另一位男生在一所高知名度的中學考試作弊，這是他畢業的前一年。開除之前他被拉到校長面前。校長是個非常好的人，問他為什麼作弊？你的成績不錯用不著作弊。這個年輕人哭了，他說：「大家都想進這所好學校，我怕被刷下。如果不能進入最好的學校我不敢去見父母。我知道是錯，可我父母只管要我進好學校，那時他們就可以說我兒子上了史丹佛大學 ，女兒上了哈佛大學。」作弊是他內在價值觀的流露。

我還有更多的例子，可是我想撇下不談而進入下個一話題。值得注意的是，這些不幸都不是父母出於惡意造成，更不是父母對子女有什麼不良期盼。相反的，父母心目中都對孩子有最佳的意願，所以結果雖複雜，卻可以理解這是眾多因素交錯的結果。雖然任何一個單一的因素都不算強烈，可綜合起來卻壓得年輕人喘不過氣來。最讓他們為難的是這些因素相互矛盾。

由研究歷史的觀點看，我強調其歷史因素，尤其是當一種文化隨移民帶入另一種文化時發生的現象，以及這類現象與今天關於亞裔講題的關係。在這兒我做個膚淺的分析。

國際間從亞洲各國至西方世界的移民潮並不是由內心的嚮往所驅使。這些人並不是因為此地風景優美才來，也不是因為喜歡這裡的音樂、藝術、文化而來。這是市場驅使的結果， 是全球工人、資本、技術流動跨越國界攫取世界自然資源的結果。

現在許多亞洲人的父輩、祖父輩首先到達夏威夷州或加州，在那甘蔗田裡、鐵路上 、餐廳裡、洗衣房中做工。你們有些人可能只知道他們在餐廳裡、洗衣房中做工，而不知道其真正的動機。其真正的原因是他們想利用這裡的經濟環境賺錢，也就是說來淘金 。十九世紀中葉，許多人為黃金所吸引。亞洲移民大多遷至加州、澳洲、加拿大，這都是曾發現金礦的地方。三藩市被亞洲人稱為舊金山；他們稱澳洲為新金山。這些名字是從哪裡來的？都是因為曾在這些地方發現金礦的緣故。

首先我們來看一下其中的心理因素。亞洲人的遷居、移民是一種經濟投資。這是許多亞洲人移民心中的動機。當黃金難以找到時，他們就轉向洗衣店、餐廳、鐵路以求生存。可視美國為金礦，來此淘金的心態依舊 ，並將其傳給了子孫。一個男孩告訴我說，他父親說如果他娶亞裔女子，就把祖父留下的黃金給他。此種誘惑竟達到這種層次。

我要說這裡「舊」相同，可「山」不同 。今天「舊」表現在學校與學位，在電腦、科技與商業之中，這都是金礦。更進一步，與尋金相關的所有恐怖，希望、風險、投資的壓力，也都傳給了年輕的下一代。

其次是社會因素。在所有移民中，希望在當地能適應，被接受的心態是共同的。誰都不希望被當成陌生人，看來與眾不同。由於文化的原因，亞洲人對這一點的強化尤甚 。亞洲文化強調與社會妥協、和諧、適應；如果，他們在另一種文化中強調這一特性，結果就顯得很凸出。在亞洲，家庭是大社會的一個紐結；在美國則不是。這也是問題之一。  

