Washington, November 24 (Xinhua) -- "Chinese Culture Has Accompanied My Life" - an Chinese cultural journey of the first batch of American students studying in China
Xinhua News Agency reporter Yang Shilong Hu Yousong
American Stephen Ali (Chinese an Mingyuan) is 70 years old this year, and his journey to The Chinese Chinese Culture can be described by a famous quote of Confucius: "I am not born to know, good ancient, sensitive to the seeker." ”
An Mingyuan is the deputy director of Chinese painting and calligraphy at the Freer Museum of Art and arthur M. Sackler Museum in Washington, D.C. A few days ago, he said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency: "I can read almost all Chinese texts and can distinguish various styles of handwriting, because in the museum I need to translate inscriptions, calligraphy works and collector's seals." ”
"I concentrated on the techniques of painting and calligraphy, copying the text on the paintings, adding punctuation, translation and annotation. For me it's not just a job, it's a life. In fact, Chinese culture has accompanied me all my life, and this feeling is wonderful. An Mingyuan said.
The love of The Chinese Chinese culture runs through An Mingyuan's life. "When I was 16 years old, I tried to use a dictionary to translate Li Bai's masterpiece "Shu Dao Difficulty", and now I have studied Chinese for a lifetime. As long as I have the opportunity to study ancient Chinese poetry, my literary skills accumulated over the years are quite strong, but the learning is endless. ”
Thanks to the academic exchange agreement signed between China and the United States in October 1978, An Mingyuan became one of the first eight American students to study in China from 1979 to 1980.
As one of the first emissaries to cross the "bridge" between China and the United States, An Mingyuan felt a heavy responsibility. "At that time, we thought that we should conscientiously fulfill our mission, and I also hoped that the relations between the two countries would get better and better."
On the flight to China, he gave himself a "very Chinese" name - An Mingyuan. He chose the surname "An", which means peace and tranquility.
After coming to China, An Mingyuan went to Nanjing University for further study. Talking about China at that time, An Mingyuan lamented that it was completely different from the current one. "Trains were slow, and there were very few Chinese on the street who could converse comfortably in English. And now, intercity traffic is incredibly fast, and there are always people who are fluent in English when shopping in stores, and I have to praise these changes. ”
"Since then, I have witnessed china's remarkable achievements in many areas along the way." An Mingyuan said, "The lives of ordinary people have been greatly improved. The Chinese government's goal has long been to raise the standard of living of its people. From 1979 to the present, such achievements are staggering. ”
Although the material life of the Chinese people has undergone earth-shaking changes in the past few decades, in An Mingyuan's view, in the field of culture, "China has always been China, to some extent, the basic core principles advocated by ancient philosophers continue to influence China, and the traditional principles of benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, wisdom, and faith are still worth adhering to and are now fully applicable." ”
Mr. An is pleased to say that he is now witnessing "a larger matrix of cultural information" being formed in China. With the belief of promoting two-way cultural exchanges between China and the United States, An Mingyuan has worked closely with Chinese experts from the Palace Museum and the Shanghai Museum. "We'll chat together, exchange ideas, send each other questions or pictures we see, and discuss them together." I want people in two different cultures, China and the United States, to get to know each other better, and that's my job. ”
Speaking about the development of Sino-US relations, An Mingyuan said: "My view is that at the personal level, what we can do is to do our best to stick to our jobs, maintain an open attitude as much as possible, and establish and maintain frank communication with each other. ”
An Mingyuan believes that the healthy competition between the United States and China is conducive to mutual development, and cooperation and exchanges under competition are more important. He said his participation in the U.S.-China Educational Exchange Program from 1979 to 1980 was "a particularly meaningful experience."
"This project has enabled the exchange of talents between the two countries. I still have contact with many of my foreign friends who were in China at the time and later in China, and everyone has benefited greatly from it. This experience changed our lives and led us in a new, positive direction in life. ”
Mr. An said he would soon retire, but he looked forward to the opportunity to return to China for months or even longer. (End)
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