資料來源:周祝瑛（2000）。猪肉攤上的教育家。臺北：南宏。

我是誰（Who am I?）

Throughout my life， I have been concerned about the effects of education on the improvement of human rights． Thus， I am devoted to the ideal of how education can contribute to the following: 1)the peaceful relations between Taiwan and Mainland China; 2)the

prevention of teenage problems; and 3)the improvement of women's status． I have used my pen and my mind to pursue the preceding ideals．

I Was A Tomboy

Growing up on a small farm in northern Taiwan， I was taught not to eat any beef．

 The Chinese philosophy behind this was that cows plow the field and provide us with food． Since cows work for us like our loyal friends， we should not eat their meat． This

teaching continues to remind me to be a person of appreciation． In other reason， I hate turkey because they always chased me when I was a little girl!

Brought up in an extended family of twenty—five people， including twelve children， I went through the bright and dark sides of my family． As a little child I was never worried about not having companions． However， the whole environment was the traditional

Chinese value system， and males dominated every decision—making process． Women in my family were considered inferior and subordinate to men． I was affected by this traditional idea and acted like a tomboy， more aggressive and determined than my brothers． In fact， sometimes my parents wished I were a boy．

Poverty Coupled With Fear of China's Invasion

Born in the late fifties， I still remember how poor the country was before the 1970's: short of food， clothes， and medicine． Since we were so poor， education was the only way out of poverty， and the only path for upward mobility． Even at a young age I realized the importance of education． In addition to our poverty， people in Taiwan were afraid of China's invasion． For example， two months before I was born， i．e．， August 1958， China attempted to attack Taiwan by military force． Although Taiwan succeeded in defending itself， the whole island came to realize the continuing military threat from this “big brother．” Tensions between Taiwan and China inspired my interests regarding China affairs． My first book entitle“Higher Education Reform in Mainland China: 1977—84” (1988) was the manifestation of this interest and concern．

Thank You， Mother

At age ten， my family went through a family crisis． In order to raise five children and pay off creditors， my mother， a housewife with little education， worked tirelessly as a vendor selling pork in an open market for more than thirty years． After work， she

tutored her children and encouraged them to achieve -her daughters as well as her sons!

This experience had a profound impact on me and really crystalized my understanding of the strength and potential of women． Before this， I had always believed in the traditional Asian value system which claims that women are secondary to men． The example my

mother set for us proved otherwise． I have never forgotten this lesson which served as the basis for my dedication to women's equal opportunity．

I Can Effect Change

At age sixteen， another incident -the rape and murder of a fellow student from my girls' high school -changed my life． Struck and outraged by this incident， I organized a group of students at school， raising funds for murderer—hunting． The crime was solved， and the murderer was executed． The lesson here that I learned is， through my efforts， I can effect change． I carried this new—found energy to the university two years later， not content to quietly sit back and let men do all leadership．

I first organized a group of colleagues to provide tutoring and services to children with working mothers in the neighborhood． I also chaired the Student Society of the Department of Education at the university for a year． At age nineteen， I started

volunteering as a juvenile delinquent counselor at Taipei City Court， a governmental legal institute．

For the next three years， I paid weekly visits to my clients， the dropouts and drug abusers in jail and at home， and helped them through the reformatory process． I also coordinated volunteer colleagues from the Department of Education， building networks

with delinquents' families and schools， and designing follow—up programs． In 1981， I was named the outstanding juvenile counselor of the year．

“Hello， This is Teacher Chang Speaking”

Because of my concern and caring about teenage delinquents， I later worked as a full—time counselor at Teacher Chang Center， a non—profit nation—wide guidance counseling center under the China Youth Corps． This time I went through more professional counseling training and then helped teenagers via telephone， mail， and interview．

This work experience soon broadened my vision about Taiwan's social problems， enabling me to reach out to some previously ignored groups． For example， when I saw many female factory workers who were fresh from small towns and poorly educated， struggling

with their employers and had no hope for tomorrow， I knew it was time to help．

As a result， I organized over a hundred volunteers to design counseling programs for female factory workers in industry． A few months later， some female workers who went through these counseling programs wrote and thanked us． “For the first time people recognize me， and I feel more comfortable being myself．．．，” a female factory worker wrote in her letter． I knew that I had done something rewarding．

Yes， Miss Chair—person

While I was twenty—two to twenty—five I worked on my master's degree in education． During this time I was elected to chair a campus—wide graduate congress． That was the first time a woman was ever elected to that position at my university． During this

period， I also went to Japan on a Sino—Japanese exchange program sponsored by the Ministry of Education in Taiwan and Japan Asian Airline．

From this trip， I overcame my mixed feelings about Japan◆s invasion during World War II and started to ask why， behind the Japanese success story， women still continue to play a subordinate role in the society? Since then， I devoted myself to writing articles． Through doing this I developed my interest in pursuing women's rights via academic research．

Coming to America

After graduating from my master's degree I realized that many goals could not be fulfilled unless I continued my intellectual pursuit． In 1986， after succeeding in a highly competitive national exam， I received a three—year full scholarship from the

Ministry of Education in Taiwan． Thus， four years ago I arrived in the United States for the first time and started my adventure at UCLA． As mentioned in my awarded article， “in the first few months， I struggled with adjustment and suffered from being

homesick．” Like the Chinese proverb， “The sky will be blue again after the rain，” I made it through the storm．

After living in America for almost four years， I still have mixed feelings about this country． One good thing I have seen is that women here are more independent， outgoing， and determined to effect change． For example， my former landlady， at the age

of sixty five， still volunteers in the community service， comments on politics， and goes jogging every day．

This lady introduced me to American women， culture， and the advanced technology of America's modern kitchen． She said， the“American Dream，” -equal opportunity for everyone-attracts people from all over the world． On the other hand， the

 breakdown of the family system has resulted in many social problems and has contributed to the deterioration of American society． Unlike its American counterpart， Chinese culture is more solid and focuses on spiritual fulfillment and moral cultivation m

ore than material pursuit． Having communicated with many women in this country， I am convinced that both the Chinese and the Americans， can learn a great deal from each other．

After coming to America， my world has been broadened， my knowledge extended， and my concern about education and human rights has become stronger． Now I am better equipped to concentrate on research (my doctoral dissertation) which examinesgender equality in academe．

The Four Main Streets in Taipei

Like many other international students who come to America to fulfill their life goals， my goal is to serve my people， especially women at home． Unlike many Americans who take their citizenship for granted， Chinese people (both in mainland

 and Taiwan) have strong feelings toward their countries．

One example is the four main streets in Taipei: the names are translated as “loyal to country and love for parents，” “kindness to mankind，” “trustworthy and righteous，” and “peace and harmony．” （忠孝、仁愛、信義、和平）

The belief of showing great love for the country itself and also for its people is deeply rooted in my mind． As a Chinese woman in Taiwan I want to help other women and-in so doing-help my country． This is particularly important for Taiwan at this

moment． Since Taiwan lifted martial law in 1987， people have more freedom to express their opinions and an opposition party has been established to counter—balance the ruling party． Simultaneously， the whole society is experiencing a rapid change

Above all， the most important area that needs to be changed to facilitate future growth is the area of education． Within education one of the most critical areas is women's equal recognition， participation， and contribution．

My personal experience from a traditional male—dominated family made me believe that the progress of education will improve women's rights in Taiwan． This will also have a future impact on women's equality in China．

The world is getting smaller and smaller day by day． There is no more room for two Germanys， or two Chinas， or two sets of standards within the academic reward system．

〔作者曾因本文而獲得1991年美國女大學教師學會(AAUW)國際和平獎學金〕