Jo Luo is a brilliant 27-year-old engineer who studied French in the land of Molière. A lover of French literature, this native Beijinger does not hesitate to say that he undoubtedly likes this culture more than some young French speakers. What if our schools and universities no longer live up to our glorious past and its talented philosophers and writers?
Live interview by our special correspondent in China
LHCH: What was your first encounter with the French-speaking cultural world?
Jo Luo: As a child, I read the Chinese translation of the novel “Les Misérables” by Victor Hugo. After this discovery, which initiated a real passion, I explored the great works of French literature.
LHCH: Why did you decide one day to go to France?
Jo Luo: To deepen my knowledge of its culture. There was no professional motive in this first approach. China remained the ideal country for my career plans. On the other hand, getting a diploma from a French university obviously interested me.
LHCH: How did this first departure for Europe go ?
Jo Luo: The project was an absolutely personal initiative. I have not received any scholarship or academic exchange. I had already studied French for 3 years at school. ; training which I had completed with a year at the Alliance Française in Beijing. I then enrolled at Lyon 3 Jean Moulin University in France.
LHCH: Did you have a somewhat idealized vision of France (“postcard”), a vision that would have led you to disappointments once the reality was discovered there?
Jo Luo: In China, I had already interacted a lot with classmates who had returned from a long trip to France. Their experience had enlightened me a lot. On the other hand, once I arrived in Lyon, I discovered that unlike the information from various reports on France, young French people were not very interested in their great literature. Ultimately, I didn’t know this area anymore!
LHCH: And at the level of the studies system? What did you feel the difference between France and China?
Jo Luo: In France as in Belgium, I felt less demanding in the quality of knowledge in general subjects like mathematics, for example. And above all, in areas like international politics. I would say in more general matters to sum up.
LHCH: Why did you then move to Belgium?
Jo Luo: My French girlfriend from college days had applied to continue her studies in Belgium. So I followed him. I studied for two years at the University of Louvain-la-Neuve. Then I worked in an outsourcing company that collaborated with a famous Chinese high tech company. This work was interesting because of its mixed cultural nature: 6 months in Belgium; 6 months in China!
LHCH: In your experience, what could Europe bring to China? I am speaking at the cultural or philosophical level, of course.
Jo Luo: Creativity, freedom of thought, imagination …
LHCH: Conversely, what can China bring to Europe?
Jo Luo: The sense of the collective; Confucianism; as well as a sense of honor and work.
LHCH: There was and still is the sad episode of COVID here in Europe. But is that the only reason for your return to China? You have also decided to work in the north of your country.
Jo Luo: My Chinese fiancee finished her studies here in China. I’m 27 years old. So we have the idea of starting a family. The European health context does indeed play a role, but this is not the only reason. In China, the labor market is vast and allows, if one accepts to move, a greater range of career choices. We even found each of us a job in the same company! A boon in terms of the organization of our way of life.
LHCH: Here in Western Europe our media and even our policies have had a tough tooth with the Chinese government in recent years. Do you think other countries in Europe are more open to China today?
Jo Luo: Yes another Europe, or rather another European mentality is emerging, further east, especially in Serbia which likes to collaborate with us on COVID tests and vaccines. Same thing in Central Europe with Hungary. I believe that in Western Europe, the French, the Germans, the Dutch, and even sometimes the Belgians, can no longer imagine working on an equal footing with the Chinese. This feeling of superiority is hurtful even though it is more peculiar to governments than to populations as they are.
LHCH: Thank you for this frankness which allows a real future dialogue. But for the moment do you feel a bit between two worlds in China from your experience in Europe?
Jo Luo: I don’t have lived and worked enough in Europe to feel very different from my Chinese compatriots. But it is true that having traveled this way opened my mind and changed my mentality a bit towards Chinese people who have never left their country. However, around me, in Beijing, this kind of Chinese does not really exist. Of course, in small, remote towns it’s different.
LHCH: What do you think would have changed a bit in mentality?
Jo Luo: A certain humorous distance; understanding French wit and irony.
