Italian female astronaut quotes famous ancient Chinese composition, wins praise on social media for excellent Chinese language skills

An Italian astronaut posted a group of photos taken from space and attached several lines from a famous ancient Chinese composition, demonstrating her outstanding Chinese language ability that amazed Chinese internet users and language experts. 

Samantha Cristoforetti, the first Italian female astronaut in space, posted the photos and the Chinese sentences on her Twitter account on Wednesday during her mission at the International Space Station. 

The images in the group of photos are likely to be the day and night views of China's Bohai Bay and capital Beijing from space. 

Attached to the photos were several lines from the Preface to Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion, an ancient Chinese calligraphy masterpiece by famous Chinese calligrapher Wang Xizhi (303-361) from the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420). 

Cristoforetti even gave an accurate translation of the line saying, "Looking up, I see the immensity of the cosmos; bowing my head, I look at the multitude of the world. The gaze flies, the heart expands, the joy of the senses can reach its peak, and indeed, this is true happiness."

Wang Hui, professor and director of Tsinghua Institute for Advanced Study in Humanities and Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday that the preface is a particularly important piece of writing in Chinese civilization and culture, and that Wang Xizhi is a master of calligrapher whose calligraphic writing of the composition and its content has been studied and copied by generations of Chinese calligraphy enthusiasts. 

"Her quotation of the line shows that she observed the universe with the vision of Chinese civilization while observing China from space. Such a quote is very special, which shows her ambition and a sense of pride," Wang Hui said. 

Her citation also sparked heated discussions among foreign internet users on social media. Some netizens said that with her Chinese language capacity, Cristoforetti also has the ability to work at the Chinese space station, while others hope that there will be less conflict and more cooperation in the world. 

Deng Yulin, academician from the International Academy of Astronautics, told the Global Times that after contacting several European astronauts, a common understanding is that when European astronauts enter space, while they praise the beauty of the earth, they also see the loneliness of the earth in space, so they will become more aware of the importance of building a community with a shared future for mankind. 

Cristoforetti's profile shows that she was born in Milan, Italy in 1977 and became an official astronaut of the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2009. She was also the first Italian female astronaut in space. 

Cristoforetti can speak Italian, English, German, French, Russian and Chinese. She is also a member of a liaison group with China from the ESA, whose task is to maintain contact with Chinese peers to determine and implement cooperation plans among astronauts. 

Cristoforetti visited China in 2017 and participated in a maritime survival drill in the Yellow Sea together with Chinese astronauts, which was also the first time Chinese and foreign astronauts held joint training in China. 

An anonymous aerospace expert told the Global Times on Wednesday that Cristoforetti had previously demonstrated her excellent Chinese language skills by speaking fluent Chinese during media interviews. Apart from Cristoforetti, Matthias Maurer, a German astronaut from ESA who went to China together with Cristoforetti for joint training, can also speak fluent Chinese. 

"In the past, China and Europe have had friendly cooperation in the field of manned space flight, and many foreign astronauts have shown great interest in learning Chinese," the expert said. 

Cristoforetti's post was also praised by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning on Thursday. "I have read about it too and the Italian astronaut certainly has my like," Mao said. 

Exploring the universe has been mankind's dream since ancient times. Thanks to scientific and technological progress, reaching beyond the moon has become a reality, Mao said. "Humanity will continue to benefit from the noble endeavor of exploration and peaceful use of space," she added. 

Mao said that the Foreign Ministry noticed a video clip shared online showing the magnificence of our blue planet Earth seen from China's space station. 

"Countries around the world can and need to work together to look after the planet we all call home and make the world a better place for all," Mao said.