Pacome Sebastian, a French student at Peking University, recently shared his experience of studying and living in China and his deepening bond with the country.
Sebastian admires Chinese poetry, especially the works of Lu You, a patriotic writer of the Song Dynasty.
Apart from literature, the 26-year-old is interested in Chinese history. Lately, he's been researching early 20th-century Chinese aviation, a crucial period in the country's resistance against Japanese aggression.
"Currently I'm working on the 1920s and 1930s, military airplane procurement for China. This is a very important part of the war against the Japanese. I want to look at how China managed to build aviation in a very hard context, which is the context of the Republican era, especially regarding the procurement among French industries," said Sebastian.
Exploring modern Chinese history is challenging, especially for non-native speakers like Pacome. However, he's confident in overcoming these hurdles and advancing his research.
"In China, everything is in Chinese, which is logical. So we have to adapt to that. Once the language barrier is not that complex anymore, everything is fine. Hopefully, I will keep learning Chinese and I will apply for PhD to conduct historical research on the republican China, because many things have to be continued on my research," he said.
In his free time, Sebastian enjoys running around Weiming Lake, finding solace in the tranquil surroundings. He said running is a good way to stay healthy and relieve himself from the pressures of school.
Sebastian has made friends from different parts of the world. Together, they have explored cities like Chengdu and Chongqing, with plans to venture further across China.
"We've been to Chongqing. We have a friend, and we have been to Xi'an running a marathon. We have been to Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou. Beautiful, lovely trip. I want to keep going. China has too many lovely places to visit. This is infinite," he said.
Sebastian's adventures represent his desire to explore China.
His mission extends beyond personal enrichment, aiming to challenge Eurocentric perspectives and embrace a more balanced worldview.
"Two main reasons to study in China. First, a long-standing interest in the Chinese culture, language, architecture, art and history. I wanted to visit this country by myself. It was very important to see by my own eyes, not only through text on what is happening in China. I was doing my master's degree in France. There is a criticism of centralism in social sciences, which means you are saying what you say in academic discourse because of where you come from and you are universalizing your own point of view without paying attention to other points of view. So I decided to take up the challenge and I decided to study China because the state trajectory is very different from Europe. And the overall culture is also very different. It definitely was not what I had imagined, but this is also why I was here to be surprised," said Sebastian.
Sebastian is one of the many French students in China. He expressed his wishes for further collaborations between the two countries.
"The Sino-French exchanges are multi-dimensional in every single domain, in politics, in the economy, in environmental issues, in academia. So we should keep going. For instance, to solve the climate change, we will need to cooperate," said Sebastian.
As Sebastian prepares to graduate from Peking University this summer, his bond with China will continue, embarking on new chapters of discovery and collaboration.
French student shares experience of studying and living in China
