Reinhard Pöllath: How Can Language Be a Medium to Help "Sino-German Cultural Exchange"?

As the founder of the Munich Orient Foundation, Mr Reinhard Pöllath has long been an enthusiastic supporter of Chinese language education and Sino-German cultural exchange in Germany. He was instrumental in making St Anna Gymnasium in Munich the first gymnasium in Germany to include Chinese as a compulsory subject. As the foreign governing body of the Confucius Institute in Munich, the Munich Orient Foundation has devoted considerable efforts to the development of the Confucius Institute over the years. It is noteworthy that Mr Reinhard Pöllath's son Jacob and daughter Johanna are a scholar of Sinology at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and the President of the Munich Orient Foundation, respectively, so the whole family is indeed committed to friendly relations with China.

On the occasion of the United Nations Chinese Language Day 2022, Mr Reinhard Pöllath talked about his family's indissoluble bond with Chinese language and culture, as well as the inspiration of Chinese culture for business in Germany in an exclusive interview with "East Meets West" of China News Service.

The summary of the interview is as follows:

CNS: How did you and your family get attached to the Chinese language and Chinese culture? In your opinion, what is the greatest charm of Chinese culture?

Reinhard: Before 1990, I was giving a lecture at a foreign trade institute in Shanghai, and it was then that I started to have initial contact with the Chinese language and culture. At that time, I travelled among the bicycles and crowds in Shanghai People's Square, and I also drove around China, reaching different provinces and cities such as Hainan.

My family and I happened to be interested in the Chinese language and culture by coincidence, but mainly because of the laws of nature, i.e. a great probability. The world is divided into East and West, and China has always had a significant role in the East. China is home to approximately one-fifth of the world's population and, above all, has significantly contributed to the world's prosperity and progress, both materially and spiritually. For thousands of years, China has had a very glorious history, and nowadays, its development and rise are a return to normality. For a rational German family, there is a high probability that this will be noted.

Chinese culture is vast and tolerant, and the East and West must work together for the sake of people who live in the same world.

In 2019, the 7th Munich Chinese Language Film Festival, organised by the Confucius Institute in Munich, was held in Munich. The photo shows a German audience visiting the "Watching Slowly" exhibition of excellent film posters from 70 years of New China, co-organised by the Confucius Institute in Munich and the China Film Archive.

Photo by Peng Dawei, China News Service

CNS: What were your initial intentions for founding the Munich Orient Foundation? Since its Foundation, what role has the Foundation played in supporting the development of Confucius Institutes and promoting Sino-German cultural exchanges?

Reinhard: The role of the Munich Orient Foundation is to strengthen ties with the Eastern world. In addition to China, the Foundation also does some work for cultural exchanges in South Korea and North Korea. The Confucius Institute is mainly dedicated to helping Germans strengthen their contacts with the Chinese, and the Foundation provides a lot of support and assistance in this.

Before the establishment of the Confucius Institute in Munich, the Foundation had been working on this for a few years, and now it is even more committed, and we can be found in Düsseldorf. Wherever the Foundation can help, it is willing to play its part.

Although there is some controversy around the Confucius Institute, I would like to say that it is as normal to reject the unfamiliar as it is to like oneself. Competition and criticism is also a form of management that will drive progress. Because of the pandemic and online development, the Confucius Institutes have become better than before and will grow better as they continue to improve.

In 2021, the German Final of the 14th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign Secondary School Students was successfully held online. The picture shows the judges of this year's competition at the Confucius Institute in Stralsund.

Photo by Peng Dawei, China News Service

CNS: You promoted the St Anna Gymnasium in Munich to become the first gymnasium in Germany to include Chinese as a compulsory subject. How do you see the significance of this initiative? What are the motivations for Germans to learn Chinese? How has Chinese language education developed in Germany over the years?

Reinhard: When I was at school, not all English teachers could actually speak English. Today, taxi drivers speak English very well, thanks to Americans and the globalisation of the American economy, technology, and science. I believe that Chinese language education should follow the same path.

It is a matter of course that Chinese is important, and people in both rural and urban areas acknowledge this. But the only way to turn this matter of course into reality is to act on it, and that is to include Chinese in the high school graduation exam.

For Germans, Chinese is much more difficult to learn than English. Nevertheless, Germans still learn Chinese for friendship, love, and everyday needs.

