TSUCI Held Chinese New Year Garden Party

February 21st , 2018

In the afternoon of 21th Feb, Texas Southern University Confucius Institute held Chinese New Year Garden Party to celebrate the most important Chinese traditional festival - Chinese New Year。The Chinese volunteer teachers brought various cultural activities, such as Tai Chi, riddles, Peking Opera facial painting, pandas claying and puppies, Chinese calligraphy, paper cutting, paper folding, face painting and photo taking.The participants can experience all kinds of Chinese cultural activities, including food tasting, Chinese cultural game pass, lottery and so on after buying tickets. They can get a certification for every activities after going through successfully. With a specific amount certifications, participants are able to have a chance to get a lottery with interesting gifts.

Although for many students it was the first time to experience these items, students' enthusiasm and creativity were surprising. The studetns not only completed the prescribed amount, but also used a lot of new methods in the jumping ropes and pinching beans. For example, two or three beans were picked up at a time, and a skipping rope was wound two or three times. There was also the “tattoo” of Chinese characters. The students select their favorite Chinese characters. The volunteer teachers drew tattoos (washable) on their arms. This method not only attracted students’ interest, but also introduced students to Chinese characters.

Calligraphy is a treasure that is inherited for thousands of years in folk custom. The Chinese character "福" is even more a symbol of the Chinese nation's eternal taste. The garden party provided an opportunity to learn calligraphy, allowing the students to experience the fun of writing Chinese characters on a red rice paper using a calligraphy brush. Seeing the calligraphy works displayed by volunteer teacher Yu Wang, the teachers and students who came to attend the event eagerly tried. The volunteer teachers used the extremely concise language to teach. The teachers and students were clearly explained to the essence of Chinese calligraphy. At the same time, they briefly introduced the Chinese New Year and related knowledge. Finally, the teachers and students who came could hold the calligraphy brush and experience the charm of Chinese calligraphy. Many students said that this was the first time they had tried Chinese characters with a brush. They also said that they would put the “福” handwritten on their own door.

After the event, many students who had never studied Chinese could also speak simple Chinese, such as "Hello," "Thank you," "Goodbye," and so on. More and more students and school staff spontaneously greeted the volunteer teachers in Chinese. The students were very satisfied with their gains in this traditional Chinese Spring Festival and hoped to have more opportunities to touch Chinese culture and understand China in the future. The volunteer teachers at TSUCI also said that this was a very successful New Year celebration. The teachers and students of the school are very friendly to TSUCI. As the Confucius Institute continues to hold new large-scale events, more and more students have the opportunity to participate in the activities of the Confucius Institute. Both the experience and the cultural lesson experience are extremely helpful. TSUCI will also further promote Chinese culture and continue to work hard to increase its influence.