(East-West Question) Reinhard Pratt: How can language be used as a medium to help "Sino-German cultural exchanges"?

  China News Agency, Berlin, April 18th: Reinhard Pratt: How can language as a medium help "China-Germany cultural exchanges"?

  China News Agency reporter Ma Xiuxiu Peng Dawei

  As the founder of the Munich Oriental Foundation, Mr. Reinhard Pratt has long been enthusiastic about Chinese language education in Germany and Sino-German cultural exchanges. middle school.

As the foreign governing unit of the Confucius Institute in Munich, the Munich Oriental Foundation has devoted a lot of effort to the development of the Confucius Institute over the years.

It is worth noting that Mr. Reinhard Pratt's son Jacob and daughter Johanna are Sinology scholars at the University of Munich and chairman of the Munich Oriental Foundation respectively. It can be said that the whole family is committed to friendly exchanges with China.

  On the occasion of the United Nations Chinese Language Day in 2022, Reinhard Pratt accepted an exclusive interview with China News Agency "East and West Questions", telling about his family's indissoluble bond with Chinese language and Chinese culture, as well as the impact of Chinese culture on the management of German companies revelation.

The interview transcript is now organized as follows:

China News Service reporter: How do you and your family get connected with Chinese language and Chinese culture?

In your opinion, what is the greatest charm of Chinese culture?

Reinhard:

Before 1990, I gave a report in a foreign trade research institute in Shanghai. At that time, I started to have initial contact with Chinese language and Chinese culture.

At that time, I shuttled among bicycles and crowds in Shanghai People's Square, and also drove around the country, reaching different provinces and cities such as Hainan.

  My family and I were interested in Chinese and Chinese culture by coincidence, but it was mainly due to natural laws, that is, a great probability.

The world is divided into East and West, and China has always played an important role in the East.

China's total population accounts for about one-fifth of the world's population. The most important thing is that China has made great contributions to the prosperity and progress of the world, both materially and spiritually.

For thousands of years, China has had a very splendid history, and today's development and rise are returning to normal.

As a rational German family, there is a high probability that this will be noticed.

  Chinese culture is broad and inclusive, and the East and the West must work together and work together for people in the same world.

In 2019, the 7th Munich Chinese Film Festival hosted by the Confucius Institute in Munich was held locally.

The picture shows German audience visiting the "Looking Slowly" Excellent Film Poster Exhibition of 70 Years of New China, co-hosted by the Confucius Institute in Munich and the China Film Archive.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Peng Dawei

China News Service reporter: What was your original intention for establishing the Munich Orient Foundation?

Since its establishment, what role has the foundation played in supporting the development of Confucius Institutes and promoting Sino-German people-to-people and cultural exchanges?

Reinhard:

The role of the Munich Orient Foundation is to strengthen the connection with the Eastern world.

In addition to China, the foundation also does some work for people-to-people and cultural exchanges in South Korea, North Korea and other places.

The Confucius Institute is mainly committed to helping Germans strengthen exchanges with Chinese people, and the foundation has also provided a lot of support and assistance.

  A few years before the establishment of the Confucius Institute in Munich, the foundation has been doing related work, and now it is more committed to it, and we can also be seen in Düsseldorf.

As long as the foundation can help, it is willing to exert its strength.

  While there is some controversy surrounding Confucius Institutes, I would say that rejecting unfamiliar things is as normal as liking yourself.

Competition and criticism is also a management style that drives progress.

Because of the epidemic and the development of online formats, the Confucius Institute has become better than before, and will grow even better through continuous improvement.

In 2021, the finals of the 14th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign Secondary School Students in Germany will be successfully held online.

The picture shows the judges of this competition at the Confucius Institute in Stralsund.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Peng Dawei

China News Agency reporter: You promoted the St. Anne Arts and Sciences Middle School in Munich to become the first liberal arts middle school in Germany to include Chinese as a compulsory subject.

How do you view the significance of this move?

What are the motivations for Germans to learn Chinese?

How has Chinese education developed in Germany over the years?

Reinhard:

When I was in school, not all English teachers could actually speak English.

Today, taxi drivers speak English well, thanks to Americans and the globalization of the U.S. economy, technology, and science.

I think Chinese education should follow the same path.

  Chinese is very important, it is a matter of course, no matter the country or the city people admit it.

But only action can turn this granted into reality, which is the inclusion of Chinese in the senior high school graduation exam.

  For Germans, Chinese is much more difficult to learn than English.

But Germans still learn Chinese for reasons of friendship, love and daily needs.

  According to the survey and statistics of the Confucius Institute in Munich, as important trading partners, China and Germany have more and more frequent exchanges in the fields of politics, economy, culture and education, and there is a strong demand for professionals who are proficient in Chinese and understand China, bringing unprecedented development opportunities for Chinese language teaching in Germany. .

