September 29, 2023
Jason Morgan, My Mentor, My Friend
I am extremely sad that Jason Morgan has passed away.
I came to Princeton as Jason’s graduate student in the fall of 1980. Being a young student from China entering a completely different world, I needed then not only academic mentoring but also basic logical thinking and a normal worldview to be successful in democratic America. Jason, with his brilliant intellect and big warm heart, perfectly filled the role as my mentor, not only in my career but also in my life.
Jason was a genius and a scientific giant. However, he was ever a humble person. I remember when I asked him scientific questions, once or twice, he would tell me he did not know the answer. Then he would tell me his current thoughts on these unsolved issues. He told me that the difference in research between West Point Academy and Princeton University is that there seemed always to be certain answers at West Point. But at Princeton, many scientific questions needed more research in order to reach solutions.
I originally came to the US and to Princeton carrying decades of communist indoctrination in my mind. Therefore, I usually saw history and the contemporary world with subjective and distorted views. Jason knew I was wrong but was very patient. He always explained things the way they were. Jason was not only my mentor in science but also in social issues and humanity. Starting from Jason’s enlightenment and with my decades experience living in the States, I am now able to clearly tell the truth and what is right from the false and what is wrong, on issues both in the U.S. and in the world, especially in China.
Jason was not only my Ph.D. adviser but also a family member. I spent many wonderful holidays at his house here in Princeton. My wife and son came to join me in 1985. I could not forget that after I picked them up from JFK Airport back to my Butler Apartment, a welcoming bouquet of flowers was there at the door from Jason and Cary. My son was only 6 years old but he loved to play around with Jason. He loved Jason so much that he chose his American name to be Jason.
I always will cherish the opportunity I had to host Jason and Cary at my family house in Beijing during an international science conference in the summer of 1987. They met my mother and we had a traditional family dinner. I will never forget our pleasant stroll together in two beautiful Beijing parks near my house. Unfortunately, the Tiananmen Massacre occurred, and they could not make another visit to China after Jason was awarded the Japan Prize in Tokyo.
I was fortunate to visit Jason in Boston in the spring of 2016. He took me to his office at Harvard University. We met with Michèle at Harvard’s Archeology Museum. We had dinner at his house. I told him I was going to visit many historical sites in the eastern US to catch up with my U.S. history knowledge. He told me jokingly that I should not learn “bad history” about the United States. That was before Donald Trump was elected to the White House. That was the last time I saw him.
Jason was the best mentor and the best friend of my whole life. He had a profound influence on me in all aspects of my life, especially during my life’s transition from a callow and indoctrinated Chinese youth to an informed and independent human being.