Stuart Symington, Jr.
and his wife, Dr. Janey Symington
This is a letter from your grandfather to all of his grandchildren. The ones who are old enough to read are getting it direct. I'm sending it to the parents of the ones who are not old enough to read.
The purpose of this letter is to encourage all of you to study up on China as much as you can. The reason is that we live in an increasingly internationalized world. The tragic attacks of Sept. 11 show that the oceans no longer protect us from our enemies. We need all the friends abroad we can get. To that end we should study to get along with China, the most populous country in the world. Based on your grandmother's and my recent trip to China, it may also become the most powerful country in the world during your lifetime. Another reason for getting along with China, like it or not!
There are many ways to learn about a foreign country. At a minimum, I urge you to pay special attention to the history of China, its geography, geology, political and economic system, ecology, culture, (ethnicity different ethnic groups - what we call "minorities") religious groups and beliefs, architecture and archeology.
There are 1.25 billion people in China. That makes China's population about five times ours. So a very small percentage of the Chinese people can be a lot of folks by our standards - scientists, athletes, businessmen, customers, philosophers, poets and friends. On the other hand, what may seem a lot of people to us may be just a tiny minority to the Chinese. We might think a crowd of 10 or 20 thousand people a big number, but by Chinese standards it would not be big at all.
One way to learn about a country is to collect its stamps. They tend to tell you a lot about what's going on in the country.
When your grandmother and I asked our granddaughter Janey what kind of college she was interested in , she had a one word reply: "Diversity." I agree with her 100%. I think that tolerance of diversity will be the key to the survival of the U.S. in the 21st century.
So, beyond the basics of special attention to China in your school courses, and any electives you have an opportunity to take in college, I encourage you to try to get to know Chinese people in the U.S., and to travel to China if you get the chance, to see for yourselves what is going on there.
What is going on there can be described in one word: Awesome! Unlike Russia, China has a booming free market economy. Its so-called Communist government has given free enterprise all the running room that most of the people can live with. China has had terrible famines in the past. 20 million Chinese perished of hungry under Mao's Great Leap Forward. The Chinese do not hate Mao for that. He made a mistake, they say. But they used to eat grass, and now they ear wheat and rice so they are not bitter about Mao.
China does deny civil rights and its society is far from perfect. But your grandmother and I were very impressed by the energy of the Chinese people, their work ethic, their pride in their country and culture, their practicality, and the rapid development of the Chinese economy. We flew all over China, in planes that were all new, made by Boeing in a Chinese plant.
Beyond study, stamps, acquaintanceship and travel lies still another way to learn about China. That is by studying the Chinese language. It's tough, but its fascinating. Selective schools and colleges already offer Mandarin, the principal dialect. The way to learn a language is by immersion - to talk it all the time in class, and spend a term, a year or a long summer vacation in the country.
I feel conformable about bringing the subject of the Chinese language to your attention, because our family is apparently genetically programmed to speak foreign languages. Go with what you‘ve got. Already Janey and Stuartie are working on being tri-lingual, and their parents are already there.
We have another family connection with China that you should know about. About 100 years ago, your 3x great grandfather, John Hay, was our Secretary of State. He initiated what was called the Open Door policy, which at the time we thought was a good thing for China. I think that the Chinese did not agree, then and now, that is was good for them. But, at any rate, that's history, and history of the past involvement of our family with China.
Mr. Hay was once asked by reporters about a conference he had just had with the Chinese ambassador to the U.S., Mr. Wu. Mr. Hay responded, "I'm not sure. After three hours, Mr. Hay was woozy, and Mr. Wu was hazy."
The history books are full of the total inability of parents, and maybe grandparents too, to talk the next generation into anything. A famous example is Load Chesterfield's letters giving good advice to his son. They are considered the outstanding examples of good advice. Trouble was, the son paid absolutely no attention to what his Dad told him.
So please take this letter as an effort by your loving grandfather to peer ahead into a world that will not be as easy for you as we expected it would be before September 11. You all live far away and I don't have much of an opportunity to swap thoughts with you. So please don't consider this letter a demand, but as the product of a two week trip to a place I never thought I would get to see.
If any of you want to talk about this subject some more, please write or e-mail me your thoughts, or, we can talk about them, this Christmas.
Much love to you all.
___________________________________________________
About the Author:  
Mr.
Stuart Symington, Jr.
Dr. Janey Symington
Stuart Symington, Jr. is a partner of the law firm of Gallop, Johnson & Neuman, L.C. of St. Louis. He is a graduate of Yale and Harvard Law School. In World War II, he served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the Europe and the Philippines. He serves on the board of many educational and civic organizations. Mr. Symington is the son of former Senator Stuart Symington, Sr. He and his wife, Dr. Janey Symington, have four children and ten grandchildren.
The subtitle of this letter is added by Scanews editor. 
Dr.
William Tao (back row, right) hosted a luncheon,
invited the St. Louis Chinese American media met with
Mr. and Mrs. Stuart Symington, Jr.
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