But on Taiwan there are 263 students who say it is not as hard as many think.
They ought to know, because they are studying Chinese daily.
Thirty-four of them are enrolled in Chinese public primary schools, holding their own with those who have listened to the Chinese language since birth.
Eighty pupils are in junior or senior middle schools. The largest group—149—are students in undergraduate and graduate work at colleges and universities.
Twenty-one nations are represented. Korea has an enrollment of 102 to rank first. Vietnam is second with 49 and the United States third with 32.
Then come Japan, 25; the Ryukyus, 13; Thailand, 10; Canada, 6; the Philippines, 6; France, 3; the Dominican Republic, 2; Germany, 2; Malaya, 2; South Africa, 2, and one each from Australia, Austria, Belgium, New Zealand, Peru, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.
All receive precisely the same education as their Chinese classmates. Ordinarily, their spoken language quickly becomes adequate. For older students, mastery of the Chinese characters does not come so easily.
Elementary pupils study the Chinese language, mathematics, civics, history, geography, and science.
A brother and two sisters are among those attending primary school. Innis Phillips, 8, the boy, was winner of a 1961 Mandarin dialect oratorical contest for foreign pupils.
His sisters are Hope, 11, who began attending Chinese schools at the kindergarten level and has now reached the sixth grade, and Honor, 6. They were second and third in the contest.
Innis, Hope and Honor are the children of Captain and Mrs. Robert Allen Phillips. Capt. Phillips is the commanding officer of the U.S. Naval Auxiliary Medical Research Unit No. 2 in Taipei. Mrs. Phillips teaches at the Taipei American School and the National Taiwan University.
Innis attests that he speaks English only with Western friends. He is more facile in Chinese and even writes it better than English.
Culturally, he is quite at home. As with any Chinese boy, he knows the life story of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the tales of Ssu Ma Kuang and Hsi Yu Chi, the delicious taste of Peking duck and the crispness of Szechuan pickles.
"I see no difference between him and the Chinese pupils," said Miss K. M. May of Tsai Hsing Primary School, "except that his hair is brown and eyes are blue."
The 11-year-old Hope has many Chinese playmates. She sees little difference between Chinese and Western culture—except that she prefers bread and butter to rice.
Her language interest has motivated her to consistent marks of 90 or above in Chinese. Not many Chinese pupils do as well.
"I think I could have scored 100 except for compositions," she said. "In Chinese, no one is that perfect."
Hope has a good hand for writing the characters. She holds her brush correctly and makes every stroke and line with delicacy. Calligraphy is as important an accomplishment for Chinese women as piano is to ladies of the West.
Their teachers say the Phillips youngsters have absorbed Chinese ways of behavior and thought. They are enthusiastic about all school activities, including the raising of funds for refugees. Innis and Honor recently contributed NT$200 (US$5) each, while Hope gave NT$201. The extra New Taiwan dollar came from her pocket money.
Of the 149 college and university students, 77 are at the National Taiwan University. The rest are at five other schools. Twenty-six have scholarships from the Chinese government.
Graduate Work
Opportunities for research are excellent. National Taiwan University has graduate work in 17 subjects including Chinese literature, history, philosophy, archaeology, anthropology, political science, law and economics.
Near Taipei is the Academia Sinica with its outstanding collections of source materials in modern and ancient Chinese law and history. For students of nuclear science, there is the new reactor at the National Tsinghua University.
Most graduate students are enrolled in the humanities, social sciences, natural science, engineering, medical science and agriculture.
The period of stay varies from a few months to several years. Students who come to learn Mandarin are usually enrolled in the Mandarin Center of the Provincial Normal University.
Annick is costumed for a Chinese folk dance (File photo)
Annick Leflock, a French student, has been here nearly nine months. She has attended the Mandarin Center and lived with a Chinese family.
"That's the best way to learn," she said.
Her interest in Chinese art and literature is lifelong. She hopes to teach Chinese in her own country.
Annick said she enjoys Chinese food, especially Peking duck. She plans to learn enough Chinese cooking so she can prepare a few dishes for her friends in France.
Chinese folk dancing is another of her interests. Annick now has a repertoire of four traditional Chinese dances which she will perform for her family and friends when she goes back to France.
She also wants to have a room decorated in Oriental style. She will acquire carved camphorwood chests to take home.
Asked her opinion of Chinese students, she said she finds the girls friendly, but the boys "reserved, conservative and shy."
Cultural Exchange
Kassim bin Maon, 28, of Malaya, has been studying diplomacy at the National Chengchi University for four years. He will return to Malaya soon where he hopes to join the foreign service and work toward the increase of cultural exchange between China and Malaya.
Kassim has just graduated from college (File photo)
Kassim's interest in Chinese came about partly through his father's wishes, partly because he has always admired Chinese culture. His father often has to deal with Chinese merchants and hopes that one of his sons will take over this part of the family business.
He is a diligent student. For four years he has received a foreign student's scholarship, NT$800 (US$20) a month granted by the Chinese government.
"I have worked pretty hard," he said, "but couldn't have done it without encouragement from my professors at Chengchi.
"I have made so many friends in Chengchi, I wish I could remain a student there forever. I feel so sad at the thought of leaving."
Dormitory Life
Kassim shares dormitory life with the Chinese students, eats with them and joins in their extracurricular activities.
"I am accustomed to the Chinese way of life now," he continued. "Besides, I enjoy Chinese food, especially Szechuan dishes."
During the holidays, Kassim has gone around the island and observed all aspects of life in Taiwan.
