Stefan Lorde: China in my eyes

To write about my impression of China is one of the greatest tasks I have been given, not because of I lacked content, but because there was so much to write about! Unlike Mandarin, which can condense loads of information into a few characters, the English language is just not rich enough to hold all the information.

In my eyes, China is one of the richest countries on earth. Not in regards to money or tangible wealth, but with regards to culture, language and history. A nation with one of the longest unbroken histories, it has the deepest cultural roots; and the most widely spoken language in the world definitely caught my attention. I have been indubitably fascinated with everything about China since I was a little boy. Watching documentaries, movies and countless television shows served to heighten my curiosity and attraction to this great nation.

It is often said that to travel a thousand miles is better than to read a thousand books. I took that as literally as I could, and actually travelled halfway around the world to see China for myself. I decided that to go and see for myself would be better than watching all the documentaries in the world; and that experiencing the history, culture, and language for myself would give me something that I would not be able to get from the television or internet. There, I was able to get a first-hand look at this mysterious country, and to know the truths of its culture, language and people. I found this place to be like nothing I have ever seen before: its language is fascinating, and the people are very friendly.

The culture of the Chinese people runs deep in the veins of all on this land, including not only the Chinese people themselves but also every foreigner who lives there. On the streets, one can see foreigners lining up for street food and eating with chopsticks just like the locals. It's common to see foreigners practising Tai Chi and participating in Square dancing just like the locals. The Chinese culture is so attractive that if we disregard the obvious outward differences, there would be no difference between us as foreigners and the ordinary Chinese people.

The Chinese language is unique. It is widely known to be the most spoken language in the world with more than 1 billion speakers. Millions of Chinese students are distributed around the world, and thousands of businesses are seeing China as an emerging global leader. The desire to partner with China makes foreigners want to learn Chinese. People from all walks of life, from the average layman to the Linguistics major are enthralled by this euphony of characters, this tumult of tones, and this leviathan of lexicon; and are eager to know all that this language entails.

The history, language and culture of China is embodied and represented in everything, and especially in the daily details. This reminds me of my experience in a restaurant with a Chinese friend. In the restaurant, she tasted the soup with three sips. I immediately gasped. When she asked what was the matter, I told her that I remembered that the Chinese word for taste is 品 (pin3), which was made up of three 口's (kou3), the word for mouth. It seemed to me, in the mind of the Chinese, that one must partake of the food three times to really taste it. The language has been so well interwoven with the worldview and ideology of the Chinese people, that even the makeup of the words holds sway over their everyday actions. Because of the pictographic nature of many of the Chinese characters, it is not surprising that this phenomenon exists. On another occasion I was with a friend from Spain. We spotted a historic site and wanted to take some photos of it. I told my friend to 休(xiu1) by the tree, and he leaned on it. Though we were both foreigners, we still understood that the character for rest looked like a man leaning on a tree. In this way, I was able to communicate an idea to him with just one character. Amazing as it was, it paled in comparison to the innumerable ideas expressed by the Chinese people every day with these characters.

Lastly, I want to speak about the Chinese people. China's current position in the world and its great achievements can be attributed to its people. Their commitment to leadership has proven that when people work in solidarity, nothing is impossible. Many Westerners agree that the Chinese are like ants in how they put the collective benefits before that of the individual. During the holidays, when people are usually home with their families, there still are many people remaining in their working positions such as bus drivers and deliverymen. This shows me that even though the individual may have his personal desires, they still come second to the overall good of the country. As the bus driver said, "yes, I want to go see my family, but my duty is to make sure that my fellowman sees his first. Therefore, I will work to make sure that happens."

There is still so much that I want to say when I think about China. Traveling through China and enjoying all the aspects of this great nation described above helped me broaden my horizons. The food, the prosperity, and the convenience of transportation there all constitute part of my wonderful experience in China, and I simply wish that my words could help someone else see China...through my eyes.