袁莉
在位于北京CBD雅致的白色基调办公室里，SOHO中国首席执行官张欣对我说：“如果你认识6年前的我，你会觉得这是一个极讨厌的女人。”她说那时的自己“很骄傲，很不可一世，态度不好”。
Bloomberg
当然，张欣绝不是中国商界唯一一个希望借助宗教信仰的力量来解决社会问题的人。事实上，现在中国互联网和饭桌上的一个热门话题就是：中国社会是如何丧失道德底线的，以及应如何重塑价值观？
这个形象与很多中国人知道的张欣有所不同。她从赤贫到巨富的成功故事为很多人所熟知：14岁，她随母亲从北京移居香港后，在流水线上做了五年工人。为了脱离乏味贫穷的生活，她1985年到英国求学，最终获得了剑桥大学发展经济学硕士学位。在高盛和旅行者两家投行做了三四年后，她遇到了现在的丈夫──在中国偏远的西部省份甘肃农村长大的潘石屹。他们共同创立的SOHO中国2007年在香港上市，共募资超过19亿美元。
这些年来，他们办盛大豪华的晚会，穿顶级名牌，与名流交往，被称为中国商界的明星夫妇档。
然而，去年她在新浪微博上写道：“我们太相信物质的丰富能带来教育的提升，最终带来文明的进步，但是中国的发展打破了我们的幻想。”她希望宗教，尤其是巴哈伊，能帮助中国克服物质发展飞速而精神发展滞后的脱节状态。
巴哈伊是于19世纪创建于波斯的一个新宗教，全球有600多万信徒。主要教义是相信人类一家，即无论种族、阶级、信仰或民族，人类通过完善自身可以孕育出一个普世文明。
当然，听张欣感叹追求物质所带来的种种后果会让人感觉有些奇怪。毕竟，这个国家很少有女人比她更充分地享受了中国梦所带来的好处。可以说，她和潘石屹的财富，也是建立在向中国憧憬富裕生活的中产阶级推销那个梦的基础上的。
关于“来来往往”
“来来往往”专栏尝试用西方人熟悉的语言与语境写中国商业文化。专栏每两周在《华尔街日报》报纸及网络版以中英文双语同步发表。专栏作者袁莉2004年在纽约加入《华尔街日报》，先后担任记者和专栏作者。她2008年回到北京担任《华尔街日报》中文网主编。袁莉毕业于哥伦比亚大学和乔治・华盛顿大学，并曾在新华社担任编辑以及驻泰国和阿富汗记者。欢迎读者发送邮件至li.yuan@wsj.com或在评论栏中发表评论和建议，也可以在新浪微博上追踪她。
而且，开发商在中国的名声并不好。在一些公众看来，他们是贪婪、暴利的同义词。中国国务院总理温家宝最近在回答网民关于房价的问题时，甚至直接点了开发商的名。他说：“我认为房地产商作为社会的一个成员，你们应该对社会尽到应有的责任。你们的身上也应该流着道德的血液。”“来来往往”专栏尝试用西方人熟悉的语言与语境写中国商业文化。专栏每两周在《华尔街日报》报纸及网络版以中英文双语同步发表。专栏作者袁莉2004年在纽约加入《华尔街日报》，先后担任记者和专栏作者。她2008年回到北京担任《华尔街日报》中文网主编。袁莉毕业于哥伦比亚大学和乔治・华盛顿大学，并曾在新华社担任编辑以及驻泰国和阿富汗记者。欢迎读者发送邮件至li.yuan@wsj.com或在评论栏中发表评论和建议，也可以在新浪微博上追踪她。我不得不问张欣，为什么公众要听她，一个开发商，谈宗教、谈向善？有没有人说过她伪善？她如何面对这种怀疑呢？
张欣说，很多人包括她自己对很多事物都有偏见，主要是因为不了解。“比如不认识我的人都会觉得，开发商嘛，肯定腐败，肯定是大坏蛋。（就好像）很多中国人没有去过日本，就觉得日本人都是坏的。这些都是偏见。一旦了解了，偏见就会消失的。”
但是，我又问，讲求道德和追求利润之间有没有矛盾呢？尤其是在中国现在的商业环境下，如果SOHO中国真要那么讲求道德，会不会让他们处于竞争劣势？
张欣说不会。她说，如果你比别人更诚实，你的生意肯定就比其他人做得更好，因为人家会更信赖你，更想跟你做。她说，人才也更愿意在诚实的公司工作。
当然，张欣绝不是中国商界唯一一个希望借助宗教信仰的力量来解决社会问题的人。而且，她寻找信仰的过程在一部分中国人，特别是相对富裕的阶层中也是很有代表性的。
中国最大的房地产开发商万科企业股份有限公司董事长王石，2009年时就曾说过，中国社会对信仰应该有更多宽容，更多了解。 他说：“中国已经到了这样一个阶段，如果还是GDP挂帅，讲经济发展，一直持续下去，那会是很危险的。不断反思自我，实现自我发展，对我们的民族非常重要。”
事实上，现在中国互联网和饭桌上的一个热门话题就是：中国社会是如何丧失道德底线的，以及应如何重塑价值观？
其中一个比较主流的看法是：共产党把中国人都变成了无神论者，文化大革命等政治运动打破了传统儒家伦理规范，过去30年不计后果地追求物质的富裕使中国人彻底摆脱了敬畏、尊重和恐惧等道德情感的约束。
一些人认为，道德的沦丧是很多社会问题的根源，如腐败、食品安全、环境污染，甚至夫妻之间不忠。随着生活水平的提高，人们发现，他们的焦虑也更多了。
