During my 10 years in Japan, I have made many Japanese friends. They showed sincere friendship with China and the Chinese people, and several of them had an indissoluble bond with China. Although I have been away from Japan for many years, I still maintain contact with these friends. My interactions with them make me deeply believe that in the trend of Sino-Japanese friendship for more than two thousand years, although there are sometimes some countercurrents, the friendly heat hidden in the hearts of the people of both countries is irresistible.
Japanese "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" expert
In the 1980s, I met Mr. Moriya, a well-known writer in Japan who studied Chinese classical literature, at a cocktail party. At that time, he was in his 50s, with bright eyes and looked much younger than his actual age. After a few short chats, I became interested in him. Although he is a scholar who studies Chinese classical literature, he combined the essence of Chinese classical literature with the management of Japanese companies and used the strategy of "The Three Kingdoms" to guide the business. What an interesting interview topic! I immediately made an interview request, and Mr. Moya happily agreed.
A few days later, I took a 2-hour tram from Tokyo to Mr. Moriya's studio in Matsudo City, Chiba Prefecture. What surprised me was that in this small studio, in addition to books, it was also books, and most of them were Chinese or Japanese versions of Chinese classical books. Needless to say, "The Three Kingdoms" is, " Zhenguan Zheng Yao ", " Sun Tzu's Art of War ", " Eighteen Histories ", " Caigen Tan " and other books are also available.
Moriya Yo graduated from Tokyo Metropolitan University and obtained a master's degree in Chinese literature. He is a scholar who studies Chinese literature and a diligent and prolific writer. The literature books he translated and wrote about China can be found everywhere in bookstores in Tokyo. Every year, I receive his works directly sent to me from a Japanese publishing house, and most of them are five or six. He also often attends invitations from large Japanese companies to teach senior leaders of the company, teaches how to use the essence of Chinese classical ideas to guide the business management of enterprises, and formulates the business strategy .
The author (first right) and Mr. Moriya (second right) and his family
At that time, Mr. Moriya talked about my questions. He said that Japan is a strictly managed society and many people feel so nervous that they can't breathe. When people come into contact with the heroes of the troubled times in "The Three Kingdoms", they can't help but be attracted by their strong personality. The current life-and-death competition between Japanese companies is very similar to the historical environment of the Three Kingdoms. From the success or failure of the Three Kingdoms figures, you can learn a lot of strategies and tactics to defeat the enemy in adversity, as well as the insight and decisiveness that a company leader should have. He said that the experience of organizational management can be learned from the Three Kingdoms. One is the balance between strictness and lenientness. As a corporate leader, it is not possible to lean towards either side. Only by mastering balance can you manage your subordinates well. The second is fairness and selflessness, which is the basis for gaining dependence among subordinates. Third, set an example, Kong Ming practiced it in this way. Mr. Moya talked for more than two hours, and I felt enlightened after hearing this, and at the same time, I deeply admired that as a Japanese, he could study Chinese traditional culture so thoroughly.
Monya Yoshiya gave a speech in Beijing
Time flies, and the Japanese economy has fallen into a period of economic recession after the collapse of the bubble economy in the late 1980s. However, the "Three Kingdoms fever" among the leadership of Japanese enterprises remains unchanged. At that time, major Japanese travel agencies organized middle-level and above cadres of the enterprise to travel to China every year. Mr. Moriya was hired as a lecturer to give on-site explanations at the important battlefield sites of the "Three Kingdoms" that year. Therefore, we also have the opportunity to meet frequently in Beijing. Mr. Moriya also gave a speech on Japan's "Three Kingdoms Hot" on China Asia-Africa Development Exchange Association, where the author is a director. Mr. Moriya has a clear view on China-Japan relations. He believes that if Japan does not reflect on the history of aggression, it will delay the next generation.Mr. Moya's wife, Ms. Ruiko, also has a deep affection for China. Every time her husband visits China, she strives for her companions. She made friends with several Chinese students in Japan, learning Chinese and Chinese cuisine from them.
Now, some of Mr. Moriya's works have been translated into Chinese and published in China. As a scholar who studies ancient Chinese strategies, he has participated in seminars held between China and Japan many times. His son also inherited his father's business and became a well-established researcher and writer of Chinese classical literature.
