He Jiang, first Chinese student to speak at Harvard’s commencement

A student from Central China's Hunan province will become the first Chinese student to deliver a commencement speech at Harvard University on May 26, 2016.

5月26日，一名来自于湖南省的中国学生将要站在哈佛大学毕业典礼的讲台上作为毕业生代表发言，他是哈佛毕业演讲代表的首位中国学生。

He Jiang, a doctoral student in biology at the university, was chosen by the prestigious university as the only representative of postgraduates at the commencement, China Youth Daily reported on Wednesday. Director Steven Spielberg will also give a speech at the commencement.

根据中国青年报上周二的报道，该名学生名为何江，是哈佛大学生物系博士毕业生，是今年哈佛毕业演讲选出来的唯一的研究生代表。当天，与他同台演讲的特邀嘉宾将是著名导演史蒂芬·斯皮尔伯格。

Accorded the highest honor by the university, He, who was born in a village in Hunan province, said: "People living in Chinese villages often believe that it's useless to study and children from humble families cannot be successful in their careers. However, I cannot agree with those opinions," he told the Daily.

这相当于哈佛大学给予毕业生的最高荣誉。出生于湖南省的一个小村庄的何江说："现在乡村逐渐流行读书无用论，认为寒门很难再出贵子。这样的观点让我觉得挺无奈的，"他告诉中国青年报。

He added: "Education can change a person's life as it can bring a person from one world to another world. I hope my experience can encourage the rural students to pursue their studies and realize their dream."

他补充说："教育能够改变一个人的生活轨迹，能够把一个人从一个世界带到另一个不同的世界。我希望我的成长经历，能给那些还在路上的农村学生一点鼓励，让他们看到坚持的希望。"

"His speech will give the graduating class a different perspective," said Judith Huang, a Harvard graduate, "I think it's particularly brave for him, since most Chinese students are unlikely to do public speaking, and it's also really tough to get selected to make a commencement speech."

"他的演讲将向这一届的毕业生呈现一个全新的视角，"哈佛的一名毕业生朱迪斯说，"我认为他特别勇敢，因为大部分的中国学生不大可能做公共演讲，被选为毕业典礼代表真的很难。"

According to He, his parents in the small village always encouraged him to study hard.

根据何江所述，他在农村的父母一直都鼓励他努力学习。

Unlike many other families in his village, his parents never thought about finding a job in big cities like their counterparts and leaving their two sons at home without their care.

不像村里的其他家庭，他的父母从未想过要和其他人那样去城里打工，丢下两个儿子不管不顾。

"Though my father didn't finish high school, he kept telling stories to my younger brother and me," said He. In the man's memory, father's stories are all supportive of hard work.

"即便父亲连高中都没念完，但是他总是给我和弟弟讲故事，"何江说。在他的记忆里，几乎父亲所有的故事，都是一个主题——好好学习。

He's father was strict with his sons' studies. He and his younger brother studied inside their home, while the other boys in the village played in the fields. "At that time, I felt my father was very 'inhuman'. But now I realize that's the best choice he made in that rural environment," He said, according to the report.

何父对两个儿子的学习非常严格。当其他小孩在村里的田间玩耍时，他和弟弟待在家里学习，"那时觉得爸爸很‘霸蛮'。但现在想想，这是农村环境下的最佳选择,"他在接受采访时说。

Unlike his strict father, his mother took her sons' side when her husband criticized the boys. Though his mother was illiterate, she preferred to sit with her sons when they studied rather than gossip with other women in the village.

与严格的父亲相比，当父亲批评他们时，他的母亲则站在儿子们这一边。湖南农村的妇女，在农闲时通常喜欢聚集在一起唠家常，但是文化水平不高的何母则更喜欢陪着两个儿子一起学习。

He remembers that he and his younger brother liked telling stories from their books to their mother and discussing them with her. The childhood experience made the boys keen to study hard.

他还记得，他和弟弟总是喜欢将课本上的故事讲给母亲听，并和她讨论。童年的经历让这两个男孩学习更加刻苦。

He says his mother's encouraging style is exactly the same as the habit in American culture.

他说，母亲的循循善诱与自己如今正在接触的美国文化有着异曲同工之妙。

"During my first days in Harvard, I often felt puzzled when my tutor encouraged me to try all my suggestions," said He, according to the Daily.

何对中国青年报说："我刚来美国时很不习惯，不管提什么建议，导师都说可以试试看。"

Encouraging others is embodied in American's daily lives, he said. Nobel Prize winners or distinguished people are used to encouraging the younger generations and letting the youth feel that they have promising futures.

他说，鼓励他人已经植根于美国人的日常生活中。无论是诺贝尔奖得主，还是其他"牛人"，都会习惯性地给予年轻人鼓励，让你觉得 "前途宽广"。

He said that the opportunity to speak at the commencement would not have happened without Professor Diana Eck's encouragement.

他说，没有美国教授戴安娜·埃克的鼓励，他不可能有机会在哈佛毕业典礼上演讲。

"The professor told me you can have a try if you think you can speak at the commencement," said the young man, who was afraid to apply for the chance as very few Chinese students had applied before, the paper quoted him.

哈佛毕业典礼的演讲，每年只有极少数的中国学生敢于申请，他此前也不敢报名。"教授告诉我，你只要觉得可以，就去试试，"中国青年报引用他的话。

After beating three students from Harvard Kennedy School in the third and final round, the Chinese student got the chance to realize his idea of letting his counterparts hear the voice from China.

在第三轮，也是最后一轮的竞争中，他打败了来自哈佛肯尼迪学院的三名毕业生，赢得了让美国的大学生听听来自中国的声音的机会。

About the upcoming speech at the commencement, He said he will introduce the development of traditional Chinese medicine in the rural area of China. Based on this introduction, "I want all Harvard students to think about the uneven distribution of science and technologies in modern world, and realize the social responsibilities they should undertake," said He to the Daily.

何说，他将在演讲中介绍中医在中国农村发挥的作用。基于此，"我想要所有的哈佛学生来思考科技知识和技术在社会上分布的不均衡，并了解到他们应该承担的社会责任。"

He plans to go to Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a postdoctoral research fellow after graduating from Harvard University.

哈佛博士毕业后，何江将赴麻省理工学院进行博士后研究。