一些人转向宗教寻求答案与慰藉。据中国社会科学院发布的2010年《宗教蓝皮书》，中国现有2300多万基督教徒，其中73%是1993年以后入教的。当然，信教人数增长快也部分是因为政府相对放松了对宗教的管制。
张欣是在2005年口依巴哈伊教的。当时，她的家庭生活遭遇了危机。她发现，她花了很多时间建立起来的物质成果和成就，无论是金钱、事业还是人际关系，其实并不完美，也不会永存。而祈祷能让她冷静下来，忘掉焦虑和痛苦。
她说，潘石屹和她几乎同时口依了巴哈伊教。现在，他们不时会在微博上引用祈祷文或写下祈祷心得。她说，他们的粉丝很喜欢转发这些话。
这对夫妇这么公开宣扬自己宗教信仰是够大胆的，因为宗教在中国依然是个比较敏感的话题。张欣说，巴哈伊是不反对政府的，也不参与政治，因为它不相信政治手段可以“改变人心”。她还说，中国政府对宗教的态度也越来越开放。
事实上，张欣并不认为类似埃及革命这样的手段是改变社会的有效方式。她认为，无论是独裁还是民主的政治体制，如果民众的道德水平依然停留在原来，制度的改变其实没有用。
她说：“真正社会的改变，真正人类的改变要靠每一个人心的改变。每个人的心都变得更好，这个社会就改变了，在什么样的体制下都会改变，而且这个制度自然就会改变了。”
当然，在她看来，要达到这种改变只能是通过信仰，通过巴哈伊。这也是为什么SOHO中国基金会的慈善工作主要是资助潘石屹家乡天水地区的小学生进行美德教育，培养诸如整洁、礼貌等基本操守。张欣说，她不能在学校里教宗教，但她希望通过这个项目传递宗教精神。
我问张欣，她和潘石屹以前炫目的生活方式是很多年轻人所向往的，他们现在对于信仰的追求会对年轻人有同样的影响力吗？
她说：“我觉得是。那时候我们要搞party，搞最好的party，我们现在不太追求这些东西了……人生走到这个阶段，我们发现中国社会现在需要精神的指引，而我们恰好在这个时候很荣幸地得到了这么美好的一件事情。我们要与每个人分享。”
我忍不住又问：“可是你们是开发商，而在中国……”
张欣笑吟吟地点头：“是很有意思。由我们来做这个工作，这太有讽刺意味了。”
（本文版权归道琼斯公司所有，未经许可不得翻译或转载。）
Li Yuan
Zhang Xin, the billionaire Chief Executive of Soho China Ltd., insists she's not the woman she once was.
Religion has changed everything. At age 45, Ms. Zhang is reinventing herself as a moral and modest Baha'i convert who has transcended materialistic pursuits and now wants to focus on charity and education. 'Baha'i has transformed me,' she says.
It's hard to square this vision of Ms. Zhang with her public image. Millions in China know her rags-to-riches success story: a textile factory worker at age 14 in Hong Kong, a night school student who made it to Cambridge University in the U.K., an early career with Goldman Sachs and Travelers Group. Together with her husband, Pan Shiyi, she founded Soho China and took it public in 2007, raising more than $1.9 billion.
They are the 'It Couple' of China, known for their glitzy parties, designer clothes and celebrity friends.
But when I sat down with Ms. Zhang recently in her chic white-toned office in Beijing's central business district, she tells me, 'If you knew me six years ago, you would think, 'This is a very annoying woman.' ' She was 'very arrogant' then, she says.
