学进去

Boris, a foreign student at Communication University of China, often shares his experiences of Chinese culture on his vlog (视频博客).

In one video, for example, Boris shared how he had learned the Chinese word dongxi. He translated each part separately into “east west”. And he introduced one theory (说法) about how dongxi came to mean “things”. He told people that all marketplaces in ancient Chinese cities were set up along a single road that ran from east to west. So when you would say qu mai dongxi. you’d be saying, “I’m going to buy things.”

Some other videos show his reading Chinese poems and performing kung fu in Chinese traditional costurne, which are quite welcome among his 40, 000 followers.

“Many of my followers are learning Chinese,” Boris said. “But sadly, they know little about Chinese culture and the country.”

Like many foreigners, Boris once believed that all Chinese could perform kung fu, flying onto roofs and walking over walls. He thought the country was not that developed. But after he got a scholarship (奖学金) to study in China in 2019, his view changed. “China has entered a new period, but many people’s impressions of China are still stuck in the1970s,” Boris said. “That’s why I started to shoot vlogs to share Chinese culture in 2019.”

Until now, Boris has posted more than 40 Chinese culture vlogs online. But making these vlogs is not easy. Take reading the poem Second Farewell to Cambridge by Xu Zhimo as an example.

“I can understand and read every word in the poem,” Boris said. “But to touch readers, I need to use proper feelings while reading.” So he needed to look for much background information and make his feelings suit each part of the poem.

Though shooting these vlogs takes lots of time, the young man feels proud that his vlogs have inspired many people. Boris said that he wanted to continue bridging the differences between two cultures. “This goal may not be achieved easily, but I will spare no efforts to do my part.”