会通中外启新程，砺志敦材再出发
——在2025级新生开学典礼上的讲话
秦和
Integrating Chinese and Global Perspectives to Open a New Chapter
--Speech at the Opening Ceremony for the Class of 2025
Qin He
亲爱的同学们、老师们：
Dear students and faculty,
大家上午好！
Good morning,
初秋的校园，浓荫叠翠，风清气爽。在这个满载收获和希望的季节，我们齐聚于此，隆重举行2025级新生开学典礼。在此，我代表学校，对同学们的到来表示热烈的欢迎！向受到表彰的先进集体和个人表示由衷的祝贺！
As early autumn graces our campus with fresh breezes, we gather together to celebrate the Opening Ceremony for the Class of 2025. On behalf of the university, I extend a hearty welcome to all new students and warm congratulations to the distinguished groups and individuals receiving commendations.
同学们，当你们踏入大学的殿堂，可曾思考过这些问题：大学究竟是什么？大学肩负着什么样的使命？上大学对个人意味着什么？这不仅是每一位大学生都应当认真思考的命题，更需要用实际行动去回答。对于“什么是大学”，许多古代先贤和近现代学者都进行了不同阐释。儒家经典《礼记·大学》开篇即开宗明义：“大学之道，在明明德，在亲民，在止于至善。”北大老校长蔡元培先生曾言：“大学者，研究高深学问者也。”古今中外关于大学的论述还有很多，尽管表述各有侧重，但核心都指向这一社会组织的知识属性与价值诉求。可以说，无论时代如何变迁，大学始终是知识传承的阵地、人才培养的摇篮，更是孕育新思想、推动文明进步的高地。对你们而言，大学是一段极其珍贵的成长历程。通过大学的学习，你们将系统掌握专业知识，将接受思想的浸润，将锤炼德行、锻造意志、完善人格，为终身发展奠基。
Students, as you step into university, have you ever considered these questions? What, after all, is a university? What missions does a university bear? And what does attending university mean for each individual? These are not only questions for you to ponder but also ones that call for answers through concrete actions. As to “what is a university”, many sages and modern scholars alike have offered their own interpretations. The Confucian classic The Book of Rites, in its chapter “The Great Learning”, opens with a dictum, “The way of Great Learning lies in manifesting illustrious virtue, in bringing the people into harmony, and in attaining the highest good.” Cai Yuanpei, the former president of Peking University, once said, “A university is an institution devoted to advanced scholarship.” Across times and cultures, there have been many reflections on the nature of the university. Though their emphases differ, they converge on the university’s essential attributes as a community of knowledge and its enduring pursuit of value. It is fair to say that, whatever the changes of the age, the university remains a stronghold for the transmission of knowledge, a cradle for the cultivation of talent, and a harbor for nurturing new ideas and advancing human civilization. For you, university is an exceptionally precious journey of growth. Through your studies here, you will systematically master your discipline, be nourished by ideas, temper your character, forge your will, and refine your person, ultimately laying a solid foundation for lifelong development.
亲爱的同学们，今天对于吉外来说，也是一个特殊的日子。30年前的今天，我怀揣着为改革开放培养高素质外语外事人才的梦想，开启了艰苦卓绝的办学历程。永远也忘不了，创业当天，尽管只有三块七毛八的收入，但我仍然坚信一定能够克服重重困难办出一所高水平大学。这份信念，30年来始终不变，它来自对教育理想的坚守，来自对改革开放时代大势的洞察，更来自无数志同道合者的勠力同心、携手前行。回望30年的办学历程，从最初的筚路蓝缕，到如今的桃李芬芳，学校始终坚持公益性办学、坚持走非营利性办学道路；始终秉持“一切为了学生成人、成才、成功”的办学理念和“以学生为中心，办最负责任教育”的教育理念，践行“学好外国语，做好中国人，讲好中国故事”的育人理念，着力肩负起为国家和社会培养德才兼备的优秀人才的重任和使命。
Dear students, today is also a special day for Jilin International Studies University. On this very day thirty years ago, I embarked on an arduous journey to found our institution, driven by a dream to cultivate high-caliber professionals in foreign languages and international affairs for the cause of reform and opening up. I will never forget that on the very first day of this venture, our income was a mere RMB3.78 yuan. Even so, I was convinced that we could overcome every obstacle and build a high-level university. That conviction has not even wavered a bit over the past three decades. It springs from a steadfast commitment to the ideals of education, from a keen understanding of the great trend of reform and opening up, and, above all, from the concerted efforts of countless like-minded companions who have worked shoulder to shoulder. Looking back on these thirty years--from the rough, pioneering beginnings to the flourishing achievements of today--our university has consistently upheld the public-welfare nature of education and adhered to a non-profit path. We have steadfastly embraced the philosophy of “everything for students to grow, to excel, and to succeed”, and the educational creed of “delivering the most responsible and student-centered education”. We have practiced the guiding ideal of “master foreign languages, be true to our identity as Chinese, and tell China’s stories well”, and we have committed ourselves to the solemn mission of cultivating outstanding talent of both virtue and ability for our country and society.
