细微之处皆文化



　　中英两国，一个是拥有五千年文化传承的泱泱大国，不仅是东亚文化的发源地和东方文化的代表，具有深厚的历史积淀和文化张力，也是世界第二大经济体，并已逐渐成为世界经济的火车头；另一个是文化艺术强国，文化软实力在世界上名列前茅，一直被模仿，却从未被超越。英国的文学、博物馆、歌剧和影视作品在世界范围内首屈一指。莎士比亚、福尔摩斯、哈利波特等作为英式文化的象征，展现着这一昔日头号资本主义强国历久弥新的魅力。

　　然而两个大国之间关系的真正发展，竟是从兼具中西方文化优势的留学生身上开始的。

　　清末民初间，洋人的枪炮使得天朝上国的迷梦破碎，西学东渐的大背景下萌生了中学西传的潮流。20世纪初刚刚兴起的留学潮中，中国留学生身体力行地将中西方文化融会贯通，通过译著汉学典籍推动西方汉学界的发展，通过不断创新中国文学作品促使中国文化走向世界。正是这一代留学生在中国文化传播方面的努力，为西方世界打开了通往这个东方古国的大门。

　　近年来，中国留学生遍布世界各地，且人数还在逐年上升。作为现今中国文化传播的主力军，留学生的一举一动、一言一行，都足以影响西方人对中国的印象和认知。

　　就我而言，虽身为留学英国的学生大军中的一员，但从小到大一直深深地热爱中国文化。从学习丝竹曲韵时的投入，到10多年来坚持中国舞的执着；从一丝不苟临摹、练习书法的那份平静，到朗诵唐诗、宋词、《诗经》时流露出的真情；中国文化之于我，已不仅仅局限于血脉之中流淌着的那份情结，而早已形成了一种深沉的热爱和守护，还有扎根于内心深处的那股无形的力量。

　　饱含着对祖国深厚的情怀和对中国文化的热爱，从踏出国门的那一刻起，我就注定要努力成为人文交流的使者。

预科导师的中式家庭

　　2013年，刚刚高中毕业的我独自一人飞往英国曼彻斯特。

　　这个看似辉煌发达的国家，在我下飞机的一刻起，却让我感受到了一股扑面而来始料未及的寒冷。这种寒冷，是一种由孤独、无助、彷徨和胆怯交织在一起由心而发的陌生：陌生的面孔、陌生的街道、陌生的语言和陌生的宿舍。我开始感到有些不安和焦虑。

　　然而没有过多的时间适应，新学期开始了。新的学习环境、新的同学老师和新的烦恼压力接踵而来。

　　预科分班之后我们见到了新任的Academic Advisor，那时候还不懂什么意思，后来才知道其实就是我们国内的班主任，但并不像班主任那样事无巨细，事事亲力亲为。

　　我们的Advisor叫Val Owen，是一个中年女人，留着一头咖啡色的短发，一口迷人的英音和极有亲和力的笑容是我对她的第一印象，然而她最有魅力的地方在于能够于无形中带给你一种温暖和力量。

　　她那略显苍老的脸上永远带着迷人的微笑，那是一种仿佛可以融化世界上所有坚冰和让你的忧愁一扫而空的发自内心的笑容，那是一种让她脸上的皱纹看起来更美的笑容，也是一种让我第一次感觉到，原来人老了也可以有这么美的笑容。

　　当我在学习生活中遇到不顺心、失意或者彷徨的时候，她除了会给我乐观积极的引导和由衷的赞美鼓励之外，还会在周末或下班之后开车带我到曼城一些小众景点散心，或邀请我去她家做客。在与Val越来越频繁的交流和接触之后我得知，她的先生是华侨，祖籍福建，因早年经商而落户英国。原来Val也会说一些简单的中文，她的3个孩子从小受父亲的影响学习中文，正常的沟通交流毫无障碍。

　　在短短1年的相处中，我感受到了Val对于中国文化的向往和热爱，以及对她先生深厚的感情。Val深知先生对自己祖国的情感和割舍不掉的血脉，每到大大小小的中国传统节日，她和先生就会在家中邀请亲朋好友举办小型派对庆祝。Val的先生对国画情有独钟，虽已年过半百，却是一位极高产的画家，经常带着画板去英国各地写生，长时间的创作已经积累下来几个系列的英伦风情写生作品了。她先生的书房摆满了各地写生带回来的英国自然和人文风景图，仿佛大不列颠土地上的美景在他拥挤的书房里就能一览无余。为了她与先生有更多的共同语言，我鼓励Val定期去孔子学院学习书法和国画，并利用业余时间学习中文。Val反馈说，学习中国文化能够使她的心境平和，因此她非常享受这一过程。Val有次提到过她先生的身体不是很好，但每次看到他在书房里潜心作画时那种认真、专注、一丝不苟的态度和苍劲有力的笔触，就很难与他羸弱的身形联系起来，更不会联想到这是一个英国人的日常生活。

