YEREVAN — Foeng Yang Ming, a Chinese student at Yerevan State University, has gained recognition among many people in Armenia for his fluency in Armenian, interviews, and roles as a presenter and actor on Public Television of Armenia. Originally from Guangzhou, China, Foeng pursued his undergraduate studies for six years at Ahmad Dahlan University in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Indonesian-Malay languages and literature. In 2018, Foeng enrolled in the Department of Armenian Language and Literature at Yerevan State University while simultaneously engaging in various professional endeavors. He served as the host of the “Aravot Luso” (Morning Light) TV program on the RA Public TV Company and acted in the comedy “Our Yard: 25 Years Later” (2021) and television series. Additionally, he volunteered with refugees of the Artsakh war. Currently, Foeng holds teaching positions at the Gazprom Armenia educational and sports complex, and serves as the head of the Chinese language department at the Yerevan Smart Academy.
Dear Foeng, you are from Guangzhou, formerly Canton. Did you know that Armenians lived there in the Middle Ages and even had a church?
I did not know about the Armenians of Guangzhou. When I was very young, I read an English book about Armenian history, from which I learned about the Armenians of South China, Singapore and Indonesia. Since I have a little Indonesian blood, I went to study in Indonesia and encountered remnants of Armenian influence, such as the “Raffles” hotel in Surabaya. You can find Armenians in different places: China, Indonesia, Japan. When I was little, I really wanted to go to Brazil, discover the Amazon, it is an interesting country, and I was very surprised to learn that right there, in the city of Manaus, there is a stadium called Petrosyan. What business does a man of the people living in the mountains have in the middle of the Brazilian forest? Also, Armenians and Chinese share some similarities. Both our histories have elements of bitterness and sadness, which have led us to disperse to different corners of the world, whether those regions are by the seashore or in the mountains. Wherever I go, I am certain to encounter people of both nationalities: Chinese and Armenian.
Did you come to Armenia just to learn Armenian? Becoming an Armenologist cannot get you a good job, right?
Yes, knowing Armenian in China does not necessarily provide any advantage. My aim was simply to explore various corners of the world, whether they were familiar or unfamiliar. However, not everything revolves around money and work for us. Having a richer life experience holds more significance than simply getting rich. I arrived in Armenia through the student exchange program between Yerevan State University and Beijing University of Foreign Studies. Consequently, there are now other Chinese students in the Armenian Faculty of Philology.
And now you also have students here.
