On November 11, 2023, the Chinese cultural exchange activity "Amazing Chinese Culture" Festival was successfully held at the Sino-Danish Building at Yanqihu Campus. The event warmly expressed and spread profound Chinese culture in this chilly winter, it drew about 200 students and faculty from different countries and regions in Asia, Europe and Africa, and put on display the beauty of Chinese traditional culture from multiple perspectives by exhibiting intangible cultural heritage from China, including ancient Xun, Tai Chi and Peking Opera.
HU Zhengyi, the Director of the Sino-Danish Center and Deputy Dean of Sino-Danish College of UCAS, attended the activity and delivered a speech. He expressed his gratitude to all the students and faculty. He also emphasized China’s long cultural history embodies rich spiritual values and is a precious bequest to the world. He hoped that Chinese and international students and staffs can learn from each other and promote cultural exchanges that value traditional Chinese arts.
The event opened with accompaniment from the melodious sound of Xun. The Xun performer XIE Xuehua played several pieces, including "The Autumn Moon on the Wangwu Mountain," "Orchid and Snow," "Old Drunkard Playing with Birds." He gave a brief history of the Xun and introduced the mouth flute, ocarina and other classical instruments. He was joined by UCAS Chinese orchestra in renditions of well-known classical repertoire, including "Forest Rhapsody," and "Jasmine Flower." GAO Lingxiao, from the School of Electrical, Electronic and Communication Engineering, explained that the first half of "Orchid and Snow" is “low-pitched and whimpering, while the second half is sonorous and powerful,” which left him with the impression that the composer had a positive and optimistic attitude toward life.
LI Yiduo, a Tai Chi expert in the Wu-style , explained the concepts of "You" and "Wu" in Daoism with two Tai Chi movements - "raising up" and "letting down." Bathed in afternoon sunlight, attendees enjoyed and learned the free-flowing Tai Chi movements and felt the charm of combining traditional culture and martial arts. Trine, a student from the Sino-Danish College, felt very relaxed after practicing Tai Chi for more than half an hour in her training clothes and learned about the new form of Chinese culture, the combination of martial arts and Chinese philosophy.
HE Shitian, the founder of UCAS Xiqu Club and faculty member of the Art Center, performed Peking Opera, the quintessence of Chinese culture. Professional singers performed "Phoenix Hairpin," "Duanmi Cave," "An Embroidered Treasure Pouch," "The Number One Scholar as the Matchmaker," and multiple classical pieces of opera in exquisite costumes and makeup. These songs praised heroic deeds that have been passed down through the ages and romantic love full of innumerable twists and turns, which aroused applause from the audience. Jonas Eduardsen, a teacher from the Sino-Danish College, said that he is fond of Peking Opera performances, and that the costumes of worn in Peking Opera are more colorful and distinctive than those of western dramas. Peking Opera not only tells Chinese stories vividly, but also passes implies the values of Chinese culture. He enthusiastically praised this activity as a precious opportunity to learn about Chinese culture and he looks forward to seeing the next cultural event.
As a student from the Department of Foreign Languages, FU Yidong was in charge of part of the interpretation. She believes that spreading Chinese culture is one of the important missions and pursuits of students majoring in foreign languages. This event not only spread traditional Chinese culture to foreign students, but also provided her with an opportunity to share great Chinese stories.
Civilizations have become richer and more colorful through exchanges and mutual learning. The UCAS Chinese cultural exchange activity "Amazing Chinese Culture" Festival allowed Chinese and international students and faculty to experience the beauty of Chinese culture through these interactions and exchanges. It is expected that through this activity, more Chinese and foreign youth can learn from each other, fall in love with and spread Chinese culture, and strive to be goodwill ambassadors among the people. The greater vision is that young UCASer can help build stronger cultural confidence, and be inheritors and practitioners of fine traditional Chinese culture.
The event was sponsored by the International Affairs Office and co-organized by the Sino-Danish College, "Hello, China" "Hello, Classmates" of the UCAS Cultural Program "Blue Ribbon," "Liweng Village" Campus Xiqu Cultural Festival and the "Mutual Learning Among Civilizations" Counsellor Office.
Author: GUO Zhiqing, CUI Zixuan
Editor: GAO Yuan