"Chinese fan" Mr. Takahashi
One day in early summer in 1992, a couple's wedding was being held at the top banquet hall of Beijing Hotel . The groom is a Japanese from Kochi Prefecture, Japan, and the bride is a Beijing girl. When the host announced the invitation of Mr. Takahashi to attend the wedding, he saw an old man over 70 years old suddenly kneeling down to everyone and said loudly to everyone that the war of aggression launched by Japan more than 50 years ago brought serious disasters to the Chinese people. As a Japanese, I want to take this opportunity to apologize to the Chinese people. After saying that, I shed tears excitedly.
This old man is Mr. Masaru Takahashi who has held honorary positions in several groups in China. I met Mr. Takahashi through a Japanese journalist in Japan. According to him, I was the first Chinese he knew from the mainland because he had only been to Taiwan, China before. Takahashi is the director of a Japanese hospital and has also held more than a dozen public offices. In 1990, he initiated the establishment of the China Research Association locally and served as president.
In 1986, I remember that there was a dispute between mainland China and Taiwan over the property rights of " Guanghualiao " in Japan and submitted it to the Japanese court for judgment. Takahashi and the reporter wrote a book titled "The Third Cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party", which believed that "Guanghualiao" should be granted to mainland China as the ruling party. For this reason, the Taiwanese authorities were very angry and threatened not to publish the book, but the book was published in the end. It is said that people from Taiwan will acquire all this book when they see it to reduce their impact on society.
In 1990, Mr. Takahashi's daughter Wen Hui, who worked as a doctor at Japan Medical University, was told that she had advanced gastric cancer. In order to let her daughter see the China where her father was in love, Takahashi and his wife visited the Great Wall in Beijing, Lijiang in Guilin, and Nanjing Road in Shanghai. Wen Hui was very satisfied with the trip. She wrote to me that she hadn't traveled with her parents for a long time, and this trip seemed to bring her back to the days when she was a child and reunion with her parents. A year later, Wen Hui passed away and she left behind a large number of medical books. In order to allow her daughter's medical books to continue to play a role in society, Mr. Takahashi decided to set up a "Wen Hui Library" in China. After contacting, Beijing Capital Medical College accepted Mr. Takahashi's kindness. In order to enrich the "Buddhic Library", Mr. Takahashi purchased another batch of new books in Japan. In May 1994, the "Wenhui Library" located in the Library of Capital Medical College was completed and a grand unveiling ceremony was held. The Takahashi and his wife and Wenhui's sisters and children all came to Beijing to attend. Mr. Takahashi was awarded the honorary professor by Capital Medical College. Mr. Takahashi said that whenever I see the books my daughter has used and plays a role in China, it is like seeing the daughter's life continue.
Mr. Takahashi has a strong interest in China and comes to China four or five times a year. He has visited China 51 times. I remember that before the Spring Festival a year, Takahashi suddenly called me from Kochi and said that he was coming to China for the New Year and asked me to help arrange the hotel and schedule. On New Year's Eve, I accompanied him to visit an ordinary family in China and had a New Year's Eve dinner with them. At that time, Beijing had not yet banned the setting of fireworks and firecrackers. The sound of firecrackers on New Year's Eve made Mr. Takahashi so excited that he never sleeps all night. Mr. Takahashi has a special liking for the hutongs in Beijing. When he came to Beijing several times, he rented a tricycle and took photos while wandering around the hutongs in Beijing. Later, he selected some excellent works and held an Beijing hutongs photography exhibition in Japan.
In recent years, Mr. Takahashi's exchanges with China have shifted from general friendly exchanges to actual economic exchanges. He set up a company in Japan, and most of the investors are members of the China Research Association. The first trade he engaged in was to ship wine imported from Qingdao to Japan. In addition, with Mr. Takahashi, Kochi Port and Qingdao Port reached an agreement on establishing friendly port relations.
Mori Kasumi and her husband
Ms. Mori Kasumi is a famous female calligrapher in Miyazaki City, Japan. She has known her for more than 40 years. During these 40 years, Mori and Feng have traveled between China and Japan, and built a friendly bridge for China and Japan through calligraphy.
