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They may not know her by face but hundreds of people can instantly recognize Chen Lianying’s name， and her vivacious voice. In the African countries where Kiswahili is spoken， the 68-year-old from Suzhou City in east China’s Jiangsu Province is regarded as the “voice”of the language， thanks to her nearly five decades’endeavor to present China to the world through the window of Kiswahili and also spread the language in China.
“It stood me in good stead when I went shopping in the markets of Dar es Salaam，” she said laughingly， sitting in China Radio International’s （CRI） studio in Beijing. “I could haggle as I could speak Kiswahili. The Tanzanian shopkeepers looked amazed and then one of them said， ‘I know your voice. You are the lady from the Sanduku La Barua （meaning fun club） show.’ And I got my discount.”
For more than 30 years， Chen hosted the CRI talk show in Kiswahili， interacting with listeners in Africa who wanted to know more about China - its culture， economy and sports. She answered letters and even helped official announcements reach rural Africa where the telephone had yet not reached.
In school， Chen studied Russian as the mandatory foreign language， but fate had other plans for her. In 1965， when she joined the Beijing Broadcasting Institute （now the Communication University of China）， the Chinese Government had offered to help build a massive railway that would link Tanzania and Zambia and lift their impoverished economies. Efforts were on to teach Chinese Kiswahili as it was foreseen that a host of interpreters would be needed to liaise between the armies of African and Chinese engineers， technicians and workers who would be toiling on China’s then largest foreign-aid project. Chen’s decision was made for her.
It was a difficult task in the 1960s. “There were two classes， each with about 20 students，” she recalled.“The teachers were from Africa. Since there were no books， the teachers would distribute typescripts of improvised lessons.”
Chen plodded on， realizing that the language， though alien， could be learned if one put one’s mind to it， and once mastered， would prove to be an asset. Sure enough， after her five-year course， though she was not needed to go to Africa， she landed a job with the West Asian and African Broadcasting Department of CRI （then Radio Peking）. “At the beginning， the Kiswahili programs were brief and few，” she said.“Later， longer and special programs were introduced.” The programs were broadcast in East and Southeast African countries such as Tanzania and Kenya. Then the Sanduku La Barua show was started， graduating to 16 minutes from the initial 10 minutes after listeners complained it was too short.
“She became a household name，” said Fadhili Mpunji， Chen’s Tanzanian colleague at the department. “People associated her with the program and she became the name of the program. Even now listeners remember her， asking： Where’s Mama Chen？”
“The show was loved because it brought people together， helped them interact， exchange ideas，”Chen added. “Once， CRI selected a listener to visit China. However， he lived in a remote area where there was no phone. So we announced it on radio. Even though the man didn’t hear it， his friends did and informed him and he could contact the embassy to start the visa procedure.” A landmark in her career is the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in September 1995 when governments and institutions around the world came together to adopt the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action， pledging to “advance the goals of equality， development and peace for all women everywhere in the interest of all humanity.”
Chen wrote a series of articles in Kiswahili on women’s issues and hosted shows where African and Chinese women appeared as guests， exchanging notes on the major issues for women in China and Africa and learning from one another’s experiences. In 2013， a special Voice of Women program she and her colleagues made for International Women’s Day won CRI’s first prize for special programs. It brought together successful career women who affirmed that it’s better for a woman to be economically independent than depending on her husband to support her.
In 2011， when a popular Chinese TV series， A Beautiful Daughter-in-Law Era， was dubbed in Kiswahili and beamed in Africa， Chen was the translator， translation editor as well as director of dubbing， also standing in for the voices of three characters. Though she “officially” retired from CRI in 2010， Chen was asked to stay on till the end of 2013. Now she drops in regularly to train the new inexperienced staff.
While the Kiswahili division now has three times the number of staffers it had at the beginning as well as the Internet， the old timers are recognized as being outstanding. In 2013， when President Xi Jinping visited Tanzania， Chen helped out with the live broadcast translations， especially as Xi sometimes spoke outside of his written speech. It is important for Chinese to learn Kiswahili as trade between China and Africa booms and Beijing seeks to strengthen ties. China， for example， is Tanzania’s largest trade partner. Then there is the cultural aspect. “If Chinese don’t learn Kiswahili， they would not be able to translate Chinese texts into Kiswahili，” Chen said. “Foreigners’ translations， even though good， are limited. They may not capture the exact nuances.” To make it easier for Chinese to learn Kiswahili， years ago Chen wrote a book， Kiswahili Daily Conversation. “I hoped it would be helpful for the Chinese who want to go and live or work in Tanzania，”she said. Distributed by Amazon， the attempt saw her receive a lot of queries， especially asking how to pronounce the words. She would answer each mail diligently， sending a short audio clip.
During her long stint at CRI， Chen visited Tanzania， Kenya， Zimbabwe and South Africa. In 1990， when CRI sent her to Tanzania to spruce up her language skills， she participated in Radio Tanzania’s broadcasts， which added to her popularity. Her fluent Kiswahili would amaze listeners wherever she went. “People were very happy that someone from a ‘big’ country like China had learnt the language of a ‘small’ country，” she said， remembering the reactions. “It built friendships.”
