Encounter China and enjoy the charm of Chinese language

[The Central African Republic] Konzi Emmanuelle Aurore Barbara, Jinzhou Medical University

“Our meeting is exactly what I wanted.” My relationship with China began in 2006. I stood outside the 20,000-seat Bangui Stadium in the capital of the Central African Republic, which is a China’s aid project. Seeing the national flags of China and Central Africa fluttering in the wind, I had a strong desire in my heart-Go to China!

Reading books, I learned that China is one of the four ancient civilizations, with a long history and a splendid culture. However, “What’s learned from books is superficial after all.” As soon as I set my foot on this vast land, I began to feel the profound heritage and rapid development of Chinese culture.

What interests me most is the extensive and profound Chinese language.

Level and oblique tones, square Chinese characters, associated compound sentences... at first, all of this made me feel that learning Chinese was like climbing a big mountain. But gradually, I learned Blade-alveolars, Retroflexes, Phono-semantic compounds, Ideogrammic compounds, Juxtaposed compound sentences, Progressive compound sentences. Unconsciously, I have been able to express my ideas fluently in Chinese and to communicate with my teachers and Chinese friends without obstacles.

“Having pored over ten thousand volumes, one can write with godly power.” With the deepening of learning, when I am happy, I will recite “Horse gets a rapider moving, when my lucky time comes, even the spring wind is proud for me. To view all the flowers of Chang’an in one day.” When I am in a blue mood, I will say “Tearful eyes asked falling flowers if they knew my intentions, and falling flowers were silent, chaotic, and little by little they flew out of the swing.” When making friends, I will say, “You don’t have to care about age to make friends nor does it have to be a prerequisite for the same interests or propositions.” When parting, I will say, “If you have a friend afar who knows your heart; distance can’t keep you two apart.” When I make a success, I will say, “If you want to successfully reach the summit of the towering mountain of knowledge, diligence is the only way to reach the top; If you want to swim in the boundless ocean of knowledge, patience, and hard work will be a ship that can take you to the other side of success.” In failure I will say “Although the road ahead is full of obstacles, there will still be a day when you will ride the long wind and break the waves, hang up the cloud sails, cross the sea, and reach the ideal other shore.” When I was homesick, I would say, “There are more and more foreigners around me, which seems to make me feel that the hometown sound has to change, but I lament that the sound of the yellow warblers in the mountains is still like that of my hometown.” While enjoying the scenery on a field trip, “I enjoyed the wilderness full of herbs and flowers, the distant mountains were full of spring, and the surrounding area was full of turquoise greenery.” When I encourage others, I say, “The road ahead in the pursuit of truth or otherwise is long and long, and I will spare no effort to pursue and explore up and down.”

“Reading books to cultivate oneself should take learning as the most important task, and if you want to teach knowledge, you should take the knowledge in books as the foundation.” In the process of learning Chinese, I felt the power and spiritual foundation of Chinese culture, which inspire me to face the challenges and the shortcomings. I would like to sail in the sea of books, to explore and seek knowledge. For me, learning Chinese is not just a way to learn a language, but a way for me to go into a new country, understand a nation’s development, and perceive Chinese culture. When I meet, understand and perceive, I can’t help but fall in love with Chinese language, Chinese culture, and China.

Life is arduous, and we will be brave and drive ahead. If we want to accomplish something great, we have to work hard and make effort for it, otherwise we will eventually lose the chance to success. I always believe that your bright and shining future is in your hands. I believe that studying in China will be the best memory of my life. Many thanks, my beautiful encounter with China!

The story is from "My Beautiful Encounter with China" Essay Competition organized by the Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchanges (CSCSE).