Foreign and Military Affairs

Chinese-learning craze sweeps Russia

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-03-23 17:04

Deep fascination

China's Lunar New Year, the Spring Festival, used to have little connection with Russia, now attracts the attention of more and more Russian people.

In February and March, several Russian universities and middle schools with Chinese teaching programs organized events to celebrate the festival.

Students from Moscow Municipal Experimental School put on several performances themed on China to exhibit their understanding of the Chinese Lunar New Year.

Established in 1992, the school is famed for its compulsory lessons on martial arts and the Chinese language, two major carriers of the Chinese culture.

Ten-year-old Vania, a fifth-grader in the experimental school, has been taking Chinese language and culture lessons for over four years.

Fascinated with Taiji and martial arts, Vania performed Chinese Kungfu to Xinhua reporters when interviewed. He has also learned quite a few traditional Chinese proverbs by heart, such as "constant dripping will wear away a stone."

Masha, a nine-year-old girl, has also been learning Chinese over the past four years. She attends the prestigious No. 11 School of Moscow, which offers Chinese courses.

The Chinese language is very hard, and the characters are difficult to write, Masha said. But the language is interesting and she is determined to carry on her studies, she added.

Both Vania and Masha would like to major in Chinese when they enter college. Their parents also hope their kids can learn to understand, respect and love the Chinese culture so that when they grow up they can work to help deepen the mutual understanding between Russia and China.

"I was born in the Far East region and grew up at a time when the song 'China and Russia are friends forever' was widely popular," president of Far Eastern National University Vladimir Kurilov once told Xinhua.

Kurilov said besides Chinese majors, many of those majoring in international relations, law and economics also show great zest for studying the Chinese language and culture.

"On one occasion, it turned out that a math student won the Chinese language contest in our university," he said.

Ren Guangxuan, the Chinese director of the Confucius Institute at Moscow State University, told Xinhua that his institute has staged colorful activities including lectures, exhibitions, contests and training programs, attracting the participation of thousands of Russians and having helped them to know more about China, its language, culture and current development.