Forging Ties with the World’s Universities—
Peking University

(From an essay series, “Forging Ties with the World’s Universities,” published in the November 19, 2006, issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, Soka Gakkai)

“Peking University is a living, growing entity. All living, growing things have hope for the future.” These are the words of the great Chinese writer Lu Xun (1881–1936), who taught at the university for six years. Lu Xun realized that the spirit of self-improvement cultivated at Peking University would lead China to reform and to achieve a bright future.

Conducting international exchange between universities can play a positive role in shaping the future of the countries involved. It is a way of uniting the hopes of the youth of those nations.

* * *

Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai (1898–1976) visited Peking University on six occasions. The Chinese leader highly valued youth and students. He said to me, who was some 30 years his junior: “I value you precisely because you are young.” Our meeting took place during my second trip to China on December 5, 1974, on a cold Beijing night. Fighting against a terminal illness and the brutal actions of the Gang of Four, the premier was struggling with all his might for the sake of China’s future.

Six years earlier (on September 8, 1968), I had called for the normalization of Japan-China diplomatic relations, fully aware of the storm of controversy I would face. I selected a Student Division General Meeting to unveil my proposal, because I knew that youth are the force that creates the future.

“President Ikeda, you have repeatedly emphasized the importance of promoting friendly relations between China and Japan. That makes me very happy.” No one was more profoundly aware of my tireless efforts for bilateral peace and friendship than Premier Zhou.

* * *

I put my case for the normalization of relations between Japan and China to the young of both nations.

At a ceremony presenting a donation of books to Peking University just two days before I met Premier Zhou, I urged Chinese youth: “When you become the leaders of your society, you must create an age when the youth of both China and Japan can work together with smiling faces to build a better world.”

Wishing to speak with the students, I visited the university’s Department of Foreign Languages, located next to the campus’s main entrance. Some 15 students in the Japanese language department were waiting for me there. They had only been studying Japanese for eight months, but I immediately took on the role of their tutor: “If you could visit a foreign country during your student days, where would you like to go? Please answer in Japanese.”

“Japan, of course,” came the reply in fluent Japanese. “Japan is only separated from China by a narrow strip of ocean. I will definitely visit Japan someday.” Responding to their earnest determination, I declared resoundingly: “When you make the trip, I promise you all the warmest welcome imaginable!”

* * *

As a matter of fact, that visit to China (in December 1974)—my second—had been decided very suddenly. As I recall, the Chinese Embassy only communicated the invitation from Peking University to me in November. The 5,000 books I had promised to donate during my first visit in June had arrived, and the university wanted me to attend a formal presentation ceremony. Given the circumstances surrounding travel between our two countries at the time, it was extremely short notice. Moreover, Beijing’s cold winter had already started. Many of my colleagues were hesitant, but I decided immediately: “Let’s head into the north wind!”

When I first visited the Soviet Union in September (1974), Soviet Premier Aleksey Kosygin (1904–80) told me that the Soviet Union had no intention of either attacking or isolating China, and he gave me leave to convey that to the Chinese leaders. I wished to deliver that message to the Chinese people as quickly as possible, and it was that determination to visit China that led to my unforgettable encounter with Premier Zhou, who passed to me the baton of insuring enduring friendship between our nations. If I hadn’t made that trip to China when I did, I probably would not have been able to meet the Chinese leader.

Six Chinese students—the first official international students from the new China to study in Japan—arrived at Soka University in spring the following year, 1975. Regarding them as the emissaries of Premier Zhou, I personally became their sponsors and welcomed them with sincerity and warmth. One of them is now an ambassador. I am overjoyed that all of them are shouldering important responsibilities in society today.

* * *

The history of Peking University, founded 108 years ago (in 1898), is the turbulent history of modern China. Peking University students played a central role in the May Fourth Movement (1919) that triggered China’s modern revolution. The American educator and philosopher John Dewey (1859–1952), then teaching at Peking University and watching over these youthful activists, declared that China was attempting to transform itself from its spiritual foundations and would eventually become a nation making an enormous contribution to the world.

Dewey praised Cai Yuanpei (1868–1940), then chancellor of Peking University, as one of the greatest chancellors in the world. Dr. Cai was a contemporary of the founder of Soka education, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (1871–1944). The Chinese educator fought against the oppression of the military warlords and built Peking University into an institution accessible to all, one that trained its students equally in learning and character.

