“First Chinese Culture Festival – Escola Tong Nam (Primary Section) Stipple Calligraphy Competition” Award Ceremony Concluded

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Chinese calligraphy is at the heart of Chinese national culture and a cultural expression of Chinese aesthetic ideology. In the afternoon of 21 November (Mon), the award ceremony for the ” First Chinese Culture Festival – Escola Tong Nam (Primary Section) Stipple Calligraphy Competition” was held at Escola Tong Nam. 48 students were awarded with the first runner-up and merit prizes. Dr. Cheang Neng Ian, Deputy Director of the Centre for Chinese History and Culture (CCHC) of the University of Macau, was invited to attend the ceremony to present the prizes to the winning students and to view the calligraphy works. As one of the cultural programmes of the First Chinese Culture Festival, the competition aims to cultivate young people’s interest in calligraphy, to let students experience the outstanding traditions of Chinese culture from a young age, to learn about traditional Chinese culture, to stimulate their interest in Chinese history and culture, and to enhance their understanding of Chinese culture.

Dr. CHEANG Neng Ian, Deputy Director of CCHC and Principal IEONG Chan Kei of Escola Tong Nam

Viewing students’ calligraphy works

Award of winning students

Group Photo

Contestants Led by CCHC’s Graduate Students Win First Prize in Recitation Competition with Theme of China in Poetry and Painting

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As a key project supported by China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Recitation Competition with the theme of China in Poetry and Painting is the first Poetry Festival for Young Children in the Greater Bay Area and also one of the activities in the third Children’s Art Exchange Week for Beijing and the Greater Bay Area which is jointly organized by China National Children’s Center, Beijing Youth Federation and Guangdong Youth Federation. The competition is rich in contents, including Classics Reading, Poetry Writing, Poetry Recitation in Mandarin, Intoning Poetry in Mandarin and Cantonese, ‘Poetry with Painting’ Performance and etc., attracting numbers of participants from all over China with thousands of entries. The competition aims to carry out the literati gathering among young people from the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao. Through the form of classic recitation and poetry creation, the activity will integrate elegant prose, beautiful voice and aesthetic education to guide students to further understand the extensive and profound history of the fine traditional Chinese culture and realize the spirit of Jinggangshan, Long March, Macao and other Chinese Communist.

As a key project supported by China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Recitation Competition with the theme of China in Poetry and Painting is the first Poetry Festival for Young Children in the Greater Bay Area and also one of the activities in the third Children’s Art Exchange Week for Beijing and the Greater Bay Area which is jointly organized by China National Children’s Center, Beijing Youth Federation and Guangdong Youth Federation. The competition is rich in contents, including Classics Reading, Poetry Writing, Poetry Recitation in Mandarin, Intoning Poetry in Mandarin and Cantonese, ‘Poetry with Painting’ Performance and etc., attracting numbers of participants from all over China with thousands of entries. The competition aims to carry out the literati gathering among young people from the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao. Through the form of classic recitation and poetry creation, the activity will integrate elegant prose, beautiful voice and aesthetic education to guide students to further understand the extensive and profound history of the fine traditional Chinese culture and realize the spirit of Jinggangshan, Long March, Macao and other Chinese Communist.

According to CHIO, it has a lot of freedom in intoning’s expression and does not have to stick to a unified melody, in which case, people are able to have better understand the meaning of ancient poetry. And it’s also the biggest reason why she likes intoning. But at the same time, group intoning performance is different from individual performance. It must be delivered in unison to reflect the spirit and verve of the team. Some of the students who participated in this competition just got acquainted with intoning during the training. They were very surprised and became interested in intoning when they learned that ancient poems and even their own names could be sung by it. Although they were a little shy to intone at the beginning of learning, they gradually overcame the psychological barrier through the CHIO’s continuous encouragement, resulting in a quite successful performance.

To sum up, the competition promotes communication and understanding between the young people of the Greater Bay Area, which is helpful for them to jointly inherit the excellent traditional Chinese culture and eulogizes the history and future of the motherland.

UM Inaugurates its First Chinese Culture Festival

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The University of Macau (UM) held its first Chinese Culture Festival to promote Chinese culture and deepen students’ understanding of traditional Chinese culture, kicking off a series of activities with a keynote event launch ceremony. The event was a combination of online and face-to-face activities, with nearly 100 leaders, scholars and guests from around the world offering their congratulations in various ways.

