British actress Rosamund Pike’s 12-year-old son recently drew attention online for winning a global championship in a Chinese language competition. On October 28, the Chinese Bridge contest announced that You Zijun from Britain had emerged as the winner of its latest Chinese proficiency contest for primary school students, held in Tianjin, northern China.
The competition, organized annually by the Chinese government-run Hanban, aims to promote the Chinese language among international students. This year marked the second time You participated in the contest. It was later revealed that You, whose real name is Solo Uniacke, is the eldest son of Pike and her partner, businessman Robie Uniacke.
Both Solo and his younger brother, Atom—whose Chinese name is You Ziyuan—are proficient in Mandarin, having learned it from their self-taught father. Pike, who graduated from Oxford University, made her film debut as a Bond girl in the 2002 movie “Die Another Day” and gained international acclaim for her role in the 2014 psychological thriller “Gone Girl,” directed by David Fincher and co-starring Ben Affleck.
In 2021, Pike won her first Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical for “I Care a Lot,” after being nominated for the award three times. While promoting “Gone Girl” in Shanghai, she introduced her Chinese name, Pei Chunhua, insisting that the Chinese media use it to show respect to Chinese cinephiles. Her partner gave her this phonetic Chinese name: “Pei” is a common Chinese surname; “Chun” signifies honesty, and “Hua” means China but is also homophonic with “flower,” mirroring her English name. Pike has since become fondly regarded on mainland social media for her admiration of Chinese culture and language.
During an appearance on The Graham Norton Show in 2021, Pike mentioned learning Mandarin from her children and shared a colorful idiom, “tuo ku zi fang pi.” She humorously translated it as “taking your trousers off to fart,” which entertained both guests and Chinese online viewers. That same year, during February’s Lunar New Year celebrations, Pike shared a video delivering new year wishes in Mandarin, shyly yet fluently wishing that “all your cows produce calves.” Pike and her family’s passion for the Chinese language have endeared them to many in China, where some affectionately call her Sister Pei—a respectful title for women.
The Chinese Bridge contest has been holding competitions for primary schoolchildren for four years and for Chinese-learning students worldwide for 17 years. In a promotional video released by the contest organizers, Pike—introduced only as “You Zijun and You Ziyuan’s mother”—expressed congratulations to all contestants, their parents, and teachers, wishing them success.
Solo started learning Mandarin at just three years old and has mastered over 400 Chinese characters. In modern Chinese, approximately 3,500 characters are frequently used. Solo expressed his commitment to continue studying the language until people regard him as “the first Chinese with blonde hair.”
