Youths in China warm to patriotism

Peng Jingxuan, 26, who is taking a Master's in musicology at Bordeaux Montaigne University in France, is among the students who have taken advantage of such openness. While pursuing her studies abroad, she is also dedicated to spreading traditional Chinese culture to the world.

She can frequently be found on French streets, clad in a silk Han Dynasty-style dress and playing the guzheng, or Chinese zither, to passersby.

In 2018, she uploaded her first video－which featured footage of her playing a traditional piece of Chinese music in the French city of Bordeaux－on the sharing platform Douyin, and it quickly went viral, gaining nearly 30,000 views.

Since then, Peng has regularly posted videos of her street performances on platforms, including Bilibili and Douyin. Many of the videos have garnered millions of views, making her a popular social media music influencer.

She now has 1.29 million and 7.72 million followers on Bilibili and Douyin respectively. She introduces her profile photo with the words, "What is national is universal."

Peng decided to play the guzheng on the streets after arriving in France in late 2017, when she saw many buskers performing outdoors. Having played the instrument since she was 7, she was anxious to keep practicing.

Over time, she has found she is doing more than merely playing music. In the eyes of the French, she is a symbol of China, and after being approached numerous times by local people asking about the guzheng, Peng now carries a book that explains the instrument to foreigners.

After going viral on Chinese video-sharing platforms, she said she now feels she has more responsibility to spread traditional culture. Living overseas has also increased her sense of national identity and patriotism.

"Every time people come to me and compliment me on the beauty of the instrument and the music, they ask which country the guzheng originates from. I am very happy to tell them it comes from China," she said.

"During my studies here, I have the time, the opportunity and the ability to let people know more about this elegant Chinese music. This is something I like to do," she said.

Every year on Oct 1, China's National Day, Peng plays well-known pieces to mark the occasion, including Me and My Motherland and Today is Your Birthday, My Motherland.

"My country's strength gives me the courage to play the guzheng on the streets," she said.

Guo, from Capital University of Economics and Business, said that although she is pleased to see more patriotic sentiment being voiced by young people, additional social support is needed to consolidate this.

For example, there are still no lessons about patriotism in many kindergartens. There is also a lack of guidance about using material to reinforce a sense of patriotism among young people, such as explaining the advantages of China's political system in containing the pandemic.

As a national political adviser, Guo said during the CPPCC session that lessons about patriotism should form part of early childhood education. More patriotic content, such as online dramas and video games, should be made available in cyberspace, and the Party and government leaders should establish more dialogue with young people for them to understand major national strategies and to become more engaged in social affairs.

"Our country values harmony and inclusiveness when facing the world. So, when these children with stronger confidence in the national identity grow up and contribute to China's development, they will bring more peace and warmth to the world," she added.