In 1995, at the awards ceremony of the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, the faces of two little foreign girls appeared, they were not very old, singing and dancing, and their mouths were speaking authentic Mandarin, which instantly attracted people's attention.
The names of the two little girls are also very interesting, one is called "Aizhong" and the other is called "Aihua". That's right, it means "love China".
What is the story of two foreign little girls, and why did they come up with such a name?
Three generations of Chinese origin
In 1988, a young couple from the United States and their two daughters arrived in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, in an idyllic place where Western faces seemed out of place.
They became the center of attention, but when the couple spoke, people were surprised again. The two speak fluent Mandarin, have no problem communicating with each other in daily life, and even have more research on traditional Chinese culture than the locals, they are Peter Mu and Mu Yanling.
His wife, Mu Yanling, was born in the United States, and strangely enough, she is an American, but she has a different kind of enthusiasm for China. She has loved Chinese culture since she was a child, and any tea ceremony and cross talk have a different kind of charm for her.
She said that she didn't know why she liked China, and often in the end, Mu Yanling said that she felt that she must have been Chinese in her previous life.
When she was in the United States, she often went to Chinatown to play, and after college, she took Chinese courses. It was also when she was in college that she met a "Chinese".
Peter Mu is an American, but he was born in Fuzhou, where he remembered his childhood and found that he had a "Chinese taste".
This trait attracted Mu Yanling, the two chatted, Peter Mu would tell a lot of stories about China, Mu Yanling was also very popular, the two were attracted to each other, and finally entered the palace of marriage.
They were very happily married, and from Peter Mu's mouth, she learned more about China and why Peter Mu was born and raised in China.
In the eyes of Mu Oiren, China has always been a very mysterious existence, China has been inherited for thousands of years, and the precipitation of culture is very attractive.
Mu Oiren is a native of the United States, before going to school, Mu Oiren has never had the opportunity to go to China to see, this is his regret and expectation, until the 40s of the 20th century, Mu Oiren went to Japan to attend a conference, he suddenly came up with a bold idea.
Now that I've arrived in Japan, why can't I go to China to have a look? Compared with the distance between the United States and China, this may be the greatest opportunity for me to set foot on Chinese soil.
After the meeting, he came to Fuzhou, China, and after feeling the local customs, he thought, I want to stay. Mu got a job teaching English and physical education at a secondary school.
One year, so that Mu Airen's understanding of China has deepened, he likes it very much, and wants to live in China forever, but the world was not peaceful back then, and the war involved Mu Airen, he is an American, and the country needs him.
Mu Oiren had to give up his life here and return to the United States, and this short time left a seed in his heart, obviously, Mu Oiren's fate with China is not over, and the United States has formed the Flying Tigers, who will support China during the war.
Without hesitation, he joined the Flying Tigers, serving as a lieutenant in the Flying Tigers to contribute to China's war of resistance, and after the support was over, Mu returned to the United States.
He continued to work his studies, and while studying for a master's degree, he completed his life event - getting married and having children. Mu Airen, who has completed his master's studies, is no longer alone this time, and he has set foot on Chinese soil for the third time with his yearning for China.
He found a job in Fujian, worked as a professor at Fujian Union University, lived a plain and happy life, and gave birth to a second child, Peter Mu, with his wife.
The Mu family has an unrelenting affection for China, and for Mu Airen, China is his second hometown, and he has the Chinese virtue of helping each other.
China Youth Daily published an article about them on July 5, 2023, in Guling, Fuzhou, a villager was in urgent need of a blood transfusion, and after checking around, only Mu Airen's blood type matched it, and Mu Airen agreed to donate blood without hesitation.
In the end, Mu Oiren received a fat big black chicken from the patient's family, and the photo of Mu Oiren carrying the big black chicken is still stored in the Mu family's photo album.
At work, Mu Airen is also a good teacher, he has taught many students, at that time the students were still very new to foreign teachers, and some of the more shy students would not even communicate with them.
But unexpectedly, Mu Oiren did not have a fight, he was a gentle teacher, conscientious, and won the respect of many students, and later, Mu Oiren had health problems and had to return to the United States for treatment.
At that time, there were still many students who wanted to keep him, but he was afraid of his body, and in the end, he had to give up. This walk is a long farewell. In 2005, he passed away, and a few days before his death, the students he had taught sent him New Year's greetings.
Before his death, Mu Oiren expressed his last wish to his son, hoping to bring half of his ashes to his second hometown of Fuzhou, where he could continue his relationship with China in the Min River.
