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Some people say: where there is the sun, there are China people, and where there are China people, there are Hakkas; Others say: where there is sunshine, there are Hakkas; Where there is a piece of land, there are Hakkas who live in groups, work hard and reproduce.
Hakka people travel around the world, emigrate to the world, and there are many successful people in overseas business circles, so they are called "Oriental Jews". As the president of the World Hakka Association, Wu Boxiong, chairman of the Kuomintang, is a well-known figure in the hearts of the world's Hakkas.
This Hakka tycoon, who is nearly 70 years old and has been in politics in Taiwan Province Province for more than 30 years, is the leader who directly led the Kuomintang to win the election in Taiwan Province Province in 2008 and a close friend of Lien Chan, honorary chairman of the Kuomintang. His outstanding military exploits and deep connections have laid a solid foundation for his political weight in Taiwan Province Province. However, he has a deep Hakka complex in his heart.
After eight years, Wu Boxiong took the opportunity to attend the Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing. On August 14, I returned to Sixian Village, Xiayang Town, Yongding County, Fujian Province to pay homage to my ancestors, and visited the Hakka Tulou, which was listed as a world cultural heritage a month ago. Here, he accepted a joint interview with our reporter and the host of Southeast TV.
Save Hakka dialect
Window to the South: President Wu has been devoted to Hakka affairs. Now there is a problem that Hakka dialect is declining year by year. According to statistics, Hakka is considered to be one of the fastest declining languages on earth. How to face this situation?
Wu Boxiong: It's true. In the past 20 years, the number of people who can speak Hakka in the world has decreased from more than 60 million to less than 30 million. The loss rate is amazing. It is our responsibility to preserve the multilingual cultural resources of all mankind, and Hakka dialects are worth preserving. I have always called on the Hakka people to work hard together, strengthen communication and use their influence to keep the Hakka dialect from being lost.
Once, my son brought a classmate from Hsinchu Kansai to my home. I asked him if he was a Hakka and could speak Hakka. The young man replied, "My parents are, I don't know if it counts, but I can't speak Hakka."
According to the data of "Investigation on Hakka Identity and Mother Tongue Use in Greater Taipei" of Taiwan Province Hakka Affairs Public Association, Hakka dialect has retreated into the language used by families. The usage and fluency of the new generation of Hakkas are declining. Among the intermarried families of different language families, only the families where both husband and wife are Hakkas have a higher usage rate of Hakka. As for the workplace, Hakka dialect has almost completely lost its social function, and the Hakka ethnic group is indeed facing a language crisis.
Window to the South: Is it true that Hakkas are not loyal to their mother tongue?
Wu Boxiong: With this question, I dare not speak my Hakka loudly in public. Even people in the same place often talk in Mandarin. I don't want to speak Hakka if my accent is slightly different. Dialects cannot exist stably on TV, and schools are not proud of Hakka. No wonder Hakka dialect will face today's survival crisis. Don't always think that Hakka dialect will not disappear. We should have a sense of crisis. We should make joint efforts to let the younger generation of Hakkas understand and inherit Hakka culture.
Feel the charm of tulou
Nan Chuang: It is said that you have deep feelings for the tulou in your hometown. After Fujian Tulou successfully declared the World Cultural Heritage in July this year, you specially called to congratulate.
Wu Boxiong: I really feel the charm of tulou. Tulou is a unique architectural form of Hakkas, which embodies the cultural essence of Hakkas. It is not only about architecture, but the ethics and culture it represents are the most precious. Hundreds of people living in a building must have a deep way to get along, and a lot of ethics and rules can make everyone live together peacefully and happily. Therefore, it represents the cultural spirit of Hakka people to persuade relatives to be kind and help each other.
After successfully applying for the World Cultural Heritage last month, I want to visit Fujian. However, because I was invited to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games at the same time, I merged the two trips into one. To this end, I personally drafted a telegram to congratulate my hometown. I mean: "Looking back at Yongding, in order to make the cultural heritage of our Hakka ancestors recognized by the world, we started the application for the heritage of Tulou from 199 8. After ten years of hard work, I can finally achieve this result, which is gratifying! " On the occasion of the Tulou Cultural Festival held in Fujian, I also sent a congratulatory message on the topic of "Promoting Hakka Spirit and Developing Traditional Culture".
Window of the South: Your wife, Ms. Dai Meiyu, sang Hakka folk songs in the earth building during a field trip?
Wu Boxiong: (Laughter) When we visited Chengqi Building and Qiaofu Building, the villagers gave us wonderful performances. Li Tiansheng, the 82-year-old king of Hakka folk songs, sang the Hakka folk song Brothers Out of Nanyang, and the familiar local accent moved us. When I was excited, my wife sang a flat Hakka folk song live, and the villagers gave me warm applause.
