Jacques Chirac: a lifelong "China addict"

Since General Charles de Gaulle, nearly every French president has had an unusual connection with China. However, Jacques Chirac, the current President of France, claims to be the biggest "China addict".

The truant visits the Oriental Art Exhibition

In a new biography entitled "L'Inconnu De L'Elysee (The Stranger in the Elysee Palace)" published by Fayard earlier this year, Chirac said that he fell deeply in love with Chinese culture while just a child. As a high school student in Paris, he was not allowed to leave school frequently. However, Chirac snuck out of school to see an exhibition at the Oriental Art Museum. Chirac also revealed that he was engaged in archaeological studies in a remote area of western China in the early 1970s.

First foreigner to visit site of Terracotta Warriors

Chirac, visiting China as mayor of Paris in 1978, was the first foreigner to visit the site of the Terracotta Warriors. It was then that he pronounced the warriors the 8th Wonder of the World. Later his words were quoted by Chinese media. Many foreign visitors have followed in his footsteps and visited the Terracotta Warriors.

As mayor of Paris, Chirac encouraged local museums to collect Chinese antiquities. Since becoming the French president, he has endeavored to promote relations between the two countries.

Chirac will write a screenplay about Li Bai after retirement

Chirac is particularly fond of the Chinese culture of the Sui and Tang Dynasty. During his visit to Yangzhou in October 2000, he proposed a visit to the Grand Canal. Chirac actually knew a lot about the Grand Canal, and once asked a Chinese official, "How many emperors were there in the Sui Dynasty?" The Chinese official replied that there were two, Emperors Sui Wen and Sui Yang. Chirac immediately corrected him. "There were three. The third was Emperor Sui Gong. He ascended the throne in AD 607 when he was five years old, but lost power the following year. Later the Chinese official looked this up, and found that Chirac was correct.

An official from the Chinese Ministry of Culture revealed that Chirac remembers clearly how many years older Li Bai was than Du Fu (two famous poets that lived in the Tang Dynasty). He once said that after he retired he would write a screenplay about Li Bai and invite Gong Li to play the role of Yang Yuhuan.

By People's Daily Online