亞裔青年所受到的兩種壓力是：由長輩傳下來的尋金心態，現在表現出來的即是送子女去哈佛、史丹佛、柏克萊加大做為家庭投資，由希望融入當地社會所引起的壓力。

第三種最可怕，也是人們都熟悉的青春期壓力。每個人在這一時期其智力、生理、心理各方面都發生難以置信的變化。將所有因素加在一起，其壓力是極為強烈的。

另外，還有那種尋求同伴肯定，參與團體，常與家長意見相左的壓力。由於文化背景之故亞裔青年尤其急於融入社會，而卻為敬誠心的要求而感到苦惱不已。同伴需要他們，父母也需要他們；社會需要他們這樣，亞洲傳統卻要求他們那樣。現代社會要求他們融入各種流行服飾，各種現代音樂；而父母、祖父母卻要他們保留傳統。他們既在為了融入新文化而拼搏，想盡快掌握一切流行與變動。這是領悟最新的，美國方式的捷徑 ；但卻與忠於家庭、忠於固有道德觀起衝突。他們融入社會，可文化上卻有隔閡；他們摻入，卻未融合，也未成為美國人。

所以他們得到的是一種混合訊息：上學去，好好幹，爭第一，與別人相處在一起；可是， 「小心！不要融蝕了；不要捨棄自己的文化道德。」即使自制力良好的正常成人也極難做到，對青春期的少年人，其困難程度那就更不用提了。

新的研究顯示青少年受同伴的影響遠超過受父母的影響。因此十二、三歲少年眼中的權威人物不是父母，而是同伴，現實如此 ！新的研究又顯示來美國的亞洲青年，特別是在第一次剛來時，其健康、心理、情感各方面狀況都強於美國青年。可幾年之後他們卻變得不如美國青年。這表明壓力緊張的效果，不僅由食物之改變造城，以上談到的失落因素也是其原因。

第四類壓力來自環境，也就是所謂熔爐。也許這是一種人人都要面對的進退兩難的局面，而亞裔青少年所感到的壓力最大。他們所被擠入的熔爐本身就充滿了矛盾。

待續

Another boy was caught cheating during his last year at a prestigious high school and was about to be hauled before the Dean to be kicked out. The Dean, a very kind person, had asked him, "Why did you cheat? You didn't need to cheat; you were doing fine." The young man opened up and started crying. He said, "Everybody was talking about being accepted into this great school, or that prestigious school, and I was afraid I would be left behind. I couldn't bear the thought of facing my parents unless I got into the best school. I knew it was wrong, but all they (my parents) would understand is that I got accepted. And then they could say, 'My son's going to Stanford; my daughter's going to Harvard.'" That act of cheating came out of the internalized set of values he carries within him.

There are many more examples, but instead I will proceed to my next point. It must be emphasized that this unfortunate state comes about, not through evil intentions, not because parents are bad or wish ill to their children, but through what seem to be the best of intentions. This is a result of a complex, yet understandable, confluence of many factors. Not anyone factor is in itself dramatic, but the combination of them is overwhelming to a young person. And most difficult of all for them, many of these factors are contradictory.

Therefore, let me present a somewhat superficial analysis of where we might look to understand this phenomenon. Being an historian, I will stress the historical factors involved, particularly the phenomenon of immigration - of moving and transporting from one culture into another-and particularly, in relation to today's topic, the Asian pattern.

The international Asian migration-the diaspora, as it is called by historians - out of various Asian countries into the Western world, has not been a transfer inspired by the heart or the mind. It is not that these people thought, "I want to move to that country because the landscape is so beautiful; Iagree with its political philosophy; I enjoy its music, art, and culture." This diaspora has been driven by the market. It has been part of a global phenomenon in which workers, capital, and technology have been moving, and. continue to move, across national boundaries to enable entrepreneurs to exploit natural resources all over the world.

Many of the Asians here now have parents and grandparents who first went to Hawaii or came to California to work in the cane fields, to work on the railroads, or to staff restaurants or laundries. However, some of you may not be aware of what originally motivated them to come. Only after they arrived did they end up in the restaurants and laundries. Their real reason for coming was to take advantage of better economic opportunities: they were literally seeking gold. They were seeking their fortunes in far-flung places where gold had been discovered. Gold was a big lure in the middle 19th century. The destinations of choice by most Asians who migrated to Western countries were California, Australia, and parts of Canada. These were all places where gold had been discovered. San Francisco was called by Asian immigrants,jiujin shan, "Old Gold Mountain." They called Australia xin jin shan, "New Gold Mountain." Where did the name come from? It came from the fact that gold could be found there.

