When I spotted The Seattle Times story about the Confucius Institute officially opening in Seattle to further Mandarin studies, I perked up. Knowing more languages always opens doors.

The Institute, as the Times reported, has ties to China’s Ministry of Education. But I also thought of a saying in Chinese: One eye open, one eye closed.

The way I interpret it, it means that you keep one eye closed in case, well, things that might be questionable pop up but you still want a long-term relationship. Yes, you look the other way.

You keep one eye open whenever the news, information or financial offer will benefit you.

I have long argued that better relations between the United States and China are needed, that large-scale tensions between the two countries will have an adverse effect and innocent people in both countries will be caught in the middle.

Language is one way to bridge gaps. I know: I studied Mandarin in China and later used it to travel through the country - its big cities, mountainous areas and rural towns.

But these days, especially given the critical thinking skills that is fostered at schools in the West, this relationship needs to be examined in closer detail – what given the Google in China case, the country’s fast and clear rise in the world and the fact that senior Chinese government officials like to achieve their goals.

Chinese government officials these days are fond of talking about “soft power.” But as “soft power” circulates more in global affairs, keep in mind that it’s legitimate to ask questions.

But one lesson that has surfaced: You’ll certainly feel less heat if the Chinese government considers you to be a friend.

That might have been the path that Seattle educational and state leaders took on Monday during a ceremony in Seattle to hail the official opening of the Confucius Institute of the State of Washington.

What I found fascinating, though, in the coverage were some of the comments from officials. They reflected a context from the 1990s.

China’s economy, its cities, purchasing power and growing elite have changed dramatically since then – I would think the comments from U.S. counterparts would have reflected that.

I recognize that the people who were quoted in the Times are probably bright, articulate people. It also might have been the way that the comments were put in context in that article.

Here are two examples of what I’m talking about.

The article quoted Michele Anciaux Aoki of the Washington state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

The institute is ‘about opening up China….It’s a two-way street.’

Arguably, though, when world-famous architect Rem Koolhaus has designed the CCTV building in Beijing, the country is open.

Add to that the Beijing Olympics in 2008, the Expo 2010, held in Shanghai, and that just about every single business around the globe is aware of China’s truly awesome market power and potential.

When Chinese tourists and officials stop off to shop for designer goods in New York City and Paris – and also help spread money across borders – it’s safe to say that China is open.

I understand that not all Chinese can take advantage of China’s open doors. But a large number of Chinese can pursue new opportunities.

And is it a two-way street?

You could probably find an answer to that in Google’s recent experience of discovering hacked accounts, security problems with Google code and Chinese government.

If it was a two-way street, wouldn’t the other 30 estimated companies that reportedly had their software or servers hacked or compromised come forward to publicly say so?

As Google learned, the Chinese government delivered criticism quite fast. 

It’s more accurate to say that working in China is a street in which the Chinese government will allow certain actions but is very willing to stop others.

The government also will act in its own interests when it deems necessary. There have been reports of Chinese businesses asking for their Western partners to share technology before a deal goes through.

James McGregor, a China expert who has lived there for decades, an author and a former chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, wrote in January that some international businesspeople in that country felt that they had been “bamboozled by the system.”

Jack Welch, the former chief executive of General Electric, put it in blunt terms on CNBC in March.

Xu Lin, a Chinese education official whose group Hanban operates the Institute, attended the Monday celebration.

She reportedly told Seattle students, who spoke Mandarin:

You will be the pioneers between China and the United States.

If you were a parent, teacher or U.S. government official, that probably sounded like the right thing to say to boost warmer relations.

Even if you can speak fluent Chinese and are from the Seattle area, the better way to be a true pioneer between the two countries would be to understand the thinking of senior Chinese government officials and be on good enough terms to talk about global issues – including sensitive ones – in a constructive manner.

In other words, the issue of U.S.-China relations is beyond the mere teaching of Mandarin and Chinese culture, especially in 2010.

Singing songs in Chinese is a good start – and cute when U.S. kids do it. But very quickly, as many kids in China realize, life can become competitive – and in adulthood, some do whatever it takes to get on top of the heap.

What should be taught to native English speakers studying Mandarin is a deep sense of Chinese history, the ability to negotiate with business or government partners in China and the awareness that senior Chinese government officials enjoy getting what they want.

Tall order for youths?

Well, China has the ability to do that.

Besides, it would be dishonest for teachers in the United States to stress only side of what is expected to become the world’s second-largest economy and not give a full picture.

Equally, it would be dishonest for teachers in the United States to give students a scrubbed version of U.S. history.

Of course, there are many good, honest people in China. There are bad apples – all countries have them.

In the West, we teach kids that poor behavior – lying, cheating, corruption, intimidation and stealing – will not be tolerated, that there are better ways to achieve your goals than to take these shortcuts.

They are deeply rooted in U.S. history, in our sense of ethics, in what communities deem to be right or wrong behavior.

Many economists argue that the market will not reward those who pursue such paths.

This ought to be one of the underlying lessons that U.S. schools should stress to students who are learning Chinese, especially with help from the Confucius Institute.

More people in the United States should study Mandarin. It’s a beautiful language. Chinese characters are an art form.

Knowing Chinese will help people better understand how residents in the world’s most populous country view the world.

As a country, China is gorgeous, kinetic - even though parts are polluted. It has a long history of brilliant scholars.

You can climb a Chinese Buddhist mountain, and if crowds are not there, possibly talk with a monk all by yourself.

But U.S. citizens who can speak Mandarin should not turn their heads – or close their eyes – when something dishonest or harmful to the public falls before them.

In English or Mandarin, they should say something.

Yes, I do have thoughts about Confucius.

Enough people sent me The New York Times story about the changing face - or shift from Cantonese to Mandarin - in New York Chinatown and other places in the United States with large ethnic Chinese populations.

