中國古人說，“志之所趨，無遠(yuǎn)勿屆，窮山距海，不能限也”，意思是求學(xué)之路雖然充滿艱辛，但只要本著堅韌不拔、鍥而不舍的精神，就能超越山海所限，達(dá)到成功的彼岸。
7年前，我曾與英國王儲查爾斯王子共同為位于英國西南部的威爾士蘭德福瑞公學(xué)孔子課堂揭牌。今天，我又來到蘇格蘭北部設(shè)得蘭群島的耶爾島，為全英最北端的孔子課堂揭牌。無論在哪里，我都能深深體會到英國學(xué)生們學(xué)習(xí)中文的熱情和求學(xué)致知的渴望，感受到“中文熱”正跨越時空、超越山海，火遍英倫。
春天是萬物生長的季節(jié)。英國的中文教育正處在這樣一個季節(jié)，英國的孔子學(xué)院和孔子課堂正迎來一個美好的“春天”。
I also wish to thank the teachers from the Confucius Institute for Scotland's Schools and Mid Yell Junior High School for your hard work and vigorous contribution!
An ancient Chinese sage said, "For he who is unstoppably determined, there is no place too far to reach, no mountain too high to climb and no sea too vast to cross." This line explains how perseverance is the only path to success.
Seven years ago, I had the honour to join His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales, to unveil the Confucius Classroom of Llandovery College in the southwest of Britain. Today, I have come to Yell to unveil the Confucius Classroom in the farthest and northernmost part of Scotland and Britain.
From the south to the north, I can see the strong and growing enthusiasm in the British students for learning the Chinese language. That is why the distance between China and the UK, the barriers of mountains and seas, can not stop the Chinese language from reaching every corner of Britain, including Yell!
And I think I have come at a good time. This is the season for flowers to bloom and for trees to grow. It is also a good time for Chinese language education in Britain, for the Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms, to grow.
8年前，在我剛剛出任中國駐英國大使時，英國只有11家孔子學(xué)院、47個孔子課堂。如今，全英共開設(shè)29家孔子學(xué)院和156個孔子課堂。僅2017年，全英就有16萬人在孔子學(xué)院和孔子課堂學(xué)習(xí)，各孔子學(xué)院開展了4074場文化活動，參與人數(shù)達(dá)到102萬人。放眼全球，到去年底，已經(jīng)有146個國家和地區(qū)建立了525所孔子學(xué)院和1113個孔子課堂，各類學(xué)員累計達(dá)916萬人，相當(dāng)于歐洲一個中等國家的人口規(guī)模?？鬃訉W(xué)院、孔子課堂的蓬勃發(fā)展也是中英漢語教學(xué)合作的一個經(jīng)典縮影。
很多同學(xué)也許會問，為什么這么多人愿意學(xué)習(xí)中文？為什么孔子學(xué)院和孔子課堂在英國這么受歡迎？我的答案是，中文是一種神奇的力量，就像哈里波特手中的“魔法棒”：
Eight years ago when I took the office of Chinese Ambassador to the UK, there were only 11 Confucius Institutes across Britain. Today, there are 29.
Eight years ago there were 47 Confucius Classrooms. Today, there are 156.
In 2017 alone, these Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms enrolled 160,000 students, hosted 4,074 cultural events and drew over one million visitors and participants.
Across the world, the numbers are also encouraging. As of the end of last year, there were 525 Confucius Institutes and 1,113 Confucius Classrooms in 146 countries and regions. The total number of students was 9.16 million. That was the size of the population of an average country in Europe.
You may wonder:
Why are so many people falling in love with the Chinese language?
Why are the Confucius Institutes and Classrooms so popular in Britain?
My answer is this: the Chinese language has the power of Harry Potter's magic wand.
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