Chen’s role as a bridge maker was formally acknowledged three years ago when the China-Africa Friendship Association in conjunction with African embassies in Beijing and Internet voters named her among the “10 people who have played a major role in enhancing China-Africa relationship.”
“It stood me in good stead when I went shopping in the markets of Dar es Salaam，” she said laughingly， sitting in China Radio International’s （CRI） studio in Beijing. “I could haggle as I could speak Kiswahili. The Tanzanian shopkeepers looked amazed and then one of them said， ‘I know your voice. You are the lady from the Sanduku La Barua （meaning fun club） show.’ And I got my discount.”
For more than 30 years， Chen hosted the CRI talk show in Kiswahili， interacting with listeners in Africa who wanted to know more about China - its culture， economy and sports. She answered letters and even helped official announcements reach rural Africa where the telephone had yet not reached.
In school， Chen studied Russian as the mandatory foreign language， but fate had other plans for her. In 1965， when she joined the Beijing Broadcasting Institute （now the Communication University of China）， the Chinese Government had offered to help build a massive railway that would link Tanzania and Zambia and lift their impoverished economies. Efforts were on to teach Chinese Kiswahili as it was foreseen that a host of interpreters would be needed to liaise between the armies of African and Chinese engineers， technicians and workers who would be toiling on China’s then largest foreign-aid project. Chen’s decision was made for her.
It was a difficult task in the 1960s. “There were two classes， each with about 20 students，” she recalled.“The teachers were from Africa. Since there were no books， the teachers would distribute typescripts of improvised lessons.”
Chen plodded on， realizing that the language， though alien， could be learned if one put one’s mind to it， and once mastered， would prove to be an asset. Sure enough， after her five-year course， though she was not needed to go to Africa， she landed a job with the West Asian and African Broadcasting Department of CRI （then Radio Peking）. “At the beginning， the Kiswahili programs were brief and few，” she said.“Later， longer and special programs were introduced.” The programs were broadcast in East and Southeast African countries such as Tanzania and Kenya. Then the Sanduku La Barua show was started， graduating to 16 minutes from the initial 10 minutes after listeners complained it was too short.
“She became a household name，” said Fadhili Mpunji， Chen’s Tanzanian colleague at the department. “People associated her with the program and she became the name of the program. Even now listeners remember her， asking： Where’s Mama Chen？”
“The show was loved because it brought people together， helped them interact， exchange ideas，”Chen added. “Once， CRI selected a listener to visit China. However， he lived in a remote area where there was no phone. So we announced it on radio. Even though the man didn’t hear it， his friends did and informed him and he could contact the embassy to start the visa procedure.” A landmark in her career is the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in September 1995 when governments and institutions around the world came together to adopt the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action， pledging to “advance the goals of equality， development and peace for all women everywhere in the interest of all humanity.”
Chen wrote a series of articles in Kiswahili on women’s issues and hosted shows where African and Chinese women appeared as guests， exchanging notes on the major issues for women in China and Africa and learning from one another’s experiences. In 2013， a special Voice of Women program she and her colleagues made for International Women’s Day won CRI’s first prize for special programs. It brought together successful career women who affirmed that it’s better for a woman to be economically independent than depending on her husband to support her.
In 2011， when a popular Chinese TV series， A Beautiful Daughter-in-Law Era， was dubbed in Kiswahili and beamed in Africa， Chen was the translator， translation editor as well as director of dubbing， also standing in for the voices of three characters. Though she “officially” retired from CRI in 2010， Chen was asked to stay on till the end of 2013. Now she drops in regularly to train the new inexperienced staff.
While the Kiswahili division now has three times the number of staffers it had at the beginning as well as the Internet， the old timers are recognized as being outstanding. In 2013， when President Xi Jinping visited Tanzania， Chen helped out with the live broadcast translations， especially as Xi sometimes spoke outside of his written speech. It is important for Chinese to learn Kiswahili as trade between China and Africa booms and Beijing seeks to strengthen ties. China， for example， is Tanzania’s largest trade partner. Then there is the cultural aspect. “If Chinese don’t learn Kiswahili， they would not be able to translate Chinese texts into Kiswahili，” Chen said. “Foreigners’ translations， even though good， are limited. They may not capture the exact nuances.” To make it easier for Chinese to learn Kiswahili， years ago Chen wrote a book， Kiswahili Daily Conversation. “I hoped it would be helpful for the Chinese who want to go and live or work in Tanzania，”she said. Distributed by Amazon， the attempt saw her receive a lot of queries， especially asking how to pronounce the words. She would answer each mail diligently， sending a short audio clip.
During her long stint at CRI， Chen visited Tanzania， Kenya， Zimbabwe and South Africa. In 1990， when CRI sent her to Tanzania to spruce up her language skills， she participated in Radio Tanzania’s broadcasts， which added to her popularity. Her fluent Kiswahili would amaze listeners wherever she went. “People were very happy that someone from a ‘big’ country like China had learnt the language of a ‘small’ country，” she said， remembering the reactions. “It built friendships.”
Chen’s role as a bridge maker was formally acknowledged three years ago when the China-Africa Friendship Association in conjunction with African embassies in Beijing and Internet voters named her among the “10 people who have played a major role in enhancing China-Africa relationship.”