　　说起Val的几个孩子，她总会很骄傲地提到他们是多么热爱中国文化。她的两个儿子从小受中国文化熏陶，精通书法、绘画和二胡，长大后娶的也是中国太太。女儿则从小学习古筝，现在在孔子学院给当地华人的孩子教授古筝课程。

　　升入大学之后，我和Val夫妇的关系仍像预科时候的那样。现在，她是我的良师也是我的挚友，她像对自己的孩子一样待我，有时间就跑来看我的舞蹈彩排和演出，这不仅给予了我莫大的鼓励，也帮我树立了自信和勇气。Val还说，等将来她有了孙女，一定也会鼓励她们学习这一优雅的艺术。

　　回想当初，刚到英国的那份稚嫩和胆怯已经开始慢慢消失，继而取代的是一份成熟的稳重和从容，想必这也一定和Val夫妇的影响有着密不可分的联系。

　　

中国舞蹈团里的外国朋友Emilia

　　刚上曼大的第一年，经朋友介绍我知道了Arts of China舞蹈社团，结果试听的第一堂课就重新燃起了我对中国舞的向往和热情。

　　授课的是一位中国老师，典型的古典东方美女的面容。舞姿曼妙，婀娜多姿，人也非常具有亲和力，授课喜欢按着自己的调子来，有条不紊。说实话，有这么一个美女老师教我们跳舞，注意力自然都放在老师身上。但是，不难发现，班上的学生里面有几副外国面孔，其中一个年龄看起来偏大一些，动作虽没那么到位，但从她目光专注的程度来看，其态度的认真可见一斑。在逐渐接触的过程中得知，她叫Emilia，是英籍波兰人，从小在英国长大，后来嫁的丈夫也是英国人。

　　之后的相处中，Emilia有个小细节引起了我的关注，就是每次舞蹈课后她都会坐在旁边轻轻地按摩后背和四肢，而且她先生都会体贴地开车来接她。开始我以为可能是舞蹈课的训练强度对她这个年龄有些偏大，况且有的时候我都有点吃不消，所以肌肉酸痛是再正常不过的了。但后来在跟同学们的聊天中得知，她患了一种很奇怪的病，叫脆骨症，该病是一种少见的先天性骨骼发育障碍性疾病，具体的病理原因很复杂，医生曾叮嘱过她不能进行高强度的运动，甚至连跑和跳都应该尽量避免。想到一起上课的时候，她从来没有偷过懒或者因为身体原因要求老师减少训练量，而是跟着大家一起，认真地完成每一个动作，参加每一场演出，觉得这真是一个了不起的女人。她说：“我坚持是因为我热爱，不要认为我很痛苦或很累，因为跳舞时候的我是沉浸其中的，是享受的，是快乐的。”

　　由此可见，她患病的身体中藏着一个伟大的人格。的确，我们能听到的总是她开玩笑时发出的爽朗笑声，看到的是有同学训练时受伤她上前拥抱和抚慰的身影，感受到的是她认真坚强和乐观开朗的的性格，而从来没有过抱怨和自怜。

　　相处的1年多来，她一直扮演着知心大姐姐的角色，在我们看起来失落的时候开导我们，在我们需要帮助的时候挺身而出，比如演出前经常出现的服装饰物掉了、脱线了、拉链坏了等问题，对她来说都是小菜一碟，她会拿回家细致地为你缝好，并再三确认，以保证演出的顺利进行。上场前，她还会为我们每个人检查一遍拉链、粘扣和饰物有没有坏掉的，妆容有没有花掉的，哪怕只是有隐患也逃不过她的眼睛，一旦有问题她就会用随身携带的针线盒帮你缝结实，或者体贴地帮你补妆。

　　就是这样，通过学习舞蹈，我结识了一位在很多方面可以作为我榜样的大姐姐，跟她在一起你会感觉很舒服，很贴心，很温暖，因为她会尽己所能把所有人都照顾得很好。

　　周末的时候，我们会经常相约一起逛街、旅行、吃饭。她会要求我教她一些简单的中文，比如数数和我们舞团女生的中文名发音等，她说正确叫出别人的名字是对他人的一种尊重。看得出，她是痴迷于中国文化的，她说中国舞蹈让她更加热爱生活，并且教会了她如何更好地生活。

　　长期以来，我们舞团在一起排练，参加演出，彼此建立了深厚的感情，现在我们每个人无论国家和文化背景，都可以在舞蹈中找到自身存在的意义和价值。我们一起参加了曼城中国学联和使领馆合办的中国文化节、2016年年初在Dancehouse的商演、2月的曼城春晚及庙会游行等，留下了无数的珍贵回忆。

