郑泽光大使在第二十一届“汉语桥”世界大学生中文比赛全英大区赛决赛开幕式上的致辞

Ambassador Zheng Zeguang's Remarks at the Opening Ceremony of the 21st "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition UK Regional Final

施迈克校长，

克里斯•哈泽德议员，

阿里斯泰尔•菲特校长，

各位评委，各位选手，

老师们、同学们，

女士们、先生们、朋友们：

下午好！

President Spence,

Professor Hazzard,

Vice-Chancellor Fitt,

Judges and Contestants,

Teachers and Students,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Friends:

Good afternoon!

非常高兴出席第21届“汉语桥”世界大学生中文比赛全英大区赛决赛开幕式。参加今天决赛的10名选手都是历经初赛、复赛产生的汉语学习佼佼者。首先，我谨代表中国驻英国大使馆对你们表示热烈祝贺！

It is a real delight to join you to open the 21st "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition UK Regional Final.

First of all, I would like to, on behalf of the Chinese Embassy in the UK, extend our warmest congratulations to the 10 contestants who have got through the preliminaries and semi-finals to reach the UK Regional Final today. You are the best!

在这个一年一度汉语爱好者的盛会，我想同大家分享三点想法：

As I stand before you at this annual fete for fans of Chinese language, three things spring to mind.

第一，共赏中华语言之美。中英两国都拥有悠久历史和灿烂文化。经过几代学者接续努力，已实证中国拥有百万年的人类史、一万年的文化史、五千多年的文明史。汉语是中国博大精深历史文化的结晶。希望大家在学习汉语过程中，用心欣赏汉语的形态之美、结构之美、音律之美，细细品味汉语的深厚历史文化底蕴。这样，就能更好把握中国的过去、现在和未来。

Firstly, we have a shared passion for the beauty of the Chinese language. Both China and the UK have long history and splendid culture, are representatives of the Oriental and Western civilisations respectively. Studies by several generations of scholars show that humans began living on the land of China millions of years ago, culture sprouted 10,000 years ago, and the Chinese civilisation dates back to over 5,000 years. The Chinese language is the crystallisation of China's profound and rich history and culture. When you study Chinese, I encourage you to appreciate the beauty of the shape, the structure, the sound and rhythm of this language, and savour its rich historical and cultural connotation. This will help you better understand the past, present and future of the country.

第二，共拓中英合作之路。今年4月21日，习近平主席就气候变化问题复信伦敦弗朗西斯•霍兰德学校的小学生。习主席在信中强调，地球是个大家庭，人类是个共同体。当前，世界面临各种复杂挑战，无论是抗击流行性疾病、应对气候变化，还是推动经济复苏、解决国际冲突，都需要各国携手合作。任何搞排斥性“小圈子”或制造阵营对抗都没有出路。希望大家在学习汉语过程中，胸怀远大志向和抱负，秉持尊重、开放、包容心态，加强同中国青年接触交往，始终做中英合作的支持者、参与者、促进者。

Secondly, we have a shared duty to expand the cooperation between China and the UK. On April 21st, President Xi Jinping replied to a letter from the pupils at the Francis Holland School. In the letter, the President discussed the issue of climate change and wrote, "Everyone living on Earth is part of a big family, and humanity is one community." From combating the pandemic and tackling climate change to promoting economic recovery and handling international conflicts, countries must join hands to make concerted efforts. International politics based on exclusive "coterie" or group confrontation will lead to nowhere. I hope that learning the Chinese language will give you a higher ambition and broader mind, and enable you to be open, inclusive and willing to engage your peers in China and become supporters, participants and contributors in China-UK cooperation.

第三，共架中英友好之桥。中英历史文化不同，社会制度和发展阶段各异，这更需要双方加强沟通了解、避免误解误判。目前，中国有4亿人在学习英语，英国学习汉语的注册学生超过13万。希望大家在学习汉语过程中，用语言做纽带，多交中国朋友、多了解中国情况，为增进两国人民相互了解和友谊搭建更坚实的桥梁。

Thirdly, we have a shared goal to strengthen the bridge of China-UK friendship. China and the UK have different history, culture and social system, and we are in different stages of development. So, it is all the more necessary for the two sides to enhance mutual communication and avoid misunderstanding and misjudge. The good news is, about 400 million people in China are studying English and over 130,000 students and pupils in the UK have enrolled in Chinese language courses. I hope that as you learn Chinese, you will use your language skill to make more Chinese friends and gain a better understanding of the country. It falls upon people like you to strengthen the bridge of mutual understanding and friendship between the peoples of our two countries.

过一会儿，我们还要共同见证“汉语桥”俱乐部揭牌仪式。它将为英国广大汉语爱好者提供一个永久的交流平台。让我们对俱乐部的成立表示热烈祝贺！欢迎俱乐部成员疫情结束后到中国参观访问。

In a moment, we are going to witness together the unveiling of the Plaque of the Chinese Bridge Club. With this, the Chinese language fans in the UK will have a home to meet up or reconnect with one another. Let us extend our warmest congratulations on the launch of the club! And I welcome you all to visit China when the pandemic is over.

借此机会，我要向在英从事汉语教学以及支持汉语教学的老师、志愿者以及各界人士表示衷心感谢！没有你们的付出和支持，“汉语桥”活动不可能取得今天的成绩。希望大家都一如既往、再接再厉！

Last but not least, I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all the teachers, volunteers and people from all walks of life for your devotion to and support for the teaching of the Chinese language without which the "Chinese Bridge" could not have come so far. I do hope you will keep up the good work and go on to achieve even greater success!

最后，祝第21届“汉语桥”世界大学生中文比赛全英大区赛决赛取得圆满成功！祝各位参赛选手取得优异成绩！

In conclusion, I wish the 21st "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition UK Regional Final success, and I wish every contestant excellent performance!

谢谢！

Thank you.