On May 13th, ECUST’s College of International Education welcomed the renowned French sinologist Joël Bellassen to deliver a lecture titled “My Lifelong Engagement with Chinese.” Bellassen, a distinguished scholar with over ten major works—including The Ideographic Kingdom of Chinese Characters—and more than 60 academic articles, shared his fifty years of experience and insights on learning Chinese with international students from around the world. The lecture sparked lively discussions and enthusiastic exchanges with attendees.

Starting with his dual academic background in philosophy and Chinese, Bellassen introduced his unique “character-centered” approach to learning Chinese. He emphasized the importance of understanding the cultural and historical meanings behind Chinese characters, offering a fresh alternative to traditional phonetic-based language teaching methods.

The lecture inspired many students. Nallely Eunice from El Salvador, a native Spanish speaker, connected with Bellassen’s description of first encountering Chinese as “a wall of characters.” She found motivation in his cultural approach to character learning, saying, “Now I explore the story behind every character, which makes learning truly engaging.” A student from Kazakhstan was deeply moved by Bellassen’s lifelong dedication, commenting, “His passion shows how genuine interest can bridge cultural divides.”

This inspiring lecture coincided with the “Mirror-Window-Seal-Bridge” exhibition at the ECUST Library, which featured written assignments from international students as artistic expressions about China. Together, the lecture and exhibition fostered a meaningful dialogue between generations and ideas, highlighting how appreciation of the Chinese language and culture opens doors to global understanding and connection.