the.world.is.flat-第47节

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coming　out　of　their　universities。　Poles　and　Hungarians　are　already　very　well　connected；　
very　close　to　Europe；　and　their　cultures　are　very　similar　＇to　Western　Europe's＇。　So　
today　India　is　ahead；　but　it　has　to　work　very　hard　if　it　wants　to　keep　this　position。　
It　has　to　never　stop　inventing　and　reinventing　itself。〃　
The　raw　ambition　that　Rajesh　and　so　many　of　his　generation　possess　is　worthy　of　note　
by　Americans…a　point　I　will　elaborate　on　later。　
〃We　can't　relax；〃　said　Rajesh。　〃I　think　in　the　case　of　the　United　States　that　is　what　
happened　a　bit。　Please　look　at　me：　I　am　from　India。　We　have　been　at　a　very　different　
level　before　in　terms　of　technology　and　business。　But　once　we　saw　we　had　an　
infrastructure　which　made　the　world　a　small　place；　we　promptly　tried　to　make　the　best　
use　of　it。　We　saw　there　were　so　many　things　we　could　do。　We　went　ahead；　and　today　
what　we　are　seeing　is　a　result　of　that。　。　。　There　is　no　time　to　rest。　That　is　gone。　
There　are　dozens　of　people　who　are　doing　the　same　thing　you　are　doing；　and　they　are　
trying　to　do　it　better。　It　is　like　water　in　a　tray；　you　shake　it　and　it　will　find　
the　path　of　least　resistance。　That　is　what　is　going　to　happen　to　so　many　jobs…they　
will　go　to　that　corner　of　the　world　where　there　is　the　least　resistance　and　the　most　
opportunity。　If　there　is　a　skilled　person　in　Timbuktu；　he　will　get　work　if　he　knows　
how　to　access　the　rest　of　the　world；　which　is　quite　easy　today。　You　can　make　a　Web　
site　and　have　an　e…mail　address　and　you　are　up　and　running。　And　if　you　are　able　to　


demonstrate　your　work；　using　the　same　infrastructure；　and　if　people　are　comfortable　
giving　work　to　you；　and　if　you　are　diligent　and　clean　in　your　transactions；　then　you　
are　in　business。〃　
Instead　of　complaining　about　outsourcing；　said　Rajesh；　Americans　and　Western　
Europeans　would　〃be　better　off　thinking　about　how　you　can　raise　your　bar　and　raise　
yourselves　into　doing　something　better。　Americans　have　consistently　led　in　innovation　
over　the　last　century。　Americans　whining…we　have　never　seen　that　before。　People　like　
me　have　learned　a　lot　from　Americans。　We　have　learned　to　become　a　little　more　
aggressive　in　the　way　we　market　ourselves；　which　is　something　we　would　not　have　done　
given　our　typical　British　background。〃　
So　what　is　your　overall　message？　I　asked　Rajesh；　before　leaving　with　my　head　spinning。　
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〃My　message　is　that　what's　happening　now　is　just　the　tip　of　the　iceberg　。　。　。　What　
is　really　necessary　is　for　everybody　to　wake　up　to　the　fact　that　there　is　a　fundamental　
shift　that　is　happening　in　the　way　people　are　going　to　do　business。　And　everyone　is　
going　to　have　to　improve　themselves　and　be　able　to　compete。　It　is　just　going　to　be　
one　global　market。　Look；　we　just　made　＇baseball＇　caps　for　Dhruva　to　give　away。　They　
came　from　Sri　Lanka。〃　
Not　from　a　factory　in　South　Bangalore？　I　asked。　
〃Not　from　South　Bangalore；〃　said　Rajesh；　〃even　though　Bangalore　is　one　of　the　export　
hubs　for　garments。　Among　the　three　or　four　caps　we　got　quotations　for；　this　＇Sri　Lankan　
