2010 年 9 月 6 日，伦敦南岸大学孔子学院 Speech by H. E. Ambassador Liu Xiaoming at the Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Joint Conference of European Confucius Institutes 6.September 2010, London South Bank University 尊敬的国家汉办主任许琳女士， 尊敬的国务院参事、孔子学院总部高级顾问乔宗淮先生， 马克亨德里克议员， 伦敦南岸大学校长马丁艾尔维克先生， 女士们、先生们： Mme Xu Lin, Director-General of Hanban, Mr Qiao Zonghuai, Counsellor of the State Council and Senior Consultant to the Confucius Institute Headquarters, Mr Mark Hendrick MP, Professor Martin Earwicker, Vice Chancellor of the London South Bank University, Ladies and Gentlemen, 非常高兴今天应邀出席在伦敦南岸大学孔子学院召开的第二届欧洲孔子学院联席会议。我代 表中国驻英大使馆对会议的召开致以热烈的祝贺。 It is my great pleasure to join you at the Confucius Institute of London South Bank University for the Second Joint Conference of European Confucius Institutes. I wish to offer my warm congratulations on the opening of this conference. 人类进入二十一世纪，交往更加密切，语言的作用更加突出。汉语正成为国际化程度发展最 快的语言。随着中国经济的快速发展、对外交往的日益广泛和国际地位的不断提高，世界各 国对汉语学习的需求与日俱增。 Language is a growing part of our lives in the 21st century. As China continues to enjoy fast economic growth and extensive contact with the rest of the world, there has been ever greater demand for mandarin learning in many countries. 目前国外学习汉语人数超过 4000 万，据估算，欧美学习汉语人数每年新增 40%。中国中央 电视台国际频道有个学习汉语节目叫快乐汉语 ，它有一个非常响亮的口号：“学说中国 话，朋友遍天下”！我想，之所以学了汉语就能够朋友遍天下，并非单纯因为世界各地都有 华人华侨，而是因为当前全球“汉语热” ，学习汉语的“学友”遍天下。 It is estimated that 40 million people are learning mandarin worldwide, and the number of mandarin learners in Europe and the US is growing by 40% annually. As the slogan of a popular mandarin teaching programme reads, “Learn Chinese and make friends all over the world!” This is quite true, not only as there are sizeable Chinese communities everywhere, but also because people from many parts of the world are united by a global “mandarin fever”. 由于全球“汉语热”形成的教学需求，孔子学院应运而生，同时，孔子学院的发展便利了海 外汉语教学，促进“汉语热”进一步升温。孔子学院正成为外国人学习汉语和了解中华文化 的园地、中外文化交流的平台、加强中国人民与各国人民友谊合作的桥梁。 The Confucius Institutes were set up to respond to this trend. They helped to make the learning of Chinese more accessible and easier, which in turn attracted more people into mandarin learning. The Confucius Institutes have evolved into an important platform for foreigners to learn Chinese and understand the Chinese culture. And as such they contributed a lot to promoting cultural exchanges and deepening the friendship and cooperation between the Chinese people and peoples all over the world. 在英国， “汉语热”和孔子学院的兴盛同样同步发展、相得益彰。英国超过 500 所中小学开 设了汉语课程，部分学校甚至将汉语列入了必修课。去年 9 月，英国政府将汉语列入了英国的“高考” - GCSE 的正式科目。今年 3 月，我到任后不久就出席了在伦敦举办的第九届 “汉语桥”世界大学生中文比赛英国赛区预赛，英国大学生们高超的汉语水平以及对中国文 化发自内心的热爱给我留下了深刻的印象。尤其可喜的是，英国赛区推荐的 3 名选手不久前 赴华参加“汉语桥”复赛和决赛，最终全部获奖，其中来自伦敦大学亚非学院的蒋思哲同学 (Johnson Stewart)更是力拔头筹，获得了特等奖和“优秀汉语语言使者”称号。 In the UK, mandarin learning and Confucius Institutes are growing in tandem. Mandarin has been put on the curriculum of over 500 primary and secondary schools. Last September, the British government made Chinese another GCSE subject. I was deeply impressed by the keen interest in Chinese culture and the quality of the Chinese learning here. Last March shortly after my arrival in London, I attended the Ninth Chinese Proficiency Competition in the UK. Johnson Stewart, an undergraduate at SOAS, University of London, won the competition. He went on to win the top prize in Beijing and was awarded the title “ambassador of the Chinese language”. 与英国的汉语学习热度相适应，中国国家汉办与英国高校、公司、教育组织、中学等机构合 作建立了 12 所孔子学院和 53 家孔子课堂，这在欧洲处于前列。英国的孔子学院富有特色， 其中商务孔子学院和中医孔子学院都是全球首创。各孔子学院运行良好，发展稳定，它们有 些课程已列入所在英国大学的正式选修课程。孔子学院和孔子课堂在常规授课之外，立足推 广中国文化，吸引当地民众参与，增强他们对中国文化的兴趣和了解，取得了良好效果。英 国主流媒体对孔子学院和汉语教学也给予充分肯定，报道数量呈上升趋势。 So far 12 Confucius Institutes and 53 Confucius Classrooms have been set up by Hanban in cooperation with British universities, businesses, educational bodies and secondary schools, making Britain a leader in mandarin learning in Europe. Britain was also the first country to set up a Confucius Institute for Business and another one for Traditional Chinese Medicine. Im glad to learn that the Confucius Institutes in the UK are doing well. Some of their courses were listed as optional courses in the host universities. Confucius Institutes and Classrooms are also making efforts to engage the local people to deepen their interest in and understanding about Chinese culture. 孔子曰：“人无远虑，必有近忧” 。我们在为孔子学院蓬勃发展感到高兴的同时，更应着眼 于孔子学院的长远发展。当前，孔子学院的发展正从数量向质量转变，由快速成长向可持续 发展演进。这就需要更加优质的教材、合格的师资和适合当地的教学方法，可以说挑战在增 加，任务更艰巨。我很高兴地看到，本次会议主题确定为欧洲孔子学院的可持续发展。我确 信大家将借会议之机，深入交流切磋，共商发展大计。 As Confucius said, “Think long or worries are not far away”. While we are heartened by the vibrant growth of Confucius Institutes, we also need to carefully plan for their long-term future. They are working hard to improve quality and explore a sustainable way forward. For that they would need high quality teaching materials, more qualified teachers and more tailored made teaching methods. I am glad to note that this conference takes as its theme “the sustainable development of Europe