Published: 12:42 AM, 03 November 2026
Languages Connect the World, Rivers Connect Souls
Swiss philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein once said “The limits of my language means the limits of my world”. When someone suffers from a shortage of lingual self-sufficiency, dealing with the diversified world with billions of people speaking a broad spectrum of different languages becomes more than a tough job. Learning at least two additional foreign languages on top of Bengali and English is a crucial prerequisite these days for Bangladesh to move forward. Particularly the youths across Bangladesh have, sorry to say, very poor language proficiency which has been once again proven beyond doubts through this year’s Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) exams in which students have drastically failed in English language and mathematics. Most of the public universities all over Bangladesh teach a few foreign languages like French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian and German. When I was a student in University of Chittagong, the university offered us a one year long French language course free of cost. Later on when I travelled to Moscow State University for my second Masters, I learned Russian language. These two additional foreign languages—Russian and French, assisted me profusely when I afterwards visited another few European countries.
In an interconnected world, languages play the role of a bridgework that affiliates us with people from various countries and continents. We have read in travel stories by famed Bangladeshi author Syed Mujtaba Ali how he encountered interesting eventualities competently in Russia, Afghanistan, Germany and many more countries by virtue of his multilingual expertise. Dr. Muhammad Shahidullah was another giant in the field of linguistic studies who had command over seventeen languages. It hurts us to see that in a country where incomparable legends like Dr. Muhammad Shahidullah and Syed Mujtaba Ali were born and flourished, in the same country at present we come across university graduates whose poor skills in Bengali and English languages sabotage their pursuit for good jobs.
I have begun this write-up with a sizeable preface because I am going to portray my evaluation about a compilation of well-written articles on the alliance between Bangladesh and China and the way forward authored by retired Lt. Colonel Md. Shahadat Hossain. This retired military officer has unleashed his mettle by launching a book titled “Hope of Padma-Yangtze: Language Connects the World” which contains 14 (fourteen) in-depth articles, opinion pieces and memory recalls associated with China spotlighting a special focus on the longstanding ties between Dhaka and Beijing with suggestions, experiences and feedback about how this tested and proven relationship between these two friendly countries can be further consolidated for the betterment of both sides.
China is a vast country with 1,404,890,000 people according to a calculation carried out in 2025. China is one of the very few countries in the Global South which has been able to transform its population into human capital. Chinese people have always played dexterous roles in advancing their country on economic, technological, scientific, maritime, educational, medical, industrial and military fronts. It goes without saying that China is a formidable superpower and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. It has hit news headlines over and over again that business development officials in the European Union (EU) member countries have been learning Chinese language in order to build up sound commercial ties with Chinese industries. China is the present world’s manufacturing hub. There is no country in the world in broad terms where people don’t see goods with the label “Made in China”. This is how China has made itself indispensable all over the globe in terms of producing apparels, toys, military equipment, artificial intelligence (AI) tools, electronics, utensils, spaceships, motor vehicles etcetera.
China is a vital development partner to Bangladesh. A great deal of infrastructural projects in Bangladesh are being implemented by Chinese engineers and with China’s financial assistance. Like Bangladesh, China is also traversed thoroughly by rivers. Languages and rivers are often analogous. These two things change their pathways as they flow on. American author Ralph Waldo Emerson once said “Just like a river, language keeps moving even when things get rocky”. Human civilization would not have grown this far without the contribution of rivers. Egyptian civilization thrived on the shores of River Neil. The Ganges Valley is an inseparable part of civilizations in South Asia. Amazon River is the source of life and biodiversity in Latin America. Volga is the lifeline of Russia. Rivers and languages are two fastest proceeding entities in the world. Nobel Prize winner British author TS Eliot once said “For last year's words belong to last year's language and next year's words await another voice.” This watchword from TS Eliot reminds us of the ever undulating physiognomy of languages. A language contains nothing which is invariable. It continues to change with the passage of time and the individuals who can precisely adapt to these lingual changes make the most of their language aptitude.
Md. Shahadat Hossain’s articles range from geopolitical dimensions to trade and investment and knowledge exchange going on between China and Bangladesh and he emphatically ponders on many more potentialities that are still waiting to be explored for the future benefits of these two countries. The articles in Md. Shahadat Hossain’s book are bilingual. Readers convenient with either Bengali or English can go through these articles and can enlighten themselves. In the article titled “99 Years of the People’s Liberation Army” Md. Shahadat Hossain recalls his passionate bonds with China in the following words “My association with the PLA has never been confined to academic observation. During my military career, I had the privilege of serving as an interpreter on numerous occasions involving senior political and military leaders of Bangladesh and China”. This article was published in Southeast Asia Journal on 13 August 2026.
In another article published in The Financial Express on 11 September 2026 titled “Bangladeshis Need to Learn Chinese Language” Md. Shahadat Hossain wrote “A Bangladeshi technician, engineer, electrician, construction supervisor, IT professional, hospitality worker or business executive who can communicate in Chinese can potentially compete for opportunities associated with Chinese enterprises in Bangladesh and overseas”. This proposition from Md. Shahadat Hossain deserves deep reflection because Bangladesh for the most part depends on two economic pillars--readymade garments and remittances from expatriate Bangladeshis.
This book incorporates some precious photographs showing Md. Shahadat Hossain with former Bangladesh Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, former General of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Zhang Wannian, present Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman with Chinese President Xi Jinping and so on. Md. Shahadat Hossain is a versatile scholar. He has so far taught Chinese language to more than 3500 students. He graduated in Chinese language from Beijing Language and Culture University. Md. Shahadat Hossain’s profile is also decorated with an MBA in Marketing and Masters in Defence Studies. He is the founder and General Secretary and Senior Research Fellow of We Speak Chinese Club Bangladesh Limited (WSCC). He achieved the prestigious China-Bangladesh Friendship Award 2023. His essays comprehensively touch upon China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and One Belt One Road (OBOR) strategies.
The book “Hope of Padma-Yangtze: Language Connects the World” contains 121 pages. It was published by WSCC in 2026 and its price is BDT 300/- only. Readers interested to acquire up-to-date knowledge on Bangladesh-China relations will find this book very much insightful and beneficial.
Mahfuz Ul Hasib Chowdhury is
a contributor to different English
newspapers and magazines.
The writer is also a Commonwealth
Open University Fellow.
