April 20, 2022 was Guyu, one of the 24 solar terms, and the 13th United Nations “Chinese Language Day”. A one-hour special event was held online to mark it. People around the world were invited to express their love and interest for Chinese language and culture through short videos.

Chinese has a a long history. It has shaped other languages in Asia, just like the way Latin has shaped languages in the West. With this history, will Chinese have a surprising future?

At present, over one billion people speak Chinese in the world—far more than any other language’s speakers. It is the language of the country which is the world’s second largest economy. Chinese people are found studying and doing business all over the world.

In fact, Chinese is definitely going to be a world language. Why is this certain? We must look at the economic and political power of China, which is increasing every day. As we all know, world languages have always been the languages of countries with powerful economy. French and English are important because of the power of the countries that speak those languages.

Foreign interest in Chinese has developed of Chinese economy. Chinese has become one of the most important and popular languages around the world.

As China develops, more and more people will want to learn about Chinese language and culture to work and study in China, and to do business with Chinese companies. Chinese will one day become an international language.

Several months ago, Tom moved to a town in a foreign country. He liked the local people and the life there. But he had trouble understanding the sayings that local people used.

One day, they invited Tom to a party. Tom heard someone say, “Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched (孵化).” Not understanding the words, Tom laughed and said, “Who will count chickens? They’re everywhere!” The room was silent for a moment. Then people started laughing loudly.

That made Tom sorry, but he didn’t stop trying. At the end of the party, an old man looked out of the window and said, “It’s raining cats and dogs outside. We need to stay here a little longer.” Tom began to worry about the animals. He advised, “Shall we go out and save them?” People laughed again.

Tom felt silly and decided to learn more sayings from the locals. He spent the next few weeks learning them. “These sayings are more than just words; they’re a part of their culture and life,” Tom thought.

At the next party, Tom wanted to try one more time. When people were discussing the plan for their yearly festival, he said, “Let’s not put all our eggs in one basket.” This time, he used the saying correctly. The local people agreed with him. Tom felt a sense of achievement.