Learning from Mandela while writing about him

After reading more than five works of a million words, Li Yong finished writing his 100,000-word book, Freedom and Forgiveness: the Biography of Mandela.

“Mandela is undoubtedly a civilized man of modern times, a politician for modern civilization,” Li said.

Dijon Anderson of Bowie, Maryland photographs his son Keaton, 10, in front of a statue of Nelson Mandela at the South African embassy in Washington December 5, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

Li tries to show in his book how Mandela has been safeguarding humanity over the past decades. As a resister, a prisoner, a revolutionary leader and president, Mandela has been opposed to inhuman and uncivilized means of fighting for one’s interests, even for freedom.

Li described it as “a rare character”.

South Africa’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 1980 was $5.92 billion, almost tripled from 1972. The booming economy resulted in many problems, including more brutal suppression of blacks and stronger resistance from them, Li wrote in the book.

“As a cool-headed protester, Mandela played a significant role in resolving the sharp contrasts. There is much we can learn from him,” Li said.

"That is to say, a country should always settle differences instead of provoking divisions. While some countries are divided by race, other countries could be disunited for ethnic reasons or social classes, but the principle applies to any nation.”

As a typical Asian intellectual, the most important thing Li Yong learned from Mandela is how to overcome one’s weaknesses and selfishness.

When Mandela devoted himself to fighting for the majority, he sacrificed his own opportunities to be a filial son, a caring husband and even a qualified father.

"It's normal for an ordinary person to be in the same situation, but Mandela made the choice by overwhelming the anguish inside him. That’s why he insisted that he was not a sage,” Li said with obvious admiration.

Two years ago, a committee led by Zhou Youguang, founder of the Pinyin system, planned to compile a series of books under the theme of Modern Civilized Personality.

"I got a phone call from a friend, who is a member of the committee, and I was invited to write a book on Mandela,” Li said, considering the match fate.

"The collection aims to introduce to young readers to great people in the 20th century. Some of them are politicians, some scientists, some writers and even the journalist [Walter] Lippmann,” Li said. “Some people succeeded, but others didn’t. However, all of them brought human beings the power to become better and pushed forward human civilization.”

"Obviously, Mandela belongs to this group of people, and that’s why I accepted the task,” Li said.

In order to gain a better understanding of Mandela, Li started his preparation work by familiarizing himself with Holland’s 300 years of occupation in South Africa.

The targeted readership for the Modern Civilized Personality Collection is young people, especially undergraduates and new graduates.