The First Chinese Cultural Festival received the attention of nearly 100 leaders, scholars and guests from around the world, all of whom expressed their congratulations to the Festival in different ways. Professor WU Yiqin, Vice-Chairman of the Chinese Writers Association, emphasized in his online speech that it is the responsibility and duty of every Chinese child to pass on Chinese culture and promote good traditions. The UM Vice Rector, MOK Kai Meng, said in his speech that Macao is a base where Chinese culture is the main stream and where multiple cultures co-exist and exchange. Chinese culture is the main part of Macao’s culture, and promoting, publicizing and practicing Chinese culture in Macao is an important mission and responsibility that we face. The Director of Culture and Tourism Department of Henan Province, Mr. JIANG Jiding, expressed his hope that through this event, a platform for humanistic exchanges between the youth of Henan and Macao could be established, and sincerely invited the youth of Macao to come to Henan to touch history, sense civilisation, nourish their spirit and understand China. On behalf of the Macao Foundation, President WU Zhiliang, expressed his warm congratulations to the event. He highly appreciated the long-standing work and efforts of CCHC, and hoped that with the promotion of the community, the knowledge of history and culture would be spread to the community and to the schools.

The cultural units such as Culture and Tourism Department of Henan Province, Shanghai Junde Cultural Communication Co., Ltd. and Clube de Mok Lan Kun de Macau have performed Taijiquan, Mulan Crane Dance with Fan and Kun Opera for the launching ceremony. Macao’s primary and secondary schools, tertiary institutions and cultural organizations also gave their enthusiastic support. The ceremony was attended by XU Ting, Director of the Education and Youth Affairs Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macau SAR; MOK Kai Meng, UM Vice Rector; XU Jie, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities; WONG Seng Fat, Interim College Master of Cheng Yu Tung College; Chee Shiong LAM, College Master of Lui Che Woo College; CHEUNG Kwok Cheung, Interim College Master of Moon Chun Memorial College; TAM Sik Chung, Interim College Master of Shiu Pong College, LAM Iok Fong, Director of Centre for Macau Studies; Chap Chong PANG, Dean of Student Affairs; WONG Kei, Director of Rector’s Office and LAM Yuk Yee, Director of the Alumni and Development Office.

There are about 100 core events in the Chinese Cultural Festival, starting from mid-October. The core events will be held in November, with activities taking place at the University of Macau, the Base for the Promotion of Chinese History and Culture, and partner institutions such as the Beijing Lu Xun Museum, Shanghai University, Shanghai Normal University, Jinan University and Nanchang University, closely relating to the UM’s Chinese Culture Festival. The key events continue into December, providing a relaxed way for students to learn about traditional Chinese culture, stimulating their interest in Chinese history and culture, and enhancing their understanding of Chinese culture. For the details of events, please visit: https://bit.ly/3Ta3zD2

Professor WU Yiqin, Vice-Chairman of the Chinese Writers Association

Prof. MOK Kai Meng, Vice Rector of the University of Macau

Mr. JIANG Jiding, Director of Culture and Tourism Department of Henan Province

Dr. WU Zhiliang, President of Macao Foundation

Mr. SI Ka Lon, Director of Think Tank of United Citizens

Prof. ZHU Shoutong, Director of CCHC

Kun Opera Performance by HU Qian

Kun Opera Performance by GUAN Wen Zheng

Guests

Online Guests

“Shennong Tasting Hundreds Of Herbs” Of The Chinese History And Culture Comic Book Series

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In August 2022, two centres of the University of Macau (UM), namely the Centre for Chinese History and Culture (CCHC), and the Chinese-Portuguese Bilingual Teaching and Training Centre (CPC), have published the fourth book of the Chinese History and Culture Comic Book Series, named “Shennong Tasting Hundreds of Herbs”. The series of books illustrate the traditional Chinese myths, legends, and historical stories.

“Shennong Tasting Hundreds of Herbs” illustrates the story of the chief of the Yan tribe. Shennong was concerned about the suffering and hardships experienced by his people, particularly those related to famine and disease that were devastating to his tribe. He spent years roaming the mountains, tasting hundreds of herbs, and defining the curative properties of each one. It was based on these travels and experiences that he wrote the book named “Shennong Ben Cao Jing” (also known as “Classic of the Materia Medica”). However, he ended up sacrificing himself when he inadvertently tried the “Poison Hemlock”, a highly poisonous plant. To commemorate his virtues and merits, people honored him as the God of Chinese Medicine and built a Shennong Temple. This inspiring story is emblematic of Shennong’s indomitable and selfless spirit, for which he has been revered as a true hero by subsequent generations.

Similar to the previously published books, “Chang’e Flying to the Moon”, “Nu Wa Mending the Sky”, and “Jing Wei Filling the Sea”, this book was written in three languages including Chinese, Portuguese and English.

