Yousef S. K. Hatabeh, a 36- year-old Jordanian doctorate student in the Chinese Language Department at Beijing Teachers' University, has become the first Arab student to receive a Ph.D. in contemporary Chinese Literature in China. He successfully defended his dissertation on the morning of November 26.

In his dissertation, Yousef compared the works by Lu Xun (1881- 1926), regarded as the greatest modern Chinese writer to Mahaffudh, the only Arab Nobel laureate for Literature, examining the authors ' views on revolution, women and intellectuals.

"I want to introduce the works of Lu Xun and Chinese literature to the Arab world, rather than making literal comparison of their ideologies," he said.

Yousef was among the first group of students sent by the Jordanian Government to China to learn Chinese in 1984, but he was the only student among the first group who had the perseverance to continue.

He enrolled to do a Ph.D. at the Beijing Teachers' University in 1996. Despite the enormous difficulties of writing his dissertation in Chinese, Yousef said the journey was highly enjoyable. Yousef said that a good study environment with the help and guidance of Wang Furen, a Lu Xun expert and his supervisor were crucial.

Yousef plans to go back to Jordan to set up a Chinese language course at university. He said he is determined to promote cultural exchanges between China and Arab countries. (Xinhua)