After reading these two buildings, I also wrote "Fujian Tulou King" at the wish of the villagers, and planted a camphor tree in front of the Tulou, implying that our Hakka culture is "deeply rooted and leafy".
Praise "clearing the fields and reading in the rain"
Nan Chuang: It's a short journey home, but you still went to Sixian Primary School in the village and donated piano, violin and RMB 65,438+10,000 to the school. You encouraged the teachers and students present to say: We Hakkas have a famous saying, which is called "plowing and reading in the rain". We Hakkas have a tradition of farming and reading, and the future of the two sides depends on our children. You said that hearing children's songs at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games made you feel this way more.
Wu Boxiong: I'm really in the mood. Chongwen attaches great importance to education, farming and reading are handed down from one family to another, and Hakka people pay special attention to scholars. In the eyes of Hakkas, the only way to change the status quo is to study in the rain, be the top scholar in reading and take the road of official career. Only by studying can we realize the dream of "being a Tian Shelang and an emperor at dusk", join the ranks of officials, and realize their ideals of self-cultivation, keeping the family in order, governing the country and leveling the world. Therefore, no matter how difficult the family is, even if it is begging, it is necessary for children to study.
Pay attention to clan concept, be grateful to ancestors and land, and do not forget to give back to the land that raised them after learning. The witness of Hakka's "loyalty and filial piety" is the proverb that "a first-class loyal minister is a dutiful son, and a second-class farmer is a family heirloom" and "wool is a sergeant". Hakka people's simple spirit of "respecting heaven and ancestors" has always been admired by people in Chinese communities and other ethnic communities.
Nan Chuang: Eight years ago, you went back to your hometown in Yongding County for the first time, saying that it was to realize your father's long-cherished wish. It can be said that your family's gratitude for the ancestral land and Hakka clan concept are naturally revealed.
Wu Boxiong: There is also this factor. My 97-year-old father, who died, has been thinking about going back to his hometown to worship his ancestors. On June 5438+065438+ 10, 2000, I took advantage of the opportunity of the World Hakka Congress held in Longyan to return to Yongding County for the first time to pay a New Year call, and finally my father's last wish was fulfilled. When I came back this time, I saw the heartfelt welcome from the villagers. I really want to go home, and I am still very touched. Maybe this is the power of Zuting.
Everyone has the idea of seeking roots, which is the embodiment of Hakka culture caring for relatives and neighbors and not forgetting roots. Although I have moved to the island for four generations, Wu's genealogy in Taiwan Province Province and Yongding's genealogy are linked together, which makes me very excited and have a sense of belonging. Next time, I will bring my son and grandson back so that they won't forget the land of their ancestors.
Highlight the role of guests
Nan Chuang: Some people say that you embody a typical Hakka character. What does this character contain?
Wu Boxiong: I haven't thought about it seriously, but I think there are elements such as perseverance, unity, pragmatism and flexibility in the Hakka character.
The most famous character of this Hakka overseas is Lee Kuan Yew. Lee Kuan Yew's ancestors were also Hakkas and went from Fujian in his early years. There are many Hakkas among overseas Chinese in Nanyang. They are in adversity, they must survive first and develop second, so they are tenacious, but they are also pragmatic and flexible.
Window to the South: At that time, under your persuasion, Ma Ying agreed to run for mayor of Taipei. In February, 2007, Ma Ying resigned as the party chairman because of the special expenses case. At the most critical moment of the Kuomintang, although you were far away from the political psychology Buddha, you returned to the Jianghu to participate in the KMT presidential election and led the Kuomintang to win this year's legislative yuan election and general election in Taiwan Province Province. You have become a "noble person" in Ma Ying. However, only with your personality and ability can you achieve these great things. But what we care about is, how does Hakka personality affect your life course?
Wu Boxiong: I think God is good to me. I didn't have this paragraph in my career plan. Happened because of fate. I also go all out. Finally, with everyone's full assistance, we achieved the goal beyond expectations. I have studied Buddhism. Many people say I look like a monk. I can unite with the Kuomintang. I don't think I'm competing with anyone. As a result, everyone is willing to help me.
Window to the South: The media in Taiwan Province Province, including many people of all ages, like to call you uncle, old man. Why?
Wu Boxiong: It's kind. I am broad-minded, generous and approachable, and because I am a Hakka, the meaning of "uncle" in Hakka dialect is "Land Lord". They are honorifics and have Hakka complex.