Because of these， Dana regards Lao Zi， Confucius and Sun Zi as her“three boyfriends”。 She said， “these three books are the best philosophicworks， supplementing one another， and have become my lifeguidelines. When asked about her expectation for life and the significance oflife， Dr. Schuppert said， “traditional Chinese culture tells people that286 the best philosophy of life is to lead a life of health， knowledge andfriendship.” From this we see her own unique comprehension of life.
Dr. Schuppert thinks that traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）
is a part of the traditional Chinese culture. She believes that herbs arethe most natural medicine， and best suited to the circulatory functionof the human body. She delivered a paper entitled “How Can the TraditionalChinese Medicine Industry Use European Capital” at the 20thBozhou National TCM Trade Fair and the 1st Traditional ChineseMedicine Exposition held in China’s Anhui Province in August 2004，arousing much attention among the participates at the meeting.
During the interview， she recited verses from a poem written byLi Bai （701-762）， a great poet of the Tang Dynasty （618-907）， “Froma pot of wine among the flowers I drank alone. There was no one withme — Till， raising my cup， I asked the bright moon to bring me myshadow and make us three.” The verses express the exact feeling ofthe poet， she said. She also told me that this is one of her favorite poemsof the Tang Dynasty.
In her view， Chinese people are so lucky to have such beautifullines of poetry. Dana said that no other country in the world has anuninterrupted history of over 5，000 years， like China. A country withsuch a long and profound culture is sure to have a healthy and harmoniousdevelopment in the future.
The Chinese culture has its own uniqueness and profundity. As aforeigner living in China， has Dr. Schuppert encountered any culturalconflicts? Are there any inconveniences in her life? “No， absolutelynot，” she replied. “I have completely adapted to the Chinese culture. Itseems that it was fate that brought me to China. Then we naturally came to the topic of the Starbucks coffeeshop inside Beijing’s Forbidden City， which had occasioned a debateon whether the Starbucks would do damage to the Forbidden City orwhether it could be in harmony with the Forbidden City. Dana saidresolutely in her clear but nonstandard Chinese： “No good， no good.
The Starbucks doesn’t fit with the Forbidden City. It should move outimmediately. It damages Chinese culture. Dr. Schuppert believes that “language is the key to culture andmutual understanding. Language and communication are most importantto human life.” She started to learn Chinese in 1992 when she firstcame to China. In her opinion， Chinese is a great language which iswell linked with its history and culture. She likes the Chinese languagevery much.
Discussing her experience of learning Chinese， she said with asmile that she always tries to express herself in Chinese during her leisuretime， no matter at the airport or the office. Although she can onlyuse simple Chinese words and expressions， she has never doubted herability to learn Chinese. She has a great gift for language learning， andcan speak eight languages now.
When we talked about how to let foreigners better understandChinese culture， she said， “Only those who have come to China andhave experience in China can really understand Chinese culture. Forthose who don’t have the chance to visit China， the media can play animportant role in introducing the country. According to her own experiences， Dr. Schuppert advised thatthe Chinese media should provide more information about China bymeans of newspapers， TV and radio stations， and audio-video productsfor foreign people who don’t have the opportunity to come in person.
It’s different now， compared with the past. The Chinese media shouldhave more exchanges of views with their foreign counterparts， anddraw more inspiration from them.
She pointed out that the foundation of communication is respect— to respect each other’s cultural backgrounds and manners of behavior.
Without respect， all communication is impossible. Moreover， shesuggested that， if possible， all publications for foreigners should bebilingual — in English and Chinese. This would be a way to improveChina’s image and to help more foreigners understand China.
288 Chinese Women Should Go to the Library More OftenEveryone has his/her own expectations for life. In Dana’s eyes，the meaning of life is： Firstly， to know yourself; what advantages youhave and what you want to get. Secondly， to pursue your spiritualgoals instead of the satisfactions of material life only. Finally， to contributeas best you can to your family， your country， and others.
