UCD Confucius Institute for Ireland Hosts Successful 2019 Open Day
The 2019 UCD Confucius Institute for Ireland (CII) Open Day kicked off on November 9. Confucius Institute Day was integrated as part of the event. A good crowd of students and parents were attracted to a series of activities including traditional Chinese culture showcase such as calligraphy, tea ceremony, chess, papercutting and musical instruments; the Institute also did a presentation on children’s Confucius Classroom and 3rd level degree programs with Chinese studies.
Visitors were welcomed with the fragrant aroma of Chinese tea at the entrance of the UCD CII building when the door opened at 10.30am. Teachers performed traditional tea ceremony while the onlooking visitors savoured Chinese tea.
Calligraphy teachers demonstrated to visitors the proper way to hold a brush, dip it in ink, start a stroke and finish a character. They also helped visitors design and write their names in Chinese as a present for them. Participants enjoyed the charm of Chinese calligraphy with a hands-on experience.
As an ancient art form, papercutting has been one of the most popular cultural activities. Teachers prepared papercutting designs of Chinese characters for double happiness, spring, fortune and many more and showed participants how to fold paper, draw the characters and cut them out. Participants were amazed with the profound connotations of these Chinese characters as well as the magical skills involved in Chinese papercutting.
At the Chinese knots stand, teachers were busy demonstrating how to make hanging ornaments and bracelets with colourful strings. Their agile fingers produced beautiful Chinese knots. All the participants made their own Chinese-coloured-string knots with the help of the teachers.
At the Chinese chess stand teachers explained the rules and gave tips to the participants who were trying out their newly acquired skills. The Chinese chess board encompasses a vast number of philosophical concepts and complex logics; while each move is a battle of wisdom, the game itself helps make friends.
Two presentations were made on Chinese courses that UCD CII offers including undergraduate Chinese programs and Study in China programs. One of the Chinese teachers Caitriona elaborated on the 4 UCD programs combined with Chinese studies. Her topics were“Why study Chinese”,“Is Chinese difficult”and“What UCD can offer”. James, a 4th year UCD BComm International student spoke of his one-year experience studying and living in China. He said that his Chinese improved enormously and he made many Chinese friends in China. The presentations ended with a Q&A session.
The successful Open Day was over at 3.30pm. As a standard event to promote Chinese language and culture, the UCD CII Open Day helps students and parents alike gain a better understanding of the Chinese courses offered and increases the promotion of Chinese culture in Ireland.
