Spanish Sinologist: Chinese is the Most Beautiful Language

Relinque stands in front of her shelf. Photo by Ye Qi from People’s Daily

Chinese, which is magnificent yet subtle, is the most beautiful language, said Spanish sinologist Alicia Relinque during an interview with People’s Daily in Madrid, Spain on Wednesday. She believes that Chinese literature carries both wisdom and beauty. The female sinologist’s name was mentioned by Chinese President Xi Jinping in his signed article published on Spanish mainstream media on Nov. 27. “Contemporary Spanish sinologists like Alicia Relinque and Chinese hispanists are working tirelessly to bring our people the beauty of each other’s languages and cultures,”  President Xi Jinping commented in such a way. Relinque told People’s Daily that her love for Chinese language originated from her obsession with Bruce Lee’s movies and Chinese kung fu. She has entered into a new wonderland after learning Chinese characters, literature and culture, she said.

“Spanish people need to learn and understand China, which is important,” Relinque noted, “Many people said that I had foreseen the future long ago. ”In this regard, she explained, “What I had, has and will have is pure love for Chinese literature.” “I’m very grateful for what has been brought to my life by the thing I love, and I thank China for that. To present Spanish readers the charm of profound and interesting Chinese literature is what I’m pursuing, and sharing these valuable spiritual treasures is also what I like to do and persist in,” the sinologist remarked. Currently, she is working on the translation of Chu Ci, an anthology of Chinese ancient poetry. Relinque introduced that nowadays more and more Spanish people were learning Chinese language, literature and culture, which was had to imagine 10 years ago.

Now Spain is home to eight Confucius Institutes, and the number of students learning Chinese has exceeded 40,000, ranking the fist in Europe. In addition, more sinologists are entering the classrooms of Spanish schools, devoting themselves to the spreading of Chinese culture. Relinque believes that it is an important task for Spanish people to learn and understand China. “Both China and Spain are countries with ancient civilizations and long history, which have established close cultural ties in history through the ancient Silk Road,” Relinque said. Nowadays, China Cultural Center has been established in Madrid , and in turn, Instituto Cervantes has been established in Beijing. Compared with the past,  communications between the two countries have entered an unprecedented period, Relinque noted. “I believe these two countries will have a broader space of cultural communication in the future,” said Relinque full of expectation. She smiles and shines with glamour in her eyes when it comes to Chinese language and China.

(People’s Daily)