30年来，这里见证了一代代学子的成长与蜕变，也记录了无数教育工作者的坚守与奉献，更创造了我国民办高等教育发展史上的奇迹。学校经过勠力拼搏、团结奋斗，在全国创造了多个第一或唯一，先后成为第一所获批硕士学位授予单位的民办高校、唯一一所省重点建设高校、唯一一所更名为大学的民办高校，第一批获评全国文明校园的民办高校，先后入选吉林省特色高水平应用型大学A类建设单位和博士学位A+立项建设高校，连续6年位居软科中国民办大学排行榜第一。去年，省委书记黄强同志莅临学校调研指导，称赞“吉林有这样一所好学校，是吉林的自豪和骄傲”。进入新世纪，四任教育部部长均莅临学校调研指导工作，对学校事业发展给予充分肯定。教育部评估专家组高度评价学校：“这是一所有境界、有品位、有追求、讲究修养、很阳光、很有定力的民办大学，是全国民办高校的一面旗帜”。可以说，学校已成为我国民办高等教育跨越式发展的见证者、推动者和重要引领者。
Over the past thirty years, this campus has witnessed generations of students as they have grown and transformed; it has also recorded the steadfast dedication of many educators, and it has created miracles in the history of the development of China’s private higher education. Through united and unremitting efforts, our university has achieved multiple national “firsts” and “uniques”. We became the first private university in the country to be approved to confer master’s degrees; the only private institution designated as a provincial key university; the only private institution to be renamed a “university”; among the first cohort of private universities to be recognized as a National Civilized Campus; and the the university has been selected as a Class-A institution for the construction of “distinctive, high-level, application-oriented universities” in Jilin Province and as an A+ cultivation university for doctoral-degree program; and we have ranked No. 1 on the Shanghai Ranking of China’s private universities for six consecutive years. Last year, Secretary Huang Qiang of the CPC Jilin Provincial Committee visited our university for research and guidance, remarking, “Having such a fine university in Jilin is the province’s pride and joy.” Since the turn of the century, four successive ministers of education have come to our campus to conduct on-site visits and offer guidance, giving full recognition to our progress. The Ministry of Education’s evaluation panel also praised JISU as “a private university with vision, taste, aspiration, cultivation, warmth, and great composure--an exemplar among private universities nationwide”. It is fair to say that our university has become a witness to, a driving force behind, and a pioneer of the leapfrog development of private higher education in China.
今天，我们站在新的起点上，既感怀过去的辉煌历程，更憧憬未来的宏伟蓝图。我们将坚定不移地践行公益精神，聚力二次创业，建设六大高地，全面建成精品、非营利、应用型、国际化、特色鲜明的高水平外国语大学。我希望，通过一代代吉外人的努力，将学校办成百年名校，为教育强国建设作出新的更大贡献！
Today, as we stand at a new starting point, we honor our glorious past while envisioning an promising future. We will unswervingly uphold the public-welfare spirit, rally our strength for the renewed entrepreneurial endeavor, and build six strategic high grounds--striving to complete the comprehensive development of a high-caliber foreign studies university that is premium in quality, non-profit in nature, application-oriented, international in vision, and distinctive in character. It is my hope that, through the efforts of generations of JISUers, we will build this institution into a century-old renowned university and make new, greater contributions to the cause of building China into an education powerhouse.
同学们，你们是学校进入而立之年迎来的第一批学生。对你们而言，既是一种幸运，更是一份责任。青春之吉外，寄希望于青春的你们，也将为你们的成长成才提供坚实的保障。在这里，我提3点希望，与同学们共勉。
Students, as the first cohort to arrive as JISU ushers in its thirtieth year, you carry both blessings and mission. JISU entrusts its hopes to you and will at the same time be your strong backing as you grow. Here, let me offer three hopes, that we may inspire one another.