'We've put too much confidence in that materialistic abundance will bring along better education, which will in turn facilitate progresses in civilization,' she wrote on Sina Weibo, a microblogging service where she has more than 1.4 million followers. 'But China's development has smashed our illusion.'
She hopes that religion, and Baha'i in particular, can help China to bridge the gap between fast economic growth and spiritual development that lags behind. A new religion with about six million believers globally, Baha'i emphasizes the spiritual unity of all humankind.
It's curious to hear Ms. Zhang, of all people, lament the results of materialism in modern China. After all, she's lived the China Dream more exuberantly than almost any other woman in the country. And for the past 16 years she and her husband have built their fortune selling that dream to the aspiring Chinese middle class. They are known for their futuristic buildings designed by Riken Yamamoto, Peter Davidson and Zaha Hadid.
In China, the property-developer label is synonymous with greed and excessive profits. Just last month, Premier Wen Jiabao pointed his finger at developers when talking about the country's housing problems. He urged developers to 'take all their social responsibilities,' adding that he believes 'the blood flowing in their bodies should be moral too.'
I can't help but ask Ms. Zhang why anybody would want to listen to her preaching about being good? Hasn't anybody called her hypocritical?
She's well aware of the image problem. 'For many people who don't know me, they will naturally think, 'a developer, corrupted, not a good person,' ' she says in her usual fast-talking, enthusiastic way. 'I think many people, including me, are biased against many things. And bias comes from ignorance. Just like many Chinese, having never been to Japan, think all Japanese are bad people. Once the knowledge is there, the ignorance will go away, and bias will go away.'
Does she find any conflict between ethical behavior and money-making, particularly in China's current business environment when abiding by rules can mean you'll be less likely to succeed?
No, Ms. Zhang says. If you're more honest than the other people, your business will perform better than them because your business partners will trust you more and want to do more business with you, she says. Besides, talented people like working for ethical companies.
To be sure, Ms. Zhang isn't the only businessperson in the country hoping to tackle social problems with religion. How Chinese society has lost its morality —and how to regain it—is a hot topic on both the Internet and around dinner tables.
One of the more dominant theories goes like this: the Communist Party made all Chinese atheists; then the Cultural Revolution destroyed all Confucian doctrines that guided Chinese society for thousands of the years; finally, in their relentless pursuit of wealth in the past 30 years, Chinese broke away from whatever moral boundaries that were left. It's a country that has no reverence, no respect and no fear.
People blame the loss of morality for social ills from pollution to corruption and infidelity. Along with higher living standards have come higher levels of anxiety.
Some have turned to religion for solace. According to a 2010 survey by the Chinese Academy of Social Science, there are more than 20 million Christians in China, and 73% of them were converted after 1993, just about the time the economy went into overdrive.
Ms. Zhang says she converted to Baha'i in 2005 after a family crisis made her question the meaning of the success she had worked so hard for. She found that prayer could be calming.
Mr. Pan converted about the same time. Now they sometimes post their prayers and their interpretations of Baha'i teachings on Sina Weibo, where Mr. Pan has about 3.5 million followers.
Ms. Zhang never lets her musings on religion stray into the area of politics. She claims to be apolitical, and doesn't believe that changing the political system will lead to a better society. She says that the revolution in Egypt didn't really change its society, citing the sexual assault on CBS correspondent Lara Logan immediately after Hosni Mubarak stepped down as president. It doesn't make any difference if it's a democracy or a dictatorship, she says. 'The real change comes when people's hearts change. When everybody has a better heart, the whole society will change.'
Then will the religious beliefs of China's most famous business couple have as much influence on young people as their previous glamorous lifestyle?
'I hope so,' she says. 'In our early days, we tried to be a creative developer. And we tried to throw the best parties. Now there are [other] creative developers like us. And we've come to the point in our lives that we believe that Chinese society needs spiritual guidance, and we're privileged to receive such a beautiful thing. We need to share it with everyone.'
'But you're a developer, and in China…' I asked again.
Ms. Zhang smiles, 'It is indeed very interesting that we're doing this. This is so ironic.'
Zhang Xin, the billionaire Chief Executive of Soho China Ltd., insists she's not the woman she once was.
Religion has changed everything. At age 45, Ms. Zhang is reinventing herself as a moral and modest Baha'i convert who has transcended materialistic pursuits and now wants to focus on charity and education. 'Baha'i has transformed me,' she says.
