Civil ambassadors enrich China-France ties
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E-mail Xinhua, March 25, 2014
The half-century-old diplomatic relationship between China and France, two of the world's great civilizations, has been enriched by civil ambassadors devoted to promoting ties at a cultural level.
Guo Gan is a 46-year-old Chinese musician who introduced the French people to the erhu, a two-stringed bowed instrument often used in Chinese folk music.
"While introducing the best of French music to China, I will promote the Chinese traditional culture in France, Europe and every corner of the world," said Guo, always bareheaded and in a robe.
"This is my dream, not complicated but very simple and practical. I will continue (to promote the Chinese culture) until 100 years old, even if it needs long-term efforts," he said.
It was hard to imagine Guo, now an icon of Chinese folk music in France, once lived a difficult life in Paris. He had to earn a living by playing insignificant roles in films and working as a model for fashion and body painting.
It was the erhu, the instrument he learnt to play from his father in childhood, that saved him.
"First, I played the erhu among Chinese residents. But I was very determined to enter the mainstream music industry," Guo said, adding the French music industry began to notice him after many performances.
"Actually, the French music industry was also searching for Chinese elements. This was a process of a kind of mutual discovery," he said.
More than 10 years' struggle brought Guo success -- more than 40 albums and visits to more than 70 countries and regions -- for his persistence and innovation in the Chinese traditional artform.
"There are no national boundaries in terms of music. Music is culture and dialogue. It could be more intriguing and resonating than other forms of art," Guo said.
Since China and France established diplomatic ties 50 years ago, both countries have stronger desire for cultural exchanges, which now have increasingly rich content, according to Guo, who stressed that cultural exchanges can not be limited to entertainment.
Guo said the Chinese culture should be promoted among the French people in a persistent and in-depth way to "leave them (the French) deeply impressed."
In addition, there are many French people who are interested in Chinese culture and dedicated to China-France cultural exchanges. Jerome Pouille, a 32-year-old employee of the French ministry of ecology, is one of them.
Pouille has been in love with giant pandas since childhood and this passion prompted him to create a popular website devoted to them in 2002.
In the 2012 global contest for Pambassadors, Jerome and two other fellow candidates, Chinese fashion magazine editor Chen Yinrong and American hockey coach Melissa Katz, beat 1.16 million competitors to win the "cute job" of raising public awareness of the need to protect giant pandas.
During his one year as a pambassador, Pouille was engaged in in-depth training and conservation efforts at the Chengdu Panda Base, and traveled with other pambassadors to all the cities in which pandas live to raise awareness of conservation.
"My three months in China made me discover what the real China was," he said, adding he met very nice people and Chinese-speaking lovers of France, who were eager to discover French culture, study or visit France one day.
"Exchanges between peoples is an asset that must be preserved and constantly developed," Pouille said.
He said learning about other nations and immersion in other countries were the first step towards accepting and understanding their cultures, and then people would have a desire to learn more about other countries, which would contribute to cultural exchanges.
Pouille said he was willing to help the French people understand China through the giant panda and his website.
In the past 50 years, China-France relations have developed strongly. From a new start, bilateral friendship can continue through enhancing civil exchanges and deepening mutual understanding between the two peoples.
This needs more people's involvement and participation. Every one, like Guo and Pouille, can serve as a civil ambassador for China-France cultural exchanges.