According to research by the Confucius Institute in Munich, as important trading partners, exchanges between Germany and China in the fields of politics, economy, culture, and education are becoming more frequent, and there is a strong demand for specialists who are fluent in Chinese and who understand China, which will bring unprecedented development opportunities for Chinese language teaching in Germany. At present, there are more than 300 primary, secondary, and vocational schools in Germany offering Chinese language teaching, 87 of which offer Chinese as a formal credit course and a subject for the baccalaureate, and 28 universities offer Sinology or Chinese and East Asian studies. A growing number of young Germans are enthusiastic about the Chinese language and culture, and the number of students studying Chinese in schools continues to grow. The Chinese language learning community in Germany is very broad in composition and has a wide variety of teaching institutions. Chinese language professionals are playing an increasingly active role in various fields in Germany, and sinology has become the fastest-growing subject of humanities.

In 2020, the German Final of the 13th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign Secondary School Students was held online. The photo shows Berrin Goel presenting a Chinese paper cutting she made during the talent show. (Screenshot from the video)

CNS: As an entrepreneur, how do you see the differences in business concepts between Germany and China? What do you think German companies can learn from Chinese culture?

Reinhard: From my experience on the supervisory boards of several large companies, I feel the importance of the enormous Chinese market and the strength and wisdom of the Chinese people. Chinese competitors are superior to us in terms of perseverance and decisiveness. They use these strengths to go above and beyond. You could say that the competition from China affects everyone in it.

The ideas of Confucius were introduced to Europe long before, just as Aristotelian ideas were in China. The human legend is characterised by diversity and oneness, and diversity leads to progress. If everyone were the same as ourselves, we would have no need for contact with other people, for languages, families, and friendships. However, that's not how life works, people need to help each other, and communication brings people together. The same is true of running a business. This is what Chinese culture has taught us.

Professor Reinhard Pöllath was awarded the Individual Performance Excellence Award by the Confucius Institute.

Photo by Peng Dawei, China News Service

CNS: In your opinion, what role does language play in enhancing cultural exchange? How should China and Germany further use language as a medium to enhance cultural exchange and mutual appreciation?

Reinhard: Language is the main tool for the development of human society. Because development requires collaboration, and collaboration requires language. Cooperation through language transcends cultures and is very common in everyday life. Collaboration has underpinned human success since primitive societies.

Since its foundation, the Munich Orient Foundation has been supporting, to the extent possible, charitable organisations and schools that participate in Sino-German inter-school exchanges to promote exchanges between young students from both countries and to enhance their learning and understanding of the language, culture, education, and social development of the other country. Research at the Confucius Institute in Munich shows that cultural, educational, sports, and youth exchanges are of great importance for the development of bilateral relations between the two countries.

The two Chinese songs Let the World Be Filled with Love and After the Pandemic recorded by the Chinese Choir of German Burg Gymnasium have twice become popular videos on the Chinese internet, and their message of cooperation against the pandemic and the spirit of solidarity has touched many netizens. The picture shows members of the Chinese choir singing Let the World Be Filled with Love. (Screenshot from the video)

In 2005, the German and Chinese governments signed a new cultural cooperation agreement, laying a broader foundation for further expansion of cultural relations between the two countries. In 2016, the German and Chinese governments jointly launched the Sino-German Year of Youth Exchange. As of January 2019, the German-initiated and funded project "Schools: Partners for the Future" has covered 127 schools in China, 52 of which offer German language diplomas and 83 of which are German language schools for young people under the Goethe-Institute. As of spring 2019, 18 German Confucius Institutes have organised trips to China for groups of German young people aged 15 to 19 to study the Chinese language, art, and culture.

Conducting German-Chinese exchanges and raising awareness of China among Germans must start with schools and work for young people. During the exchange process, young people can gain an insight into China, the Chinese language, culture and Chinese people. Therefore, the number of German exchange students to China should be increased, and cooperation between German schools and China should be developed and expanded and integrated into the school teaching system. In order to promote sustainable mutual exchanges, it is also necessary to listen to the opinions and suggestions of our Chinese partners. Only with concerted efforts from both sides can we promote the continuous development of German-Chinese cultural exchanges.

Profile of the Interviewee:

Reinhard Pöllath, known in Chinese as Ran Huade, was born in 1948 in Marktredwitz, Germany. He is a renowned German lawyer and entrepreneur, and a visiting professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Münster. He is currently a director or chairman of the supervisory board of several multinational companies, including the chairman of the supervisory board of the daily chemical giant Beiersdorf (parent company of Nivea), and was formerly the CEO of the German coffee giant Tchibo.

Editor: Su Yiyu