越靠近你，就越被你吸引

在学习汉语之前，我只是一个普通的英国学生。

我第一次接触中国是通过中国菜。小时候，我的祖父母曾经带我去伦敦的唐人街吃饭。当时，小小的我第一眼就被中国的传统房屋建筑和一个个红灯笼给吸引住了，它们色彩艳丽，是如此与众不同。而空气中弥漫着的中国食物香味，让我有了垂涎欲滴的感觉。

最终，祖父母选了一家中餐馆，带着我吃了一顿地道的中国菜。这家饭馆的食物色香味俱全，比我在英国点的中国菜外卖好吃多了，每一口都让我陶醉其中。那天，我们吃了北京烤鸭、东北饺子、土豆丝、炸酱面，喝了酸梅汤，这些食物的色彩和形态让我眼前一亮。吃到美食后，我的味觉受到了极大的刺激，我真切地体会到了舌尖上的快乐。从那天开始，中国菜成了我最喜欢的食物。

品尝美食是一种文化体验，不仅能够领略到不同国家、不同地方的特色风味，还是一次探索——发现新味道、新文化。我觉得，英国菜和中国菜完全不同。英国菜的口味和调料并不多，而中国菜却有很多不同的调料，比如有盐、糖、醋、酱油、辣椒、花椒、孜然什么的。因为中国国土面积辽阔，南北方气候不同，所以不同地区有不同的菜系。如果你喜欢吃辣的话，可以吃川菜或湘菜；如果你喜欢吃海鲜的话，可以吃浙菜或粤菜；如果你喜欢吃清淡且甜口的菜，可以吃闽菜；如果你喜欢吃肉，可以去新疆、内蒙古吃烤肉串、烤羊腿……

上高中时，为了能进一步了解中国，我一有空儿就看中国电视剧或文化类的节目。我觉得关于中国历史、神话传说的戏剧非常有意思。我喜欢演员们穿的戏服，特别是汉服和旗袍，非常漂亮！刚开始看戏剧时，我听不懂演员说的话，不过我看得很兴奋。每次看完戏剧，我对中国的历史和神话传说就更感兴趣了。于是，下课后我查找了资料，比较了中国和英国的艺术文化史，让我感到惊讶的是两个国家的文化差异是如此之大。我又研究了明朝的艺术、文学和戏剧，并将其与同时期的英国历史进行了比较。在这个时期里，中国由一个王朝统治了近300年，而英国经历了三个不同的历史时期，难怪中国和英国的艺术、文学、戏剧及文化完全不同。至于神话传说，当时的中国有很多神话故事，比如关于孙悟空、嫦娥、后羿和十二生肖的故事；而英国同一时期也有亚瑟王、乔治与龙和湖中仙女的神话传说。总之，越研究下去，我就越意识到中英艺术文化值得我们后来人继续去研究、探索。

高中结束前，历史老师要求我们选择一个国家的一段时期，并对这段时期的各方面进行调查，然后根据调查内容写一篇文章。思虑再三，我选择研究18世纪和19世纪初的中国。在调查过程中，我了解到中国如何从封建制度国家转变为接受共产主义思想的国家。我还了解到英国和中国共同的历史情况，原来英国和中国200多年来一直都在联系，并开展了各种商贸活动。为了能更客观地写出报告，我还参观了大英博物馆。在那里，我目睹了美丽的中国藏品，有中国画、陶瓷、雕像和卷轴……一切都是那么美丽，充满了浓浓的东方气息。那一刻，一颗学汉语的种子在我的心里种下——高中毕业后，我要去威斯敏斯特大学学习。在那里，我可以继续学习汉语，还可以进一步了解中国的文化和历史。

从威斯敏斯特大学本科毕业后，我计划在伦敦和意大利学习两年，攻读国际关系和外交硕士学位，因为我希望将来能成为一名英国外交官，致力于为中英交流作贡献。

为了能实现梦想，我决定出国留学一年。在北京外国语大学中文学院进修部学习的一年中，虽然学习汉语对我来说充满了挑战，但收获却很大。我认识了很多中外朋友。我找回了学习汉语的信心，考出了好成绩。我沉浸在中国文化的海洋中，对中国的文化与历史有了更深的了解。

要了解一个国家，就必须了解这个国家的语言、文化和历史。在我看来，汉语，你是世界上最美丽的语言，我越靠近你，就越被你吸引！

（本文选自人民日报出版社《我与中国的美丽邂逅：2023年来华留学生征文大赛优秀作品集》）

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.