Chinese language teachers, learners share encounters with Chinese characters abroad

The Center for Language Education and Cooperation, an organization under China's Ministry of Education, recently launched an online activity to discover the landscape of Chinese characters across five continents.

In the activity's comment section, Chinese language teachers and learners shared their experiences spotting Chinese characters in unexpected places around the world.

Liu Ming, a Chinese language teacher at the Confucius Institute at Eotvos Lorand University (ELTE) in Budapest, Hungary, expressed her fascination with the ubiquity of Chinese characters in the city.

Chinese characters spell out the name of a restaurant in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo courtesy of Liu Ming)

"Apart from the obvious places like Chinatown and Chinese restaurants, I've noticed Chinese characters on signs near the Castle of Buda and even on stylish clothing in shopping malls," Liu said. She further mentioned that she was particularly impressed by a store sign in the city center displaying five Chinese characters representing the five elements of gold, wood, water, fire, and earth, which are fundamental to traditional Chinese philosophy.

Wu Ruifang, a volunteer working at a school in Jakarta, Indonesia, excitedly captured photos of Chinese characters during her early days in the country.

During a recent trip to the resort island of Bali, she and her friends were delighted to see Chinese characters on signs at the airport and to interact with merchants who could speak Chinese.

"What surprised and warmed me the most was when I was seeking medical treatment at a hospital, where a doctor wrote down medication instructions in Chinese characters on the medicine boxes," Wu said.

Wang Pan, a Chinese language volunteer in Nepal, has also discovered the "landscape of Chinese characters" in the capital city of Kathmandu. Chinese signs can be found in restaurants and supermarkets, and product descriptions are often written in Chinese. Wang was particularly moved by an inscription on a bridge that read "everlasting friendship between China and Nepal" in Chinese characters.

An inscription of Chinese characters reads "everlasting friendship between China and Nepal" on a bridge in Nepal. (Photo courtesy of Wang Pan)

"These Chinese characters gave me a feeling of warmth. I also felt the charm of Chinese characters. I was most impressed by the characters on the bridge, which not only displayed the beauty of Chinese characters but also made me feel the friendship between the two countries," Wang said.

One comment said that Chinese characters seen overseas serve as bridges for cultural exchange and emotional bonds that transcend national borders.

Teaching Chinese characters is essential in overseas Chinese language education. It helps students understand Chinese culture and connects Chinese language teachers with students studying abroad.

Currently, Liu's students include both beginners and intermediate-to-advanced learners of Chinese. She surveyed students to understand why they chose to learn Chinese.

"For many students, the initial consideration for learning Chinese is their fascination with the beauty and mystique of Chinese characters. They believe that Chinese characters have connotations and undertones, and being able to write them is very cool," Liu said.

Whenever Liu sees her students carefully writing Chinese characters in her classes, she feels deeply moved. "I recognize my worth as a Chinese language teacher and feel that Chinese characters connect us," she added.

Chinese characters are seen on a piece of paper in the Central Market Hall in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo courtesy of Liu Ming)

Chinese characters are both the carrier and an important component of traditional Chinese culture. As a key to cultural exchange, Chinese characters have opened the door for people worldwide to appreciate and understand China.

The Chinese Character Festival in Paris in 2019, which combined calligraphy and painting exhibitions, lectures, cultural experiences, and interactive activities, showcased the culture of Chinese characters to the French public. The local community warmly welcomed the festival, making it a successful case of the international dissemination of Chinese characters.