HSE Lyceum Student Participates in International Chinese Language Competition

HSE Lyceum senior Dmity Shcheglov was the first Lyceum student to participate in the international Chinese studies competition, which was held in Zhengzhou from October 17 to November 3. He placed among the top ten finalists from Europe.

A total of 125 students, each of whom had advanced from qualifying rounds in their own countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa, took part in the competition. Many of the participants had lived or studied in China, but the jury evaluated them not only in terms of their knowledge of Chinese language and culture, but also their artistry and public speaking abilities. In addition to tests on Chinese geography and history (from the ancient period to modern times), competitors had to perform in a talent show.

‘I devoted my first creative performance to the beauty of Chinese characters and my Chinese dream – it was a beautiful speech full of pathos,’ says Dmitry. ‘In the second performance, I performed a Chinese song that is really popular right now; it contains very difficult, uncommon characters, many of which are unfamiliar even to Chinese people themselves. I don’t know how to sing, so we adapted one part into a poem, and another into a nursery rhyme, which I performed with the support of Chinese rattles.’

Dmitry earned his place in the international competition by placing 2nd in the Chinese Language Bridge competition, which was held this past spring in Novosibirsk.

The final competition in Zhengzhou lasted for three weeks and was broadcast by CCTV, the main broadcaster in mainland China.

Dmitry Shcheglov:

The sheer scale of the competition was really amazing; I have never seen anything like it. First, we spent four days in Beijing visiting the main attractions, as well as the Russian Embassy. The competition programme itself was held in Zhengzhou. The first stage lasted several days. Between the performances there was time for preparation, but photo sessions and getting from place to place also took up a lot of time. Henan, where Zhengzhou is located, is one of the centres of Chinese culture. There is a lot to see there: the Shaolin Monastery, Mount Song, one of the five sacred Taoist mountains, and the ancient city of Kaifeng. Our schedule was jam-packed, so we slept for six hours a night at most.

Five students—one from each continent—competed in the final round of the competition. The final champion was a participant from Italy, who dazzled the panel of judges with his acting skills and charisma.