With the arrival of spring, Chinese scholars are showcasing their vibrant academic contributions. This April, Queen’s University is excited to present two engaging talks on Chinese culture.
Talk 1
For this Friday’s History Seminar, PhD student Ziheng Wang from School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics presents his research work titled ‘The Apple of My Eye: The Chinese Depiction towards Russia since the 1990s’.
In the following Friday, Chinese tutor Heng Wang from QUB Language Centre will present an introduction on how Islam has developed in China since 7th century, and how it has intertwined with local culture and religions.
For more information and registration, read the post below:
The School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics has announced its Spring Dialogues to welcome a cohort of their students and alumni to share their research work at the Seminar Series, with Liang HE, a Chinese graduate in Philosophy, being the first one on its programme.
Liang has kindly shared her presentation information and abstract with our Chinese Culture Forum as below. She also would like to extend her invitation to all those who are interested in the topic.
Speaker: Liang HE, MSc International Public Policy
Confucian Gender Norms, Patriarchy, and Capitalism: The ‘Privileged’ Middle-Class Chinese Daughter Under the One-Child Policy?
The one-child policy, enacted in China from the 1970s to 2015, has profoundly shaped the experiences of urban women, particularly the daughters of the emerging middle class. Rooted in Confucian gender norms and reinforced by a patriarchal system, this policy has contributed to societal expectations that prioritize male offspring while simultaneously offering urban women increased access to resources and opportunities. As a result, these “privileged daughters” are often viewed as beneficiaries of urbanization and economic growth.
This paper employs Marxist feminist theory to explore the lives of Chinese middle-class daughters studying in the West. It examines the conflicting pressures they face between traditional gender roles – emphasizing marriage, motherhood, and filial piety – and the aspirations encouraged by a neoliberal environment. These women navigate a complex landscape where they must reconcile their pursuit of autonomy with societal expectations to provide for their families and uphold cultural traditions. By highlighting the experiences of these urban daughters, this research sheds light on how Confucian gender norms and capitalism intersect, revealing the challenges they encounter in balancing personal desires with familial obligations. Ultimately, this paper enhances our understanding of how the intersection of gender norms and capitalist structures shapes the experiences of urban middle-class daughters in contemporary China, revealing the complexities of their identities and the societal expectations they must navigate.
Professor Shuang REN, Director, DEIB Committee, Queen’s Business School
Dr Liang WANG, Language Support Officer & QUB iRise (BAME&I) Event Officer
Outline:
This forum aims to discuss the local resources, good practices and challenges when supporting Chinese (and other) international students, in response to the recently published HEPI Report “How can UK universities improve their strategies for tackling integration challenges among Chinese students?“ (Ebel, 2024). This report raises critical questions about whether Chinese students receive adequate support in UK universities.
As one of the UK’s leading institutions for international students, Queen’s University Belfast is committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive environment for Chinese and other international students. Jointly organised by QBS DEIB Committee and The Language Centre, supported by QUB iRise Network, we particularly welcome colleagues from different sectors with good experiences of supporting Chinese students to attend the discussions. Based on the voices from staff and students at the forum, we hope to identity approaches that would enhance the level of support at Queen’s University Belfast.
Below is a provisional agenda for your information:
Welcome
Introduction
Panel discussion
Interactive breakout discussions
Lunch break
Action plan and closing remarks
Places are limited to max. 30 due to room capacity and we have the first-come, first-served policy. The registration form will be closed once places are taken, or by 5 pm, Thursday 20th March the latest.
As the Lantern Festival falls on Wednesday, 12th February, we would like to take this opportunity to extend our heartfelt thanks to all colleagues and students who have supported our celebration programme in various ways.
To mark the conclusion of the Year of the Snake Celebration Programme, recognise the winners of the Drawing the Snake Competition, and express our gratitude to our volunteers and contributors, we warmly invite you to our “Lantern Festival” stands in the foyer area of One Elmwood on Wednesday, 12th February, from 12:30 to 13:30. Join us for a special gathering and award ceremony, where we will celebrate your contributions, share joyful moments, and reflect on the unforgettable highlights of this year’s festivities.
