EYES ON CHINA
Fitting into the Middle Kingdom, despite blonde hair and blue eyes
Catarina Lilliehook, more often called Li Lin by her Chinese friends, used five Chinese idioms in a more-than-one hour interview. Another phrase she said three times was: "How do you know if you don't try?"
Although most Chinese people would be a little surprised at how unhesitatingly and fluently she speaks Chinese, she does not yet speak as well as-some well-known foreign expats such as Da Shan, or other foreigners who have stayed in the country for ages. But locals would likely be shocked to find Lilliehook has only been in China for three and a half years, and that she has already published her first book in Chinese.
The book, "Rediscovering China," or "Jin Fa Bi Yan Kan Zhong Guo" (literally, Blond Hair and Blue Eyes Look at China), was published last October by the China Publishing House of the Literary Circles. The book in Chinese was run as a serial on the Beijing Evening News, and is now everywhere on the Internet.
Lilliehook received interviews from Beijing TV, The Beijing News, Xinmin Evening News and a number of other local newspapers in both Beijing and Shanghai. It all seems to testify her question, or rather, belief: "How do you know if you don't try?"
Three and a half years ago, in 2002, Lilliehook was a student at Beijing Normal University. She pulled her blond hair into two pigtails at each side of her head, and was always seen on campus carrying a backpack.
Li Linyan, a teacher at Beijing Normal University, who later became Lilliehook's third Chinese language tutor, got to know her only after she left the university. "I think I saw you on the campus," she told Lilliehook. "Are you the foreign girl who always seemed to be in a rush, and who always carried a bunch of cards in her hands?"
Lilliehook had to admit, it was indeed her. She spent 11 hours a day studying Chinese, at class, with a Chinese tutor, and then by herself, at home. She wrote Chinese characters on a handful of cards, with meanings and explanations on the back. She carried the cards with her and stole a look whenever she had time.
She spent a brief semester, her first stay in China, at the Beijing Languages University, then called the Beijing Institute of Languages and Culture. The next year, she received a full scholarship to study Chinese for a year at Beijing Normal University.
"I was 36 in 2000," she said. "My purpose of study was very clear. I didn't want to go to the bars. I liked what I studied and I was fully motivated."
Lilliehook went to Stockholm University for international relations when she was 24. She spent years before and after colleague travelling around the world, She then became a freelance writer and journalist. An occasional look at Chinese characters made her decide to study them.
"Chinese characters are very beautiful. But I didn't know what they mean," she recalled. "It was a temptation for me. "I thought: 'Maybe they are very difficult to study, but you'll never know if you don't try.'"
The more she studied, the more interesting she found Chinese to be. Although she now speaks very fluently and can write rather well, she found reading quite difficult and listening to fast paced news programmes and dialect quite impossible. Lilliehook believes she will continue to study for possibly even 10 to 20 more years.
The idea for her book came from Lilliehook's Chinese tutor and friend Li Linyan's suggestion. In their conversations, Lilliehook often asked Li why the Chinese would do this and that,' which a Westerner would not do.
"She said to me: 'You should write a book about cultural differences,'" Lilliehook said.
Because she was interested in the topic, and because she had thought a lot about the issue, she began to work on the book just before the SARS outbreak in 2003. The book was published just a year and a half later.
Apart from recording her travels in China and her experiences as a student studying Chinese, the book is almost an encyclopaedia of cultural differences between Chinese and Westerners.
Many of the "differences" look not so pleasant. For example, being stared at on the street, persistent accosting from peddlers and noise from the neighbourhood. Some even seem to be misunderstandings. For example, she came to the impression that the Chinese love to eat fatty meat, such as Peking roast duck or in some other dishes, and that the Chinese are not offended by noise from the neighbourhood. While that could be true for some individuals, they are not really typical of all Chinese.
But most of her observations of the "differences" are accurate and to the point, although many might be undeveloped aspects of society the Chinese wish to change themselves. The book truly helps the Chinese to understand what aspects of Chinese life Westerners might find awkward.
Most importantly, she has come to understand the differences for herself. "The Chinese are used to a much smaller space. They are used to people knowing about their things," she said, "They are used to the close distance between each other, while that distance in the West is much bigger, so as to leave enough space for each individual.
"I had thought why the Chinese do not do this and that," she said. "But later I found that is very difficult, with so many people here. Understanding China requires a process."
With a love for travel, her steps have covered many areas in Beijing and in China.
Lilliehook loves the scenic spots in Beijing. Her favourite places are Houhai, the Confucius Temple and the hutongs. She even lived in a courtyard house, before moving to Shanghai with her husband last year.
She now contributes to three Chinese newspapers and is working on a second book. Her first book is helping Chinese understand how Westerners view life in China, so her second title will take the opposite approach.
"I believe it is very important to set up a cultural bridge between China and foreign countries. And the two sides need interaction," she wrote in her book. "If we can have a little more understanding in this world, we can reduce many conflicts."
by YeJun