Zhao Zhixing, Champion of 16th "Chinese Bridge": Learning Chinese by Watching Chinese TV Series

Zhao Zhixing, champion of the 16th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students

"Now English is spoken all over the world, yet with the development of China's economy and its internationalization being paced up, more people will speak Chinese in more countries." On August 13th, the second day after the final of the 16th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students, winner Zhao Zhixing, and also champion of the African Continent embarked on his road home. This 19-year-old “learning overlord” is courteous, humble and always smiling and he also has his own views and methods.

The Chinese Learning Method of the “Learning Overlord”: By Watching Chinese TV Series

The methods of each contestant for learning Chinese are not the same. Some say that making more Chinese friends and chatting with them can help; while some say that focusing on teaching materials can be conducive in that classics are all contained in the textbooks. Zhao Zhixing began to touch upon Chinese since he was admitted to university and so far has only learned Chinese for more than two years. So what made him gain such a fast progress?

“One of my methods for learning Chinese is to listen carefully in class and not hesitate to ask the teacher for what cannot be understood. And the other method of Chinese learning is to watch Chinese TV series.”

Ode to Joy, Dear Translator, Pretty Li Huizhen, Yes! Mr. Fashion, Love @ Seventeen, Eternal Love ...When it comes to the names of these Chinese TV series, Zhao Zhixing is second to none in naming them.

"You can learn more new things and have a command of more Chinese vocabularies through watching Chinese TV series. Each of them has its own ideas and the actors also do a good job in acting." In Sudan, there is no special Chinese TV channel so Zhao Zhixing just downloaded some apps on which he can watch Chinese TV series.

As a qualified “TV series chaser”, Zhao’s favorite is “Pretty Li Huizhen”. “I like Dilraba in particular and she is my Chinese goddess.” Zhao Zhixing also told the journalist a “secret” that in the final, he is eager to pursue the champion of the African continent, in that a director promised that if he does so, Dilraba would probably see him at the scene. “But when I won for the continent, Dilraba did not show up. I still hope she watched the news and saw my achievement.”

Zhao said, “Now the Sudanese do not have a thorough understanding of Chinese TV series. After learning Chinese we come to realized that Sudanese TV series are way different from the Chinese TV series. However, I think the Sudanese will like them and hope that the Chinese TV series can be played in Sudan in the future.”

Hope to Meet Dilraba in Person When He furthers His Postgraduate Study in China Next Year

Zhao Zhixing on the stage of "Chinese Bridge"

Although having ended for a few days now, when mentioning the “Chinese Bridge” Competition, Zhao Zhixing still feels a vivid dream. Zhao said, “The final round of ‘Peak Duel’ is a round of answering questions in turn and after I gave my answers I did not dare to see the screen and my score, either. When they announced: ‘The champion of the 16th Chinese Bridge Competition goes to—Zhao Zhixing, I was fairly surprised. And the first idea in my mind was to step off the stage and call my mother.”

Zhao’s mother is the guiding force on his Chinese learning path. When making the choice of his profession, his mother, Dean of Faculty of Arts of the University of Khartoum recommended him to learn a language and to choose Chinese. His mother told him that Chinese will play a pivotal role in the world in the future and it will be quite helpful to him.

"Learning Chinese really bestows a lot of opportunities upon me. At the University of Khartoum, the Confucius Institute holds Poetry Recitation Competition, the Spring Festival Gala, ‘Chinese Bridge’ competition every year and also sets up scholarships for outstanding students to study in China. Hadn’t I learned Chinese, I would not have come to the ‘Chinese Bridge’ and it would have been impossible for me to make so many friends from all over the world."

Zhao Zhixing said, “Now English is spoken all over the world, yet with the development of China's economy and the internationalization being paced up, more people will speak Chinese in more countries. If I can speak Chinese, I can do several kinds of jobs, such as Chinese teacher, host and diplomat, which I’m very interested in and would like to have a try.”

Zhao’s trip to China to participate in the contest was a careful arrangement, either in the course of study, or in rehearsal. He didn’t have time to go to many places he wished to visit. “I heard Changsha amusement park is a great deal of fun and I am aching to visit it because I like amusement parks very much. It’s a pity that I had no chance this time. But it does not matter for I can come to Changsha to visit the amusement park in the future. Next year I will further my postgraduate study in China and I hope that I can meet Dilraba in person then.”

(Journalist: Chen Meiqi, correspondents: Quan Bo Lan Que, rednet.cn)