Richard Sears, an American enthusiast for the Chinese language, has contributed 20 years to the study and research of Chinese characters. And he is still on the path to uncover the secrets of Chinese word evolution.
First establishing a relationship with the Chinese language in 1972, Richard has set up his own website on Chinese character etymology and has been dubbed the “Chinese character uncle.”
Earlier this month, he appeared on "The Reader", a hit China Central Television (CCTV) show allowing people to share their personal experiences in reading. He chose to read “Lou Shi Ming”, a short essay from Tang Dynasty.
Richard Sears reads "Lou Shi Ming" on The Reader, a CCTV show. /The Reader Screenshot
“I am not old. I will continue working [on the Chinese language] till 80,” the 66-year-old said.
Though Richard has built up his own language website and appeared on screen, his roots aren't in linguistics - he studied physics and computer science at university.
China's first dictionary to analyze Chinese characters, Shuo Wen Jie Zi
To delve into a language which was totally new to him, Richard spent almost seven years computerizing 100,000 glyphs from “Shuo Wen Jie Zi”, China’s first dictionary to analyze the structure and etymology of Chinese characters, “Liu Shu Tong”, a book on research of character evolution, and “Jin Wen Bian." He paid for assistants and travel expenses out of his own pocket to collect materials to research the Chinese language.
Richard Sears was presented with an award at China Light, a ceremony celebrating people who spread Chinese culture. /VCG Photo
Richard lost his job in 2007, but it did not affect his enthusiasm for Chinese. He flew to China to share his research on the Chinese language in the media and at universities. His experiences were even made into documentaries in China.
Richard now says he has received a job invitation from Tsinghua University in Beijing - and has accepted.
“I have seen China as my home,” he added.
