A Chinese film-maker shows Ireland to an audience of 500 million, writes Zak Murtagh
Linfeng Xue suggests we meet in the Good World restaurant on Dublin's George's Street, where she promises they'll serve tea until it's time for the dim sum evening menu. Xue should know. The 42-year-old documentary film-maker has spent seven years in Ireland working with the Chinese community for her series, Root in the East.
The documentaries have been broadcast by the state-owned China Central Television network, a global Chinese channel called Phoenix and by at least 10 other provincial channels. A conservative estimate would indicate that each of her documentaries has an audience of more than 500 million. Xue's Root in the East was also the first series on Chinese television to focus directly on Ireland.
Her original idea for the films was to concentrate on the small but well-established group of Cantonese people who came here mostly from Hong Kong; now she admits the 22-part series has evolved into much more than that. "I began making the series in 1999 and by 2001 more and more mainland Chinese were coming to Dublin," Xue says. "I realised that I couldn't tell the story of the Chinese here without learning some of Ireland's cultural and social history first - issues such as emigration, the role of religion and the struggle for independence. I knew my films were going to be the first thing that the majority of Chinese viewers had ever seen about Ireland, so it's my responsibility to give an accurate representation," she explains.
"After the documentaries were aired, I received many e-mails and phone calls from Chinese people asking my advice about going to Ireland for work and study."
Xue studied literature in her native Beijing and claims the discovery of translated works by Joyce and Beckett were what initially attracted her to Ireland. "I was fascinated that so many famous writers came from such a small country," she says. However, Xue is aware young Chinese have different role models and reasons for coming now. "When a lot of young Chinese think of Ireland, they think of Riverdance or Westlife. And the IT industry, of course," she adds.
Making the 22 documentaries that comprise Root in the East has brought Xue all over Ireland. The themes of the documentaries have varied considerably. One, about Irish traditional music, was shot in Sligo; another filmed President Mary McAleese on her visit to Beijing. But the series concentrates on the mundane - and often difficult - experiences Chinese people encounter when trying to find accommodation and English-language schools.
"One part of the series was about a young Chinese student in Dublin who moved 10 times in six months," Xue says. "A mixture of pride and bad landlords meant he was forced to live under a bridge at one point." Another of the documentaries concerned a Chinese businessman whose car was broken into in Limerick city. Xue filmed the reaction of the Garda to the incident to reassure her viewers that the Garda treat crimes against all nationalities in the same manner.
Her determination not to show Ireland in the John Hinde picture-postcard sense has won Xue acclaim in both Chinese and Irish circles. "You have to show both sides. Overall, Ireland is a very welcoming place for Chinese. But I have come across rip-off accommodation and some bad English- language schools where they promise a certificate so long as the student pays the fees." Travelling frequently between Ireland and China, during a period when both economies have grown remarkably, has allowed Xue to compare how the boom times have affected the societies. "Chinese cities are becoming richer but the rural areas are still very poor. Here the country is still green. In China it's different. Lack of infrastructure in country villages means most of the houses are without running water or electricity. Even the great rivers are becoming polluted."
Xue says we could learn from the Chinese about protecting our heritage, at least in the culinary sense. "Maybe Ireland's prosperity is making people forget their past. In China we are very careful to remember our traditions, such as food recipes which are thousands of years old. Young Irish people seem to prefer food from other countries." By offering dim sum at teatime, perhaps Xue is partly to blame.
Linfeng Xue's Exploring Ireland, a film reflecting on her work in Ireland shows at the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin Castle, as part of its Chinese Spring Festival programme on Sat, Feb 25, at 4pm.