　　在不知不觉中，不同文化背景下的我们走到了一起，这不只是物理距离上的相聚，更重要的是心与心之间贴得更近了。

　　

有人说，文化传播就是一个民族文字、语言和价值观的扩散。我认为，它也可以是一种习惯的养成、情感的交融、友谊的建立和心与心的沟通。身为留学生的我们，一言一行，一举一动，细微之处皆是文化，而文化又包罗于万象之中。如果传播中华文明可以从树立个人形象出发，那么国家软实力的传播，指日可待。（作者就读于曼彻斯特大学商学院会计与金融专业）

Cultural Nuances



　China and Britain: the former is a great country with five thousand years of cultural heritage and is not only the cradle of East Asian culture and representative of Oriental culture due to its enduring history and influential culture, but is also the second largest economy in the world and has gradually become the engine of the world economy; the latter is a cultural and artistic power and one of the world’s leading nations in terms of cultural soft power, and one that is constantly imitated but never surpassed. Britain’s literature, museums, and theater, film and television productions are the finest in the world. Shakespeare, Sherlock Holmes and Harry Potter are symbols of British culture that demonstrate that this former leading capitalist power still possesses timeless charm.

　Nevertheless, relations between these two powerful countries actually began with Chinese students who studied in the West and had a mastery of Chinese and Western cultures.

　At the end of the Qing dynasty, foreign armies shattered the dreams of the imperial state. Against a wider backdrop of Western learning filtering into China, some Chinese learning began to spread into the West. In the early 20th century, during the nascent period of studying abroad, Chinese students sought to integrate Chinese and Western cultures, and to promote the development of Sinology in the West by translating Chinese classics and to spread Chinese culture in the West through continuous innovations in Chinese literature. It was those efforts to spread Chinese culture by overseas students at that time that ultimately opened the door to our ancient oriental country to the rest of the world.

　In recent years, Chinese students have traveled to all corners of the earth to study, and their numbers are constantly increasing. Given that they are the main force in spreading Chinese culture, every move and every word of overseas students can influence the impression and understanding people in the West have of China.

　Although I have become one of the many students studying in the UK, I have always had a deep love of Chinese culture. From spending time learning to play traditional instruments, to studying Chinese dance for more than a decade, from carefully copying and practicing calligraphy, to reciting Tang and Song poetry and extract from the Book of Songs —to me, Chinese culture is about more than just feelings that course through my veins. I have genuinely developed a deep love for and desire to protect my culture. It has become a source of strength rooted in my heart.

　Filled with these deep feelings toward my homeland and love for Chinese culture, as I headed abroad I was destined to become a messenger of people-to-people exchanges.

Advisor from a Chinese Family

　In 2013, having just graduated from high school, I boarded a plane alone to Manchester.

　Arriving in an apparently wondrous developed country I suddenly felt a cold chill. The chill came from the sudden realization that I was alone and helpless, and that everything was unfamiliar to me: unfamiliar faces, unfamiliar streets, unfamiliar language and an unfamiliar home. I started to feel anxious.

　Before I had time to adapt to my new life, the new semester began. A new learning environment, new classmates and new teachers brought with them new worries and stresses.

　Having been divided into our preparatory classes, we met our academic advisor. At the time I did not know what the title meant, but I later discovered that it was the equivalent of a less hands-on class teacher in China.

　Our advisor is Val Owen, a middle-aged woman with short brown hair. My first impressions were that she had a beautiful British accent and a caring, friendly smile. Her most attractive quality, though, is her subtle warmth and strength.

　She is always smiling, and her smile seems like it could melt all the ice on Earth and sweep all one’s sorrows away. It is a smile that even makes the wrinkles on her face more appealing, and it has even helped me to see beauty in old age for the first time.

　Whenever I encounter difficulties or get frustrated or anxious during my studies, she not only gives me heartfelt encouragement and guidance, but she sometimes takes me to places of interest that only locals know about or invites me to her house for dinner. Through my increasingly frequent exchanges and contact with Val I learned that her husband’s family is originally from Fujian province in China, having set up a business and settled in Britain many years ago. Val has learned some basic Chinese and her three children started studying Chinese from their father when they were very young, so they are already fluent.

　In just one year, I’ve felt Val’s yearning and love for Chinese culture and her deep feelings for her husband. Val is aware of her husband’s emotional ties to his homeland, and they celebrate each traditional Chinese holiday by inviting friends round to their house for a small party. Val’s husband is particularly fond of Chinese painting and he is a prolific painter despite already being over 50. He travels across the UK with his canvases, and he has created a series of paintings of Britain’s natural and cultural landscapes. Indeed, one can view the beauty of the British Isles all at once just by stepping into his crowded study. In order to give Val and her husband more in common, I encouraged Val to study calligraphy and Chinese painting at the Confucius Institute and to study Chinese in her spare time. Val told me that she enjoys studying Chinese as she finds it claming. Val once commented that her husband is not in very good health, but when I saw him in his study working on his paintings with his serious, focused and meticulous demeanor and vigorous brushstrokes I found it hard to marry that image with his weak frame, nor did I see it as normal for a British person.

