The following article is sourced from ZJU Media International.
On the evening of May 8, the dialogue "Exploring the World Behind Language – A Discussion on Chinese-French Language, Literature, and Culture" was grandly held in the Zijin Port Hall on the third floor of the Alumni Building at Zhejiang University's Zijingang Campus. Co-hosted by the School of Foreign Languages and the School of Media and International Culture at Zhejiang University, undertaken by the Chinese Translational Studies Institute of Zhejiang University, and co-organized by the Institute of Translation Studies and the Basic Teaching Organization for Translation at Zhejiang University, the event invited Professor Bai Lesang from the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations (INALCO) and Senior Professor Xu Jun from Zhejiang University to engage in in-depth dialogue, along with the team of Mr. Zhu, Chairman of the Official Dress Research Institute of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA). The dialogue was moderated by Gong Junji, a faculty member of the School of Media and International Culture at Zhejiang University.
Professor Bai Lesang is a professor at INALCO, the first Inspector General of Chinese at the French Ministry of Education, Europe’s first doctoral supervisor in Chinese pedagogy, and President of the European Chinese Teaching Association. He is one of the most influential scholars in international Chinese education.
Professor Xu Jun is a Senior Professor of Liberal Arts at Zhejiang University, Director of the Chinese Translational Studies Institute at Zhejiang University, and former Executive Vice President of the Chinese Translators Association. A pioneer in Chinese translation studies and French literary criticism, he has translated multiple masterpieces of French literature into Chinese.
As key founders in Sino-French language and culture research, the two professors have dedicated decades to fostering understanding between their respective languages and cultures. During the two-hour dialogue, they jointly embarked on an intellectual journey spanning half a century and connecting Chinese and French civilizations.
International Chinese Language Testing System(HCT)
As a core project of the OCA Official Dress Research Institute, the International Chinese Language Testing System (HCT) is an international standardized testing system designed for non-native Chinese learners. Supported by the "character-word-sentence" dualism theory, it accurately assesses listening, speaking, reading, and writing competencies. HCT has become a required submission for top universities and mainstream study-abroad programs in multiple Chinese-speaking countries, providing scientific and quantifiable competency certification for international Chinese education. Its "scenario-based assessment" model (e.g., designing test questions with dress culture terminology) deeply integrates language evaluation with cultural experience, upgrading Chinese from a "skill-testing tool" to a "cross-civilizational communication instrument."
From "Accident" to "Inevitability": The Initial Motivations for Language Learning
At the dialogue’s opening, Gong Junji posed a foundational question: "French and Chinese are vastly different languages from distant linguistic families. What circumstances led each of you to embark on the path of learning Chinese/French? Do you still recall your feelings when first studying these languages?" This question awakened the scholars’ memories of their academic journeys half a century ago.
Bai Lesang traced his turning point while studying philosophy at Paris 8 University. He admitted being initially attracted to Chinese by its "mystique": "I am someone who seeks distance, always curious about what lies behind unknown languages." This desire to explore the "other" world led him to switch from Spanish to Chinese, a journey that began with "being fascinated by three mysterious Chinese characters outside the Chinese department" and evolved into "missing the subway to identify those three learned characters in a newspaper." He emphasized that this was not a random choice but "an inevitability within accident."
Xu Jun described his introduction to French as "fate-driven." Originally a soldier intending to study Russian for frontline service, he was reassigned to the French group due to difficulty pronouncing the Russian trilled "r." From "reluctance" to "passion," he realized through study that "language is a way to name the world," viewing "difference and similarity" as the core of language learning and translation. His longing for "distant places" stemmed from childhood memories of listening to the radio in his rural hometown, making language a bridge connecting him to the world.
Though their paths differed—one driven by active curiosity, the other by serendipity—both found spiritual homes in language learning. Their divergent journeys converged in embodying language as a journey of self-construction and world-understanding.
Beyond Tools: Language as the "House of Being"
Gong Junji then asked: "For both of you, Chinese and French are undoubtedly comprehensive communication tools and the core of your professional lives. Beyond these roles, do these languages hold other dimensions of meaning?"
