The 1970s were heady days for Sino-US diplomacy， with Nixon becoming the first American President to visit China. They were nervous days too， especially for American diplomat Chas W. Freeman who was plucked from relative obscurity to become the senior translator for Nixon， despite having only been learning Mandarin for two years. His first day in China was unorthodox as he refused to translate part of a speech for Nixon， believing it would be embarrassing and inappropriate for him to re-translate Maos poetry back into Chinese. Initially Nixon was angry， but Freeman refused to back down and later received a presidential apology. Future Chinese Vice Premier and Chairman Li Xiannian （李先念） sensed the unease and offered Freeman his first ever cigarette. He didnt quit for 25 years. Here Freeman gives an exclusive interview to Victor Fic， a veteran writer on East Asia， in Toronto.

WERE YOU NERVOUS WHEN TRANSLATING FOR PRESIDENT NIXON？

No one warned me what to expect in Beijing， so I was a bit nervous. Then I refused the presidents order to interpret his welcoming banquet toast. Nixon lied.？He had memorized the text but wanted to appear to speak brilliantly without notes for himself or me. He was unaware that I had done the original draft of his remarks and that I knew Chairman Maos poetry had been added.？I knew that if I shelved the notes and tried to ad lib Maos poetry back into Chinese before the leadership and everyone globally with television， it would embarrass the president， my country and me.？Nixon subsequently apologized but was visibly annoyed.？Interpreting the give-and-take negotiating was a relief from thinking about what job I would do after I was canned.？

CAN YOU RECALL HOW LI XIANIAN OFFERED YOU YOUR FIRST CIGARETTE？ ？

He sensed my distress at Nixons annoyance. Li， later Chinas Chairman， sat beside me at the head table. I took the cigarette—Xiongmao （熊貓） or Panda brand—gratefully， like a man facing a firing squad.？I didnt quit for 25 years.？？

AFTER YOU STARTED TO SMOKE， DID YOU GUZZLE GREEN TEA TO PREVENT CANCER？

I drank it to quench thirst. I enjoy the taste but want coffee with a Western breakfast. For lunch and dinner， Chinese cuisine considerably outdoes Western or Asian countries in making ordinary ingredients uniquely delicious.？？

This is apocryphal， though I did see Zhou Enlai （周恩來(lái)）—or maybe his intelligence chief， Xiong Xianghui（熊向暉）—demonstrate maotais combustibility to the president by lighting a tumbler.？

TELL US ABOUT YOUR “CONTROVERSIAL NOODLE” EXPERIENCE.？

In 1979， I unexpectedly found a pushcart noodle seller near Tiananmen Square.？The sudden reappearance of small， privately-operated eateries after decades when the peoples entrepreneurial instincts were suppressed shook me out of the complacent American assumption that a non-dynamic China would never become wealthy or powerful. Most in Washington assumed that China would stagnate.？I realized that Deng Xiaoping （鄧小平） had launched a real revolution. In arguments with my colleagues in U.S. intelligence， they roughed me up， but I was correct.

WHAT METHOD DID YOUR CHINESE TEACHERS USE？

Chinese was the first language that I learned？through modern methods that answer the question：“Why do they say it that way？”by replying “Because they do”. It was hard not to try to understand intellectually. Language is， however， mostly instinctual.？It is how we reason but it is not profitable to reason about it.？？

WHAT WAS MOST FUN？

Chinese has many homonyms for puns and double entendres.？Discovering xiangsheng （相聲） or clever “crosstalk” delighted me.？？？

DID YOU EVER MAKE AN ERROR？？

Do not introduce your personality or add or subtract ideas. Fortunately， I only remember occasional errors of tone.？Exaggeration of polite， flattering talk embarrassed me when I reviewed doing it， but no one realized my error.

