Encountering China | Indian Foreign Teacher Zhi Hui: Let Indians See a More Realistic Chinese Culture | Chinese | Indian
Because of longing, they came to China; Because of their dreams, they choose to stay. What kind of sparks do foreigners collide with when they encounter China? Global Information Radio specially plans to "meet China" and listen to the "dialogue" between foreign friends and China.
Vivek Mani Tripati from India has been in China for 12 years. After completing his master's and doctoral degrees in China, why did he choose to continue his career in education in China? What kind of China did he encounter? What prompted him to firmly become a promoter of cultural exchange between India and China? Today, let's walk into the story of this Indian foreign teacher who "met China".
Vivek Mani Tripati comes from Bihar in northern India and currently teaches Hindi at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies. His Chinese name is Zhihui, representing wisdom and brilliance.
Zhihui: "In Hindi, 'Vivek' means' wisdom ', but the word' hui 'is more often used as a female name, so my Chinese teacher gave me a Chinese name and changed the' hui 'of wisdom to' hui ', called' Zhihui '.".
Zhihui's earliest impression of China came from his father's story of the Tang Dynasty monk Xuanzang. "My father often told me stories about Xuanzang when I was young, so I was very interested in Xuanzang's stories. There is a Nalanda Temple in Bihar, a place where the ancient Xuanzang master visited India. He studied Sanskrit and Indian culture here and brought back more than 600 classics to China, which were translated into Chinese."
During Zhihui's university years in India
Zhihui, who had a strong interest in China since childhood, chose to major in Chinese when he was studying at university in India, and later came to China to continue pursuing a master's degree in Chinese.
He smiled and recalled, "When I was an undergraduate student, I chose the subject of Chinese. At that time, my dad was a bit dissatisfied because he was a Sanskrit professor, so he hoped that I would also choose the subject of Sanskrit. Now that I have learned Chinese and taught Hindi in China, I said to my dad, 'Dad, you see, what you hoped for at that time, I also came to China and can promote cultural exchange between India and China.' Now my dad is particularly satisfied."
Zhihui said that he can also be considered as inheriting his father's business, from his grandfather to his father, and then to his generation, almost all of his family are devoted to the education industry. But his experience in China has given him a deeper understanding and recognition of his identity as a teacher.
Zhihui said, "When I was pursuing my PhD, my supervisor was already in his 70s and held the position of principal. He was particularly busy, but he used a pen to help me revise my paper word by word, helping me revise it five or six times. Also, when I was teaching abroad, the head of the Hindi Department gave me a suggestion to love my students and teach them according to their aptitude. I always remember."
Zhihui attends classes at Guangdong University of Foreign Languages and Trade
Zhihui always told his students that India and China are both ancient civilizations, connected by mountains and rivers, and culturally intertwined. There are many commonalities in history, culture, ethnicity, and other aspects. Through continuous communication and mutual understanding, the relationship between the two sides will become increasingly close.
Zhihui: "There is a word in Hindi that contains two meanings, one meaning 'Chinese' and the second meaning 'white sugar'. In the 7th century AD, the method of making brown sugar spread from India to China, and the Chinese later created better white sugar than brown sugar. In the 10th century AD, white sugar spread from China to India and became an indispensable part of our Indian lives. Indians cannot do without white sugar, just like India cannot do without China."
Therefore, Zhihui has a stronger sense of mission. He has given speeches on Hindi education and development, as well as Indo China relations, in several well-known schools in India, with the aim of promoting cultural exchange between India and China and helping Indians understand China, a country with a long history and splendid civilization. He also looks forward to more Indian youth coming to China to take a look and understand a more authentic China.
Zhihui's speech at the first media summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
Zhihui: "In the past, our Indian students blindly went to Europe and America to study medicine, but now there are more than 23000 Indian students studying medicine in China. More and more young people coming to China to understand the real Chinese culture will understand how much Chinese people respect us."
Zhihui stated that language plays a very important role in promoting cultural exchange, which is also why he is willing to continue teaching Hindi in China and encouraging more young people in India and China to learn each other's languages.
Zhihui: "So now we should learn more from our ancestors, learn more about each other's languages, and understand each other's cultures. The history of China and India is so rich, and our cultural exchanges are so rich, but many people don't know. We should get to know each other and visit each other."
