“Han Babao” Shows His Talents at Chinese Bridge

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“Here I stand, everybody look at my hand. I am Babao from Gilgit, a boy full of talents.” In the recently held Pakistan regional final of the 17th “Chinese Bridge”-Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students, a contestant named “Han Babao” in a Chinese traditional long gown (which was often dressed by cross-talk actors) performed a unique piece of clapper talk, winning rounds of cheers from the audience. In the following talent show, “Han Babao” again used “Huer Heiyuo” (a Chinese song) to bring the event to a climax. The catchy lyrics of the song led to a chorus of the audience.

The real name of “Han Babao” is Azam Baltsa. He is a junior student of National University of Modern Languages in Pakistan, majoring in Chinese. The meaning of “Han Babao” is “the Pakistani baby who loves Chinese Language”, for the boy wants to put his love for Chinese in the name.

The clapper talk performed by Baltsa was very lively, from which we can see his careful preparation for the competition. He said that he has participated in the “Chinese Bridge” competition for 3 times. In the previous two times, he did not achieve satisfactory results, but he has never given up. In the contrary, he raised greater morale and devoted himself to Chinese learning. At last, Baltsa impressed the judges with smooth language expression and vivid live performances and finally achieved the first place, winning the qualification to participate in the “Chinese Bridge” finals in China.

Other contestants have also showed their special talents, which has won continuous applause from the audience. Wu Junlang, a contestant, recited a poem with full passion to express his longing for the beautiful Chinese mountains and rivers. After him came Xu Tianjing who wrote “书同文，天下一家” in Chinese characters (which means “Writing in the same language” and “One World, One Family”), which has won unanimous praise from the judges.

This year, the Pakistan regional final was jointly organized by 3 Confucius Institutes in Pakistan, namely, Confucius Institute at University of the Punjab in Lahore, Confucius Institute at University of Agriculture Faisalabad and Confucius Institute in Islamabad. Six contestants from 3 regions including Islamabad, Lahore and Faisalabad appeared on the stage of the finals.

Zhang Daojian, Chinese Director of Confucius Institute in Islamabad told our reporter that as one of the most important cultural exchange activities of Confucius Institute, “Chinese Bridge” competition has played an important role in expanding the influence of Chinese in Pakistan. “The theme of this year is ‘One World, One Family’, embodying the Chinese philosophical and cultural concepts such as ‘Harmony is precious’ and ‘Seek harmony without uniformity’.”

After the competition, Baltsa told the journalist that that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has brought opportunities to the development of Pakistan. He wanted to learn Chinese well to seize this historic opportunity, and become a successful businessman in the future.

Baltsa’s teacher Marek was very satisfied with his student’s performance. Marek is a teacher of the Chinese Department of Pakistan National University of Modern Languages. In 2008, he earned a chance to study at Beijing Language and Culture University for his excellent performance in the "Chinese Bridge" competition. Now 10 years has passed, Marek said he seemed to see himself at that time in Baltsa.

In the competition, Baltsa sang in the clapper talk that: “Let’s learn Chinese for the future, to bear in mind to spread friendship. Let’s shoulder the important mission for the development of Pakistan and China.” The sounds of the bamboo clappers let people feel the charm of Chinese culture and the profound friendship between China and Pakistan.

(Story by Ding Xuezhen, People’s Daily, Page 22, May 23rd, 2018)