Both centres are part of the Macao Base for Primary and Secondary Education in Humanities and Social Sciences. The Chinese History and Culture Comic Book Series are in turn aimed to enhance young people’s awareness and understanding of Chinese history and culture in Macao and the international community. The launching of this book series seeks to promote the development of humanities and social sciences education in Macao and to nurture young talent through a series of teaching and training programmes, fostering the dissemination and influence of Chinese history and culture in Portuguese-speaking countries and regions.

Cultural Nostalgia by Yiyi Wu

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Hong Kong Ming Pao’s monthly magazine published Cultural Nostalgia by Yiyi Wu, a MA student in Centre for Chinese History and Culture (CCHC).

In this issue, the theme of the column “The Seasons of the Academy” is “Nostalgia of Students”

 

University of Macau

Centre for Chinese History and Culture

Yiyi Wu

In 士與中國文化（Shi and Chinese Culture）, Yu Ying-shih puts it, “The transmission and innovation of culture and thought has been the central task of “Shi” from the beginning to the end.” Confucius represents the archetype of the “Shi” (can be understood as “Scholar”) in Chinese culture, proposing that “Shi should reach the Way”. In the revival of Confucianism in the Song Dynasty, Fan Zhongyan (a Chinese poet, and one of the famous representative of Scholar-officials in ancient China) proposed that the “Shi” should “first worry about the worries of the world and then rejoice in the happiness of the world”, demonstrating the ideal and pride of a “Shi” who could help the common people, which shows that the spiritual outlook of “Shi” has developed with the various stages of Chinese history. Today, the students of the Chinese nation can be described as contemporary “Shi”.

This 5,000 years of history and culture has become an inherent “cultural nostalgia” for contemporary “Shi”, a sense of longing, attachment and admiration for the culture and thought of the Chinese nation. Only by tracing the roots of Chinese culture, exploring the relationship between nature and human civilisation, understanding the changes in human affairs through the ages, and appreciating the glory of the wise and benevolent people in history, can the nostalgia be dispelled gradually.

As a MA student in the Centre for Chinese History and Culture at the University of Macau, this “cultural nostalgia” has driven me to gain a deeper understanding of the historical and cultural ties between Macao and China, and Macao has become a gateway to cultural exchanges between the East and the West due to its geographical location. In the future, I hope to continue to uphold the spirit of “Shi”, to “care about everything at home and in the world”, and to take up the mission of passing on and innovating Chinese culture and thought!

 

Pass on Chinese Philosophy and Explore Zhuangzi’s Life: CCHC invites Professor Yang Yi to compile Zhuangzi Hui Tong

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The Centre for Chinese History and Culture (CCHC) of the University of Macau commissioned Professor Yang Yi to write and compile Zhuangzi Hui Tong, which was published in August 2022 by Liaoning People’s Publishing House with funding from the University of Macau for the project on “Pre-Qin Thinkers and Classics Research”. Professor Yang Yi got the Doctor of Literature and has served as Director of the Institute of Literature at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Director of the Institute of Ethnic Literature, Research Fellow and Doctoral Supervisor. This collaboration will not only facilitate the exploration of pre-Qin philosophical thought and literature, but will also help to further disseminate and promote the excellent traditional Chinese culture.

Zhuangzi Hui Tong aims to systematically restore and explain Zhuangzi’s academic and literary achievements, providing readers with a clearer and deeper understanding of Zhuangzi’s philosophy in an in-depth, yet rigorous and accurate manner. The book is based on the two perspectives of Zhuangzi’s thought and the spirit of Hui Tong and uniting the life of Zhuangzi, the origin of Zhuang Zi and Laozi, and the attitude of Zhuang Zi’s “Three Words” towards Confucianism and Taoism, which deeply demonstrates Zhuangzi’s pursuit of independent personality and spiritual freedom, his examination of the suffering world, and his profound experience of life’s tragedies. This has made an important contribution to the study and popularization of Zhuangzi’s thought.

CCHC aims to strengthen the study of Chinese history and culture, to establish a high-level mechanism for the exchange of Chinese history and culture, to promote Chinese history and culture to the Macao community, especially the Macao youth, and to facilitate the dissemination and influence of Chinese history and culture in Portuguese-speaking countries and regions, so as to promote and enhance the awareness and understanding of Chinese history and culture in Macao and the international community. The profound understanding and innovative knowledge of Lao Zhuang’s philosophy in Zhuangzi Hui Tong will not only deepen readers’ understanding of traditional Chinese thought, but also help promote the dissemination and promotion of Chinese historical and cultural excellence in Macao, which is of great significance.