By Victor Francisco
Editor of Omutumwa Newspaper, Namibia
China and Namibia are countries that are on continents which are worlds apart – one in Asia and the other in Africa.
Indeed, the chasm is so wide that in the 21st Century not much is known on the side of Africa about Chinese culture, let alone Chinese languages. With Namibia having English as the official language of communication and language for school instruction, as a Namibian I have been exposed more to Western cultures than to Eastern cultures.
During the past twenty years I have however come in contact with Chinese nationals who have been retailer business people in our towns. My contact and interactions with them have been minimal and limited to the brief interactions whenever I went to the Chinese-owned shops to buy something.
Thus, my impression on the Chinese culture has always been one of intrigued fascination and amazement. Chinese people are known to be some individuals who are hardworking and committed to their work. I have believed this to be a result of their culture. Just as in my country there are some cultural practices which do not promote strong work ethics, I so came to have an impression that the Chinese do have cultural practices which rather promote strong work ethics.
Unlike a lot of people in my community, the Chinese people are not into the consumer culture. This is one impression I have always had by looking at the few Chinese business people in my community.
But the Chinese culture as in regard with Chinese food, music, architecture, clothing, and family life, have always remained a mystery – one which is worth exploring.
*The views and opinions expressed in the articles are solely those of the individual authors and do not reflect the position of the Secretariat of the Belt and Road Journalist Network.