Mar 25, 20204 min read

Language Love in Times of Coronavirus

For anyone who has not lived under a rock for the last two months, there is an immense oversaturation of information being said, spewed, rumored, and pontificated about the global pandemic, introducing and starring Coronavirus (COVID-19). News reports and speculations about fatalities, the ineptitude of certain “leaders” to respond proactively with compassion and efficiency, and the disruption of the daily status quo certainly has nervous systems afrenzy.

To share briefly, I was supposed to start a new job in Beijing at the end of January, but 2020 hasn’t shown to be the best year to make a career transition into educational travel. That being said, I’ve been taking this time as an opportunity to rest and recover from recent mental health challenges, and am overall very grateful that I’m able to spend this time with family, to have access to food, shelter, water, and good company. I recognize the privilege in being able to say that. these times have proven to be an ongoing series of lessons in nothing but gratitude, patience, resilience, and practicing faith that however this pans out, we will emerge stronger as a collective. The deeper the dark, the closer the dawn.

While I will do my best not to contribute to the “noise” of this time, I can’t ignore one theme that has emerged in the wake of the viral outbreak: misplaced and unwarranted xenophobia against folks from China, and folks of Asian descent in general. 我无话可说。It honestly leaves me speechless to hear of and witness accounts of this in public. I’m not going to act naive in that I know that racism is and always has been alive and well worldwide, particularly the United States (where I am writing from), but this does not justify these occurrences to say the least.

It is in thinking that the virus is a “China problem” that has caused such disruption and a surge of cases in the West, demonstrating the ignorance, arrogance, and bias of leaders to not take a non-discriminatory disease seriously. Where there is a warm, welcoming lung cell, the virus will gladly be a guest. Little spikey COVID Koosh RNA ball doesn’t care about race, class, gender, age, ability. We see that reflected in the confirmed cases; we see that in the reported fatalities. As long as we ignore this and pawn blame on a race or a country, we’re doomed. And yet unfortunately, that is where the rhetoric seems to continue to take us. (Gah, and I just did that thing where I said I wasn’t going to contribute to the noise of all of this shit but then I went ahead and did it.)

Anyway. I’ve decided to counter all of this noisy bullshit with art, because, what else can I really do at this moment? Much like the Bagrats and Other Curious Creatures book, these little art pieces are musings and explorations of Chinglish; a fusion of Mandarin and English. Perhaps an invitation to marvel at our means and modes of communication and the joys that can be found in language. We need little joys in these times.

Studying Chinese history, language, culture, and living/travelling throughout Mainland China is what has made me who I am today. Mandarin, as a language, has helped to mold my worldview and perspective. Learning from a rich 5000 year history that has survived the rises and falls of dynasties puts the narrative of the current global “order” into question. Remember - the entirety of the history of the United States is not even close to the length of the Tang Dynasty, just one of dozens.

Overall, my hot take of the first few months of 2020:

The outbreak of COVID-19 is a poetic reminder of how deeply interconnected we are in this global system. At the same time, it has revealed how fragile this current system is as everything is being affected from global governance meetings to small local businesses. For those who thought that their life isn’t affected by a simple action on the other side of the planet, maybe this collective global experience invites us to pause and reconsider this erroneous assumption. macroeconomics in the age of capitalism is not a sustainable indicator for the wellbeing of people or nation-states.

If we are all human, we can all carry and spread this disease. Being xenophobic and viewing your own race as superior and exempt has absolutely no place here, or ever.

Anyway. I hope all of you are staying well and practicing some self-care during these times. Sending my very best to all of you and your families. We will make it through to the other side.

For reference, here's a little pronunciation guide for pinyin.