Dr. Cai opposed students’ participation in the May Fourth Movement demonstrations, believing that they should focus on their studies. But when large numbers of students were arrested on that day, he rose up to protect them. He joined with the heads of other universities in pleading directly with the authorities for three days that they, the university heads, not the students, should bear the punishment. In the end, he won the students’ release.

When the students were freed and returned to their campus on May 7, Dr. Cai was waiting to greet them. Standing in the middle of the circle of cheering students, his eyes glistened with tears of joy. One student later recalled this reunion as one of the unforgettable moments in his life.

Dr. Cai celebrated his 70th birthday without even a home to call his own. His former students and colleagues expressed their wish to build one and make a gift of it to him, declaring that they would never forget the debt of gratitude they owed their teacher, and that they wished to transmit his great achievements to future generations. A teacher who has dedicated his life to education; loyal students who are determined to show their gratitude and appreciation—this sacred spirit of teacher and student beats proudly within Peking University, the great citadel of learning that has guided modern China.

* * *

The fervent wish for friendship between Japan and China was passed on to me by Mr. Makiguchi and my own mentor Josei Toda (1900–1958), who both stood up to Japanese militarism. The golden bridge of friendship that I have been ceaselessly traversing with a disciple’s sincere commitment to realize his predecessors’ vision has always led to forging ties with Peking University. In 1984, Peking University was the first Chinese institution of higher learning to award me an honorary professorship.

Prof. Ji Xianlin, who had been vice president of the university, was central to making this event possible. Professor Ji is a great master of traditional Chinese learning, a renowned linguist, and a preeminent authority in Indian and Buddhist studies. Later I came to know Prof. Jiang Zhongxin, Professor Ji’s student and a leading researcher on Lotus Sutra manuscripts. The three of us collaborated on a dialogue, published under the title “Dialogue on Eastern Wisdom” (tentative English translation).

Loyalty elevates friendship to the highest level. One year after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, while China was still being ostracized by the international community, I visited the country together with a delegation of 300 Soka Gakkai members. During that trip, I gave my third lecture at Peking University. My first address (in 1980) was titled “A Godless Civilization.” The second (in 1984) was “The Royal Road to Peace—A Personal Observation.” And on my third visit, I spoke on “A Matter of the Heart,” stressing that the “ships” of state and commerce will sail safely only if they are buoyed up and carried by the “seas” of the people, and that the bonds of affection between peoples are invisible, making them strong.[1]

No matter what storms may arise in the realms of politics or economics, as long as true friendship on a direct person-to-person level exists between two peoples, the current of amity will flow on. Exchange among young people and students is especially important, and universities play a pivotal role in preserving this flow.

To date, more than 30 faculty members from Peking University have visited and taught at Soka University. Some have followed in their parents’ footsteps and are second-generation exchange faculty. I frequently have happy reunions with former Peking University students who attended one or other of my addresses at their alma mater or book presentation ceremonies. Nearly 100 Soka University students have studied as exchange students at Peking University, and now students from Soka University of America (SUA) are beginning to join this tradition.

In 2001, I was honored by the establishment of the Daisaku Ikeda Research Society (President, Jia Huixuan) at Peking University. This proved to be a catalyst, and now there are some 13 centers throughout Asia dedicated to the philosophy of Soka.

* * *

On the green and sunny day when I first visited Peking University in June 1974, I was welcomed at the historic Lin Hu Xuan Reception Hall on the banks of Weiming Lake. The photograph collection I received from the university at that time is inscribed with the words: “May China-Japan friendship last forever!” More than 30 years have passed since then. In March of this year (2006), Soka University’s Beijing Office opened adjacent to the Peking University campus.

As some 100 guests from 44 Chinese universities and institutions of higher learning looked on, Peking University Prof. Wang Xuezhen, who was inaugurated as honorary director of the SU Beijing Office, proudly stated: “Soka University was the very first university to engage in an exchange program with Peking University.” A great river of peace and friendship flowing from the source of Peking University is rolling powerfully forward toward a bright and hopeful future in which the youth of Asia and all the world can live and grow together in harmony.

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