Highlights S
T U D E N T
A C H I E V E M E N T S
PHOTO COURTESY OF
EDGAR LEE ’14
Chinese and me BY EDGAR LEE ’14 Edgar Lee ’14 with his sister, Victoria Lee ’16 and parents Khim Hong Poh and Arthur Lee.
Editor’s note: Three St. George’s students were top winners in the 10th National Chinese Essay Contest sponsored by the Chinese Language Association of Secondary Schools in November. Claire Yoon ’14 and Seung Shin ’14 both of Seoul, Korea, won first-place awards at the advanced level of the non-heritage section. The following essay by Edgar Lee ’14 of Singapore received the Golden Apple Award (first place) at the advanced level of the heritage program (for students of Chinese descent). There are many different languages in the world today. Similarly, Singapore’s schools also have a lot of languages for students to learn. They can choose to learn Spanish, Japanese, Mandarin, Malay, etc. Why did I decide to learn Mandarin? Besides wanting to understand my racial and national identity, I also feel that learning Mandarin allows students to learn about China from a Chinese perspective. Language has a great impact on a Singaporean’s life. As Singapore contains many diverse nationalities, learning a new language allows us to connect with a lot of strangers of different racial backgrounds. Furthermore, as
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Singapore’s population is predominantly Chinese, it was necessary for me to be able to interact with people of my own race. When I was young, however, I felt that learning Mandarin was a huge waste of time, feeling that the government shouldn’t have made learning a second language mandatory for students. My perspective changed when, one day, I was talking to a few students I had just met. They were transfer students from China, and as their English wasn’t very good I began to use Mandarin when speaking with them. A few hours later, reflecting on my experience on the way home, I realized that it was only my knowledge of Mandarin that had allowed me to talk and make friends with the complete strangers. Learning Mandarin also allows me to learn about my race’s culture and history. Every new proverb or short story that I learn allows me to understand my ancestors’ lifestyles and enjoy their collective wisdom. Considering this, one could say that Mandarin lessons are half language class and half history class. Every day, I observe examples of proverbs such as “守株待兔” (Don’t sit around and wait for opportunities to come to you), “三心二意” (of two minds, half-
S T. G E O R G E ’ S 2 0 1 4 W I N T E R / S P R I N G B U L L E T I N
hearted) and “班门弄斧” (teaching fish to swim) happening around me. It is said: “If we do not learn from history, we will repeat our ancestors’ mistakes.” If we learn from the aforementioned examples, we will be able to improve our lifestyles and work ethics. When we learn Mandarin, we are not only learning to write and speak the way the Chinese do, we are also learning to think they way they do. The attitude of the Chinese toward everyday life differs significantly from that of people from other countries. I feel that the Chinese have a calculated way of thinking, showing care toward events happening around the world. Everyone could learn a thing or two from them; students who learn Mandarin will help us to understand the Chinese perspective, aiding us in thinking like global citizens. Thus, I believe that Mandarin is more than just a language; while studying we can learn many important life lessons. Similar to my precious childhood memories, Chinese will definitely remain an integral part of my life. Edgar Lee ’14 can be reached at Edgar_Lee@ stgeorges.edu.