So, I thought I’d use English to join the conversation.

My uncle, Bill Wong, provided thoughtful analysis based on his experience of growing up in Oakland Chinatown – where historically Cantonese (Guangzhouhua) or the Taishan dialect (Taishanhua) can be heard.

Interestingly, given what I’ve learned while studying at Chinese universities, I’m using the Mandarin pinyin spellings for the Cantonese and the Taishan dialects.

Really, given my ancestral ties to Guangdong province, I should be using different spellings. Something similar to: Kwangtung or Toisan.

So, why the rise of Mandarin in places in the world - which largely had Cantonese because immigrants from Guangdong province were some of the first to leave?

After Mao gained ultimate power in 1949, Mandarin – or Putonghua – became the language spoken across the country, in offices, at factories and schools.

Regional dialects were spoken in homes and on the streets.

Where do I stand in all of this?

Well, I’m someone who was born and raised in the Northern California suburbs.

My parents sent me to Cantonese school – so I could learn the native tongue of my grandparents who were from Guangdong province.

As a kid, though, I rebelled. I told my parents that everyone in our neighborhood spoke English.

I thought I had succeeded when I thought I could utter one sentence in Cantonese: “I’d like one order of fried noodles.”

But Cantonese has nine tones. I know I must have butchered those.

I realized I had failed on my first trip to Guangzhou, the bustling southern Chinese city, when I used my English and a few Cantonese words that I remembered to order food.

Although I wanted to stay close to my ancestral roots and study Cantonese, I knew it was time to start studying Mandarin.

If I wanted to see the vast country, that was the key dialect for mass communication.

How does this relate to the Times article?

From a pure traveling in China perspective, I was likely more receptive to learn Mandarin – say compared to growing up in a U.S. Chinatown and switching from Cantonese to Mandarin.

In the same light, there are more Mandarin speakers in the world.

Mandarin becomes a natural choice to study.

I don’t think the fact that Mandarin is being spoken more in urban Chinatowns should come as a complete surprise.

It’s certainly not a topic to merit, in the newspaper pecking order, front-page coverage in the Gray Lady.

Why?

Statistically, about one out of every five people on the planet lives in the People’s Republic of China.

As China opens up more, people who went through turbulent times decades ago and want better lives and new experiences are embracing traveling to other countries.

So, too, will their children who sometimes move to other countries to attend university or pursue jobs.

Mandarin-speaking Chinese who have relatives in other countries also are moving to be with them or with the goal of earning more money.

Mandarin also remains key for business in China. But even speaking Mandarin does not always guarantee financial success in the Middle Kingdom.

It’s just one part of the big picture in a place where connections, capital and competition matter.

Of course, the shift from Cantonese to Mandarin will shape the histories and feeling of U.S. Chinatowns.

But The New York Times article should have pointed out that this shift has been unfolding for years – long before the editors decided to put it on their front page and tell the nation: “Look at this!”

The reporter or editors could have taken a subway ride to Queens to visit the bustling Chinatown there.

They could have walked around, listened to people’s dialects and realized there are several heard in the Big Apple: Mandarin, Fujianese, Taishanese, Cantonese and Wenzhouese.

When I attended graduate school in New York City for two academic years about seven years ago, I only heard Cantonese spoken once on campus.

The other times: Mandarin.

When I studied Mandarin in Salinas, Calif. in 1995 at a Chinese community center, Cantonese speakers actually crowded into the classroom to learn the dialect.

And guess what dialect many ethnic Chinese are speaking in high-tech areas, such as Silicon Valley and around Redmond, Wash.?

This dialect shift also can shape a Cantonese speaker’s identity.

It’s a similar question of identity as China rises in prominence and power in the world.

But with millions of Cantonese speakers in Hong Kong, Guangdong province and other places in the world, the dialect will not fade away.

Cantonese also cannot be pushed aside in China – as The New York Times story noted - because it never was the country’s primary dialect.

It’s too bad an editor didn’t catch this sentence that started: “But the eclipse of Cantonese – in New York, China and around the world.”

But you know what?

Everything shapes your identity.

After you go to China, Japan or India for the first time, you return thinking in new ways.

If you’re from Asia and you go to Europe for the first time, you come back and think about your past and future.

If you run with the hip kids in New York City, Paris, London, Tokyo, Shanghai or Rome, you gain new ideas about yourself and who you are.

With China’s ascent in the world happening quite fast, we’ll likely see this global evolution unfolding at a much rapid clip.

What I hope doesn’t change, though, is a person’s genuine warmth, hospitality and curiosity – no matter your country or the Chinese dialect you speak.

Can this change?

It’s quite possible.

Financial security, safe homes, good lives and full stomachs are something we all want.

My wife pointed out that many Chinese had very little – in comparative terms to people in the West – during the 1980s. The 1990s saw more economic reforms and opening.

This decade, we’re seeing many Chinese buy homes, fancy cars, stylish clothing and taking trips to North America, Europe and the Middle East.

Chinese companies also are venturing into the global world of business in fascinating, powerful and influential ways. 

But I hope that the injection of fast money does not produce a new class of aristocrats or plutocrats – no matter your country or ethnicity.

If you gave me a strict choice of a life with incredible amounts of wealth and no friends or a lifelong supply of close friends but no opportunity to buy a Mercedes-Benz, I think I know which option I’d choose.

Years ago, I was hiking in the mountains of Yunnan province.

My friend and I were at a mountaintop Buddhist monastery that was thousands of feet above sea level.

I had to use the restroom. It was chilly. So, I bundled up as I walked into the mud outhouse.

I spotted a monk in a maroon robe, sitting on wooden planks.

He looked up and smiled. I returned the greeting.