CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- The 15th UN Chinese Language Day is held on April 20, 2024.  On that day, many foreign nationals are studying Chinese to gain a better understanding of China, visit China, and promote China to the world, and they gradually fall in love with China. Francis Stonier, a foreign teacher working at the Department of Education of Southwest University in Chongqing, is one of them.

When Chongqing was battling wildfires caused by extreme heat waves in August 2022, people from all walks of life voluntarily pitched in to jointly extinguish the raging flames. Francis Stonier, carrying supplies on his back and holding a chainsaw, joined firefighting volunteers and was affectionately called ‘the true friend of Chinese’ and ‘the real brother of Chongqing and Sichuan people’.

Our reporter met Francis Stonier on the 15th UN Chinese Language Day, and he shared with us his story of learning Chinese.

The bilingual academic monograph by Francis Stonier to be published in Chongqing in July

Many people know Francis Stonier because he lent a helping hand to Chongqing in the battles against wildfires, but a few of them know that it was through learning Chinese and participating in academic and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries that Francis Stonier gained a better understanding of China, fell in love with China, and finally had a family in Chongqing, China.

Francis Stonier is now a foreign expert at the Department of Education of Southwest University and the first academic leader in STEAM education (interdisciplinary comprehensive education) in Chinese colleges and universities. He is also known as the ‘magical professor’ at Southwest University.

Professor Francis Stonier, 44 years old, comes from Virginia, USA. While studying for a Ph.D. in education at Old Dominion University in his hometown, he met Dr. Dwight W. Allen, the advisor for whom he had the greatest esteem. Dr. Dwight W. Allen, who served as the education adviser of former President Nixon and is recognized as the preeminent scholar in education reform by the American academic circle, has devoted his life to normal education and curriculum reform. He is not just an education reformer but an ‘expert in Chinese’. Imperceptibly influenced by his advisor Dr. Dwight W. Allen, Francis Stonier became interested in China and wished to experience the Chinese culture.

Francis Stonier came to Chengdu, China for the first time as an academic exchange personnel in 2008, and it was only a few months before he fell in love with China. Since then, he has traveled to more than 20 cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an, Guangzhou, and Chongqing. As his favorite cities were Chengdu and Chongqing, he often visited the two cities and finally started a family in Chongqing, China.

Invited by Southwest University in 2018, Francis Stonier began to serve as a foreign teacher in the Curriculum and Teaching program at the Department of Education of Southwest University, with a main research field in the internationally popular STEAM education. STEAM education is a holistic and interdisciplinary approach to learning that combines science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics and aims at training the abilities of young people in an all-round way. It is where our education economy is heading. With the assistance and support of Southwest University, Francis Stonier finished his bilingual academic monograph ‘Professor Francis Stonier’s Scientific STEAM Education’, which summed up the latest international research achievements in STEAM education and his teaching practice in Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Chongqing during the period from 2018 to the present. Southwest University Press has finished compiling the bilingual academic monograph, which will be published in July this year.

A lover of Chongqing

Wish to learn more authentic Chongqing dialect

“I love Chongqing. I love its people and good food,” said Francis Stonier. Chongqing is an international metropolis with openness and inclusiveness, where people are warm-hearted and friendly and various bridges are innovatively built, he added. Chongqing is the city with the most bridges he has ever seen in the world! Besides, the beautiful mountains and rivers have made Chongqing a livable place. Francis Stonier likes Beibei best, the ‘backyard of Chongqing’, where some of his colleagues and students are living.

Miss Liang, the wife of Francis Stonier, said that despite being a foreign national, Francis Stonier was born with a ‘Sichuan-Chongqing stomach’. Francis Stonier seldom eats western food in Chongqing; he likes to have braised chicken, the specialty of Southwest University, ‘Dandan noodles (Sichuan noodles with peppery sauce)’, fried rice with eggs, spicy diced chicken (also known as Kung Pao Chicken. Chongqing barbecues are his favorites, and he often has a barbecue with his 7-year-old daughter.

Francis Stonier said that though he has been learning Chinese, he still has room for improvement. He wants to learn more about the Chongqing dialect, as it sounds sonorous and forceful. The most authentic Chongqing dialect he speaks is ‘Chongqing, Xiong Qi (cheer up)!’

In the interview, Francis Stonier showed us the Chongqing social security card for which Southwest University helped him apply. "Chongqing is my second hometown. I’m currently applying for a permanent Chinese residence card in the hope that I will retire and live in Chongqing in the future."

Generate 3D-printed Chinese loong

Make lanterns and dumplings

Francis Stonier showed us around his teaching room filled with handmade works by children from rural elementary schools all over Chongqing: programmed robots, line drawings, Chinese lanterns, 3D-printed animals, character models, etc.

The reason why Francis Stonier is called the ‘Magic Professor’ by his colleagues and students lies in the fact that he is very knowledgeable about every subject, and he is competent at working with his hands. With abilities in computer programming, assembling robots, and 3D-printed design modeling, Francis Stonier leads students in imitation of seismograph models and compasses and even guides other foreign teachers and international students to make Chinese kites, lanterns, paper-cutting works, as well as dumplings, dumplings, tangyuan (dumplings made of glutinous rice flour served in soup), and zongzi (traditional Chinese rice-pudding).

In 2024, the year of loong, Francis Stonier guided more than 20 Chinese students and over 10 international students to produce 100 golden Chinese loong patterns with 3D printing technology. These 3D-printed patterns were given to his foreign colleagues and Chinese friends as Spring Festival gifts, which were well-received.

Francis Stonier told us that these ‘magical’ abilities display the practical significance of STEAM education in our daily lives.

Give tens of thousands of dollars for public welfare every year

Tell China’s stories to the world

Speaking of the battles against wildfires in Chongqing, Miss Liang told us that charity is an important part of Francis' life. "Every year, he spends 20-30% of his salary on charity. He often says that we should always be grateful for our beautiful life, and the fragrance always stays in the hand that gives the rose.”

In 2023, Francis Stonier donated more than CNY50,000 to fund-raising platforms in China, helping those who are seriously ill, buying clothes for the elderly in rural nursing homes in Jiangjin, presenting computer desks and chairs to the children in Tianfu Primary School in Beibei, and purchasing bookshelves for rural teachers...

At the same time, Francis Stonier participated in various public welfare activities, such as providing public welfare training for teachers in Chongqing, volunteering as a judge for the Youth Environment and Nature Competition organized by the Chongqing Natural History Museum, and joining the construction of a child-friendly city in Chongqing.

Additionally, Francis Stonier helped Wushan County organize international youth study tours, served as a cultural tourism ambassador for Hechuan Diaoyu Fortress, and was an international spokesman for Yongchuan Xiuya.

Francis Stonier said he would like to tell the stories of China and Chongqing in a way that is easy for foreigners to understand, and show the world a three-dimensional and comprehensive image of China. (Translated by Yuki, Fathom Language Limited)