First, then, let us consider the psychological aspect of this phenomenon. Asian emigration/immigration was and is an economic investment. This has been the mentality driving most Asian immigrants. When gold proved harder to find, then they reverted to the laundries, the restaurants, and the railroads to make a living. But that mentality of seeking gold-of seeing America as a place to get that gold-still exists, having been transmitted to their children and grandchildren. One boy even told me, "My dad has promised me the gold from my grandparents if I marry an Asian girl instead of an American." The lure is still there even on that level.

I am stating that it is the same "gold," but a different mountain. Today the "gold" is found in schools and degrees, in computers, technology, and business. This is the "gold mine". Furthermore, all the fears, all the hopes, all the risks, and all the pressures of investing in this search for gold apply to and are passed along to the children.

Second is the sociological aspect. The wish to assimilate, to fit in, to be part of the new culture, to be accepted, is universal to all immigrants. No one wishes to be seen as different, as an outsider, as a stranger. This is further reinforced as a cultural tendency more particularly among most Asians. In the Asian tradition, generally speaking, there is much more emphasis on reconciliation, on harmony, on fitting in, on conformity to tradition and to social norms. When you place this emphasis in the context of another culture, it becomes incredibly highlighted. In Asia, the family is part of the larger social nexus. In America, however, the family is not. And this is part of the problem.

And so, the first two kinds of pressure that Asian youths in America are having to bear are: one, the pressure from the mentality of seeking for gold that has been passed along through the generations, presently manifesting in the attitude that the son or daughter is being sent to Harvard, Stanford, or Berkeley as part of a family investment. And two, the social pressure of needing to fit in.

The third kind of pressure they have to bear-the most terrible, and one that all people are familiar with-is the pressure of adolescence. This is a time in every person's life when incredible, tumultuous changes take place at all levels: intellectual, physiological, and psychological. When you add all these together, the pressure becomes extremely intense.

In addition, there is the pressure of seeking peer approval and needing to bond with a group, often in opposition to parents and family. Young Asians in particular, due to their cultural background, are extremely attuned to wanting to fit in, and yet they are extremely torn between conflicting calls for their loyalty. Their peers want them, and their parents want them. American society pulls them one way, and Asian tradition pulls them another way. The modern world pulls them to fit in-to get the clothes, to get the music, to get with it-and their parents and their grandparents are entreating them to preserve the old ways. They are driven to succeed by losing themselves in the new culture. They want to master all the moves and all the modes. These are the quickest to take on the new styles, in the American way. And yet they are being held back by competing loyalties to family, to clan, and to their ethnic identity. They fit in, but they do not lose their ethnic separateness. They mix and meld, but they do not intermarry, and they do not become too American.

Thus they get mixed messages: go to school, be good, be Number One, blend in, be like everybody else. But, don't mix too carefully; don't lose your ethnic identity. These ideas would be extremely difficult even for a normal, well-adjusted adult to rectify. How much more difficult must this be for an adolescent!

New research has also suggested that in modern society, the power of the peer group to influence adolescents surpasses that of their parents. Thus, the authority figure for twelve to thirteen-year-olds is no longer their parents; it is their peer group. This is a reality.

Other recent studies suggest that Asian-American youths, particularly those who are immigrating for the first time, start out higher in health, both psychologically, physically, and emotionally than their occidental, American counterparts. But within a few years, they decline and fare worse in comparison. This is an indicator of incredible stress, not only due to change of diet, but also due to "burning out" from the incredible pressures described above. 

The fourth kind of pressure is that from the environment; in other words, from the "melting pot." This is, perhaps, the major dilemma, one which we all face, but one which Asian American adolescents face most intensely. The "melting pot" of America that they are being pressured to blend into is itself a mass of contradictions  

To be continued