CONFESS： DID A CHINESE GIRLFRIEND HELP YOU？

No， I enjoy the company of women， including Chinese women， but my then-wife would not have appreciated a “pillow professor”， enjoyable as that might have been.？

WERE YOU THE ONLY US DIPLOMAT TO STUDY THE TAIWAN DIALECT？

I was among the few. But unlike most， I was more fascinated with the emerging， modernized Taiwan than with the xenophobic mainland.？I prefer realities I observe over romantic visions I cannot verify.

HOW MANY CHARACTERS DO YOU KNOW？

After the language school in Taiwan， I could read about 11，000 and write over 7，000.？That equals an advanced literature degree. I still read easily but struggle to write.？I have since learned Thai and Arabic and havent maintained my calligraphy.？Chinese is coining new words， and I enjoy encountering these.？

DO YOU LIKE MAOS POEMS？

He was a much better military thinker. But he is good enough to be remembered as a minor poet.

Chinese value original phrasing less than the four character？chengyu that encapsulate famous thoughts or analogize past， present， or future based on intellectual precision and cultural refinement.？For“parallel policies”， the Chinese interpreter preferred？并行不悖 （b#ngx！ng b% b-i）—that conveys mathematical parallelism like railway tracks. I offered 異途同歸（y#t% t5nggu～）：？to arrive at the same place by different routes.

WHAT ARE THE BEST AND WORST BOOKS ON CHINA？？

I decline to answer. I already have too few friends and too many enemies.？

EVALUATE CHINESE AND US DIPLOMATS TODAY.

Chinese ones have unquestionably become much more professional， linguistically competent， cosmopolitan， pragmatic， and nonideological.？Unlike us， China does not appoint ill-prepared amateurs based on wallets over wits. We have become more amateurish， prone to rely on English， less interested in foreign perspectives， more ideological， and less tolerant of viewpoints that Americans consider politically incorrect.？The Chinese system has many defects but not lack of meritocracy. ？？

CRITICS OF THE CONFUCIAN INSTITUTES DENIGRATE THEM AS？MOUTHPIECES FOR BEIJING. YOUR TAKE？？

Confucius Institutes play much the same role that the cultural outposts of other major nations do.？Think of the Alliance Fran？aise， the British Council offices， or （in the past） U.S. Information Service libraries in major cities abroad. Like these， Confucius Institutes are expressions of the judgment that increased access to a nations language， and culture is likely to enhance both understanding and sympathy for it and its people among foreigners. I think thats generally correct and lament the extent to which the United States and other nations have ceased to respond in this way to the desire of foreigners to understand us better.？

ARE AMERICANS LEARNING MANDARIN AND？CHINAS HISTORY， CULTURE， ECONOMICS， POLITICS， FOREIGN POLICY IN SUFFICIENT NUMBERS AND EXPERTLY？

Americans tend to be very much focused on our own affairs.？After all， our country spans a continent， has a huge population， and has become accustomed to having a dominant role in many spheres of modern life around the globe.？I dont think we Americans serve our own interests well by our relative disinterest in foreign affairs， ignorance of foreign geography， and indifference to foreign viewpoints.？That said， interest in China in the United States has been growing.？Lots of Americans have been there on at least short visits.？Many have become sufficiently interested to try to learn Chinese or at least read a serious book or two about China.？Thats all to the good.？It wouldnt hurt， by the way， for us to learn more about Russia， India， Japan， and other major non-Western countries.？Theres more to the emerging world order than just China.

YOU SAY YOU ARE “EMPATHETIC”. HOW？

Our job as diplomats is get foreigners to see that its in their own interest to do things our countrys way.？To do this， we need to understand where theyre coming from even if we dont sympathize or agree with their reasoning or views.？Moral condemnations of others are gratifying but they do not persuade. To deal persuasively with another country or its representatives requires the ability to look at the world through its mindset and to follow the logic of its definition of its own interests.？Diplomats cannot be effective if they are unable to empathize with the foreigners they seek to persuade.？I was， for much of my life， a professional diplomat.- VICTOR FIC