Why are Malaysians like Liang Jingru and Yan Rujing so good at Chinese? Isn't Malaysia learning English? Do they learn Chinese from a young age? In fact, it's not just Leung Jing ru and Yan Ru jing who are good at Chinese, but also well-known Malaysian singers such as Dai Pei ni, Pin Guan, Guang Liang, Wu Qi Xian, Cao Ge, Zhang Dong liang, etc. The debaters Hu Jianbiao, Chen Yongkai, and others in the novel are all Malaysian and their Chinese is very good.
There was once a very exciting Chinese debate competition - the final of the 2001 International College Chinese Debate Competition. Do you think that domestic universities in China are responsible for winning the championship and runner up in Chinese international debate competitions that require speaking Chinese? But you're wrong. The real champion is the Malaysian university team, who defeated Wuhan University in one fell swoop and successfully won the championship of this competition. Surprisingly, not only in this competition, but also in previous competitions, they have won one championship and two Asian championships. Chinese in Malaysia is very good and has become a tradition.
In 1927, Malaysia was a British colony, and most of the Chinese people who came here were descendants of laborers who were stamped by the British and sold there, or ordinary Chinese people who came here to avoid war. Lin Lianyu is one of them. His profession is teaching and he mainly comes here to teach Chinese to Chinese people in Malaysia.
Ten years passed in a flash, and in 1937, the Japanese invasion of China broke out in full swing. Not long after, the Japanese army also invaded Malaysia, and the Chinese school where Lin Lianyu was located had to be closed during the war. Lin Lianyu resolutely picked up his gun and engaged in battle with the Japanese army. In the struggle with the Japanese army, Lin Lianyu was injured multiple times and almost lost his life twice, but Lin Lianyu never gave way to the Japanese army. In 1945, Japan declared unconditional surrender, but all schools were destroyed in the war. This war has caused them great harm, and countless young Chinese teachers have been brutally killed by the Japanese army. Former Chinese students were either forced to receive Japanese style education or wandered on the streets, becoming thieves of roosters and dogs. The surviving Malay Chinese, both in their eyes and in their hearts, may the Chinese language education passed down from their ancestors end in the hands of their own generation?
Why do these Chinese ancestors insist on having their children attend Chinese classes? If you have ever stayed in a foreign land, you must know that feeling. When you see Chinese characters and culture in a foreign land, your heart will naturally feel a sense of security and belonging. And when you lose these things, lose these words, all the things about "roots" in your heart are suddenly gone. Lin Lianyu knew the significance of Chinese to them, so he resolutely stood up and took over the banner of resuming school and classes. "How can the descendants of the Chinese nation speak foreign languages and live a miserable life?"
In order to raise funds, Lin Lianyu resolutely sold all the pigs she raised at home at a low price and donated all of them, just to accelerate the process of resuming school. Repairing classrooms, purchasing teaching supplies, and raising funds from society, almost every task he did was done by himself. Under such high-intensity work, Lin Lianyu lost a full ten pounds in just one month. In order to allow Chinese teachers to return to school and work with peace of mind, he also worked with many local Chinese comrades to promote the establishment of the Chinese School Teachers Association, to help more teachers seek benefits and solve the problem of food. After all, building a Chinese school was a task that required a lot of manpower, material resources, and financial resources. At that time, Lin Lianyu's own economic situation was already very tight, and she often couldn't even eat enough.
A student once recalled that when Lin Lianyu walked into the classroom, her eyes were blank and her face was full of sadness. Upon inquiry, it was discovered that Lin Lianyu's wife was seriously ill, but all of his money had already been used to build a school, leaving only 50 cents left. After buying a bowl of noodles to satisfy his hunger, he had no extra money left to treat his wife's illness. After hearing about it, the students spontaneously organized a donation for him. When the principal handed the money to Lin Lianyu, he repeatedly declined until the students tried to persuade him and finally accepted it with tears in his eyes. He choked up and said to the students, "I have considered leaving the education industry, but I have never done so because my conscience does not allow me to do so!"! What he possesses is not only a conscience, but also a strong and tragic national heart in this foreign land! Amidst the devastation, he used his hands to rebuild the Chinese language school in Malaysia brick by brick from the ruins. When everything was in ruins, he used his feet to walk through every inch of land in Malaysia that could help rebuild Chinese schools. Finally, with his persistence and sacrifice, the Chinese language school was rebuilt.
Lin Lianyu, who is nearly 50 years old, looked at the descendants of the Chinese nation, holding Chinese textbooks in a foreign land and reading the clear Chinese. However, as the school was built, even greater difficulties were placed in front of them. After World War II, the Japanese aggressors were driven away, but the British colonizers returned to Malaysia. Moreover, they secretly carried out an operation called the "Torch Plan" with the intention of destroying Chinese schools, preventing Chinese language learning and allowing everyone to learn English. Lin Lianyu angrily picked up his pen and quickly published articles in major newspapers, actively going to various places to give speeches, awakening those Chinese who had not yet reacted. Whether it was a newly revived city or a backward village in the rainforest, he personally visited every door to expose the conspiracy of the British colonial government to the Chinese elders. He once exclaimed loudly, "Our culture is the soul of our nation, our educational institution is the cultural fortress of our nation!" Under the leadership of Lin Lianyu, all Malaysian Chinese came together, and all Chinese children only attended Chinese schools. In order to show their determination, when the Chinese school started, the school registration office was already crowded with parents of children who came to register early in the morning, to the point where the number was so high that the threshold was almost broken. Angry at the time, British officials threw documents and became furious, and the "Torch Plan" was declared a failure.
Whenever China encounters difficulties, Chinese people will lend a helping hand as soon as possible. During the War of Resistance Against Japan, China was trapped in the dilemma of being massacred. Malaysian Chinese sent relief funds worth 5.4 billion national dollars, accounting for more than two-thirds of the world's Chinese relief funds at that time, almost filling nearly half of China's war expenses. The COVID-19 in Wuhan is the first batch of materials donated by Chinese people around the world to be delivered to China.
As we strive for our country, don't forget that there are still many Chinese people who stand with us heart to heart. Finally, I would like to say one thing: if overseas Chinese can still work so hard to learn Chinese and defend traditional Chinese culture with their lives, what qualification do we, who grew up on this land, not have to work hard and not love this country well?
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