"There is no difference between the rich and poor—no class distinctions. I have never seen a beggar in the streets.
"One thing that surprised me at first was how lively and active the school children are. And they all speak perfect Mandarin no matter what their family dialect may be."
Kassim himself is a linguist. He speaks Malay, English, Mandarin and the Amoy dialect.
Sometimes, one hears foreign students speaking broken Chinese. These are the newcomers. In the dining hall, a sudden burst of laughter may mean that a new arrival is having his first encounter with unfamiliar chopsticks.
Riza Bekin works on an assignment (File photo)
Riza Bekin spoke no Chinese when he first came from Turkey. He had been a student in the University of Ankara; now he is a junior at the National Chengchi University.
"Most of my friends went to Western countries to study and they urged me to go with them," he said. "But I had studied Chinese history in Turkey and I wanted to learn the language too.
"Very few people in my country know Chinese. I want to go back to the University of Ankara to teach Chinese there."
New Language
It takes great courage for a student to come to a strange country without knowing the language. Bekin started out by auditing courses in the Department of History at the National Taiwan University. Later he joined the Mandarin Center and concentrated on the language. He started with bur pur mur fur—the phonetics—and is gradually working his way to the classics.
After acquiring enough knowledge of the Chinese language, he entered Chengchi University in September, 1961.
At Chengchi, Bekin attends a few lectures every day. The rest of the time, he exchanges Turkish language lessons for Chinese with students at the university.
All his friends have noticed great progress in Bekin's speaking ability. He can now write his examination papers in Chinese.
"There are times when I can't express myself adequately in Chinese. So my papers are still dotted with English here and there," he admitted.
Bekin hopes to graduate next year.
William Wycoff leaves for class in pedicab (File photo)
Unlike Bekin, William A. Wycoff, 26, already spoke fluent Mandarin when he first came from the United States.
William stepped down into the atmosphere of the Orient for the first time at Taipei's Sungshan Airport. He was eager to put his Chinese into practice and started with the taxi driver.
Startled at his fluency, the driver stared at him in awe, then repeated in English, "To the International House, sir?"
William has been in Taipei a month. He speaks Mandarin at every opportunity and has tried to adopt Chinese customs.
"You speak good Mandarin," he is often told.
"Na li, na li," he answers with typical Chinese modesty, meaning "not at all, not at all."
William graduated from Grinnell College in 1958 and has a M.A. degree from Columbia University. He is now working for a doctorate in the Department of Chinese and Japanese at Columbia.
Bicycle Trips
He has pedaled a bicycle to many parts of the island. With his knowledge of Chinese and the help of a map, William has encountered no difficulties on these trips.
George Weys of the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, is also in Taiwan to brush up his Mandarin.
As a lecturer in classical Chinese, he feels a good speaking knowledge of Mandarin is essential. He attends eight periods a week at the Mandarin Center.
The English scholar arrived here in March of this year and intends to stay for six months. Accompanying him are his wife and their eight-year-old daughter.
The Weys family live as the Chinese do. They have a Chinese cook and usually eat Chinese-style meals. Mrs. Weys is learning Mandarin and communicates with the cook and a maid-servant in Chinese.
Weys has a thorough knowledge of the Chinese classics. A Chinese student once confessed that though he is Chinese, he knows less about the Three Hundred Poems of the Tang Dynasty than this scholar from abroad.
The bearded, gentle-mannered scholar can be seen in book stores, browsing for rare Chinese books. He often takes his wife and daughter to Peking opera performances.
Wan-sook hitches ride on brother's bike (File photo)
Not all foreign students are from far-away places. Kay Wan-sook, 22, and Kay Hyoungsik, 20, are from Korea. Wan-sook is a coed in her junior year at the National Taiwan University studying pharmacology. Her brother, Hyoung-sik, just graduated from the Chung Hsing Middle School.
Brother and Sister
"We did not know any Chinese before we came," they said. The brother and sister came to Taiwan with their family in May, 1959. Their father is a missionary.
Wan-sook thinks girls in Taiwan are more active than in her native Korea.
"The first time I came here I was surprised to see so many girls riding bicycles in the streets with such a carefree air. In Korea, girls rarely do so."
As for Hyoung-sik, he also has found differences between young Korean students and students here.
"Korean students are often caught up in politics," he said, "but Chinese students put all their energy into studying."
The number of foreign students in free China is not very great. But each will take home a little bit of Chinese culture. As Kassim said, "I hope to come back at least once or twice in the future."
The educational system in China offers many opportunities for students, both Chinese and foreign. Better laboratory equipment, a more forward-looking science curriculum and increased audio-visual aids are some of the steps being taken to streamline education in free China.
Most important of all to the foreign students are facilities for concentrated study of Mandarin.
Mandarin Center
The Mandarin Center of the Provincial Normal University was established in 1956 at the request of universities in the United States to help American students in learning to speak Mandarin.
Enrollment is not limited to American students. Any foreign student who wants to learn Mandarin is allowed to use the center's facilities. No special qualifications are needed for admission.
There are now 38 students at the Mandarin Center. Most come from the United States, but others are from Japan, England, Korea, Sweden, Belgium and Norway. Most take individual lessons, but those with more or less the same degree of proficiency also learn in pairs.
The Mandarin Center offers three courses—elementary, intermediate and advanced. For beginners, the Yale system is used. The complete elementary course consists of about 220 hours of study. The intermediate course is completed in about 500 hours while there is no limit for advanced students.