This is a self-organized group of writers who， out of their own freewill， introduce China to the outside world. At these get-togethers， theytry to make their articles as perfect as possible before publication.
Everyone shows their latest works by reading them aloud or passingthem around. They exchange what they see， hear or feel; and give eachother their suggestions for improvement.
As a performance and directing major at New York University，Cao Cao， not content to only perform， still wants to try his hand atmovie directing and even movie producing if an opportunity arises.
In his spare time， he sometimes writes play scripts too. It wouldn’
t be surprising some day if we see a movie or TV play that is written，performed， directed and even produced by him. The historical CaoCao was adept with both the pen and sword and the contemporary CaoCao is gifted in many ways. It should be thought of as a transnational，trans-era cultural inheritance between the two.
The Chinese saying “Live in peace and work with pleasure” isembodied by his life in Beijing. “Every day is a good day，” as the lyricsof a song goes， and he is so happy that I doubt if he still missesAmerica. Yes， his life is satisfactory with a happy marriage， a newhouse and a coming baby. His career is prosperous with performancesand hosting TV programs. He frequently appears on screen and iswell known among the Chinese. He has not only “lived and workedin peace and contentment” but also convinced his father to purchase ahouse in China.
The father’s house is also located in Panjiayuan area， just within anarm’s length of the son’s. With the new house， it is not necessary anymore to stay in hotels when he travels in China and visits the juniorKos-Read. The senior Mr. Kos-Read， approaching his sixties， has beenlearning Chinese. Not satisfied with simple phrases like “ni hao” （Howare you） or “xie xie” （Thank you）， he hopes that when he meets Li’sfamily， he will be able to talk in Chinese not only about weather butabout some other topics. Of course it’s not an easy job for him， but heis determined and even asked his son to pick out a Chinese name forhim.
“My father is an ‘old young man’ full of vigor and enthusiasm， said Jonathan with pride. From Jonathan’s description， I have in mymind an image of “old naughty boy”。 Jonathan continued， “He is the52 kind of guy that would walkinto the street to join youngpeople in demonstrationsagainst environmental damage，war or a government policy.
I think he is like a fighter so Ihave named him “Doushi”， ahomophone for fighter.
It is nothing out of theordinary for a father to namehis son， whether in China or inAmerica. But in the rare situationof the Kos-Read’s， the sonhas named the father. “Likefather， like son，” as we say inChina. In a reverse way， however， we can judge the father’s conductfrom the son， as well. This is a genetic hypothesis as well as a psychologicalproposition that might be a fitting research subject for the psychologistMr. Doushi.
Postscript
On March 8， 2007， Cao Cao’s wife gave birth to a baby girl byC-section. The new-born baby， seven pounds in weight and 20 incheslong， has inherited the beauty of both the parents. The new father， sohappy with “the very cute girl who has long limbs”， has named herRoxanne Diana Kos-Read. Roxanne is taken from the Princess of Alexanderthe Great. Cao Cao hasn’t yet decided on a Chinese name forthe baby， they’re still collecting ideas for that.
Translated by Yang Yaohua
