Xu Bailong. Photo from his archive
At school, Xu studied Japanese, and at one point, a dream emerged — to study Japanology. However, the Chinese higher education system does not allow for independent choice of specialization — the state offers the options.
Usually, in philological fields, applicants are offered Vietnamese or French. However, he had to choose between Spanish, Hindi, and Russian. The Chinese man chose the latter — and went to Beijing for his studies.
“Words Were Just Sounds”
Learning a Slavic language from scratch proved to be a real challenge for Xu.
“[In the first classes] I almost cried. There were problems with phonetics: I couldn’t pronounce some sounds, and many words were just sounds. It was also difficult to understand why one had to say it this way and not another, why there were so many cases when there are simply none in Chinese,” the interlocutor recalls.
However, Xu didn’t think of giving up. He practiced a lot — and gradually, everything started to work out.
“Cyrillic Mixed with Latin”
In China, undergraduate studies last four years. During Xu’s studies, a program for learning languages of different countries was launched in the country. Thus, in the final year, a trial optional subject appeared — the Belarusian language. It was not mandatory and was not popular — only five people attended the classes; Xu was one of them.
“I knew there was a country called Belarus and that the Belarusian language existed, but I had never heard how it sounded. I was very curious,” the Chinese man explains. “My first impression was as if Cyrillic was mixed with Latin: Belarusian has a distinctive ‘і’ with a dot, and also ‘ў’.”
The classes were taught by a lecturer from Belarus. She talked a lot about Belarus, its history, and culture. Additionally, at the end of each lecture, the textbook contained interesting facts — for example, about the Cross of Euphrosyne of Polotsk or about Slutsk belts. Recently, Xu notes, his lecturer published another Belarusian language textbook for Chinese students.
“There Was Not a Single Foreigner Who Wanted to Systematically Study Belarusian”
In 2019, Xu completed his studies but had no intention of stopping. Initially, he considered pursuing a master’s degree in Ukrainian philology in Ukraine. However, his Belarusian language lecturer told him that he could go to Minsk on a student exchange program and continue studying Belarusian. This is how Xu ended up in Minsk — at Belarusian State University.
The Chinese man was determined to improve his Belarusian, but his studies didn’t go as planned — he was directed to Russian philology.
“Until then, there had not been a single foreigner who wanted to systematically study the Belarusian language,” Xu states. “They didn’t have an adapted program, so Belarusian was taught simply as an elective — up to three hours a week. That was not enough.”
Xu categorically disliked this approach, and he repeatedly appealed to the university administration to resolve the issue. However, all attempts were futile.
“He Started to Rebel”
Then Xu decided to create conditions independently to improve his knowledge.
“I started to rebel,” the interlocutor smiles. “I completed assignments in Belarusian, translated a large amount of material from Russian, and even took exams in Belarusian. Some lecturers said that their subject could only be taken in Russian. I ignored that.”
However, his scientific advisor, who coordinated his master’s thesis, supported her mentee. She appealed to the administration — and additional classes in Belarusian philology were added for Xu.
As a result, Xu successfully defended his thesis in Belarusian and received a master’s degree in Belarusian philology.
Павялічыць
Concert “Belarusian Folklore and Dance.” Photo from Xu’s archive
“He Asked for Coffee — and the Girl Laughed”
Before moving to Belarus, Xu knew that Russian was predominant in the country, but he did not think “it was that serious.”
Both at the university and beyond, the young man consciously used the Belarusian language in his daily life. Xu noticed that there is real discrimination against the Belarusian language in Belarus: when he spoke Belarusian in Minsk, people often looked at him with surprise, didn’t always understand what he was saying, and sometimes even smiled.
“Once, in a shopping center on Niamiha, I was ordering coffee and said: ‘Can I please have one large coffee?’ The girl laughed because, in Russian, ‘вялікая кава’ (velikaya kava – literally ‘big coffee’) supposedly sounds funny.”
The same thing happened in classes. Once, the lecturer asked foreign students to name Belarusian holidays. According to Xu, holidays like Victory Day, Labor Day, October Revolution Day, and other Soviet dates were mentioned, while he named Christmas, Easter, and other traditional holidays.
“The lecturer asked to answer only in Russian. It was offensive,” says Xu. And he adds, rephrasing Francišak Bahuševič: “Let’s study our Belarusian language, so we don’t die.”
Павялічыць
Protest in Minsk. Photo from Xu’s archive
“In China, My Knowledge Was Useless”
After studying in Belarus, Xu returned to China but soon began planning his return to Europe.
“Staying in China was [pointless] — my knowledge was useless there,” says the Chinese man.
Xu decided to learn another Slavic language — Ukrainian. He was already preparing to go to Ukraine, but his plans fell through due to the war. He did not give up on his dream but chose the Faculty of Ukrainian Philology at Jagiellonian University.
For two years, Xu studied Polish on a “zerówka” — a preparatory course for foreigners. And last year, he finally enrolled in a master’s program.
“In Poland, There Are More Belarusian-Speaking Belarusians Than in Belarus Itself”
In Poland, Xu almost immediately met Belarusians — fellow students from the zerówka.
“When they said they were from Belarus, I immediately switched to Belarusian. They were shocked — and continued to respond in Russian,” says Xu. “As a result, it turned out that I was the only one in the entire zerówka who knew Belarusian.”
Later, the man began attending events organized by the Krakow diaspora. There, he met Belarusian-speaking Belarusians and made friends.
“In Belarus, I didn’t have a single [Belarusian-speaking friend or acquaintance], but now I have many. It turned out that there are more Belarusian-speaking Belarusians in Poland than in Belarus itself,” the Chinese man smiles.