After decades of fostering China-Spain cultural exchanges, Gonzalez Puy sees many commonalities between the two cultures: both are ancient civilizations with an outstanding artistic heritage and rich historical legacies, a shared emphasis on interpersonal relationships, family, gastronomy as a social ritual, respect for tradition, and respect and tolerance in their attitudes toward others.
She describes the evolution of bilateral relations in recent decades as transformative.
"When I first arrived in China in 1979, Spain's knowledge of China was still very limited," she says. "For many Spaniards, China was a distant, little-known, and largely imaginary reality."
Today, the landscape is dramatically different. "China is part of daily international reality," she says, highlighting the surging interest in its language, history, culture and society.
Spain now hosts more than 10 Confucius Institutes and is seeing an increase in the publication of ancient and contemporary Chinese literature in translation, she says. "An increasing number of young Spaniards are learning Chinese, recognizing its professional value in a globalized world."
Through four decades of working in various capacities, from cultural specialist at the Spanish embassy to director roles at the Cervantes Institute in Shanghai and Beijing, Gonzalez Puy has been a direct witness to China's rapid development.
"I have had the privilege of witnessing China's reform and opening-up, the transformation of its cities, economy and society, and its extraordinary cultural evolution," she says, words that carry the weight of a life lived at the heart of that transformation.
More than 40 years later, China's allure for her remains undiminished and perhaps even deeper than when she had first arrived. "What keeps me connected to this country, I believe, is curiosity," she concludes. "It remains a place where there is always something new to discover and learn, a place that is constantly changing." It is, in her eyes, a country that never stops reinventing itself.
yangran1@chinadaily.com.cn
