履历片 (lǚ lì piàn)/Curriculum Vitae and other remarks.
Basic courtesy dictates I introduce myself before anything else. My journey, far from conventional, will be summarised here simply and concisely.
I was born and raised in Singapore, within a family with deep and diverse roots. My father is French, originally from Normandy, with a maternal Chinese grandmother from Zhejiang (1). As for my mother, she is Peranakan, a Singaporean mixed-race individual, half Malay (2) and half Singaporean Chinese, whose ancestors originated from Fujian (3).
In Asia, it's very common for one to be attached to a specific ethnic and/or religious group. This identity will follow you throughout your life, appearing on your identity documents and in various interviews. It forms the basis of many of your interactions with the outside world. In Singapore, this classification is based on the "CMIO" model (4). Biologically, I therefore carry 2/5 Caucasian blood, 2/5 Chinese blood (all ethnicities combined) and 1/5 Malay blood. My parents registered me at birth as Chinese, a choice more logical than 'mixed-race' or 'Eurasian', given my 'Guangxi peasant' face. As challenges never come alone, after a multitude of examinations, I was diagnosed as HPI (Highly Intellectually Gifted) (5) at the age of three. I then joined the government's GEP (Gifted Education Programme) (6), dedicated to supporting children with this particularity.
My entire schooling took place at the French School of Singapore (7). This academic journey was a true scholastic epic, worthy of a B-movie! I obtained my primary school leaving certificate at 10 (8), then entered secondary school directly, in the international section. At 14, I received my Baccalauréat in Economic and Social Sciences, OIB option (9), with mention très bien (highest honours), as well as the IGCSE (10) and the HSK (11). The following year, at 15, I joined the double degree programme at the National University of Singapore (12), and by 18, I had earned both my bachelors in Law and Business (13). It was then that I decided to fly to my paternal lands in France, eager to discover more about this identity that is mine and to continue my academic journey at the École du Louvre (14).
Growing up in Singapore and attending the French school made me perfectly polyglot: I speak fluent Chinese, English, French, and Malay. It must be said that in Singapore, polyglotism is the norm. We speak Singlish (15), a Creole language understood only by Singaporeans who grew up in the country. However, the vast majority of inhabitants also master three other essential languages: their mother tongue, English (the unifying official language), and Chinese, at least spoken, as it is the language of the majority and widely used in the workplace.
Finally, to conclude, beyond this biological patchwork, this bipartite statehood, immersed in the cultural confusions of the Far East and the West, the permanent HPI and chronic dyssynchronous person that I am still aspires to be like the great Meng Ke (孟轲): to believe in the innate goodness (人性善, rénxìng shàn) of humanity. Oh! Yes. Also. I have been practicing Wing Chun (16) since I was six years old.
Embun.
Enjoy your journey through my thoughts !
Pour la version française: https://6611a6877e7c2.site123.me/blog/%E5%B1%A5%E5%8E%86%E7%89%87-l%C7%9A-l%C3%AC-pi%C3%A0n-curriculum-vitae-et-%C3%A0-propos
想看中文版？点这里: https://6611a6877e7c2.site123.me/blog/%E5%B1%A5%E5%8E%86%E7%89%87
Notes.
1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhejiang
2: Indigenous people of Singapore.
3: She belongs, very precisely, to the Hoklo people by paternal descent. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peranakan_Chinese#Baba-Nyonya
4: For Chinese-Malay-Indian-Others (CMIO). See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_in_Singapore
5: Via the WISC-R (IQ 137) and MSAT tests. To learn more about HPI, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_giftednessI also had the immense honour of being the youngest member of Mensa Singapore at the age of 9. See: https://www.mensa.org.sg/
6: https://www.moe.gov.sg/education-in-sg/our-programmes/gifted-education/overview
7: https://www.ifs.edu.sg/
8: This refers to the PSLE (Primary School Leaving Examination). It is a set of uniform tests primarily focused on languages, maths, and sciences, which concludes primary education. The French school does not administer the PSLE, as it is a programme of Singaporean public schools (aka mainstream schools), but I took my test as a private candidate via the GEP process. This adds value for parents. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primary_School_Leaving_Examination
9: OIB stands for Option Internationale du Baccalauréat. At the time, the BFI (Baccalauréat Français International) did not exist. See: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baccalaur%C3%A9at_fran%C3%A7ais_international#:~:text=Pour%20obtenir%20l'indication%20%C2%ABoption,dans%20leur%20langue%20de%20section.
10: (Extended level) https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/programmes-and-qualifications/cambridge-upper-secondary/cambridge-igcse/
11: HSK stands for Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi. This is a test that assesses the proficiency in simplified Mandarin for foreign students and overseas Chinese. The HSK is internationally recognised and certified by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China.
12: https://nus.edu.sg/prog/bbalaw/
13: The bachelor's degree is an Anglophone qualification equivalent to the L3 (third year of Licence) in French universities. In my case, the LLB, from the Latin "Legum Baccalaureus" more commonly known as "Bachelor of Laws" (in business law) and the BBA for "Bachelor of Business Administration" (with a major in "business economics").
14: In Art Market Master's programme. See: https://www.ecoledulouvre.fr/fr/formations-etudiantes/le-deuxieme-cycle-de-lecole-du-louvre
15: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singlish
16: More precisely the Nan Yang style. I obtained my first duan (grade identical to Japanese dan) at 16 and my second at 18, which gives me the grade recognised in China as "5th practician grade" (Master grade).