one＇　was　the　best　in　terms　of　quality　and　the　right　price；　and　we　thought　the　finish　
was　great。　
〃This　is　the　situation　you　are　going　to　see　moving　forward；〃　Rajesh　concluded。　〃If　
you　are　seeing　all　this　energy　coming　out　of　Indians；　it's　because　we　have　been　
underdogs　and　we　have　that　drive　to　kind　of　achieve　and　to　get　there　。　。　。　India　is　
going　to　be　a　superpower　and　we　are　going　to　rule。〃　
Rule　whom？　I　asked。　
Rajesh　laughed　at　his　own　choice　of　words。　〃It's　not　about　ruling　anybody。　That's　
the　point。　There　is　nobody　to　rule　anymore。　It's　about　how　you　can　create　a　great　
opportunity　for　yourself　and　hold　on　to　that　or　keep　creating　new　opportunities　where　
you　can　thrive。　I　think　today　that　rule　is　about　efficiency；　it's　about　collaboration　
and　it　is　about　competitiveness　and　it　is　about　being　a　player。　It　is　about　staying　
sharp　and　being　in　the　game　。　。　。　The　world　is　a　football　field　now　and　you've　got　
to　be　sharp　to　be　on　the　team　which　plays　on　that　field。　If　you're　not　good　enough；　
you're　going　to　be　sitting　and　watching　the　game。　That's　all。〃　
How　Do　You　Say　〃Zippie〃　in　Chinese？　
As　in　Bangalore　ten　years　ago；　the　best　place　to　meet　zippies　in　Beijing　today　is　
in　the　line　at　the　consular　section　of　the　U。S。　embassy。　In　Beijing　in　the　summer　
of　2004；　I　discovered　that　the　quest　by　Chinese　
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students　for　visas　to　study　or　work　in　America　was　so　intense　that　it　had　spawned　
dedicated　Internet　chat　rooms；　where　Chinese　students　swapped　stories　about　which　
arguments　worked　best　with　which　U。S。　embassy　consular　officials。　They　even　gave　the　


U。S。　diplomats　names　like　〃Amazon　Goddess；〃　〃Too　Tall　Baldy；〃　and　〃Handsome　Guy。〃　
Just　how　intensely　Chinese　students　strategize　over　the　Internet　was　revealed；　U。S。　
embassy　officials　told　me；　when　one　day　a　rookie　U。S。　consular　official　had　student　
after　student　come　before　him　with　the　same　line　that　some　chat　room　had　suggested　
would　work　for　getting　a　visa：　〃I　want　to　go　to　America　to　become　a　famous　professor。〃　
After　hearing　this　all　day；　the　U。S。　official　was　suddenly　surprised　toget　one　student　
who　came　before　him　and　pronounced；　〃My　mother　has　an　artificial　limb　and　I　want　to　
go　to　America　to　learn　how　to　build　a　better　artificial　limb　for　her。〃　The　official　
was　so　relieved　to　hear　a　new　line　that　he　told　the　young　man；　〃You　know；　this　is　
the　best　story　I've　heard　all　day。　I　really　salute　you。　I'm　going　to　give　you　a　visa。〃　
You　guessed　it。　
The　next　day；　a　bunch　of　students　showed　up　at　the　embassy　saying　they　wanted　a　visa　
to　go　to　America　to　learn　how　to　build　better　artificial　limbs　for　their　mothers。　
Talking　to　these　U。S。　embassy　officials　in　Beijing；　who　are　the　gatekeepers　for　these　
visas；　itquickly　became　apparentto　me　that　they　had　mixed　feelings　aboutthe　process。　
On　the　one　hand；　they　were　pleased　that　so　many　Chinese　wanted　to　come　study　and　work　
in　America。　On　the　other　hand；　they　wanted　to　warn　American　kids：　Do　you　realize　what　
is　coming　your　way？　As　one　U。S。　embassy　official　in　Beijing　said　to　me；　〃What　I　see　
