Source: China Overseas Chinese Network WeChat public account
The Chinese youth said| the three Chinese sisters who studied Chinese medicine in Beijing: We practiced "needles" on each other.
Born in the United Kingdom, grew up in Malaysia, but chose to study Chinese medicine in Beijing;
Not only can he play "hot talents" such as piano, ink painting, and martial arts, but he can also play "niche" Chinese musical instruments - Liuqin;
In this issue of "Chinese Youth Says", the three sisters of the Lu family from Malaysia shared their growth stories.
Lv Chunjing: 29 years old, graduated from Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine with a bachelor's degree in traditional Chinese medicine, and graduated from Beijing University of Chinese Medicine with a master's degree in acupuncture and massage. Today, a TCM clinic is opened in Malaysia.
Lv Yan: 26 years old, graduated from Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine with a bachelor's degree in traditional Chinese medicine, and is a master's student in acupuncture and massage from Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, and is good at liuqin and piano.
Lv Chunhua: 22 years old, a bachelor's degree in traditional Chinese medicine at Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, he is good at ink painting, liuqin, piano, and has certain new media writing and operational skills.
Here's what the three sisters say:
Q: Why did you study TCM?
Lv Chunjing: I studied Chinese medicine by chance, once I went to Taiwan with my mother on a trip and met my cousin, who studied at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. During the trip, my mother suddenly fell ill, and my cousin used acupuncture to treat my mother, which had a great impact on me, so I decided to study Chinese medicine and chose the direction of acupuncture and massage when I mastered.
Lv Yan, Lv Chunhua: We chose to study Chinese medicine because of the influence of our sister, when my sister was studying in Beijing, she often talked to us on video, talked to us about her life in Beijing, Chinese medicine courses, etc., which made us have a great interest in Beijing and Chinese medicine, and then we decided to follow in my sister's footsteps and go to Beijing University of Chinese Medicine to study Chinese medicine.
In September 2017, Lü Yan (left), Lü Chunhua (middle) and Lü Chunjing (right) gathered at Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Q: In the process of studying TCM, what happened to impress you?
Lv Chunjing: When I was a graduate student in Beijing Traditional Chinese Medicine, there was a time conflict between the final exam of a course and the special performance of the folk orchestra. I started preparing for the exam a while ahead of schedule to practice and participate in rehearsals, especially extra rehearsals near the show. On the day of the exam, I handed in my papers in advance and caught the school bus to Yanqing for the performance. In the end, not only was the performance successful, but the test results were also ideal.
Lv Yan: When I was a freshman in college, I once ate too much raw tofu and had stomach pains in the middle of the night due to indigestion. My sister said give me a needle to try (she was just starting to learn acupuncture). I have always been very afraid of being pricked by needles, I refused to do so, I felt that patience would pass, but the stomach pain was not alleviated for a long time, so my sister ignored my "protest" and directly prepared to give me a needle. As a result, as soon as I saw the needle in her hand, my stomach immediately stopped hurting, so I quickly told her that I avoided the "pain of skin and flesh". There is a saying in Chinese medicine called "fear is under the breath", and I personally experienced the meaning of this sentence at that time.
In June 2019, Lv Chunjing (2nd from left), Yan Lü (2nd from right) and their parents attended Chunjing's master's degree graduation ceremony at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine.
Q: How do you practice acupuncture?
Lv Chunjing: When learning acupuncture, students usually practice needle pricking on their own bodies and then practice each other. But my "first stitch" was stuck in a male classmate. He volunteered to be pierced by me, and after repeatedly confirming and telling him that I was the first needle, I planted my first needle in his body.
In May 2014, Lv Chunjing performed with the North Chinese Medicine Folk Orchestra at the International Acupuncture Symposium Dinner.
Lv Chunhua: Our three sisters all study Chinese medicine, and the eldest sister and the second sister all read acupuncture and massage with a master's degree, so it is more convenient for us to practice and can practice on each other.
In October 2020, Lv Chunhua participated in the Materia Medica Museum Cup Interpretation Contest of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine.
Q: When I was living and studying in Beijing, did anything interesting happen?
Lv Chunjing and Lü Yan: When we were in Beijing, once we wanted to cook sour and spicy soup, we went to the market to buy ingredients. Because it was the first time to do it, I asked the market aunts for specific methods and required ingredients, and I didn't expect that the aunts had not done it, but they were very enthusiastic and stuffed us with many dishes, including various peppers. When cooking the soup, we put a little bit of each pepper, and soon after eating it, we "caught fire" and caught a cold, which was an unforgettable "accident"!
Lu Chunhua: Once I signed up for a school tour to sell Malaysian food. My sisters joined in, and we hurried to make a special seven-layer cake and hot sauce. As a result, I didn't expect our pastries to be so popular and sold out within half an hour of the start of the garden tour! One of the customers I remembered the most, he originally wanted to negotiate a price reduction with us, but he bought it at the original price, and he pulled his friend back to buy it again. This makes us happy and feel that it is an affirmation of us.
In June 2019, Lü Yan (left), Lü Chunjing (middle) and Lü Chunhua (right) participated in the North Chinese Medicine Garden Tour to sell Malaysian food.
Q: Why did you choose to study Liuqin?
