|
A third-grader from Hong Kong became this year's “story-telling king of the nation” last month.
With impeccable Putonghua pronunciation, well-executed tonal variation and lively performance, 8-year-old Zhang Weilin out-performed nearly 200 other contestants from all over the country to take the highest honor at the 15th Sun Jingxiu Cup National Children's Story Telling Contest held in Beijing in mid-August.
Weilin set a record for children from Hong Kong in this kind of contests by winning the special prize at the above-said national competition, where his team also came away with two second prizes and as many team awards for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).
Born in Canada and brought to Hong Kong before he turned one, Weilin has just begun third grade at the Shanghai Alumni Primary School here in Hong Kong. Because both his parents grew up speaking Putonghua (Mandarin) and then English, he is blessed with the gift of a multi-lingual environment, where he has learned to speak three languages (theoretically he speaks two languages – Chinese and English – while Cantonese is just a Chinese dialect).
The winning story he told at the national contest in Beijing is a product of family efforts. It tells about his early experience as a “mute” pupil who couldn't speak Cantonese at school but became a “budding star” when he shone in speaking Putonghua. Thanks to his vivid delivery and impeccable pronunciation, Weilin was the judges'favorite from the preliminary round to the final and eventually took home the top honor of national champion.
Weilin was very happy to have won the title of “story telling king”, though he had not thought of winning the contest. “I like story telling and I never have stage fright. My performance was OK, but others did very well, too.”
With his outstanding capabilities in speaking Putonghua and English, Weilin is often chosen as show host and to represent his school in recitation and story telling competitions. He has won more than 10 awards in such contests in the past two school years. 春生 譯
|
