China is a country with a long history and culture, and it is also a multi-ethnic and multi-lingual country.
In different historical periods, Chinese have learned and used different foreign languages to adapt to the political, economic, cultural and technological development at home and abroad.
Among them, Russian and English are the two foreign languages that have had the greatest influence on China, and they have set off a learning boom in China at different times, and also reflect the changes in China's relationship with the world.
In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, with the help of the big brother of the Soviet Union, it can be said that everyone could speak Russian, but with the rapid changes in Sino-Soviet relations, there have been new changes in this national craze for learning Russian.
So, why did this change happen back then? What were the considerations of the state at that time?
On October 1, 1949, the People's Republic of China was founded, and China entered a new historical period.
New China is faced with tremendous internal and external challenges, and it needs to carry out socialist transformation and economic construction, and at the same time, it also needs to strive for its own status and interests in the international community.
Against this background, the Soviet Union became the most important ally and partner of the new China.
The Soviet Union was the largest socialist country in the world at that time, and it was also the first country to recognize the new China and establish diplomatic relations with it.
The Soviet Union gave New China great support and assistance in the political, military, economic, scientific, and technological fields.
The Soviet Union provided China with a large number of experts, equipment, funds, technology, and materials, helped China establish a number of important industrial projects, trained a number of specialized personnel, and imparted a set of socialist theories and systems.
The Soviet Union also supported China's resistance to U.S. aggression in the Korean War and China's sovereignty over the Taiwan issue.
Since the Soviet Union had close ties and exchanges with the new China in various fields, Russian became the most urgently needed foreign language at that time.
The purpose of studying Russian is not only to communicate and cooperate with Soviet specialists, but also to learn the advanced experience and knowledge of the Soviet Union.
Thus, in the 50s of the 19th century, there was an upsurge of learning Russian in our country for the whole population.
From the first to the local, from the party and government organs to enterprises and institutions, from universities to primary and secondary schools, from the city to the countryside, both men and women, young and old, are actively involved in the activities of learning Russian.
There was a popular saying at the time: "If you don't speak Russian, you are not a literate person".
Many well-known politicians, military strategists, scientists, cultural figures, artists, etc., have studied the Russian language and have been exposed to many advanced ideas and achievements of the Soviet Union and the world through the Russian language.
The study of Russian by all people is of positive significance to the new China.
It has strengthened the friendly relations and strategic cooperation between China and the Soviet Union, and enhanced the mutual understanding and affection between the two peoples. It has improved the foreign language level and cultural literacy of our people, and broadened our people's horizons and knowledge. It has provided strong talent support and intellectual support for China's socialist transformation and economic construction; It has contributed to our country's international efforts to fight for its own interests and to maintain world peace.
However, the Sino-Soviet friendship did not last long. Beginning in the late 50s of the 19th century, serious differences and antagonisms between the Chinese and Soviet parties emerged in terms of ideology, international line, and national interests.
During the Khrushchev and Brezhnev periods, the Soviet Union adopted a series of hostile and oppressive policies against China, including withdrawing experts from China, canceling aid programs, strengthening border military deployments, provoking border conflicts, supporting India's invasion of China, and threatening to use nuclear weapons against China.
Sino-Soviet relations have changed from friendly alliances to hostile confrontations, exchanges and cooperation between the two countries have been almost completely suspended, and serious conflicts and confrontations have even emerged on the Sino-Soviet border. The occurrence of the Zhenbao Island incident caused Sino-Soviet relations to fall to the bottom completely.
The deterioration of Sino-Soviet relations caused the Russian language to lose its original status and role in China. Learning Russian is no longer a necessity and an advantage, but a burden and an obstacle.
Many people who studied Russian were affected and troubled, some were forced to change careers or switch to other foreign languages, some were marginalized or attacked, and some were even treated as "Soviet revisionists" or "spies". The craze for learning Russian quickly cooled down, and the Russian language gradually declined and marginalized in China.
At the same time, English began to rise and become popular in China.
In particular, with the opening up of China's country, it has restored and developed diplomatic, economic, and cultural relations with Western countries.
As an international lingua franca, English has become an important tool for communication and cooperation between China and Western countries.
Learning English is not only to understand the political, economic, cultural and other conditions of Western countries, but also to introduce advanced technology, management experience, market mechanism and other contents of Western countries.
Western countries not only monopolized the vast majority of economic resources, but also had the most advanced management technology at that time, and if they wanted to improve their level, they would inevitably have to learn from the West at that time, so they needed a language to communicate with the West.
At that time, the improvement of Sino-American relations made it even more important for China to engage with the United States, especially for China at that time, which was in a position of poverty and whiteness, and China needed to open its doors to embrace the world.
If any country wants to go global, translation and language talents are indispensable, so it was also from that time that the state began to stipulate that English should be learned from primary school to university, and China should also be in line with the world.
In particular, after China's accession to the World Organization, it has engaged in more extensive and in-depth economic cooperation and competition with other countries in the world.
China's foreign trade and exports are the envy of many countries, and English, as the language of international business, has become a necessary condition for China to participate in the process of globalization. Learn English not only to communicate and negotiate with foreign customers, partners, competitors, but also to improve your professionalism and competitiveness.
Therefore, at the end of the last century, there was a boom in learning business English for all people in our country. From large enterprises to small companies, from leading cadres to grassroots employees, from professionals to ordinary people, they have all signed up for various business English training courses and exams.
Moreover, English has gradually become a necessary language for students' entrance exams, so the status of English has gradually improved, so that it has become the second language mastered by the vast majority of Chinese today.
Therefore, from here, we can see that for a language, as a tool for our communication and communication, it is not only a necessary tool for us to go out into the world, but also reflects the changes and development of relations between major powers.