Italian teacher waxes lyrical about China

Alberto Casartelli, a bilingual composer and avid student of history, poetry and culture, expresses appreciation in songs

Alberto Casartelli, who became a teacher at Tianjin Foreign Studies University in September, is expected to see more students during the spring semester.

The 46-year-old teaches Italian language and culture courses, but because of COVID-19, all the courses were conducted online. For the new semester, which begins on Friday, students will return to school for in-person courses.

Casartelli's popularity comes partly from his role as an emerging singer and songwriter in China. He writes Chinese and Italian lyrics based on Chinese culture and old stories and once performed on national television broadcaster CCTV.

He said that his song Gli Amanti Farfalla (or Butterfly Lovers) is based on the ancient tale of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, the Chinese version of Romeo and Juliet.

"Since I came to China for the first time in 2014, I have been fascinated with ancient Chinese culture with its splendid history of art, music, poetry and philosophy," he said. "I was also impressed by the people's hospitality, which I have rarely seen elsewhere."

Early last year, he wrote a Chinese song to encourage people around the world to fight against COVID-19.

He cited the inspirational words of author Lu Xun (1881-1936) about "fighting with the pen" and then composed Our Struggle Together with his wife Liu Wei.

"Music is my greatest passion and has been part of my life since I was a child. It has no borders, so I think it's the perfect bridge between Italian and Chinese culture," he said.

"I have plenty of energy, so I've focused my will on bringing China and Italy closer, both as a teacher and as a musician."

Wen Ji, one of Casartelli's students, called him "a very learned professor".

Wen said that the classes are interactive, and Casartelli is keen on getting students to express themselves.

"We are more like friends. He promised to teach me how to write a song," Wen added.

Casartelli previously taught English and art history in Italy. He also taught Western art history at the Communication University of Zhejiang in 2014.