(Hot Knowledge: Liuqin: Playing Stringed Instruments.) Also known as willow leaf organ, king kong leg, earth lute. Traditional Chinese musical instruments. )
Lv Chunjing: At that time, I would learn folk music mainly because of the school requirements, and in the third grade of primary school, the school required each student to choose an extracurricular course. Choosing Liuqin was a coincidence, I originally wanted to learn Yangqin, but at that time, Chinese was not very good, and I regarded Liuqin as Yangqin, so I mistakenly hit and learned Liuqin.
Lv Yan: My little sister and I learned Liuqin mainly under the influence of my sister. But we play the piano in a different style. The eldest sister is good at playing lyrical songs, good emotional expression; I like songs full of passion and drama, and one play makes everyone feel the unrestrained melody; the little sister is more inclined to light and lively songs, and when playing the piano, people often have a feeling of wanting to jump and jump, and will flexibly dub the melody. This style is also reflected in the piano playing.
In November 2018, Lv Chunhua (left), Lü Chunjing (middle) and Lü Yan (right) participated in the "Beijing University Student Music Festival Folk Orchestra Ensemble Competition".
Q: Can I share one or two stories of learning Liuqin?
Lv Chunjing: In high school, I became the leader of the Liuqin instrument group. One task was to help the crew tune the piano before rehearsals, and there were 6 of them. I have always had some shadows on the tuning, because the strings are easy to break because of poor tuning, and I may be scratched and bleeding from broken strings. After a while, I gradually overcame my fear and became more and more proficient in tuning the piano.
Lu Yan: When I was in high school, my teacher arranged a solo program for me at the orchestra concert. Usually the rehearsal is very smooth, but I didn't expect that when I was officially performing, I was only halfway through the performance, and the strings were all loose, and I couldn't continue to play. However, the teacher once said: When there is a situation on the stage, the most important thing is not to panic, to remain calm and learn to be flexible. So even though the song couldn't play, I improvised it and ended the solo early.
Lv Chunhua: When playing liuqin, you need to hold a piece of guitar-like plucking. In middle school, I joined the school's folk orchestra, and once at a school evening, we performed multiple ensembles. However, while playing the first piece, my paddles fell off, and I couldn't have gone to look for them. Since the microphone was facing me, I panicked. At this time, the teammate sitting next to me found that I was not in the right state, and after knowing the problem, he directly tucked her paddle into me in the gap between the songs, and finally I successfully completed the performance, and I am still very grateful for her help that night.
In June 2019, Lv Chunhua (left), Lü Chunjing (middle), and Lü Yan (right) performed and played Liuqin in a special performance of the Folk Orchestra held at the Liangxiang Campus of North Chinese Medicine.
Q: From the UK to Malaysia to China, the cultural differences are huge, how do you adapt to this shift? What are the differences that impressed you?
Lu Chunjing: For me, when I came to Malaysia from the UK at the age of 7, language became a big obstacle. When I was in the UK, I studied English, and although I could speak Chinese at home, I was very unskilled in reading, writing, and so on. When I arrived in Malaysia, I enrolled in a Chinese language school where the teachers were teaching in Chinese, which was a big challenge for me. In addition, I did not have exams when I studied in schools in the UK, and school exams were very frequent after arriving in Malaysia, which also increased my study pressure. However, after some hard work, I quickly caught up with the rhythm and adapted to studying and living in Malaysia.
Although I was born and went to school in the UK, my parents insisted on speaking Chinese with me since I was a child, so I have formed a pattern of speaking English to foreigners and Chinese since I was a child. But some Chinese people don't speak Chinese, so they talk to me in English. At this point, I would ask my mother very puzzled, why do they look like me but don't speak our words? Later, when I grew up, I gradually understood that not every Chinese overseas has the opportunity to contact Chinese culture, and I am lucky that my parents attach great importance to this and give us the relevant conditions to learn.
In September 1999, Lü Chunjing (left), Lü Yan (middle), and Lü Chunhua (right) were in the United Kingdom.
Lui Yan: Malaysia is a multicultural country, but the various ethnic groups get along very well. For example, the traditional festivals of each ethnic group are different, and every time these festivals are held, Malaysia is a national holiday, and everyone celebrates happily and tastes various cuisines. Although there are many Chinese in Malaysia, it is still foreign, and traditional Chinese martial arts are not as popular in Malaysia as in China. When I was in Beijing, I found that there were often people practicing tai chi in the park, which is rare in Malaysia, and there are even people who do not know this traditional Chinese martial art.
In July 2021, Chunjing Lü (left), Lu Yan (center) and Chunhua (right) wrap rice dumplings in Sabah, Malaysia.
Q: What are your plans and expectations for the future?
Lv Chunjing: I hope to run the TCM clinic well and carry forward the TCM, the Malaysian people still don't know enough about TCM, and I hope that through my efforts, I can make everyone believe in TCM and accept TCM more.
Lu Yan: My plan is to return to Malaysia after graduation and work in TCM, but I also want to learn some other hobby courses, such as violin, yoga, etc.
Lv Chunhua: At present, I first want to complete my undergraduate studies. After that, I wanted to continue my master's degree like my sisters.
Lü Chunjing (left), Lü Chunhua (center), and Lü Yan (right) are on the Mutianyu Great Wall in Beijing.
(Source: China Overseas Chinese WeChat public account, ID: qiaowangzhongguo, video and image source: Interviewee Editor: Dai Chen)