在學(xué)習(xí)漢語之前，我只是一個普通的英國學(xué)生。

我第一次接觸中國是通過中國菜。小時候，我的祖父母曾經(jīng)帶我去倫敦的唐人街吃飯。當時，小小的我第一眼就被中國的傳統(tǒng)房屋建筑和一個個紅燈籠給吸引住了，它們色彩艷麗，是如此與眾不同。而空氣中彌漫著的中國食物香味，讓我有了垂涎欲滴的感覺。

最終，祖父母選了一家中餐館，帶著我吃了一頓地道的中國菜。這家飯館的食物色香味俱全，比我在英國點的中國菜外賣好吃多了，每一口都讓我陶醉其中。那天，我們吃了北京烤鴨、東北餃子、土豆絲、炸醬面，喝了酸梅湯，這些食物的色彩和形態(tài)讓我眼前一亮。吃到美食后，我的味覺受到了極大的刺激，我真切地體會到了舌尖上的快樂。從那天開始，中國菜成了我最喜歡的食物。

品嘗美食是一種文化體驗，不僅能夠領(lǐng)略到不同國家、不同地方的特色風(fēng)味，還是一次探索——發(fā)現(xiàn)新味道、新文化。我覺得，英國菜和中國菜完全不同。英國菜的口味和調(diào)料并不多，而中國菜卻有很多不同的調(diào)料，比如有鹽、糖、醋、醬油、辣椒、花椒、孜然什么的。因為中國國土面積遼闊，南北方氣候不同，所以不同地區(qū)有不同的菜系。如果你喜歡吃辣的話，可以吃川菜或湘菜；如果你喜歡吃海鮮的話，可以吃浙菜或粵菜；如果你喜歡吃清淡且甜口的菜，可以吃閩菜；如果你喜歡吃肉，可以去新疆、內(nèi)蒙古吃烤肉串、烤羊腿……

上高中時，為了能進一步了解中國，我一有空兒就看中國電視劇或文化類的節(jié)目。我覺得關(guān)于中國歷史、神話傳說的戲劇非常有意思。我喜歡演員們穿的戲服，特別是漢服和旗袍，非常漂亮！剛開始看戲劇時，我聽不懂演員說的話，不過我看得很興奮。每次看完戲劇，我對中國的歷史和神話傳說就更感興趣了。于是，下課后我查找了資料，比較了中國和英國的藝術(shù)文化史，讓我感到驚訝的是兩個國家的文化差異是如此之大。我又研究了明朝的藝術(shù)、文學(xué)和戲劇，并將其與同時期的英國歷史進行了比較。在這個時期里，中國由一個王朝統(tǒng)治了近300年，而英國經(jīng)歷了三個不同的歷史時期，難怪中國和英國的藝術(shù)、文學(xué)、戲劇及文化完全不同。至于神話傳說，當時的中國有很多神話故事，比如關(guān)于孫悟空、嫦娥、后羿和十二生肖的故事；而英國同一時期也有亞瑟王、喬治與龍和湖中仙女的神話傳說?？傊?，越研究下去，我就越意識到中英藝術(shù)文化值得我們后來人繼續(xù)去研究、探索。

高中結(jié)束前，歷史老師要求我們選擇一個國家的一段時期，并對這段時期的各方面進行調(diào)查，然后根據(jù)調(diào)查內(nèi)容寫一篇文章。思慮再三，我選擇研究18世紀和19世紀初的中國。在調(diào)查過程中，我了解到中國如何從封建制度國家轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)榻邮芄伯a(chǎn)主義思想的國家。我還了解到英國和中國共同的歷史情況，原來英國和中國200多年來一直都在聯(lián)系，并開展了各種商貿(mào)活動。為了能更客觀地寫出報告，我還參觀了大英博物館。在那里，我目睹了美麗的中國藏品，有中國畫、陶瓷、雕像和卷軸……一切都是那么美麗，充滿了濃濃的東方氣息。那一刻，一顆學(xué)漢語的種子在我的心里種下——高中畢業(yè)后，我要去威斯敏斯特大學(xué)學(xué)習(xí)。在那里，我可以繼續(xù)學(xué)習(xí)漢語，還可以進一步了解中國的文化和歷史。

從威斯敏斯特大學(xué)本科畢業(yè)后，我計劃在倫敦和意大利學(xué)習(xí)兩年，攻讀國際關(guān)系和外交碩士學(xué)位，因為我希望將來能成為一名英國外交官，致力于為中英交流作貢獻。

為了能實現(xiàn)夢想，我決定出國留學(xué)一年。在北京外國語大學(xué)中文學(xué)院進修部學(xué)習(xí)的一年中，雖然學(xué)習(xí)漢語對我來說充滿了挑戰(zhàn)，但收獲卻很大。我認識了很多中外朋友。我找回了學(xué)習(xí)漢語的信心，考出了好成績。我沉浸在中國文化的海洋中，對中國的文化與歷史有了更深的了解。

要了解一個國家，就必須了解這個國家的語言、文化和歷史。在我看來，漢語，你是世界上最美麗的語言，我越靠近你，就越被你吸引！

（本文選自人民日報出版社《我與中國的美麗邂逅：2023年來華留學(xué)生征文大賽優(yōu)秀作品集》）

Before learning Chinese， I was just an ordinary English student.

