:: the lovely and formidable Mrs. Jenny Zhu recently interviewed me about the Chinese creative community, emerging youth culture, and social media in China. Check it out on her blog. Please pardon the pink // AjS
:: Jenny Zhu is the unforgettable voice and personality behind Chinesepod.com’s world-famous Chinese language learning podcasts.
56minus1: Rumor has it you are dating / engaged to Praxis Language (ChinesePod parent company) founder and CEO Hank Horkoff. What’s it like to date the boss?
Jenny Zhu: 56minus1 isn’t a gossip blog, right?
56minus1: No, its not.
56minus1: Are you tired of doing ChinesePod podcasts? How long do you plan on doing this? Whats on the horizon for Jenny Zhu?
Jenny Zhu: My alter ego must be a flaming narcissist, because I completely in love being in the studio, and I’ve never felt tired of it. It also helps that we do a new lesson everyday. I won’t be in the ChinesePod podcasts forever though, but I hope to always be involved in some way. As I always say to this question, I hope to age gracefully on ChinesePod. In terms of future plans, most of my working life has been about mobile learning. That’s what I know and love. So I hope to remain in the field but extend beyond teaching Chinese. Well, that’s getting too geeky.
56minus1: In many ways ChinesePod is Jenny Zhu, but Jenny Zhu is certainly not just ChinesePod, what would ChinesePod do if / when you leave?
Jenny Zhu: That’s way too flattering. But much more powerful than my role is the core value of ChinesePod. It’s authentic, quirky and always pushing the envelope in learning. That will always stay no matter who hosts the lessons.
56minus1: What do you think of foreigners that live and work in China and dont speak Chinese? What value could they possible add to modern China?
Jenny Zhu: I think not everyone is in the situation that allows them to learn Chinese, especially if you are a busy professional. But I also think that attitude is important too, whether you embrace the life, culture, and language, etc. I lived overseas for 10 years and I benefitted hugely from learning a different language, because it opens the door to another world. But on the other hand, people who don’t speak Chinese bring something very valuable too: diversity. The fact that one can live here happily the way they are is very imporatnt in its own right.
56minus1: Recently there has been a big stir online in China about a Shanghai radio station that broadcasted a program in which the host said Shanghainese people speaking the local Shanghai dialect in public was a bad habit and that Shanghai people use it to show that they are superior to other Chinese people, foreigners, etc. You are Shanghainese (sorta), what are your thoughts on this? Do you think Shanghainese is a “bad habit” of a language? Your thoughts on local Shanghainese culture vs. non-Shanghainese Chinese or foreign culture?
Jenny Zhu: That’s not news. Shanghainese traditionally felt a sense of superiority over outsiders (Chinese from elsewhere and foreigners) because the city was the quintessential metroplis in China. And it was quite an exclusive and negative attitude. For many decades, some people would even express that quite openly, e.g. discriminating those who didn’t speak the dialect. But that has changed a lot now. There is such a large number of non-natives living in Shanghai, and that’s had a significant impact on how we define local identity and see non-locals. I think every city has to have its own defining character, but it should never be exclusive and dismissive of others. As with myself, although I’m native, I always spoke Mandarin at home. But when I was a kid, I did feel obliged to speak Shanghainese when I went out-and-about for reasons you talked about. However, I don’t feel that way now.
56minus1: Jenny Zhu is said to be hugely narcissistic, tell us about that.
Jenny Zhu: It’s official, I’m a self-confessed narcissist. But I think a healthy sense of narcissism is quite important to work of a performance nature. You need to be acutely aware of what you are doing and get yourself pumped in order to make the content engaging to the listener. That engagingness is especially important for an educational podcast.
56minus1: What did you think of Liu Xiang’s (lack of) performance in the Beijing Olympics?
Jenny Zhu: Seeing him exit the stadium was shocking and sad. But it’s good character building for us. We need to take the load off the poor kid and off sports in general .
56minus1: What about your new-ish blog, JennyZhu.com? When and why did you start that? Why is it in English? What kind of content are you focusing on?
Jenny Zhu: I started my blog right before the Olympics (wishing to capitalise on the hype). Well, what really drove me to blog is the implications of the China hype. There is a lot of curiosity, fascination but also misunderstanding about China and vice versa. And I think that affects us who live in a cross cultural environment on a very personal level. You want to observe and share your thoughts. I blog in English because a large chunk of my socialisation is in English, and that I hope the blog will be of some value to learners of Chinese or those interested in China.
56minus1: Everyone that knows you knows that you are a “5 dollar word” kind of person. Your English and Chinese vocabulary is mega impressive. Why is that? Are you trying too hard? Or, is it just a result of your passion for languages and linguistics?
Jenny Zhu: I’m rubbish at math, absolutely hopeless. But as often the case with those that don’t excel in math and science, I tend to be more of a language person. More importantly, I went to Singapore when I was 14 and was schooled in English for 10 years. It’s a combination of some talent, but mostly passion, hard work and TV. I came of age watching Jeopardy and David Letterman.
56minus1: Tell the world something it doesnt know about Jenny Zhu and won’t find out anywhere else.
Jenny Zhu: I’ve never gotten drunk in my life. But that’s because the most I’ve ever had to drink is a full glass of wine over the span of 2 hours. I think I’m dangerously safe, no?
56minus1: You probably have some online stalkers, tell us some details. Also, are you currently stalking anyone?
Jenny Zhu: Fortunately, I’m only aware of people who freqeuently comment on ChinesePod and my blog, not stalkers. Does checking on Taobao every 10 mins makes me a stalker?
56minus1: No.
56minus1: Ken Carroll’s Chinese is terrible, isnt it? Tell us how bad it is. And John Pasden, his Chinese is incredible…how good is it?
Jenny Zhu: Terrible? No way! Ken has a very authentic command of Chinese. Everything he says is structured in a way that a native would speak. He is a strong believer in the communicative approach to language learning. And he is the best embodiment of that, although he occasionally misses a tone. John Pasden, what more needs to be said about someone who completes his master’s in linguistics, all in Chinese! To quote a ChinesePod user, he is a ‘mountain of linguistic strength’. And they [Ken and John] are just awesome people.
56minus1: If you could vote in the upcoming US presidential election, who would you vote for?
Jenny Zhu: Obama! For reasons well reiterated. He really does respresent many core values that America is founded on, which are very powerful and inspiring universally.
56minus1: Whats your favorite color?
Jenny Zhu: White. Simple, clean.
56minus1: What do you want to learn more about in life / the world?
Jenny Zhu: Being at peace with myself and the world, live with gratitude and always always have passion for what happens in the world and doing something to make it slightly better.
56minus1: What are you listening to these days? Reading? Watching?
Jenny Zhu: I can’t function without The Economist, Open Source, HBR Idea Cast, the Bugle, the Daily Show, and Letterman. I’m also addicted to MadMen and Saturday Night Live.
56minus1: Thanks Jenny.
// AjS
