French Sinologist Joël Bellassen (L), British Sinologist Michael Dillon (M) and Indian Sinologist B. R. Deepak

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A group of foreigners understand and love China. They are dedicated to promoting the cultural exchanges by learning and studying Chinese language and culture as well as introducing Chinese culture to their home countries. They are overseas ambassadors of Chinese culture because their stories, filled with emotion and personality, attract non-Chinese readers and engender affection for China. Also, these stories aim to raise China’s cultural influence along with its economic power.

 

The West plus China
Joël Bellassen, whose Chinese name is Bai Lesang, is the chairman of European Committee of Chinese Language Teaching and the first inspector-general in the field of Chinese Language Teaching at the French Ministry of Education. He joined the program at the 46th London Book Fair.

“My French textbook on Chinese learning has enjoyed great popularity since the 1990s. This time, we aim to release other versions of the textbook in various languages,” Bellassen said while eating dumplings at a Chinese restaurant in Paris. “Chinese language teaching can be simplified to a choice of emphasizing words or characters.” Bellassen proposed the international approach of a character-based constructional approach to Chinese, which is considered the greatest contribution to Chinese language teaching.

A member of the first batch of exchange students, Bellassen came to Beijing in November 1973 to learn Chinese and established longstanding bonds with Chinese languages since then. Many years later, he summarized his three motivations for learning Chinese. First, he hoped to identify the cultural differences between France and China, including the aspect of language. They totally had no idea about the feasibility of learning Chinese because China was so underdeveloped when they first arrived there. “We have learned it out of interest and inherited Voltaire’s fascination for the exotic without consciousness. The countries with the most distinctive characteristics attracted me the most because differences are interesting.” Also, he learned Chinese for the sake of traditions as France is the global forerunner in terms of Chinese language proficiency and teaching. In addition, learning Chinese is an endless pursuit. He found that his interests grows as he explores deeper into the language.

An old Chinese saying goes that good wine needs no bush, but Bellassen disagrees. China embraces splendid culture and attractive phenomenon, which are strange to the West due to the failure of dissemination, Bellassen suggested.

Bellassen argues that the failure can be attributed to China’s lack of cultural confidence: “I have been to China nearly 300 times since 1973 and I have been amazed about the morning exercises of the Chinese every single time. Morning exercise is so interesting and meaningful to me as a distinctive Chinese phenomenon.”

“However, Chinese people consider it ordinary, some of them even suggest it is outdated because the Westerners don’t do the same thing. Isn’t that a symptom of a lack of cultural confidence? French people never feel the same way about anything with French characteristics,” Bellassen said, “For example, we are keen to eat snails. They put great emphasis on protection of their own history and heritage. The old streets and alleys in Paris, like Beijing’s hutong, were well preserved for their sense of history despite the inconvenience they create for transportation.”

In terms of culture, China should be proud of itself. The Westerns who well understand Chinese culture admire China’s charms in most cases. “For example, calligraphy is a form of art in China, and it doesn’t exist in the West. It is really a big deal for a country that has an extra form of art not seen in other countries in the world,” Bellassen said. He suggested the renowned art centers in Paris should hold exhibitions of Chinese calligraphy, allowing French people to appreciate the Chinese art form. 

As a linguist, Bellassen said that the West emphasizes hearing based on Latin alphabets and phonetic alphabets, while China stresses the visual component of language rooted in characters and their meaning. Globally, poetry only has an extraordinary high status in China, which is impossible for France or other countries. This is a result of the characteristics of Chinese language.
“For mankind, we are lucky to have China and the West at the same time, because they are indispensable for an entirety,” Bellassen concluded.

 
Sincere affection
British scholar Michael Dillon is a productive writer. He has written many books about China, reflecting his fascination with the country. “I want to help more and more English-language readers gain an accurate understanding of Chinese history and culture,” Dillon said when talking about his new book A Concise History of China. The book attracted attention and praise at the 46th London Book Fair.

The book is an abridged edition of a six-volume original work. Dillon put a lot of responsibility and conducted a comprehensive interpretation and insightful analysis of Chinese history from a new perspective. “I hope to introduce English-language readers to Chinese people’s observation of China’s history and how it has influenced their attitude toward their own country and other countries,” he said.

Dillon first became interested in China when he was a primary school student. BBC released a series of programs about Chinese learning in the 1960s and he continued following the program. “I decided to learn Chinese at that time,” Dillon said. Later, he studied Chinese history at northern Britain’s University of Leeds and acquired a bachelor and master’s degree there. Dillon continued to teach and study Chinese language and history after graduation. Currently, he is the director of the Center for Contemporary Chinese Studies at Durham University.

One of the best British universities, Durham University established the center in 1999, which has become a leading domestic institute of contemporary Chinese studies. Dillon has written, translated and edited several books about China and released theses in a number of world-class publications in addition to attending international seminars and forums on China. Dillon’s bonds with China continue to grow as he gains a greater understanding of the country. He loves this ancient nation, its history and culture.

At present, Dillon is intensifying his work on Zhou Enlai: China’s Good Communist, which is about to be finished. “Zhou Enlai emphasizes ‘seeking truth from facts.’ That’s what I am trying to do now,” Dillon said.

 
China-India relationship
Indian Sinologist B. R. Deepak met his Chinese wife at Peking University, and their children are primary school students. Deepak said that “my relationship with China is not limited to love and family affection. My growth experience and future development are closely attached to China. I feel lucky to participate in the common development of China and India.”

In the book China-India Relationship, Deepak touches upon personal learning and emotional experience and looks at the history of China-India communication as well as his academic exchanges with other scholars in this field. Hindi expert Jiang Jingkui wrote the introduction, agreeing that the book is about more than personal feelings. It aims to explore the emotional collision of these two countries for Indian and Chinese readers.

“My hometown is situated in the mountainous region of northern India. My understanding of China comes from poetry and ballads. My father read me Mahabharata and Ramayana, which includes description of China. I still remember the lyrics of a song which goes ‘distinguished lady, please show me the way to China,’” Deepak recalled. It is a 1950s song, revealing the frequent border trades between India’s northern region and China prior to that time.

In addition to academic achievements, Deepak met his Chinese wife Wang Yao on the volleyball court at Peking University. “We were about to graduate when we began our relationship. We went through a lot of difficulties as we were apart from each other for a long time in the following 10 years,” Deepak said. “Her parents were surprised that their daughter wanted to marry a foreigner. However, we had a lot of common topics to talk about when I got in touch with her parents. We live in India most of the time, but I frequently travel to China for business and visit my parents-in-law. We are all interested in talking about Chairman Mao Zedong and the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative,” Deepak added.

The English version of China-India Relationship has been published, and the Hindi version is about to be finished. Deepak hoped to write a sequel to the memoir, because his relationship is lasting, and China and India have a long way to go on the path toward joint development. China’s The Four Books include The Great Learning, The Doctrine of the Mean, Confucian Analects and The Works of Mencius. He pointed to the computer, saying that “I have just finished translating The Four Books, which are about to be published. The writing of another book about the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative is also coming to an end. China and India have so many stories worth recording,” he said.