The book ‘China in the Eyes of a Foreigner’ by Tatjana Soldat was presented on 31 March 2018 in the premises of the Confucius Institute at Banja Luka University.
Тatjana spoke about her experience and life in China. The China she visited back in 1993 differs a lot from today’s China. She believes that few people from the Republika Srpska know what the real, modern China looks like nowadays.
The Chinese in the modern China possess the latest devices, young people listen to Western music on their iPads and they like fashion and to hang out together. Nonetheless, China has not lost the tradition and wisdom of the ancient people, which is what the author talked about while presenting her book.
Тatjana also believes that people from China have a lot in common with people from the Republika Srpska, such as the way in which they celebrate their holidays and nurture family values. Given the global political and economic changes, Tatjana concludes that getting closer to China can only be for our good. She is of the opinion that the Confucius Institute at Banja Luka University will have a great role in facilitating the people in these two countries to have a better understanding of one another.
Ljiljana Stevic, Director of the Confucius Institute, said that this was the first lecture organized by the Confucius Institute on the topic of Chinese culture, tradition and economic and social trends in this Asian country. This was also an opportunity for the Confucius Institute to introduce itself to students and professors as the new member of their academic society as well as to the general public of Republika Srpska. Apart from the Chinese language, it is going to organize courses in Chinese calligraphy, traditional Chinese painting, tea ceremony, Tai Chi martial arts and many other lectures and events.
Tatjana Soldat is one of the leading sinologists from this region, who has graduated in Chinese Language and Literature at the Faculty of Philology in Belgrade, where she currently lives and works.
The book ‘China in the Eyes of a Foreigner’ is a collection of newspaper articles and observations on everyday life in China, where she lived and worked for several years as editor and journalist of the Chinese Radio 'International' in the Serbian language editorial office in Beijing. This educational book gives a new picture of modern China seen by a foreigner who, during her long stay in this country in the Far East, has gained many impressions of the everyday life of Chinese people, and who has accepted and adopted many of their habits and views.