Foreign students absorb Chinese language

More overseas students from the School of International Exchange at Taiyuan University of Technology in Shanxi province are redoubling their efforts to learn Chinese to understand Chinese culture, the university said.

Overseas students from the school on Wednesday got together to celebrate the annual UN Chinese Language Day, presenting their Chinese calligraphy, Chinese songs and traditional Chinese opera.

In 2010, the United Nations selected Guyu (Rain of Millet) as the Chinese Language Day — the sixth of 24 solar terms in the traditional lunar calendar — to pay tribute to Cangjie, who claimed to be the inventor of Chinese characters.

"At first, I learned Chinese simply because I wanted to watch Chinese movies without watching subtitles," said Hoang Thi Van, a 21-year-old overseas student from Vietnam. "Gradually, I found that Chinese culture is extensive and profound, which made me more interested."

Virtually all Vietnamese children grow up watching Chinese movies and TV drama, especially Xiyouji (A Journey to the West), which we watched every summer vacation," she said. "Then we learned Lu Xun's essays in school. I felt Lu's words were wonderful, so I longed to read the original Chinese versions."

She had some basis of speaking, listening and reading Chinese before she came to China three years ago, but she found it a big challenge to write Chinese characters.

To better remember Chinese characters, she practiced calligraphy in her spare time as a hobby.

"I want to learn more about Chinese culture and the lives of Chinese people," she said. "After returning to my country, I will choose a job related to Chinese, such as a Chinese translator, or become a Chinese language teacher."

For the activity, Emegwakor Anthony Ugochukwu performed a piece of traditional Chinese opera in fluent Chinese.

The 26-year-old student from Nigeria came to China in 2019 and began to learn Chinese at a Xiamen University in Fujian province.

In September 2020, he was admitted to the school as a postgraduate student.

"I hope to bring China's advanced technology back to my hometown after my study in China, as well as introduce our culture to my Chinese friends," he said. "Now, this goal is being achieved step by step through my efforts and the help of my teachers."