Ink Charm Passes the Torch, Embracing Global Cultures — Centre for Chinese History and Culture Actively Participates in UM Language and Culture Day

In an effort to preserve mother tongues, advocate for linguistic and cultural diversity, and cultivate students’ critical thinking, the Faculty of Arts and Humanities (FAH) at the University of Macau (UM) successfully held the UM Language and Culture Day on 26 March 2025. This year’s event continued the theme of ‘Value Your Own Language; Embrace Everyone’s Cultures’, creating a cross-border, multicultural exchange platform through three signature segments: a multicultural performance, language and culture workshops, and a knowledge treasure hunt. The CCHC and the UM Calligraphy Association took innovative calligraphy creation as the entry point to awaken the perception of mother tongues through immersive cultural experiences, attracting many teachers and students to participate together.

The Ink Dance and Book Fragrance Workshop, hosted by the CCHC at the Language and Culture Day, aimed to allow participants to deeply experience the charm of Chinese calligraphy. As a living fossil of the evolution of Chinese civilization, the inheritance and innovation of Chinese calligraphy are a vivid practice of linguistic and cultural conservation. In the calligraphy workshop, students actively used their imagination to integrate ancient scripts such as oracle bone script and seal script into light and shadow art on modern carriers like calligraphy screens. They also freely expressed themselves by writing poetry in cursive script on oil-paper umbrellas. Under the guidance of professionals, they created unique calligraphy handicrafts. The interplay of classical and modern elements in the flowing brushstrokes allowed participants to not only appreciate the beauty of the characters and the charm of the ink but also to experience the fluidity of Eastern philosophy.

The Language and Culture Day was not only a cultural feast interwoven with tradition and modernity but also a spiritual bond connecting the past and the future. As night fell, teachers and students strolled around the campus holding their own calligraphy moon lanterns. The warm yellow glow illuminated the smiling faces of people from different countries, resembling a miniature galaxy of civilizations—each mother tongue culture shining like a unique star, illuminating the common spiritual home of humanity.