At present, there are more than 300 primary and secondary schools and vocational schools offering Chinese teaching in Germany, of which 87 middle schools take Chinese as a formal credit course and a subject for senior high school graduation examinations, and 28 colleges and universities offer Sinology or Chinese and East Asian studies majors.

More and more young Germans are passionate about Chinese language and culture, and the number of students studying Chinese in schools continues to increase.

The Chinese learning group in Germany not only constitutes a wide range, but also has a variety of teaching institutions.

Chinese applied talents are playing an increasingly active role in various fields in Germany, and Sinology has become the fastest-growing humanities discipline.

In 2020, the German finals of the 13th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign Secondary School Students will be held online remotely.

The picture shows contestant Berrin Goel showing his Chinese paper-cuts in the talent session.

(Video screenshot)

China News Service reporter: As an entrepreneur, how do you view the differences in business philosophy between Germany and China?

What do you think German companies can learn from Chinese culture?

Reinhard:

Combined with the experience of serving on the supervisory boards of several large companies, I feel the importance of the huge Chinese market, as well as the strength and wisdom of the Chinese people.

Chinese competitors are better than us in terms of perseverance and determination.

They use these powers to go beyond.

It can be said that the competition from China affects everyone in it.

  The thought of Confucius was introduced to Europe long ago, just like the thought of Aristotle in China.

The saga of mankind is of diversity and unity, where diversity leads to progress.

If everyone was like ourselves, we wouldn't need contact with other people, languages, families, and friendships.

But life is not like this, it requires people to help each other, and communication brings people together.

The same goes for running a business.

This is what Chinese culture teaches us.

Professor Pratt was awarded the "Confucius Institute Medal".

Photo by China News Agency reporter Peng Dawei

China News Agency reporter: In your opinion, what role does language play in promoting exchanges between different cultures?

How should China and Germany further use language as a medium to enhance cultural exchanges and mutual learning?

Reinhard:

Language is the main tool for the development of human society.

Because development requires collaboration, and collaboration requires language.

Cooperation through language transcends culture and is very common in daily life.

Since the beginning of the primitive society, cooperation has laid the foundation for human success.

  Since its establishment, the Munich Orient Foundation has been funding non-profit organizations and schools participating in Sino-German inter-school exchange activities to the best of its ability, promoting exchanges between young students from the two countries, and enhancing their learning and understanding of the language, culture, education and social development of the other country.

The survey of the Confucius Institute in Munich shows that cultural, educational, sports and youth exchanges are of great significance to the development of bilateral relations between the two countries.

The two Chinese songs "Let the World Be Full of Love" and "After the Epidemic" recorded by the German Bole Chinese Choir have twice become popular videos on the Chinese Internet. The spirit of cooperation and solidarity in fighting the epidemic has touched many netizens.

The picture shows the members of the school's Chinese choir singing "Let the World Be Full of Love".

(Video screenshot)

  In 2005, the German and Chinese governments signed a new agreement on cultural cooperation, laying a broader foundation for the further expansion of cultural relations between the two countries.

In 2016, the German and Chinese governments jointly launched the China-Germany Youth Exchange Year.

As of January 2019, the initiative project "Schools: Partners in Shaping the Future" initiated and funded by Germany covers a total of 127 schools in China, of which 52 schools offer German diplomas and 83 schools are German-language schools for teenagers under the Goethe-Institut.

As of the spring of 2019, 18 German Confucius Institutes organized groups of German youth aged 15 to 19 to go to China to study Chinese language, art and culture.

  To carry out German-Chinese exchanges and raise Germans' understanding of China, we must start from schools and youth work.

In the process of communication, young people can have a deep understanding of China's national conditions, language, culture and the Chinese people.

Therefore, it is necessary to increase the number of German exchange students to China, develop and expand the cooperation between German schools and China, and integrate it into the school teaching system.

In order to promote the sustainable development of two-way exchanges, it is also necessary to listen to the opinions and suggestions of Chinese partners.

Only the concerted efforts of both sides can promote the continuous development of cultural exchanges between Germany and China.

(Finish)

Interviewee Profile:

  Reinhard Pratt, whose Chinese name is Ran Huade, was born in Marktredwitz, Germany in 1948. He is a famous German lawyer and entrepreneur, and a visiting professor at the Department of Law at the University of Münster in Germany.

He currently serves as a director of the board of directors or chairman of the supervisory board of many multinational companies, including the chairman of the supervisory board of the daily chemical giant Beiersdorf (the parent company of Nivea), and the former CEO of the German coffee giant Chubao.