It's hard to square this vision of Ms. Zhang with her public image. Millions in China know her rags-to-riches success story: a textile factory worker at age 14 in Hong Kong, a night school student who made it to Cambridge University in the U.K., an early career with Goldman Sachs and Travelers Group. Together with her husband, Pan Shiyi, she founded Soho China and took it public in 2007, raising more than $1.9 billion.
They are the 'It Couple' of China, known for their glitzy parties, designer clothes and celebrity friends.
But when I sat down with Ms. Zhang recently in her chic white-toned office in Beijing's central business district, she tells me, 'If you knew me six years ago, you would think, 'This is a very annoying woman.' ' She was 'very arrogant' then, she says.
'We've put too much confidence in that materialistic abundance will bring along better education, which will in turn facilitate progresses in civilization,' she wrote on Sina Weibo, a microblogging service where she has more than 1.4 million followers. 'But China's development has smashed our illusion.'
She hopes that religion, and Baha'i in particular, can help China to bridge the gap between fast economic growth and spiritual development that lags behind. A new religion with about six million believers globally, Baha'i emphasizes the spiritual unity of all humankind.
It's curious to hear Ms. Zhang, of all people, lament the results of materialism in modern China. After all, she's lived the China Dream more exuberantly than almost any other woman in the country. And for the past 16 years she and her husband have built their fortune selling that dream to the aspiring Chinese middle class. They are known for their futuristic buildings designed by Riken Yamamoto, Peter Davidson and Zaha Hadid.
In China, the property-developer label is synonymous with greed and excessive profits. Just last month, Premier Wen Jiabao pointed his finger at developers when talking about the country's housing problems. He urged developers to 'take all their social responsibilities,' adding that he believes 'the blood flowing in their bodies should be moral too.'
I can't help but ask Ms. Zhang why anybody would want to listen to her preaching about being good? Hasn't anybody called her hypocritical?
She's well aware of the image problem. 'For many people who don't know me, they will naturally think, 'a developer, corrupted, not a good person,' ' she says in her usual fast-talking, enthusiastic way. 'I think many people, including me, are biased against many things. And bias comes from ignorance. Just like many Chinese, having never been to Japan, think all Japanese are bad people. Once the knowledge is there, the ignorance will go away, and bias will go away.'
Does she find any conflict between ethical behavior and money-making, particularly in China's current business environment when abiding by rules can mean you'll be less likely to succeed?
No, Ms. Zhang says. If you're more honest than the other people, your business will perform better than them because your business partners will trust you more and want to do more business with you, she says. Besides, talented people like working for ethical companies.
To be sure, Ms. Zhang isn't the only businessperson in the country hoping to tackle social problems with religion. How Chinese society has lost its morality —and how to regain it—is a hot topic on both the Internet and around dinner tables.
One of the more dominant theories goes like this: the Communist Party made all Chinese atheists; then the Cultural Revolution destroyed all Confucian doctrines that guided Chinese society for thousands of the years; finally, in their relentless pursuit of wealth in the past 30 years, Chinese broke away from whatever moral boundaries that were left. It's a country that has no reverence, no respect and no fear.
People blame the loss of morality for social ills from pollution to corruption and infidelity. Along with higher living standards have come higher levels of anxiety.
Some have turned to religion for solace. According to a 2010 survey by the Chinese Academy of Social Science, there are more than 20 million Christians in China, and 73% of them were converted after 1993, just about the time the economy went into overdrive.
Ms. Zhang says she converted to Baha'i in 2005 after a family crisis made her question the meaning of the success she had worked so hard for. She found that prayer could be calming.
Mr. Pan converted about the same time. Now they sometimes post their prayers and their interpretations of Baha'i teachings on Sina Weibo, where Mr. Pan has about 3.5 million followers.
Ms. Zhang never lets her musings on religion stray into the area of politics. She claims to be apolitical, and doesn't believe that changing the political system will lead to a better society. She says that the revolution in Egypt didn't really change its society, citing the sexual assault on CBS correspondent Lara Logan immediately after Hosni Mubarak stepped down as president. It doesn't make any difference if it's a democracy or a dictatorship, she says. 'The real change comes when people's hearts change. When everybody has a better heart, the whole society will change.'
Then will the religious beliefs of China's most famous business couple have as much influence on young people as their previous glamorous lifestyle?
'I hope so,' she says. 'In our early days, we tried to be a creative developer. And we tried to throw the best parties. Now there are [other] creative developers like us. And we've come to the point in our lives that we believe that Chinese society needs spiritual guidance, and we're privileged to receive such a beautiful thing. We need to share it with everyone.'
'But you're a developer, and in China…' I asked again.
Ms. Zhang smiles, 'It is indeed very interesting that we're doing this. This is so ironic.'
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