to learn from and work with, we could not be nearly as successful as we are. The United States alone is home to some four thousand colleges and universities, and they are remarkably diverse. Some are devoted entirely to undergraduate education, others to undergraduate, graduate, and professional studies. Some are focused on a single academic area—art or music, for example—while others advance a wide variety of fields and disciplines. Each of them competes for talent and resources; all of them look to one another for examples of where and how they might improve.

　　Harvard is no exception. We learn from our neighbors near and far. We are exploring with partners at MIT the opportunities to improve access to our educational resources through technology. EdX, our joint online learning platform, is opening up educational opportunities to more than 18 million learners and counting. They, in turn, offered us new insights into the science of learning.

　　Along with HarvardX courses, such students take PekingX courses that have covered everything from folklore, grammar, and music to drug discovery, nutrition, and robotics since Beida joined our effort in 2013. You have reached hundreds of thousands more people than you would have otherwise. Sharing the riches of learning more broadly is one of my aspirations for Harvard and for all of higher education. Our excellence can—and should—help to make the world better for individuals who may never set foot on our campuses.

　　Finally, great universities stand for opportunity. My parents came to the United States as refugees. My father arrived as a child after escaping the pogroms of Eastern Europe. My mother survived the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz. As new immigrants in a foreign country, they saw clearly the importance of education and, having worked hard themselves to gain an education, encouraged me in my own studies. Without education, I would not be here today speaking with all of you. Attending college enabled my success, just as it has enabled the success of countless other people. I want to ensure that young people in China and every part of the world understand a simple truth: If you want to get ahead, education is the vehicle that will take you there.

　　Our institutions must continue to stand for those values which have distinguished us throughout our long histories: truth, excellence, and opportunity. And we must sustain and strengthen the collegial bonds that enable our work together on behalf of the entire world.

　　I wish to leave you today with the words of one of China’s great modern poets, Abdurehim Ötkür:

　　Along life’s road I have always sought truth,

　　In the search for verity, thought was always my guide.

　　My heart yearned without end for a chance of expression,

　　And longed to find words of meaning and grace.

　　Come, my friends, let our dialogue joyfully begin.

　　Harvard University and Peking University are on the same road together. We will continue to seek meaning and grace through relationships created and nurtured by our faculty and our students. May we continue to learn from one another and grow in knowledge and wisdom. Thank you, again, for welcoming me so warmly today. It has truly been an honor—and my pleasure. May our dialogue joyfully endure.

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