“Sweet, Your Smile ls as Sweet as Honey”

For a long time， China was an ancient， mysterious country in the eyes of the world. Now， in this age of globalization， China is integrating and becoming more open and inclusive. More and more foreigners have stepped foot in China and personally experienced Chinese tradition and modernity. In this book， several dozen foreigners tell their personal experiences in China. Through their stories and opinions， even if you have never been to China， you may discover a China that is different than you thought.

China’s Metamorphosis：

35 Global Perspectives

Jiang Liping

Beijing Language and Culture University Press

January 2020

58.00 （CNY）

Jiang Liping

Assistant Director， professor， and doctoral supervisor in the Research Institute of International Chinese Language Education at BLCU. Professor Jiang participated in， planned， and acted as chief editor for the large-scale multi-media cultural program Hello China， and was a keynote lecturer on CCTV’s Chinese 400. Jiang is the editor-in-chief of several educational materials authorized and planned by the Confucius Institute Headquarters （Hanban）. The program she presided over was awarded second place city-wide for Teaching Excellence in Beijing. Jiang has been to the United States， Japan， Thailand， Cuba， the Netherlands， and still intends to visit other countries to teach， advance academic exchange， and participate in teacher training. She is also a member on the editorial boards for four different academic periodicals.

“Sweet， your smile is as sweet as honey， just like flowers blooming in the breeze， the sweet spring breeze.”

When I was young， my mom used to sing the Chinese song“Sweet as Honey”and tell me this was one of the most popular songs in China and was also well liked in South Korea. Every time I heard the song， my lips would curl into a smile and a “sweet” feeling would come over me. I couldn’t wait to go to China one day and get close to this “sweet” country.

In 1999， when I was 12， I heard that young Chinese people really liked Korean fashion and called it “Korean Wave.” At the same time， Hong Kong movies became popular in South Korea. The Hong Kong movie I remember most clearly was Comrades： Almost a Love Story. Accompanied by the familiar song of Sweet as Honey， the smile of Chinese actress Maggie Cheung touched my heart. From her undefiled beauty of 1986 to her gorgeous costumes of 1997， Maggie Cheung’s image had changed a lot， but to me， she would always remain sweet.

The scene where Li Qiao （Maggie） is sitting on the back of Li Xiaojun’s （Leon Lai’s） bike， with the wind gently blowing against her face and her beautiful， sweet smile， will always remain in my heart. Her smiling face was the first Chinese woman’s face I had seen and it was this face that strengthened my initial yearning for China.

In 2007， I came to China for the first time to study. Walking around the campus I could clearly see the youthfulness and vitality of the Chinese students. I realized the girls here didn’t put much make-up on. Their plain faces had the typical pure sweet beauty of Chinese girls and were full of hope and expectation.

I remember in winter that year， I was in a dress waiting for a bus at the bus stop and a Chinese uncle looked at me curiously and asked， “Girl， are you not freezing？” He probably thought I was the most scantily clad person in all of Beijing that day！ I also remember one of my Chinese classmates telling me that only the Korean boys would wear their baseball caps in class， and he couldn’t understand it. I explained to him that in South Korea， this was actually a kind of style and had nothing to do with practicality. The Chinese have a saying， “Clothes make the man.” We Koreans also have a saying， “Clothes are a person’s wings.” I returned to China in 2017 as a foreign teacher at my old university. I realized that “whether or not people wear caps， whether or not girls wear make-up on campus or how much people wear in winter”can no longer be used as the standard to differentiate between Chinese and Korean youth. My Chinese students told me that many of them had been abroad on holiday or as exchange students， because “knowledge comes from books and experiencing the world.” I observed that both their looks and clothes were confident and stylish， and their brilliant smiles had personality.

In 2019， I returned to China again and walked into my favorite university to do a PhD in Chinese studies. Seeing all the youthful faces and colorful clothes of the young Chinese people made me happy. The pure smile of Li Qiao （Maggie Cheung） in 1986， the confident smiles of the young women and the happy and fulfilled smiles of the women dancing in the square all appeared in my mind. What kind of China and what kind of Beijing was this？ Chinese people and foreigners， Beijingers and outsiders， old-fashioned and modern people， with all their different lifestyles and faces， filled with hope for the future， are joined together， adding beauty to this modern capital. The beautiful song， “Sweet as Honey”， once again fills my mind： “Where， where have I seen you before？

It’s as if flowers are blooming in the spring breeze.

Ah， in my dream...

It was you， it was you， It was you that I saw in my dream.”