Fun Time with Table Tennis
As part of our celebration tradition, we host a Table Tennis Event around the Lantern Festival to promote networking and community building as a key highlight of the Lantern Festival celebration. Sponsored by the QUB iRISE Staff Network, this event warmly invites students, staff members, and their families to take part in a fun and friendly gathering. It offers a chance to engage with one of the most popular sports in Chinese communities while also fostering well-being through physical activity and social interaction.
Additionally, we invite you to explore the ArtEast Online Exhibition, showcasing a diverse collection of artworks by local Chinese artists. The artists would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions to further enhance their presentations.
Thank you for your enthusiastic participation! While our Chinese Culture Forum 2025 will continue to present events and activities in the future, we look forward to celebrating with you again next year as we welcome the Year of the Horse!
Happy Laba Festival (腊八节 Làbā jié)! Falling on the 8th day of the 12th month (called 腊月 làyuè) in the lunar calendar, this Laba Festival is often seen as the signal of the arrival of the Chinese New Year (aka. Spring Festival 春节 Chūn jié in China).
Laba congee cooked | Image@LiangWANG
On the day, in many places across China, mainly the north, northwest and southeast, people cook and eat Laba congee (腊八粥 làbāzhōu), typically made of rice, mixed beans, various nuts and dried fruits, etc., all of which are believed to be good for health. Having Laba congee can keep one feel warm and spirited in the cold and wet weather.
With the Laba Festival arriving today on 7th January this year, one can be certain that the Chinese New Year – Year of the Snake (蛇年 Shénián) starting from 29th January, is just around the corner.
Call for CNY participation
While we are busy preparing for the CNY2025 Programme, we would like to invite you to join us in a few activities that can bring the celebrative elements together. The following calls for participation are totally voluntary and you are welcome to attend one or all, as long as you feel like relevant and meaningful.
This event is for staff and students at Queen’s to volunteer at our series of events such as the CNY Gala, CNY Interactive Fair, Culture Workshops, etc.
On Sunday 8th September, students and staff from Queen’s University hosted a Chinese calligraphy session for the general public at the Ulster Museum, offering visitors the opportunity to explore the charm and tradition of Chinese calligraphy (书法 shūfǎ).
Xiaoxiang MA, QUB PhD student and Dr Liang WANG, QUB Language Centre staff
This event, led by Dr. Liang Wang of the Language Centre and the calligrapher, Xiaoxiang MA, PhD student from School of Arts, English and Languages, was part of the ‘Bout Ye?‘ programme developed by Ulster Museum.
Structured as an informal, drop-in session, museum visitors were welcome to join at any time. The session provided a dynamic, personalized introduction to the aesthetics and cultural practice of Chinese calligraphy, including briefing about the fascinating history of Chinese characters (汉字 hànzì), their meanings and their stroke order (笔顺 bǐshùn) before having a try themselves! Practising on water mats (水写布 shuǐxiěbù) with traditional Chinese brushes (毛笔 máobǐ) means that there were endless opportunities to practice without the fear of making a mistake.
Participants learned that there are certain principles to follow in order to write characters correctly and beautifully, beginning generally from top to bottom, from left to right and from outside to inside to close frames last – a task that proved easier said than done!
Our wonderful team of student assistants from Chinese Language Interest Group (C-LIG) at Queen’s were there to support the event. We also engaged with museum visitors, learning about their personal experiences with Chinese culture, both locally and globally.
Before their leaving with great fun, visitors, as well as museum staff who kindly helped with the session, were offered a chance to receive a Chinese name (中文名字 Zhōngwén míngzi) by student volunteer and calligraphy expert, Xiaoxiang, who also explained the meaning and pronunciation of each character and how that would match nicely with their original names – what a meaningful and memorable end to their visit!