　When Val talks about her children she is always very proud of how much they love Chinese culture. Her two sons grew up with Chinese culture and are proficient at calligraphy and playing the erhu, and they both have Chinese wives. Her daughter has played the Chinese zither since she was young and she currently teaches children of local Chinese people how to play the zither at the Confucius Institute.

　Since starting university my relationship with Val and her husband has remained the same as before. She is my teacher and my friend. She treats me like her own child. When she has time she comes to watch my dance rehearsals and performances, which gives me huge encouragement and confidence. Val said that she would encourage her future granddaughter to learn the elegant art of Chinese dance.

　Looking back, the shyness that I had when I first arrived in the UK has slowly disappeared and has been replaced by a maturity and composure. I think that has a lot to do with Val and her husband.

　

My Friend Emilia in the Chinese Dance Troupe

　During my first year at the University of Manchester, a friend introduced me to the Arts of China dance group, and the first class rekindled in me a desire and passion for Chinese dance.

　The teacher is Chinese. She has a classically beautiful oriental look, and she is an extremely graceful dancer. She is also very easygoing. When she teaches, it is done at her own, methodical pace. To be honest, with such a beautiful teacher, our attention is naturally on her when she is teaching. There are also several foreign faces in the class, including one that is slightly older, and although her movements are not perfect, the focus in her eyes is evidence of her serious attitude. After being in the class for a while, I learned that her name is Emilia and she is Polish-British. She grew up in the UK and is married to an Englishman.

　There were a couple of things about Emilia that caught my attention. After each class she sits at the side and gently massages her limbs and back, and then her husband comes to pick her up. I wondered at first if the intensity of the class was a bit much for her given that she is slightly older, as I also find it tough going sometimes and it is normal to suffer from muscle soreness. But I later found out from a classmate that Emilia suffers from a rare disorder called brittle bone disease, the specific pathological reasons for which are quite complex. The doctor told her that she could not do high-intensity sports and she should avoid running or jumping. But thinking about the classes we have had together I cannot think of one time when she could not complete the class or asked the teacher to slow down. She keeps up with us all, carefully completing each move and taking part in every performance. She is a remarkable woman. She once told me, “I persist because I love dancing. I don’t think about being sore or tired because I am immersed in dancing. I enjoy it and it makes me happy.”

　Her fragile body belies her valiant spirit. Indeed, we hear her hearty laughter when she is joking around, we see her rush to help and comfort others when they are injured, and we sense her strength and optimism. She never complains or wallows in self-pity.

　 In the year that I have spent with her, she has always played the role of a caring big sister. She picks us up when we are feeling low, and she is there when we need help. For example, someone usually experiences a wardrobe malfunction before we perform, such as loose accessories, a loose thread or broken zipper, but she simply takes whatever needs fixed home and sows them back together to ensure the performance goes off without a hitch. Before each performance she checks the zippers and Velcro on our costumes and accessories to check they are working properly and check people’s makeup has not run. She does not miss a thing. If she discovers a problem she immediately gets out her portable sewing kit and fixes it or helps you touch up your makeup.

　That is how, through learning dance, I came to meet someone who in many ways serves as a model. She makes me feel good and at ease when I’m with her because she does whatever she can to take care of people.

　At the weekends, we often get together to eat, go shopping or travel. She has tried to learn some simple Chinese, for example numbers or how to pronounce the names of the other dancers. She thinks it is respectful to be able to pronounce people’s names properly. It is obvious that she is obsessed with Chinese culture, and she says that Chinese dance makes her love life and has taught her how to live a better life.

　Our dance troupe has rehearsed and performed together for a long time now, and we are all very close and, regardless of which country we are from or our cultural backgrounds, we all derive value and meaning from dancing. I have many precious memories of dancing, such as performing for a Chinese cultural festival organized by the Manchester Chinese Students Society and the Chinese Consulate, at the Dancehouse in Manchester at the start of 2016, and at a Chinese New Year gala and temple fair parade in Manchester in February.

　Having unwittingly been brought together from different cultural backgrounds by dance, we have not only become physically closer but become closer in our hearts.

　It is said that culture is transmitted through language and values. I believe that it can also be transmitted through habits, emotions, friendships and connections. As overseas students, our every word, deed and movement is a cultural nuance, and culture is present in everything we do. If the disseminating Chinese culture can start from each individual, it will only be a matter of time before China’s soft power spreads around the world.

(The author studies Accounting and Finance at the University of Manchester Business School)