Letters,from,Across,the,Pacific,Ocean

　　Off the Wall – How We Fell for China
　　Author： William N. Brown
　　Paperback， 216 pages
　　Published by Foreign Languages Press
　　BEFORE the Spring Festival， Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated an American professor for publishing a book about China.
　　The book， Off the Wall– How We Fell for China， written by Dr. William N. Brown， a business professor of Xiamen University in southeast China’s Fujian Province， is compiled of 47 letters detailing his life in Xiamen， which he sent back home to his family and friends in the United States. Upon completing the book， he sent a copy to President Xi Jinping and was surprised to receive a reply.
　　“I have received your letter and your book. Congratulations on your new book.” Xi replied in a letter to Dr. Brown， “Xiamen is an amazing city. It is now your second hometown. I used to work there， and that experience has given me many wonderful memories. You have been a teacher in Xiamen University for 30 years and dedicated precious time of your life to China’s education. I am very moved by your affection towards Xiamen and China.”
　　Dr. William Brown is wellknown to most Xiamen people， who affectionately call him “Old Pan.” In 1988， he resigned from his position as the senior vice president of First American National Securities and moved with his family to Xiamen， where he taught MBA courses for the next 30 years. Then in 1992， he became the first foreigner in Fujian Province to receive a permanent residence permit. In addition to teaching， he has also helped 13 Chinese cities including Xiamen and its neighbor Quanzhou win medals in the International Awards for Livable Communities.
　　The selected letters in the book portrayed the changes in Xiamen and even around China at different times from a foreigner’s eyes： from the muddy roads in the 1980s to the modernized urban facilities of today， from his father’s disagreement with his coming to China to a gradual understanding and recognition of his son’s decision. Brown’s family stories， filled with deep affection for China， happened to coincide with the most remarkable changes of Chinese society over the past several decades. In this way， a vivid and real picture of China is presented before foreign readers.
　　Brown once described his deep ties with China as his prearranged destiny. This distant Asian nation on the other side of the Pacific Ocean had allured him to come to its shores， and once here， it continued to fascinate him over the following 30 years， making him an eyewitness and a disseminator of China’s huge changes to the world.

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