Bai Lesang cited Heidegger’s famous phrase, "Language is the house of being," emphasizing that language is not just a tool for communication but a spiritual dwelling. He opposed the "instrumentalist view of language," arguing that the most compelling aspects of translation and teaching lie in the "non-corresponding" elements, which reveal a culture’s deep structure. Using his daily habit of thinking "from French to Chinese and vice versa," he demonstrated language as an intrinsic mode of existence.
Xu Jun interpreted language’s essence through literature and national identity. Citing his experience teaching "The Last Lesson," he showed that language not only carries culture but also symbolizes national spirit. He stated, "The death of a language means the collapse of a cultural system," prompting reflection on historical proposals to romanize Chinese. He proposed, "Translation is not just language conversion but a reconstruction of the world."
This discussion challenged the audience to rethink foreign language education’s goal: not merely skill training but an expansion of cognitive modes and worldviews.
The Mutual Nourishment of "Multiple Identities": Scholars’ Practices and Reflections
Gong Junji then addressed their professional identities: "Both of you emphasize 'integrating theory and practice' and hold multiple roles: Professor Xu translates, researches translation, teaches translation, and cultivates translation talent; Professor Bai learns Chinese, researches Chinese, teaches Chinese, trains Chinese instructors, and studies sinologists. How do you view the relationship between these identities?"
Xu Jun regarded "language as the foundation" for language professionals. He divided his work into three areas: language education, translation studies, and national strategic services. From solving translation challenges like the lack of a French equivalent for "热烈欢送" (warmly send off) to contributing to documents for the Shanghai World Expo and Nanjing’s Youth Olympic Games bid, he demonstrated how language research serves social practice. He emphasized, "Only by mastering a language can one delve into the depths of thought."
Bai Lesang stated that "teaching, dissemination, and research are inseparable." From establishing the "400-character threshold" for France’s high school Chinese exam to developing the world’s first MOOC on Dongba script (a Chinese ethnic minority language), he continuously explores the frontiers of language teaching. He believes language learning should aim for three goals: "communicative competence, cultural literacy, and cognitive training."
From Language to a Broader World
As the dialogue concluded, Gong Junji and the professors discussed the future of "language and disciplinary construction." Bai Lesang argued that "the non-correspondence of academic vocabulary across languages reflects cultural incommensurability," stressing the need for localized disciplinary frameworks. Xu Jun reflected on the challenging path of establishing translation studies as an independent discipline, calling for broader collaborative mechanisms to address the scarcity of cross-lingual expertise. Both agreed that language is not just a tool but a multi-dimensional gateway to philosophy, literature, history, and society.
In the era of AI, how to preserve the humanistic value of language learning? Both professors agreed that while AI may simplify translation, it cannot replace learners’ deep engagement with culture, emotion, and thought. True language learners should be "those capable of naming the world" and "travelers who discover themselves and connect with others through language."
As Bai Lesang said, "Mastering an additional language means gaining a new way of thinking, a cultural perspective, a worldview, and a key to understanding the world." Xu Jun emphasized, "Genuine language learning involves continuously exploring the world behind language, becoming a thinker, speaker, and empathizer who can bridge differences." Spanning over two hours, this intellectual feast traversed linguistic and cultural boundaries—from the motivations behind their academic journeys to disciplinary development, from philosophical inquiry to educational practice—unfolding language’s profound dimensions and guiding the audience on navigating a "multilingual, multicultural, multi-perspective" world.
During the Q&A session, faculty and students engaged in inspiring discussions on Sino-French differences in Chinese teaching philosophies and foreign language learning methodologies.
This dialogue vividly demonstrated that language is not merely a tool for communication but a mode of existence—a channel for understanding the world, anchoring the spirit, and connecting with others. Though the dialogue has ended, its resonance lingers. The window opened by language, the distant world it reveals, and the longing for the unknown have quietly taken root in the audience’s hearts.
Language is both a bridge and a destination. Those who truly guide us through the door of language and into the depths of culture are scholars and educators like Bai Lesang and Xu Jun—they enlighten thinking with vision, evoke empathy with passion, and fulfill missions through action. They lead us to realize that the journey to the world begins with a language, but more importantly, with understanding and respect for the "other."
