Inside Sir Barry's school of different strokes
Sir Barry Jowett reads about Confucius on a recent issue of the Sanlian magazine at the Confucius Academy in Nanjing of East China's Jiangsu Province. |
You see, in China the act of sitting on a boss' desk may be regarded as harmless but in the West it could be deemed to be rather unladylike.
But rather than dwell on what had happened, the boss, Briton Sir Barry Jowett, decided to do his part to bridge the differences between East and West by opening a cross-cultural academy.
"Communication is not simply verbal. It is also symbolic and gestural," said Jowett.
"I have observed that many of the conflicts or clashes between Chinese employees and their foreign bosses lie in the lack of knowledge of each other's cultures and way of doing things."
As an increasingly large number of multinational companies and Westerners come to invest in China, the issue of cross-cultural misunderstanding has become more prominent.
The Confucius Academy is located at the Zunjingge Pavilion, where ancient scholars and students studied and discussed classics. |
True to its name, the academy is located in Zunjinge Pavilion (Building of Respect and Love for Chinese Classics), where ancient scholars and students studied and discussed classics.
Arriving in China in late 1994, Jowett worked in Beijing and Nanchang, capital of East China's Jiangxi Province, before settling in Nanjing in early 2004.
"I got fascinated by Chinese culture when I came to Beijing and bought the book Confucius in 1994," Jowett said. "I have initiated this education project to help both Chinese and Westerners understand each other better."
The book opened a window for him to learn about Chinese culture, especially Confucianism which he realized is an essential component of Chinese culture and philosophy.
However, while working in Jiangxi International Commercial College, he noticed frequent misunderstandings, even conflicts between Chinese and foreigners because of their different cultural background.
Jowett's work with the Oxford English Academy of Nanjing where the tea-break run-in with Bonnie took place further convinced him that cultural misunderstanding could be a big barrier in East-West communication as there is a large foreign community in Nanjing.
At present there are about 30,000 foreigners working in joint venture companies, universities and various training institutions in Nanjing.
Through his reading, Jowett found that Confucian thinking emphasizes harmonious existence between people with different ideologies and concepts.
However, it was not an easy job for a foreigner to set up a school to disseminate Confucian thinking in China. Some people even brushed away his idea as ridiculous, saying he was doing the impossible.
"I was surprised when I first heard that Barry was going to start a Confucius Academy because I think it is not an easy thing even for a Chinese. But I am glad he has done it," said Liu Hui, vice general manager of Sinobright Import and Export Company, Jiangsu High Hope International Group.
Liu has studied in Britain and helped Jowett design the 2,000-year-old Han Dynasty style clothes that students can buy and wear when they attend the courses.
In keeping with the academy's appearance of a traditional Chinese sishu (private school), the classrooms have been furnished with a few rows of wooden tables and long benches.
The project received a positive reaction from the local government and support from many Chinese who have once studied or worked abroad.
"I find it amazing and unusual for a Westerner to have such a strong passion for Chinese culture and to finance a learning institution to erase misunderstanding between people from the East and West," said Zhou Hai, an academic consultant to the Academy.
He helped Jowett locate a place, organize the administrative team and assisted with course design.
"We have designed courses on Confucius ideology, Chinese culture including calligraphy, painting and poetry, Western culture and courses on cross-cultural communication and language learning," said Youlee Chen, chancellor of the Academy.
At the beginning, there will be mainly short-term weekend or evening courses of two to three months with a fee of 1,200 yuan ($155). Both Chinese and foreign scholars are invited to teach and give lectures on various topics about culture, society and philosophy.
"We intend to do our bit to help bring back traditional Chinese culture because we find in this fast-paced society, people are more keen on seeking material gains than spiritual achievements," Jowett said, adding that he also hoped the essence of Confucianism could guide people's life.
Confucius Academy also offers summer courses for foreign students outside China.
They have signed co-operation agreements with universities in the United States and France to host summer camp courses on cross-cultural communication, Chinese writing and language.
"We are considering the possibility of investing and establishing Confucius Academy in other countries to fulfill our goal of letting more people learn about Confucianism and Chinese culture," said Jowett.
(China Daily 03/14/2007 page20)
