来自意大利的汉学家麦克雷·费列罗（Michele Ferrero）已经在北京外国语大学教授拉丁语10年，最近他的日子有点不一般。“十几天前我滞留香港，既无法回到意大利，又不能直接回北京。最终北外校方想办法进行沟通帮助我回到了北京，我特别感动。”麦克雷教授对《今日中国》记者说。
麦克雷教授
最近这一个多月是中国人民艰难的时期，也是麦克雷教授感觉特别温暖的日子。他说，中国同事和朋友们经常会嘘寒问暖。在隔离期间，帮助购买食品的中国同事甚至还专门买了意大利面。“我的两个助教帮我做好了网络直播课程的一切准备。”麦克雷教授在他熟悉的北京公寓里“复工”，进行他人生中的初次直播尝试。
盼望早日回到学校
尽管网上与学生交流是常有的事儿，但网上直播课程对麦克雷教授还是全新的事物。“这个体验很新鲜，我正努力学习。”麦克雷说，让他觉得最了不起的是中国人如何在疫情期间迅速找到应对之策，如网课和快递服务，想尽各种办法尽量把学习、生活活动带回正轨，渡过难关。
“在防疫的同时，全国范围内的学校都在提供网课，这太让人惊叹了。这是应对特殊时期的一个特别棒的办法，也是中国人民坚韧不拔应对疫情的完美例子。”麦克雷称赞道。
尽管老师和学生们都在“停课不停教”“停课不停学”，但是无论是麦克雷教授，还是他的学生们，都盼望早日回到校园。
“置身一个真正的课堂里，老师可以看到每个同学的反应，可以让那些有意愿的同学回答问题，还可以看到大家的互动，尤其是语言学习。”麦克雷说，他现在特别怀念在校园里课前、课后与学生的交流。
麦克雷教授期盼回到这样的课堂上，跟同学们互动。
中意友谊让人感动
随着新冠病毒在意大利蔓延，麦克雷的中国同事和学生们不断向他发来问候。“他们对我的家人表达了各种支持和问候，让我很感动。”麦克雷说。
麦克雷的家在意大利西北部皮埃蒙特（Piedmont）大区的库内奥（Cuneo），接近都灵，目前受疫情冲击不是很严重。“但是大家也都提高了警惕，像在中国一样，基本不出门，只出去买必需的生活用品。”麦克雷介绍说。
在他看来，中国控制人口流动的抗疫作法非常有效。由于中国是第一个受疫情严重影响的国家，并且目前已经取得了很明显的抗疫成效，意大利正在学习中国经验。“我觉得意大利目前正采取跟中国一样的做法。比如号召大家尽量不出门，减少人群接触，这非常、非常重要。同时意大利的医院也在采取跟中国一样的做法，那就是减少其他不紧急病患的服务，全力应对新冠肺炎。”
尽管中国目前仍在疫情期间，仍有很大的防控医疗物资的需求，但还是向意大利伸出援手进行医疗援助，这让麦克雷教授很受感动。“这是中意友好的一个体现。我们两个国家已有几百年的友好交往历史。”
谈起学习拉丁文的初衷，麦克雷告诉记者，“十六七世纪欧洲人对中国的介绍基本都是用拉丁文。他们对中国的描述太让我着迷了。他们所描述的中国的各种传统和文化，在今天的中国仍旧能看到，这也充分表明了中国是一个有不间断的历史文化传承的国家。”麦克雷说，关于中国文化，让他着迷的地方特别多，尤其是那些生活小细节，包括人们之间如何相处，都体现了中国文化的核心理念，尤其是儒家思想。
目前，麦克雷担任北外拉丁语言文化中心主任、中国海外汉学研究中心客座教授，市场上能看到的拉丁语学习教材有很多都由他编写。他说，希望中意友谊能不断延续，他也会作为两国文化的使者，促进两国的文化交流。
记者：张辉
制作：胡玉霞
编审：卢茹彩
监制：张娟
Challenging Times, Warm Hearts
2020-03-16 14:09:00Source：China TodayAuthor：ZHANG HUI
Italian sinologist Michele Ferrero finds ways to tide himself over the epidemic period in Beijing.
