A Kyrgyzman who speaks Shaanxi dialect

Text by Zhao Lei Translation by Tao Wenjia Photos by CFP

A Kyrgyzman who speaks Shaanxi dialect

Text by Zhao Lei Translation by Tao Wenjia Photos by CFP

During my overseas on-site research, I found the international community pays close attention to the“One Belt One Road” initiative. Foreign friends told me that they were very interested in Chinese culture, but felt that China's cultural supply was inadequate. Some leaders who are in charge of a country's economic affairs even don't know that “One Belt One Road” includes not only infrastructure, logistics, trade, energy, as well as investment; but also culture, education and tourism. Therefore, there is still much to be done in further promoting this international co-develpment initiative and strengthening cultural exchanges.

Among them, the language is the foundation, but also the threshold. In Cambodia, the Confucius Institute and Chinese Cultural Centre are very popular. But language and skills training institutions are still inadequate. In term of development phrase, Cambodia today is very similar to China in its early days, especially with regards to reform and opening up, and people's desire for knowledge isvery strong. In Cambodia, 70% of the population consists of young people under 30 years of age. Most people go to night schools to learn a second language after work. The reason is very simple: mastering a second language helps with employment and higher pay. During my visit to Cambodia, I noticed that on the streets, there were lots of language schools for Korean, English and Japanese, whereas Chinese schools were relatively few. I believe it will be very helpful to consolidate public opinion and social basis for “One Belt One Road” if we provide more Chinese language training and professional skills training in countries along the Belt and Road.

In many such regions, “One Belt One Road” has a deep historical and cultural trace. When I attended the 26th Eastern European Economic Forum in Poland in September 2016, I met a Kyrgyzstani Senator who was the Chairman of the Kyrgyzstan Tungan (Huejzw) Association. He speaks a very authentic Shaanxi dialect. Most of the ancestors of the Tunganis migrated to Central Asia from the Shaanxi-Gansu region more than 100 years ago. Locals from Central Asia called them "Tungani" because they were from the east coast. Now, there are more than 170,000 Tunganis in Central Asia, mainly scattered in more than 30 settlements in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. These people still retain some of the Shaanxi-Gansu dialect and traditional customs. They may serve as the “Culture Bridge” of the Silk Road. If we can fully respect and nurture such cultural linkages, it could help foreign people better understand the "One Belt One Road". In the meantime, Chinese people could be more confldent in cultural exchanges. Therefore, The influence of the “One Belt One Road” initiative will be more profound.

Zhao Lei

professor at the Institu te for International Stra tegic Studies of the Pa rty School of the Centr al Committee of the CP C, a director of the Res earch Office for Interna tional Relations and Na tional Unity. Mr. Zhao heads a key research project on the Belt and Road Initiative at CPS, and is the founder of th e forum “The Belt and R oad 100”.

趙磊

中共中央黨校國際戰略研究院教授、國際關系與國家統一研究室主任、中央黨校“一帶一路”重點研究課題主持人，“一帶一路百人論壇”發起人。

一位說陜西話的吉爾吉斯斯坦人

在海外調研時，筆者發現國際社會高度關注“一帶一路”。有外國朋友說：他們對中國文化十分感興趣，但感覺中國的文化供給還很不足；甚至有一些國家負責對外經濟的人，依然不清楚“一帶一路”還包括文化、教育、旅游等內容，他們的認知就是“一帶一路”=基建+物流+貿易+能源+投資，等等。可見，我們仍需加強外宣與文化交流力度。

其中，語言是基礎，也是門檻。在柬埔寨，孔子學院、中國文化中心非常受歡迎，但語言與技能培訓機構還很不足。柬埔寨的今天特別像中國改革開放的初期，人們對知識的渴求非常強烈。在柬埔寨，70%的人口都是30歲以下的年輕人。大家下班后，去得最多的地方是夜校，主要學習語言。原因很簡單，掌握一門語言對就業以及薪酬提升幫助很大。在柬埔寨訪問時，我發現街道兩邊到處是韓語、英文、日語學校，而中文學校相對較少。在絲路沿線國家多提供中文語言培訓以及專業技能培訓，我認為，是非常有利于夯實民意和社會基礎的。

在很多地區，“一帶一路”有深厚的歷史文化土壤。2016年9月，在波蘭參加第26屆東歐經濟論壇時，我遇到一名吉爾吉斯斯坦議員，他是吉爾吉斯斯坦東干（回民）協會主席，說著一口非常地道的陜西話。東干人的先人多數是100多年前由陜甘地區遷徙到中亞的回民。中亞當地人稱其為“東干”，就是從東岸（東方）來的。目前，中亞東干人有17萬多名，主要分散于吉爾吉斯斯坦、哈薩克斯坦的30多個聚居點，他們還保留著部分陜甘方言和傳統習俗。這一群體可以成為絲綢之路上的“文化橋梁”。如果我們能充分尊重和發展這種文化聯系，就可以幫助外國民眾更好地理解“一帶一路”，也會讓中國人在文化交流中擁有更多自信。由此，“一帶一路”的影響力自然會更加深刻。