Japanese calligrapher Mori Hefeng performed in her personal calligraphy exhibition in Shanghai
Mori Hefeng graduated from the fashion design major of Xianglan Girl College, but her yearning for Chinese calligraphy made her give up her original major and accompany her calligraphy for life. She studied under the famous Japanese calligrapher Jin Ziou Ting. Due to her aesthetic talent and diligence, she quickly formed her own unique style and started holding a personal calligraphy exhibition at the age of 29. Her works have been exhibited seven times by the highest level of calligraphy and painting exhibition in Japan. She now serves as an audit committee member of the "Daily Calligraphy Association", an audit committee member of the "Chuangxuan Calligraphy Association", an executive director of the Miyazaki Prefecture Japan-China Friendship Association, and a chairman of the Miyazaki Prefecture Japan-China Cultural Exchange Implementation Committee. She also founded the "Senhefeng Calligraphy Society", where she trained young calligraphers.
former Deputy Minister of Culture Liu Deyou (second from right) met with Mori Hoshi (second from left). The first from right is the author
I remember on September 9, 1976, the Japanese-China friendly delegation from Miyazaki Prefecture, where Mori Hoshi participated, visited Jilin. At this time, the bad news of Chairman Mao and the passing of the world came. All of our Chinese accompanying personnel were heartbroken, and at the same time, all visits were suspended. At first, because she didn't tell the Japanese, Ms. Mori didn't know what happened and thought she had done something wrong. After knowing the truth, she immediately expressed her condolences to us. According to the notice at that time, we immediately returned to Beijing and paid tribute to Chairman Mao’s remains in , the Great Hall of the People . This was Mori Hefeng's first visit to China, which left a deep impression on her and became the beginning of her future inseparable relationship with China.
In March 1984, Sen Hefeng held the "Sen Hefeng Calligraphy Art Exhibition" in Shanghai, which received the attention of the Shanghai Municipal Government and had a high evaluation. In March 1987, she held an exhibition of her personal calligraphy works in Zhaoqing City, Guangdong Province, and exchanged with the local calligraphy community; in October of the same year, an eight-person painting exhibition of "Little Grass Painting House" by the Foshan Painting Academy of the Chinese Artists Association was held in Miyazaki.
Mori Hefeng's husband Hiroji Mori was originally the principal of the primary school and retired at home. Due to the influence of his wife, Hiroji Mori became very interested in Chinese and China. When the Japan International Cooperation Group recruited volunteers sent to China, he actively signed up. In 1993, he finally got his wish and was sent to Harbin Water Conservancy Engineering College in China to serve as a Japanese teacher. In August of that year, Sen Hefeng accompanied her husband to Beijing and we met again at Friendship Hotel . On the day of departure, I took them onto the train. But a few days later, she received a letter from Sen Hefeng from Harbin, where she was admitted to the hospital due to a fractured calf. It turned out that after Sen and Feng arrived at Harbin Water Conservancy College, Sen and Feng happily rode their bicycles. Because the bicycle body in China was relatively high, she accidentally fell to the ground, resulting in a comminuted fracture of the calf. Since then, Sen Hefeng spent two unforgettable months at Harbin Medical University Affiliated Hospital . She received careful treatment from Chinese medical staff, and personally experienced the Chinese people's sentiment in the ward. She wrote her life in the hospital through her husband's pen and published it in the newspaper Miyazaki Hiri Shimbun, in her hometown. Among them, one article said that Sen Hefeng usually folded her long hair on her head. After the fracture, she could not shampoo her hair by herself. The hospital specially hired a beautician to shampoo her. This group of reports has been serialized 6 times in total, titled "Senhefeng's Harbin Newsletter".
A year later, in order to thank the Chinese people who helped and cared for her during the treatment, Mori Hefeng led a cultural exchange visiting China group composed of 20 Japanese cultural figures to visit Harbin, and held the "Japanese and Chinese Calligraphy Exchange Conference", "Japanese and Chinese Ballroom Dance Performance Conference" and "Japanese Folk Dance Performance" in the local area.
The above Japanese friends are representatives of many Japanese friends I have met. The stories they have happened with China and the Chinese people are a microcosm of the friendship jointly cultivated by the people of China and Japan under the background of Eastern civilization. The history of more than two thousand years has fully proved that folk friendship has always been a solid foundation and source of strength for China-Japan friendship. In the profound evolution of the current century-long changes, in order to achieve the healthy and stable development of China-Japan relations, the people of the two countries should share the benefits brought by peaceful cooperation, and strengthen exchanges between the two sides and cultivate a soil for friendship between the two countries.
Xu Qixin
After graduating from the Department of Eastern Languages of Peking University in 1974, he worked in the Cultural Office of the Chinese Embassy in Japan. Since the 1980s, he has served as the chief reporter of " China Youth Daily " and " Wenhui Daily " in Japan. After 2005, he served as Secretary-General and Vice President of the Chinese Society for the History of China-China Relations and is currently an advisor. He has served as an adjunct professor at Tongji University, Zhejiang Business University, , and Hainan University, .
Edited by Shen Xiaoning