第一，希望你们坚定理想信念。理想是人生的灯塔，更是照亮前路的星辰。它越是崇高，人生便越有方向、越有分量。同学们，当你们进入大学，年富力强，青春意气，人生正当年，未来有无限可能。在这样的美好韶华，离不开理想信念的指引。当然，每位同学的先天禀赋、所生活的家庭环境、对未来职业的预期等各不相同，理想不尽一致。但无论你们学习任何专业、将来从事任何工作，都要登高望远，敢攀高峰。无论你们确立任何职业理想，都要树立正确的世界观、人生观、价值观。同学们，习近平总书记殷切寄语：“国家的希望在青年，民族的未来在青年。”你们的人生黄金期，恰好与我国全面建设社会主义现代化国家的关键时期高度重合。这既是难得的人生际遇，更是沉甸甸的时代责任。希望你们将个人的理想与党和国家的需要紧密结合，深入思考个人的成长与国家和社会的关系，立志为国家繁荣和民族复兴贡献力量。
First, I hope you will hold fast to your ideals and convictions. Ideals are the lighthouse of life, and the stars that illuminate your path. The higher the ideal, the clearer your direction and the greater your purpose. As you enter university--vigorous in youth, brimming with vitality, standing at the prime of life--the future holds infinite possibilities. In the prime of your time, you cannot do without the guidance of ideals and beliefs. Of course, each of you differs in innate endowment, family background, and expectations for your future career, and your ideals will not be identical. Yet whatever major you pursue and whatever work you take up, you must aim high and dare to scale new heights. Whatever professional goals you set, you should establish a correct worldview and values. As General Secretary Xi Jinping has earnestly reminded us, “The hope of the country lies in its youth, and the future of the nation rests with its youth.” Your golden years align with the pivotal period in which our country is advancing comprehensive socialist modernization. This is a great responsibility of the times. I hope you will closely align your personal aspirations with the needs of the Party and the nation, think deeply about the relationship between your own growth and the country and society, and resolve to contribute to national prosperity and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
第二，希望你们提升综合素养。“立身以立学为先，立学以读书为本”。大学是你们成长的关键期，更是你们成长的黄金地。当前，新一轮科技革命和产业变革，奔涌而来的AI技术，正以前所未有的速度重塑着世界格局，深刻改变人们的生产、生活、学习方式。面对学习形式和学习要求的变化，希望同学们尽快完成角色转变，明确目标定位，科学做好成长规划。既要深耕专业领域，也要主动打破学科壁垒，在交叉融合中培养“跨界思考”能力，让知识网络更具韧性与活力。同学们，大学的价值，更在于培养“终身学习”的能力。这需要你们保持好奇，敢于质疑经典，勇于探索未知；需要你们投身实践，将课堂所学转化为解决实际问题的能力，在科研项目、社会服务中锤炼本领；更需要你们关注趋势，从国际动态到社会变迁，从技术前沿到文化思潮，让全球视野与跨文化能力成为你们成长的“双翼”。只有这样，你们才能在未来的竞争中立于不败之地。外语学习赋予你们的，不仅是过硬的专业本领，更是理解多元文化的视角。希望你们将外语学习中沉淀的文化感知力，与AI技术培养的逻辑分析力深度融合，主动适应“人机同频”的未来趋势，努力成为“会语言、通文化、精技术、有思想”的高层次、高素质、应用型、复合型、外向型人才，在国际舞台上为民族发声、为国家服务。
Second, I hope you will enhance your all-round competence. “To establish oneself, one must first establish learning; to establish learning, one must take reading as the foundation.” University is a critical period--and indeed a golden stage--for your growth. Today, a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, propelled by the surging tide of AI, is reshaping the global landscape at an unprecedented pace and profoundly changing how we work, live, and learn. In the face of new modes and demands of learning, I hope you will quickly complete the transition in your role, define clear goals and positioning, and craft a scientific plan for your development. You should both cultivate deep expertise in your discipline and proactively break down disciplinary boundaries, developing a capacity for “cross‑boundary thinking” through interdisciplinary integration, so that your knowledge network becomes more resilient and vibrant. Remember, the greater value of university lies in fostering the capacity for “lifelong learning”. This calls for you to stay curious, to dare to question the classics, and to venture into the unknown; to immerse yourselves in practice, transforming what you learn in the classroom into the ability to solve real-world problems and honing your skills through research projects and public service; and, even more, to keep your eyes on the trends--from international developments to social change, from the technological frontier to cultural currents--so that a global vision and cross-cultural competence become the “twin wings” of your growth. Only then can you remain invincible in the competitions of the future. What language study gives you is not only solid professional expertise, but also a lens for understanding diverse cultures. I hope you will deeply integrate the cultural sensibility cultivated through foreign-language learning with the logical analytic power fostered by AI, proactively adapting to a future of “human-machine coordination”. Strive to become high-level, high-quality, application-oriented, compound, and globally engaged talent--proficient in languages, conversant with cultures, skilled in technology, and thoughtful in outlook--so that you may speak for our nation on the international stage and serve our country with distinction.
