难于言喻的骄傲
[新加坡]陈佩仪
中华人民共和国主席习近平先生高度赞颂我们的先祖父，我和我的堂、表兄弟姐妹们谨表衷心的谢意。
祖父对我们来说，确实非同寻常。我父亲陈元凯曾给他的孩子们讲过祖父的故事，我深受感动。在中国危难的时刻，祖父在露天广场上发表十分感人的演讲。我父亲亲眼看到，海外华侨人人争先恐后前往捐款，无论是苦力、三轮车夫，还是妓女、店员、剃头匠，个个慷慨解囊，捐出自己一日之所得，支援祖国抗战。那是1937年，那时日本进攻卢沟桥，大举侵略华北，一个月后，又发动对上海的进攻。我祖父认为那是中日全面开战。
我最喜欢的故事是祖父访问延安时，应邀旁听毛泽东主持的一次常规会议，与会的是毛身边的人。会议在一个小房间举行，没几个座位，满屋的人，许多人只好站着。毛正要讲话，一个年轻人突然出现在门口，慌慌张张地四处张望，想找个座位。他看到所有的座位都有人坐着，只有毛身旁一个座位空着，便挤了过去，从人缝里拱进去，坐到那个座位上。祖父看到毛不仅没有训斥那位年轻人，更令人意想不到的是，他还挪动身子，给他腾出大一点的位置，然后才开始讲话。看到这一切，祖父大惑不解。后来，祖父说，共产党提倡平等，没有人耍官威、摆架子，人人平等相待。这是一个绝妙的例子。在他眼里，这在蒋介石的党会上当然是看不到的！
因为有这样一些鼓舞人心的故事，我和我的堂、表兄弟姐妹们对祖父充满钦佩和崇拜。我们非常感激中国人民始终如一地、满怀深情地保护这份遗产。祖父是中国这块土地上成长起来的真诚的儿子，他是一位神奇人物，一提起他，我们心中就充满难以言喻的骄傲。
2015年6月11日（作者：陈嘉庚孙女）
（陈励雄 译）
附：原文
Together with my cousins, I wish to express our gratitude to the President of the PRC Mr Xi Jinping for speaking so highly of our grandfather.
Our grandfather is someone truly special to us. I am particularly moved by the story our father Tan Guan Kai related to his children. Our father had personally seen with his own eyes how everyone of the overseas Chinese present in the outdoor square rushed over to make donations when his own father delivered a very moving speech about helping China in her hour of need.?Whether they were coolies, rickshaw pullers, prostitutes, shop workers, barbers, etc, all generously contributed their day’s wages to support the causes our grandfather spoke about. The year was 1937 and Japan had invaded?north?China?by attacking the Marco Polo Bridge and a month later launched an extensive?attack on Shanghai which my grandfather believed to an all out war between China and Japan.
My favourite story is the time when grandfather visited Yenan, and was invited to observe how Mao Zedong conducted a typical meeting with his men. This was held in a small room with limited seating, and it was packed, so many people were left standing.
When Mao was about to speak, a young man suddenly appeared at the door, and hurriedly looked around for a seat. When he saw that all the seats were taken, except for the one next to Mao, he immediately elbowed his way to this spot, and squeezed into the tight space to take his seat.Grandfather was amazed to observe that not only did Mao not scold this youngster, he also distractedly moved a little bit to give him more space, before he began his speech.?Grandfather later said this was a wonderful example of the egalitarian ideals practised by the Communist Party, where nobody pulled ranks, and where everyone was treated equally. He also observed that it would certainly be impossible to see this happening at Chiang Kai Shek’s party meetings!
It is through such inspiring stories that my cousins and I hold our grandfather in such deep esteem and admiration, and we are grateful for the Chinese people who continue to preserve his legacy so enthusiastically. We are proud beyond words to be related to this amazing man, a true son of China’s soil.
P.T. 11 June 2015.