My first contact with China was through Chinese food. When I was a child， my grandparents used to take me to eat in London’s Chinatown. At that time， at first glance， I was attracted by the traditional Chinese buildings and the red lanterns， which were colorful and were so different. And the smell of Chinese food in the air made me feel salivating.

In the end， my grandparents chose a Chinese restaurant and took me to an authentic Chinese meal. The food in this restaurant was so complete with color， flavor and taste that it tasted much better than the Chinese takeout I ordered in the UK. I was intoxicated with each mouthful. On that day， we had Beijing Roast Duck， Northeast dumplings， shredded potatoes， noodles with soybean paste and sour plum soup. The color and shape of these foods brightened my eyes. After eating the delicious food， my sense of taste was greatly stimulated， and I really felt the happiness on the tip of my tongue. From that day on， Chinese food has become my favorite food.

Tasting delicious food is a kind of cultural experience， which can not only make us appreciate the characteristic flavors of different countries and places， but is also an exploration—discovering new tastes and new cultures. I think English food is completely different from Chinese food. English food does not have many tastes and seasonings， while Chinese food has many different seasonings， such as salt， sugar， vinegar， soy sauce， pepper， Sichuan pepper， cumin and so on. Because China has a vast territory and the climates in the north and the south are different， there are different cuisines in different regions. If you like spicy food， you can eat Sichuan cuisine or Hunan cuisine; if you like seafood， you can eat Zhejiang cuisine or Cantonese cuisine; if you like light and sweet dishes， you can eat Fujian cuisine; if you like meat， you can go to Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia to eat kebabs and Roast Lamb Leg...

When I was in high school， in order to learn more about China， I watched Chinese TV dramas or cultural programs whenever I had time. I found that the plays about Chinese history， myths and legends were very interesting. I liked the costumes worn by actors， especially Han clothes and cheongsam， which were very beautiful！ When I first watched the plays， I couldn’t understand what the actors said， but I was very excited. Every time I finished watching a play， I became more interested in Chinese history， myths and legends. So， after class， I looked up the information and compared the art and cultural history of China and Britain. I was surprised to find that the cultural differences between the two countries were so great. I also studied the art， literature and drama of the Ming Dynasty and compared it with the British history of the same period. During that period， China was ruled by a dynasty for nearly 300 years， while Britain experienced three different historical periods. No wonder the art， literature， drama and culture of China and Britain differ completely. As for myths and legends， there were many fairy tales in China at that time， such as those about Sun Wukong， Chang’e， Hou Yi and the Chinese zodiac. In England at the same time， there were myths and legends about King Arthur， George and dragons， and fairies in the lake. In short， the more I study， the more I realize that Chinese and English art and culture are worthy of continuous studying and exploring by us young generation.

Before the end of high school， the history teacher asked us to choose a period of time in a country， investigate all aspects of that period， and then write an article according to the survey. After repeated consideration， I chose to study China in the 18th and early 19th centuries. In the course of the investigation， I learned how China changed from a feudal country to a country that accepted communist ideas. I also learned about the common history between Britain and China. It turns out that Britain and China have been in contact and carried out various business activities for more than 200 years. In order to write the report more objectively， I also visited the British Museum. There， I witnessed beautiful Chinese collections， including Chinese paintings， ceramics， statues， scrolls， etc. Everything is so beautiful and full of strong oriental flavor. At that moment， a seed of learning Chinese was planted in my heart—after graduating from high school， I will go to the University of Westminster， where I can continue to learn Chinese and learn more about Chinese culture and history.

After graduating from the University of Westminster， I plan to study in London and Italy for two years for a master’s degree in international relations and diplomacy， because I hope to become a British diplomat in the future and contribute to the Sino-British exchanges.

In order to realize my dream， I decided to study abroad for one year. During the year of studying in the Further-study Department of the School of Chinese Language and Literature of Beijing Foreign Studies University， although learning Chinese was full of challenges for me， I gained a lot. I met a lot of Chinese and foreign friends. I regained my confidence in learning Chinese and got good grades in the exams. Immersed in the ocean of Chinese culture， I have a deeper understanding of Chinese culture and history.

If one wants to understand a country， one must understand the language， culture and history of that country. In my opinion， Chinese， you are the most beautiful language in the world. The closer I am to you， the more attracted I am by you！