Chinese Club at Texas Southern University Holds Its First Meeting

September 20, 2017

On September 20, the Chinese Language Club of Texas Southern University held the first meeting of the new school year at the Confucius Institute office. The Confucius Institute’s staff participated in the meeting.

The Chinese club’s president is Ai Ren. Although he only had half a year to learn Chinese, he has great enthusiasm for Chinese. During the new school year, he volunteered to be the chairman of the Chinese club. He plans to organize a series of Chinese cultural activities, and actively cooperate with the Confucius Institute at Texas Southern University to promote Chinese culture. When the meeting began, Ai Ren introduced himself in Mandarin: "Hello, I am Ai Ren." He used standard Mandarin to speak to the Confucius Institute staff and the new members of the Chinese club to welcome them. This wonderful start won everyone's warm applause. Chairman Ai Ren briefly introduced the development plan of the Chinese club events happening this current year. Subsequently, the other members of the Chinese club began introducing themselves in Chinese, talking about their own stories while visiting China and their experiences of learning Chinese. The atmosphere of the venue became more active immediately.

Prof. Yi Xiao, the Chinese director of Confucius Institute, and Dr. Roger Hart, the foreign director of Confucius Institute, expressed congratulation on the establishment of the Chinese Club and warmly welcomed the members who joined the Chinese Club with open arms. Prof. Yi Xiao briefly introduced the first important event to the Chinese club, known as the opening ceremony of the Confucius Institute at Texas Southern University Confucius Institute (TSUCI). The Chinese teacher volunteers, Chenxi Du and Yabao Wang, gave an informative presentation of the activities of the Chinese club, following a thorough introduction.

To celebrate the upcoming National Day of the People's Republic of China and the traditional festivities of the Chinese people, the Confucius Institute at Texas Southern University decided to hold a large-scale cultural event for the opening day of the Confucius Institute. The activities of the project are divided into a dragon and panda tour, in which people can experience all kinds of Chinese cultural activities and taste moon cakes and more.

After listening to the volunteers’ explanations, Chinese club members signed up to participate in the organization’s cultural experiences projects. They expressed a willingness to work with the volunteers to carry out the Confucius Institute opening day, China’s National Day, and Mid-Autumn Festival cultural activities. By understanding the Chinese dragon, a symbol of good fortune and dignity, boys are more encouraged to participate in the dragon dance performance.

Finally, Chinese volunteer teacher Zhuo Li proposed for the Chinese club to establish a Wechat group. This proposal was unanimously endorsed by the club members. It may help the members learn Chinese as much as possible to learn more about the Chinese culture. WeChat is one of the most widely used communication tools for Chinese people today. It is undoubtedly used to establish a Chinese communication platform for Chinese club members, which will improve their Chinese and understanding of China.

At the campus of Texas Southern University, you will not only see the volunteers of the Confucius Institute promoting Chinese culture with great efforts, but also Texas Southern University Chinese lovers pursuing the new world and exploring it at a progressing pace. Chinese seeds have been sprouting at Texas Southern University. Confucius Institute believes that there will be more and more people appreciating the charm of the Chinese. We hope that the Chinese club will continue to grow and prosper!