"African Jasmine" Ruth Njeri："Chinese Culture Has Been Part of my life"

Ruth teaches students at the Confucius Institute. Photo Courtesy: Confucius Institute at the University of Nairobi

Learning Chinese, participating in the "Chinese Bridge", studying in China, attending the Spring Festival Gala, playing the Yueqin, participating in the "Visiting Program for Young Sinologists", serving as a local Chinese language teacher... Ruth is known as the "African Jasmine". When I contacted Ruth, who was pursuing a PhD degree in Tianjin, she was busy researching a large number of materials and writing articles for the "70 Years of Studying in China" commemorative event organized by the Ministry of Education of China. Speaking of her rich experiences, Ruth said in standard and fluent Chinese, "Chinese culture has been part of my life." She hopes to be an envoy for Sino-African cultural exchange and to help more compatriots understand and fall in love with China with what she has witnessed, heard of and learnt.

Establish Bond with China through Hard Work and Perseverance

Ruth was born in Kenya in 1986. In high school, she hoped to learn a foreign language. Her mother suggested studying Chinese: "More and more Chinese companies are coming to Kenya, and working there will be a great choice." With a good understanding of China from movies and documentaries, Ruth was very interested in Chinese culture. So, the mother and daughter with a "Chinese language dream" went to the Chinese Embassy in Kenya for information, and learned that the University of Nairobi was organizing the first Confucius Institute in Africa. They enthusiastically registered for it. In December 2005, this Confucius Institute was established, and Ruth became one of the first batch of students.

"Speaking Chinese is really difficult, but even harder is writing Chinese characters," Ruth said of her hard work when learning Chinese. "Every day when I returned home, I would practice the newly learned Chinese characters ten times." After repeated practices, she gradually discovered the beauty of Chinese and made significant progress. In the "Chinese Bridge" Competition held in 2006, Ruth won the championship in the Kenya round and went to China for the global finals, where she won the Excellence Award. "It motivated me. Seeing people from other countries speaking Chinese so well, I think I could do that too. I must work harder."

The travel to China completely changed Ruth's life. She was awarded a scholarship by the "Chinese Bridge" Competition and completed a four-year undergraduate program in Chinese Language and Culture at Tianjin Normal University. She then pursued a master's degree in International Politics. In 2014, she returned to Kenya to serve as a local Chinese language teacher. In 2019, Ruth went to study in China again. Now, she is pursuing a doctoral degree in World History at Tianjin Normal University.

According to Ruth, persistence in learning Chinese has helped her seize rare opportunities. "More than 20 of my classmates who studied Chinese before keep learning," said Ruth. Her classmates are now engaged in work related to China. Some of them work in Chinese enterprises, and some as Chinese language teachers like her. "We promote Sino-African friendship in different ways."

Perform in Chinese Spring Festival Gala Twice

"I am looking up, looking into the distance. My home is on the African land. Learning Chinese, I will never forget it. The Confucius Institute has built a bridge of friendship. I will study hard and make progress every day. 'Looking up, I gaze at the bright moon; bowing my head, I think of my hometown'... " On New Year's Eve in 2011, Ruth and several foreign friends from different countries performed the cross-talk All within the Four Seas are Brothers at the CCTV Spring Festival Gala. This adapted version of Over the Moon allowed Ruth to showcase her singing skills.

"I have performed on various stages before. However, thinking of showing at the Spring Festival Gala, which will be watched by hundreds of millions of Chinese viewers, I was excited and nervous." Ruth said that they rehearsed for over a month and the final show was quite good. As soon as the Spring Festival Gala ended, she accepted consecutive interviews from Chinese and Kenyan media. What surprised her was that she got a second chance to perform during the Spring Festival Gala. In the 2013 Spring Festival Gala, Ruth, Li Guyi, and several international students sang Unforgettable Tonight together. "The song is reserved for the Spring Festival Gala. It's an honor to collaborate with the famous Chinese artist," said Ruth with a hint of pride as she recalled the story. "I am the only Kenyan who has performed for the Spring Festival Gala twice."

In addition, Ruth is a foreign inheritor of the Chinese Yueqin and the Beijing Qinshu (story-telling with accompaniment), both intangible cultural heritages. She is obsessed with the beautiful melody and moving classical artistic conception of Chinese folk music. She had never learned musical instruments before, but she specially went to Beijing to learn the Yueqin. "I hope to introduce such beautiful melody to foreigners. My performance could impress them with the extensive and profound Chinese traditional culture."

Publicize China's Progress to More People

Ruth has lost count of how many Chinese cities she has been to. "I have traveled around the country with vast territory, abundant resources, and colorful natural scenery and cultural aroma." Among the many cities she has visited, Ruth loves Kunming best, for the local climate reminds her of her hometown, and the local national culture deeply attracts her. She hopes to have the opportunity to delve into it in the future. Most of her time has been spent in Tianjin. "Tianjin is a big city, but its pace of life is not as fast as that in Beijing. Living here is so comfortable. Tianjin people are very enthusiastic. They always chat with you."

When it comes to her experience of repeated visits to China, Ruth exclaimed, "China has changed so quickly and so much in recent years! I see high-speed rail networks throughout China, apps such as ride hailing, bike sharing, e-commerce shopping, and mobile payments integrated into a single mobile phone, and the extensive application of AI and robots. China now is what I imagined to be the 'future look', and I suggest foreign friends come here to have a look."

In June 2019, Ruth participated in the "Visiting Program for Young Sinologists" organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China and visited Shanghai for a one-month investigation. "The program deepened my understanding of the stories behind China's rapid development," said Ruth. She visited many places with young sinologists from different countries to learn about the construction process of the Huangpu River Bridge, visit the workshop of the Chinese-made C919 airbus, and experience modern life in "modern villages" on Chongming Island... "Shanghai is a microcosm of China's earth-shaking changes, reflecting the tremendous vitality of a developing China in all aspects," said Ruth.

At present, China and Kenya are deepening their cooperation. The Mombasa - Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway and other major programs have effectively promoted the local economy and society, and deepened her understanding of the joint construction of "Belt and Road". "The joint construction of the 'Belt and Road' has brought good quality roads, ports, and railways to developing countries like Kenya. Convenient transportation helps people to develop and to become rich." Many of her students now work in Chinese enterprises, and some have become the backbone of the Mombasa - Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway. She believes that the cooperation programs between China and Kenya offer local young people good jobs. More importantly, young people in Kenya have gained knowledge, skills and friendship from their Chinese partners. "This is a process of making friends. The joint construction of the 'Belt and Road' will connect infrastructure and people."

Now, while striving to complete her studies, Ruth co-establishes a research institute for comparative research and cooperation between China and Kenya in politics, economy, and art. She plans to return to Nairobi to continue teaching after completing her PhD. "From a Chinese language learner to a Chinese language teacher, I treasure my years of studying in China so much. I hope to feed the knowledge I have learned back to my students, and lead them to fall in love with Chinese culture."

(Lv Qiang, People's Daily, January 10, 2021, p.7)