In 2015, Peter fulfilled his father's last wish, and he took root in China after starting a family. They came to the interior of China, to Nanjing, Jiangsu, and spent a long time here.
For Peter and Mu, life in China is very good, but for the two daughters, it is not so good to come to an unfamiliar environment.
In love, love China
When her sister was nine years old and her sister was seven years old, they began to receive Chinese education, and Mu Yanling took great pains to integrate the sisters into Chinese culture.
It just so happened that a Golden Autumn International Fair was held in Nanjing, when the organizer selected two children from the art troupe to report the curtain, because it was international, so it also needed two children who could speak foreign languages to report the curtain, which made it difficult for the organizers, the art troupe did not have children who were fluent in foreign languages, what should I do?
Mu Yanling seized the opportunity, she communicated with the organizer, and finally reached an agreement that the two sisters would temporarily serve as the little hosts.
Mu Yanling took this opportunity to communicate with the teachers to see if the sisters could join the art troupe.
The other party was very happy and immediately agreed. They studied opera, learned to sing, and learned tea ceremony culture from their mothers, and fell in love with China completely.
When they came to China, they naturally wanted to follow the local customs to receive Chinese education, but on the first day of school, their sister Aihua encountered a big embarrassment.
They had never learned Chinese before, and there was no special international school in Nanjing at that time, so the sisters came to the school like an outlier, and everyone was curious about them.
This curiosity sparked and made Aihua's shame nowhere to hide, what happened? At that time, the weather in Nanjing was a little cold, and Aihua was wearing a thick sweater on the upper body and suspenders on the lower body.
During recess, Aihua wanted to go to the toilet, but she didn't know where the toilet was, so the teacher asked her classmates to accompany her out of worry.
Unexpectedly, Aihua went to the toilet and was watched by his classmates, of course, all of them were female classmates.
Because of curiosity, the female classmates all wanted to go to the toilet with her, which led to more than 30 girls in the class, and the toilet had no door, only a partition, Aihua looked at the crowd in front of him, and no matter how thick his face was, he couldn't hold back.
She tried to talk to her classmates to get them to avoid it, but it was all in vain after a long time of analogy, the communication between them was in vain, and Aihua could only take off her clothes under pressure.
Bib pants have a disadvantage, that is, they need to unbutton the top first, and take off the sweater outside before they can untie the bib pants.
In the end, Aihua couldn't stand it anymore, she put on her clothes, said that she didn't need to go to the toilet, and then ran away.
This memory was almost engraved in Aihua's heart, she had never been so embarrassed before, and she never had it since.
When they were teenagers, the two sisters were already familiar with life in China and were able to speak fluently in Mandarin, and then the two went to the song and dance troupe to learn cross talk.
Later, Jiangsu TV invited the sisters to talk about cross talk, introduce themselves, and say what their names are, one of them said "Aijiang", the other said "Aisu", love Jiangsu, and the program was really impressive after it was broadcast.
In 1993, the Spring Festival Gala of the five provinces in East China invited them to talk about cross talk, and the two changed their stage names to "Aihua" and "Aidong".
In 1995, the sisters appeared on a CCTV program and asked what their names were, one Aihua and one Aidong, and the director changed it for them, simply one is called "Aizhong" and the other is "Aihua".
The sisters liked the name very much, especially Aihua, who directly took it as their own.
Since then, the names of the sisters have been known. That year, Peter Mu's job moved to Beijing, where the family settled.
Aihua no longer appeared in front of the stage after growing up, but Aihua reappeared in people's field of vision soon after.
As the host of the show became more and more proficient, Aihua gradually emerged in the ranks of hosts, and she hosted many programs, which impressed the audience very much.
Later, Aihua gradually faded out of the screen, what did she do? Like her mother, she became interested in public welfare.
If she has a good education, she will create educational conditions for more children and bring hope to more people.
Write at the end
In China for more than 30 years, their family has obtained China's "green card", and for Aihua, China is their first hometown.
Three generations of inheritance, let them land in China. They love Chinese culture, love this land, they are a bridge, let us see the results of cultural integration.
Chinese culture is broad and profound, Chinese culture has a long history, if you have understood, it is difficult not to be attracted by it, we are in it, but also as a kind of inheritance to let the culture continue to bloom.
1. CCTV June 29, 2023 - "Learning Every Day丨This Congratulatory Letter Connects with the Century-old Folk Relationship between China and the United States"
2. China Daily, October 24, 2022 - "American "Guling People" Praise China's New Era"
3. Baidu Encyclopedia - Aihua