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When he performed as a special guest in a recent episode of Chinese Culture， a variety show on television， Francis Tchiegue wowed the audience with his fluent Chinese. The Cameroonian also showed himself to be an expert on Chinese culture and history， and amused people with his Chinese sense of humor.
Tchiegue is something of a legend in China. He came to the country in late 2003 for doctoral studies and is now known to Chinese television audiences as Jie Gai， a Chinese language and crosstalk enthusiast.
Call of China
Two things aroused Tchiegue’s early interest in China. The first was kungfu. When he was a child， he used to watch his father often perform the Chinese martial art. His father also took him to watch Chinese films starring Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. “So I was always the winner when ‘fighting’ with other children in the playground，” Tchiegue said.
The second element to captivate him was the Chinese language when he watched Chinese films， even though he didn’t understand a word of what the actors were saying. Tchiegue found Chinese completely different from Western languages.“Chinese tones are similar to African dialects，” he explained. “I heard them speak Chinese [and it sounded] just like singing. It gave me a strong sense of intimacy.”
Unlike English， which is written using letters from a 26-letter alphabet， Chinese is written by using square characters， each of which has a unique sound and meaning. Tchiegue， a polyglot who knows English， French， German， Italian， Spanish and a few other languages， couldn’t believe that someone could master such a complex language. “What on earth does that stand for？” was the question that haunted him till he arrived in China.
“There are so many people in China and all of them can speak Chinese，” he reasoned with himself.“So why can’t I？”
In 2002， Tchiegue had received a doctorate in mathematics from the University of Yaoundé. He also used to host a classical music program on Cameroon’s national television.
So he faced a huge dilemma： he could either apply to take part in a student exchange program between the Chinese and Cameroonian governments， or intern for three months in Australia for a more prosperous career with the United Nations.
He finally decided to give up a potential good career with a good pay and instead apply for the student exchange program. For this， his family had an objection but Tchiegue managed to persuade them.
Tchiegue is something of a legend in China. He came to the country in late 2003 for doctoral studies and is now known to Chinese television audiences as Jie Gai， a Chinese language and crosstalk enthusiast.
Call of China
Two things aroused Tchiegue’s early interest in China. The first was kungfu. When he was a child， he used to watch his father often perform the Chinese martial art. His father also took him to watch Chinese films starring Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. “So I was always the winner when ‘fighting’ with other children in the playground，” Tchiegue said.
The second element to captivate him was the Chinese language when he watched Chinese films， even though he didn’t understand a word of what the actors were saying. Tchiegue found Chinese completely different from Western languages.“Chinese tones are similar to African dialects，” he explained. “I heard them speak Chinese [and it sounded] just like singing. It gave me a strong sense of intimacy.”
Unlike English， which is written using letters from a 26-letter alphabet， Chinese is written by using square characters， each of which has a unique sound and meaning. Tchiegue， a polyglot who knows English， French， German， Italian， Spanish and a few other languages， couldn’t believe that someone could master such a complex language. “What on earth does that stand for？” was the question that haunted him till he arrived in China.
“There are so many people in China and all of them can speak Chinese，” he reasoned with himself.“So why can’t I？”
In 2002， Tchiegue had received a doctorate in mathematics from the University of Yaoundé. He also used to host a classical music program on Cameroon’s national television.
So he faced a huge dilemma： he could either apply to take part in a student exchange program between the Chinese and Cameroonian governments， or intern for three months in Australia for a more prosperous career with the United Nations.
He finally decided to give up a potential good career with a good pay and instead apply for the student exchange program. For this， his family had an objection but Tchiegue managed to persuade them.