happening　＇in　China＇　is　what　has　been　going　on　for　the　last　several　decades　in　the　
rest　of　Asia…the　tech　booms；　the　tremendous　energy　of　the　people。　I　saw　it　elsewhere；　
but　now　it　is　happening　here。〃　
I　was　visiting　Yale　in　the　spring　of　2004。　As　I　was　strolling　through　the　central　
quad；　near　the　statue　of　Elihu　Yale；　two　Chinese…speaking　tours　came　through；　with　
Chinese　tourists　of　all　ages。　Chinese　have　started　to　tour　the　world　in　large　numbers；　
and　as　China　continues　to　develop　toward　a　more　open　society；　it　is　quite　likely　that　
Chinese　leisure　tourists　will　alter　the　whole　world…tourism　industry。　
But　Chinese　are　not　visiting　Yale　just　to　admire　the　ivy。　Consider　these　statistics　
from　Yale's　admissions　office。　The　fall　1985　class　had　71　graduate　and　undergraduate　
students　from　China　and　1　from　the　Soviet　Union。　The　fall　2003　class　had　297　Chinese　
graduate　and　undergraduate　students　and　23　Russians。　Yale's　total　international　
student　contingent　went　from　836　in　the　fall　of　1985　to　1；775　in　the　fall　of　2003。　
Applications　from　Chinese　and　Russian　high　school　students　to　attend　Yale　as　
undergraduates　have　gone　from　a　total　of　40　Chinese　for　the　class　of　2001　to　276　for　
the　class　of　2008；　and　18　Russians　for　the　class　of　2001　to　30　for　the　class　of　2008。　
In　1999；　Yiting　Liu；　a　schoolgirl　from　Chengdu；　China；　got　accepted　to　Harvard　on　
a　full　scholarship。　Her　parents　then　wrote　a　build…your…own　handbook　about　how　they　
managed　to　prepare　their　daughter　to　get　accepted　to　Harvard。　The　book；　in　Chinese；　
titled　Harvard　Girl　Yiting　Liu；　offered　〃scientifically　proven　methods〃　to　get　your　
Chinese　kid　into　Harvard。　The　book　became　a　runaway　best　seller　in　China。　By　2003　
it　had　sold　some　3　million　copies　and　spawned　more　than　a　dozen　copycat　books　about　
how　to　get　your　kid　into　Columbia；　Oxford；　or　Cambridge。　
While　many　Chinese　aspire　to　go　to　Harvard　and　Yale；　they　aren't　just　waiting　around　
to　get　into　an　American　university。　They　are　also　trying　to　build　their　own　at　home。　


In　2004；1　was　a　speaker　for　the　150th　anniversary　of　Washington　University　in　St。　
Louis；　a　school　noted　for　its　strength　in　science　and　engineering。　Mark　Wrighton；　
the　university's　thoughtful　chancellor；　and　I　were　chatting　before　the　ceremony。　He　
mentioned　in　passing　that　in　the　spring　of　2001　he　had　been　invited　（along　with　many　
other　foreign　and　American　academic　leaders）　to　Tsinghua　University　in　Beijing；　one　
of　the　finest　in　China；　to　participate　in　the　celebration　of　its　ninetieth　anniversary。　
He　said　the　invitation　left　him　scratching　his　head　at　first：　Why　would　any　university　
celebrate　its　ninetieth　anniversary…not　its　hundredth？　
〃Perhaps　a　Chinese　tradition？〃　Wrighton　asked　himself。　When　he　arrived　at　Tsinghua；　
though；　he　learned　the　answer。　The　Chinese　had　brought　academics　from　all　over　the　
world　to　Tsinghua…more　than　ten　thousand　people　attended　the　ceremony…in　order　to　
make　the　declaration　〃that　at　the　one　hundredth　anniversary　Tsinghua　University　would　
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be　among　the　world's　premier　universities；〃　Wrigh