On the importance of learning Chinese language
Before you say that learning the Chinese language is a hard nut to crack let me quote a Chinese saying'Whey de Bunan, Nan de Buhwey'and it means - what you know is not difficult but what you do not know is indeed difficult.
BEFORE YOU
say that learning the Chinese language is a hard nut to crack let me quote a Chinese saying"Whey de Bunan, Nan de Buhwey"and it means - what you know is not difficult but what you do not know is indeed difficult. The Chinese language looks difficult to an American or a European person since in the past few centuries there was no requirement for them to learn the Chinese language, Most of the communication between a Chinese citizen(never say a China Man as it is considered derogatory) and a western diplomat or a businessman was carried on in the English language. Interpreters were hired when the English language failed to meet the requirement.CHINESE DETESTED FOREIGNERS
It was rather difficult for foreigners, especially for white men and women, to learn the Chinese language as China-born Chinese teachers were reluctant to teach their language to the "Yang Queidz"or foreign devils lest they misuse this knowledge to bring an unforeseen calamity on the Middle Kingdom as China is called in their own language, Chung-Gwo. The two Englishmen Mr Wade and Mr Giles who compiled the first English-Chinese dictionary and put into currency a term Wade-Gile Romanisation for the Chinese words written in the Roman script, used to get their Chinese teachers at a secret place to teach them the Chinese language. It was with sheer determination and perseverance that they achieved their aim in the teeth of opposition from the local people, the Chinese government and indeed some Europeans too. Nevertheless, the number of western students learning the Chinese language on the soil of China kept on increasing.
CHARACTER - A BUGBEAR
The pun on Character is intended. it is hard to be a man or a woman of character in real life. It is equally hard to memorise the Chinese characters to be fluent in written Chinese. By the way, there are no alphabets in the Chinese script. A word or a simple idea is expressed in writing by drawing ideographs. In ancient China these characters were rather complicated and too big to look at. Consequently, too difficult to write and read. An individual who mastered as many as five thousand characters was deemed to be a scholar of sorts. The scholars sat for public examinations and those who came out with flying colours were appointed to high posts in Imperial China. Those who could not read or write but only mastered the spoken language were looked down upon as semi-literate or illiterate people. Thus mastering the art of writing the Chinese characters correctly paid rich dividends and enhanced the social status too.
It was a life-long mission to be a Chinese scholar. One had to master the various philosophies of life prevalent in China, for example the Confucius doctrine, the Tao school of thought, the Buddhist philosophy and so on. The Martial Arts were a part of curriculum. It need not be emphasised that the art of writing, followed by reading and elocution made a man into a scholar and a Court official or just condemned him to lead the life of an illiterate labourer condemned to build the China Wall. Thus becoming a Chinese scholar was a prized profession and a competitive one too.
LEARNING CHINESE IN AMERICA
Looks and sounds like a paradox. It was true half a century ago and it is true now. Your writer of the present article learnt Chinese-Mandarin in the Defence Language Institute, Monterey, California, USA more than half a century ago. Many China watchers made a joke of it. Learning Chinese in America? They would ask and make snide remarks. An Indian officer graduating in Chinese-Mandarin from America would speak the tonal language with a twang and the Chinese people on mainland China would look askance, making out neither head nor tail of the sentence, that was the frequent comment of the not-so-polished gentlemen. The Truth lay elsewhere. Eventually we the graduates in Chinese language from an American Institute went to China and made our way through in a smooth manner. We could order meals in a restaurant, walk the talk in the Tian An Men square and exchange political notes in the Hall of People in Beijing. A great achievement indeed.
Now there is a mushrooming growth of schools in America teaching Chinese language to young students. Some persist with the learning of an oriental language and some give up too. The general belief persists that an average American hates to learn a foreign language because he can make his way through in the world by talking English. The Internet and various websites are in English. Therefore, there are more Chinese students learning English now than American students learning Chinese. Notwithstanding the meteoric rise of China on the financial firmament, the English language still holds sway.
With a view to popularising Chinese among American or European students, diplomatic careers will have to be charted. Wish to serve in China, must learn their language.
.AUM.
Thanks indeed Samuel. You have hit the nail on the head. If the Chinese people are friends, we should talk to them in their language and touch their hearts. Should they be enemies, more reason why we should learn their language. In a battle, we should know the enemy thoroughly and know him better than we know our friends.
.So true, if you want to serve in China, you must learn Mandarin Chinese. Not only that, I would even urge all parents to send their toddlers to Mandarin speaking kindergardens to get exposures early to Chinese. When these young minds didn't know better, teach them Chinese first. If they learn the English alphabet later, they would be laughing how easy it is to merely memorize 26 new characters beyond the 5000 they already mastered.
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