M A N D A R I N S U P E R S T A R
M A N D A R I N S U P E R S T A R
M A N D A R I N S U P E R S T A R
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Nicholas Dynon
When and why did you start learning Chinese?
I started learning Chinese in high school in Sydney in 1988. I was 12 years old and had never been outside of Australia. In those early years I was not a great student, but I persisted because I was so fascinated by the linguistic, cultural, and historical heft of the Chinese world... and this was some time before the world woke up to China's emergence as an economic superpower.
What is the best thing about learning Chinese?
Learning Chinese is a portal into another world, a world that runs parallel to that of my own immediate cultural background and circles. It unlocks a key to the philosophies, arts, ideologies, histories, and world views of that significant portion of the world's population that converses in Chinese. But the best thing about it is putting it into practice, whether in conversation, in watching a film, or in ordering fabulous Chinese street foods!
What opportunities have you gained because of your Chinese learning?
Plenty. I went on to gain a scholarship to study for a year full-time in Beijing, I completed postgraduate research degrees using my Chinese, I was posted as a diplomat to Shanghai and Beijing, have used Chinese language extensively in my work, and I'm now recently enrolled in a PhD to research China's security imperatives in the southwest Pacific.
What would you say to other Kiwis who are thinking about learning Chinese?
Do it. Enrolments in language courses in New Zealand are at historical lows, and this is particularly so for Chinese. This is occurring just at a time when our ability to converse with and comprehend the Chinese world is a more critical capability than ever. China is leading the way in so many spheres, including emerging technologies and climate change, and there is so much more to our collective relationship with the Chinese world that's waiting to be discovered and harnessed for good.
Do you have a favourite Chinese word or expression? Why do you like it?
人往高处走， 水往低处流 (ren wang gaochu zou, shui wang dichu liu) - "People go towards the heights just as water flows downhill". This saying suggests that the human inclination to aim high, to succeed, and to improve their circumstances is as natural as the gravitational inclination of water to flow downhill. It's a great reflection on the tenacity and inventiveness and struggle of people to do better.