China News Service, July 7 (Xinhua) reported, "Hey! What's up guys! I'm a spoken old cannon Ma Sirui!" This is Ma Sirui's classic opening remark at Station B (Bilibili Video Network).
Ma Sirui's English name is Chris Max, from Washington, USA. He went to China after graduating from Santa Clara University with a major in finance in 2011. It has been nine years now.
"The first time I came to China was September 30, 2011." Ma Sirui told reporters that he had just graduated from university and used the opportunity of a gap year to come to China. The first city he went to was Beijing. After traveling in Beijing for two months, he returned to the United States, when he found that he didn't have enough time in China. "Chinese is very interesting and life in China is also very interesting. I want to stay in China for another six months."
Unexpectedly, this stay is 9 years. Now, Ma Sirui's self-introduction on the online platform is: an American who is proficient in five languages. The five languages are English, German, Italian, Spanish, and Chinese. Among them, Spanish and English are mother tongues, German and Italian are systematically studied in high school and university level, and Chinese is the worst he thinks to speak, and he needs to continue to practice. However, when communicating with Ma Sirui, the reporter found that he seemed to be an authentic "Beijing native". Not only did the children's voices of the words "grilled skewers, hutong children" and other words be authentic, he also spoke idioms, sayings and even Cantonese.
The colloquial "Old Cannon" Ma Siri is a well-known master of station B. (U.S. "Overseas Chinese" / provided by interviewees)
Ma Sirui knows that the best way to learn a language is to integrate into the local environment. "When I first started learning Chinese, everyone was very enthusiastic about me and encouraged me to support me." He will chat with the security guard and the owner of the barbecue restaurant. Regardless of age or work, the Chinese people Ma Sirui is willing to help him learn Chinese. "I like the enthusiasm of Chinese people best. They have no purpose, they just think you are good."
Now, Ma Sirui's Chinese is completely inaudible, and many people have asked him to learn language skills. He said, "I don't think I have a gift for language, interest and hard work are the most critical."
After deciding to stay in China, Ma Sirui's first job was event planning for a Chinese language school for foreigners. Later, he also worked in translation and English training. In 2015, Ma Sirui and another American partner established a company in China to provide English education consulting, corporate training, and translation services.
In 2017, Ma Sirui began to shoot video, and the image of "spoken old cannon" officially appeared on major Chinese online platforms. In December of this year, an American friend said to Ma Sirui, "It’s a pity that you don’t make videos!" As a result, Ma Sirui began to learn to make short videos, and half a year later began to make long videos to teach everyone how to learn English. The Chinese entrepreneurs Ma Yun, Lei Jun, and Chinese actors Jackie Chan, Wu Yifan and other celebrities have been analyzed in their spoken English, comparing Chinese and American culture, and interpreting the recent content of the US epidemic and demonstrations.
As of now, Ma Sirui's Douyin account has more than 1.6 million fans.
Ma Sirui recorded video in the car. (U.S. "Overseas Chinese" / provided by interviewees)
"Although there are a lot of "fans", I don't think I'm "fire". The obvious outbreak is this year, and many fans care about me." Ma Siwei said, his hobby is to communicate with others, now that he has With a little influence, he is willing to help more people learn the language and share the gains.
A "fan" of Ma Sirui commented that Lao Ma's videos are often very concise, and there is no extra content, which makes people feel that they are always intentional. In addition, in the video, you can feel that the old horse is humble, very grounded, and different.
In January of this year, Ma Sirui and his Chinese wife returned to the United States to visit his parents. He originally planned to return to China after celebrating his father's birthday in March, but because of the epidemic, he has been in the United States for nearly half a year.
However, Ma Sirui is not idle, his partners and companies are in China, and he needs to work across jet lag every day, which makes him uncomfortable.
According to Ma Sirui, Americans don't know much about China. Ma Sirui likes to share his Chinese experience with American friends.
In addition, he also planned an opportunity for his family to have a deep understanding of China: "My wife and I originally planned to hold a wedding in Beijing in August this year. My American family, brothers, sisters, uncles and aunts will all come to Beijing to let everyone know about China."
However, affected by the epidemic, Ma Sirui and his wife's "international wedding plan" was forced to postpone, "I don't know when the wedding will be held, I hope the epidemic will pass sooner."
Ma Sirui recorded video in the workplace. (U.S. "Overseas Chinese" / provided by interviewees)
"I regard Beijing as my home." Ma Sirui has been to many cities in China. He said that his favorite is still Beijing. "I like skewering, fondue, and roasted lamb shanks." Ma Sirui's friend told him that it is difficult to make a real Chinese friend. "I don't think it's right. If I only want the difference between Chinese and American culture, I only see it. Different. If you can see the same, people will come closer and closer."
Ma Sirui is still practicing Chinese and learning Chinese culture. He said that he enjoys communicating with Chinese friends and is willing to talk to anyone. (Chen Jingshuyan)