Italian sinologist Dr. Michele Ferrero has taught Latin and Western classics at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) for the past 10 years. Like everyone else, he is operating under difficulties at this special time. But these trials have at least introduced him to “live streaming” — one of China’s hottest media trends.
“About two weeks ago I found myself stranded in Hong Kong after failing to return to Italy. I was so relieved, not to mention immensely grateful, when the dean of my department and the BFSU authorities were eventually able to bring me back to Beijing,” Ferrero toldChina Today.
Reinstalled in his Beijing apartment, which is now fully equipped to facilitate his modified teaching mode, Ferraro presents regular online courses to his students via live streaming.
Although the past month or more has been hard on residents, locals and expats alike, in China, his Chinese friends and colleagues’ gestures of friendship and thoughtfulness have moved and reassured Professor Ferrero.
“I'm genuinely touched by the many good wishes and offers of support from my Chinese friends and colleagues. School leaders and faculty have brought me food throughout this period of self-quarantine, and even gone out of their way to buy pasta so that I could cook Italian dishes here during the epidemic period,” Ferrero said.
Live Streaming Fresher
With the help of two assistants, Ferrero now makes regular live streaming appearances. “Although multimedia teaching aids are nothing new to me, giving classes throughzhibo(live streaming) systems is truly a novel experience. I and my colleagues are all students in that respect,” Ferrero said.
Dr. Ferrero is deeply impressed with the way the Chinese people is managing to bring their life back to normalcy and tiding over the difficult times. “It's amazing how, in spite of all the problems generated by the coronavirus, regular classes are now conducted throughout China. This is a huge, highly commendable achievement. It stands as an example of the Chinese people's calm efficiency in the face of a global emergency," Ferrero said.
The professor and his students are nevertheless looking forward to the day when they can finally go back on campus. “In a regular class, you can ask for a show of hands from anyone who wants to answer a question and see the others’ reaction. When teaching an online class you hear different voices, so you need to ask for answers to questions one at a time while muting the microphones of other students. As these minor technical details alter the flow of interaction, these classes are inevitably less spontaneous and animated than ‘live’ ones,” Professor Ferrero admitted. He also misses chatting with students before and after on-campus classes, and his students feel the same. “All my students say they miss being on campus,” he said. That’s why everyone’s fingers are crossed that the epidemic will soon end.
Ever-lasting China-Italy Friendship
Many of Ferraro’s Chinese friends and students showed deep concern for Ferrero’s family when the epidemic began to engulf Italy, and all offered their support. He finds these gestures of friendship both moving and gratifying.
Ferrero believes that China’s strict control over public mobility has been highly effective. “I think we’re doing the same in Italy as is practiced in China. People stay at home to reduce contact with and so reduce the risk of infection from others. This is crucial,” he said. Also, like China, Italy is cutting back on all but the most urgent medical treatment and services in hospitals, in order to make the optimum amount of facilities and healthcare workers available to deal with COVID-19 patients, Ferrero said.
As China was the first country to deal with this epidemic emergency, in view of the impressive results it has achieved, “Italy is in a way learning from China’s experience,” Ferrero said.
Despite the still grim domestic situation, China is now sending medical workers to Italy. This, to Ferrero, signifies even better prospects for China and Italy’s long-lasting friendship.
For Professor Ferraro, many facets of Chinese culture have perennial charm, particularly the traditions embodied in people’s daily lives. “The traditional manner in which people relate to each other socially is both complex and studied. This, to me, signifies a great deal about China and its people,” Ferrero said.
These make China a magnet to Professor Ferraro, who has decided to continue his staying here, connecting the two countries and bridging the two ancient civilizations.