第三，希望你们坚持厚德笃行。“成人成才，立德为先。”在这个蕴含无限可能性的人工智能时代，人类的部分智慧能够被模拟，甚至被超越，然而“道德的光辉、人性的温度以及对公平正义的追求”却是人工智能无法取代的，希望你们将崇德置于为人处世的首要地位，去追寻更具高度、更具境界、更具品位的人生。同学们，奋斗的道路不会一帆风顺，但只要心中有光，便无惧黑暗。每一次挫折都是成长的契机，每一段困境都是磨砺的课堂。希望你们在面对挑战时，能够始终保持坚韧不拔的意志和乐观向上的心态，用行动诠释责任与担当。同时，也要学会与他人携手同行，在团队中汲取力量，在合作中实现共赢。更要坚持“天下大事必从细而做”，养成“严、精、细、实”的作风。同学们，人生的精彩，不在于事业的成就，更在于内心的丰盈；真正的成功，不在于显性的标签，更在于实现自我并超越自我的过程。同学们，所有理想的落地，都离不开“脚踏实地”四个字。真正能走得远的，永远是那些能沉下心、扎稳根的人。脚踏实地绝非安于现状，而是要围绕目标持续努力、循序渐进，积小胜为大胜。希望你们把“脚踏实地”刻进大学时光，以务实的精神深耕自己，用点滴努力，铺就通往理想的道路。
Third, I hope you will uphold virtue and pursue steadfast action. “To become an accomplished person, one must first cultivate virtue.” In this age of artificial intelligence brimming with possibilities, certain aspects of human intelligence can be simulated--even surpassed. Yet the “radiance of morality, the warmth of our humanity, and the pursuit of fairness and justice” can never be replaced by AI. I urge you to place moral excellence at the forefront of how you conduct yourselves in the world, and to seek a life of greater height, deeper realm, and finer taste. Students, the path of striving is rarely a smooth sail, but so long as you carry light in your heart, you need not fear the darkness. Every setback is an opportunity for growth; every hardship, a classroom for tempering your character. I hope that, when confronted with challenges, you will always maintain unwavering perseverance and an optimistic, upward-looking mindset, and that you will embody responsibility and commitment through concrete actions. At the same time, learn to work alongside others, harness the strength of your team and achieve shared success through collaboration. Above all, hold fast to the principle that “great endeavors begin with meticulous work”, and cultivate a work style that is rigorous, precise, attentive, and practical. Students, the splendor of life lies not in outward achievements, but in the richness of the heart; true success is not in visible labels, but in the process of realizing and surpassing oneself. Remember, every ideal is grounded in down-to-earth effort. The ones who go far are the ones who stay focused and build strong foundations. Being down-to-earth means sustained, goal-oriented efforts--progressing step by step and turning small victories into great ones. I hope you will engrave “being down-to-earth” into your university years, cultivate yourselves with a spirit of pragmatism, and pave the road toward your ideals through steady, day-by-day efforts.
同学们，道阻且长，行则将至；行而不辍，未来可期。从此刻起，你们将正式开启人生的新篇章。故事的开端，是你们乘风而至；故事的结尾，希望是顶峰相见。校长会在那里守候每一个诚意赴约、驭风登顶的人！最后，衷心希望你们恪守“会通中外，砺志敦材”的校训，珍惜大学宝贵时光，全面塑造无可替代的自己，努力实现属于你们的人生梦想，谱写属于你们的青春华章！
Students, the road is long and the way hard; set out, and you will arrive; persevere, and it pays off. From this moment, you open a new chapter of your lives. Let the story begin with you riding the wind to our shores, and may it conclude with our meeting again at the summit. I will be here, awaiting each of you who keeps the appointment with sincerity and rides the wind to the peak. In closing, I sincerely hope you will honor our motto “Communicate across words and cultures and forge strong will for solid souls”. Cherish your life in college, shape an irreplaceable, well-rounded self, and strive to realize your life’s dreams as you compose a splendid chapter of youth that is uniquely your own.
同学们，9月20日，我们将迎来建校30周年的盛事，让我们一起共襄盛典、分享荣光！
Dear students, on September 20th, we will celebrate JISU’s 30th anniversary. Let us come together to mark this milestone and share in the honor and joy of the occasion!
谢谢大家！
Thank you!
初审：邹超男
复审：王瑜
终审：张景成
