African teacher gives up star status in China to return home
Print Edition
COMIC star Maurice Gountin refers to his period in China as the “most glorious in my life.”
Although he has returned to his native Cotonou, Benin, his passion for China burns as bright as ever.
Gountin’s Chinese story begins in 1998, when he came to the country to study the language and culture at Renmin University of China in Beijing.
He remained a student until getting a doctorate from the university.
Although not so well known in Benin, Gountin is known by millions across China for his cross-talk (xiangsheng, a traditional Chinese comedy art) performances.
“China is and remains my second nation,” says Gountin, adding he did not expect he would become a “star” because he studied cross-talk out of pure interest.
“I have thousands of fondest memories in China,” he says.
Gountin got his start in 2000. He and one of his classmates performed the famous cross-talk skit “Cuisine Culture in China” at a party for all foreign students in Beijing.
Cross-talk star Ding Guangquan attended and was impressed with Gountin’s ability. Ding later took him under his wing.
“The show was successful and I was so moved that I could not sleep all night,” Maurice recalls, adding it paved the way for him to become an artist, intellectual and China-Africa relations specialist.
As his popularity mushroomed as a cross-talk performer, an opportunity for a bright future in China seemed at hand.
However, he left it all behind to return to Cotonou in West Africa in 2008 due to “personal reasons and homesickness.”
Now he teaches Mandarin in the Chinese Cultural Center and at a university in Cotonou, a job he describes as “interesting” because he is a “bridge” between two cultures.
“I am not very pleased with my current situation, but I do not regret my decision (to came back home),” Maurice says, adding it was one of numerous lessons he learned in China like the necessity to love one’s own culture and make a good plan for one’s life.
“Chinese people do not expect a miracle from heaven,” he says. “They are forewarned persons and they make predictions for the future.”
He wishes to play a more active role in China-Africa relations through the publication of his research work and by educating young Beninese about Africa-China issues.
“I am the right person for this,” he says. “Sometimes I think I know more about China than my own country.”
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