The session received very positive feedback from the visitors, who enjoyed their participation and expressed their joy in the following words:
We would also like to extend our thanks to the Museum staff who kindly provided this opportunity for us to organise this calligraphy event. We wish to provide more sessions in the future, on campus or at Museum, or elsewhere to generate more interest from a wider community.
In this dedicated column 'My China Story' we are pleased to invite Isabella to share her very first travel experience in China, which she could not make it during her undergraduate time due to pandemic and lockdown. In May 2024, Isabella grabbed an opportunity to join a QUB delegation to China and journey made her dream to China come true.
A Dream Trip To China Came True
Bags packed, passport in hand, playlist on shuffle; I arrived at Belfast City Airport and was on my way to China! A jam-packed trip, with cities to explore, new people to meet, and adventures to embark on. The trip started initially with butterflies in my stomach of nerves and excitement. A trip I had dreamed of for years, would it be everything I hoped? Spoiler alert: it certainly was!
Isabella Souza Mclaughlin, whose Chinese name is 苏蔓伊 (Sū Mànyī), is a bilingual English and Portuguese speaker with a keen interest in language-learning.
Graduated with BSc in International Business with Mandarin Chinese, Isabella is currently Global Marketing and Recruitment Co-ordinator in Global Student Recruitment at Queen’s.
Belfast-London-Guangzhou
I flew from Belfast with a quick layover in London and then landed in Guangzhou. My first time flying with China Southern Airlines was a positive experience, and the selection of Chinese movies to watch and noodles for the in-flight meal made the excitement build even more.
After an 11-hour flight, arriving in Guangzhou, it was hot and humid, with droplets of rain. Coming from Northern Ireland, I feared I would have been disappointed by the rain, but the city lights reflecting off the puddles on the ground, made them look like art pieces painted on the pavement.
On that first night in Guangzhou, I walked around the Central Business District (CBD, 中心商务区 Zhōngxīn Shāngwù Qū) located in the Tianhe District (天河区 Tiānhé Qū), where I was staying, an up-and-coming modern district.
I visited a dim sum (点心 diǎnxīn) restaurant, typical cuisine of Guangzhou consisting of small dishes, shared among the table, including dumplings (饺子 jiǎozi) and (小笼包 xiǎolóngbāo), as well as cheung fun (肠粉 cháng fěn). With my first outing in the city, I quickly had to use my language skills, ordering dishes in Mandarin. I gazed at the menu in awe with the delicious dishes. I texted my friend, living in the North of China, time-zone differences now eliminated, to get some recommendations. Served with tea, every dish melted in my mouth, the flavours dancing on my taste-buds, mild in spice – typical of the Guangdong region.
A Welcome to Guangzhou
After a restful sleep, the next morning I woke up to sunny weather in Guangzhou and later made my way to the lobby to meet with my colleague who is based in the city for Queen’s China market. With a shopping centre and food court nearby, every restaurant was full by lunch time. We grabbed a seat at a noodle restaurant within the bustling food court. I had already felt welcomed in the city, but meeting with my colleague who greeted me with a warm smile and showed me around the local area, I knew I would be settling into my time in China just fine.
Spicy peanut noodles and conversation during lunch, then a meeting to discuss preparations for the upcoming work event filled my afternoon.
Once our meeting ended, we grabbed a refreshment. With milk tea (奶茶 nǎi chá) and boba continuing to be popular in China, the popularity of fruit tea has also been on the rise in recent years. This time I tried Naixue Tea (奈雪的茶 Nàixuě de Chá), enjoying a grape tea as I completed some work projects overlooking the city.
The efficiency of ordering food and refreshments via WeChat (微信 Wēixìn), was incredibly convenient. By scanning a QR Code (二维码 èrwéi mǎ) on WeChat in restaurants and coffee shops, I was able to have a look through the menus and place orders via the mini-apps (应用小程序 yìngyòng xiǎo chéngxù) function on WeChat.
Pro-Tip: If travelling to China, download WeChat before arriving – similar to WhatsApp and other social media apps, WeChat is convenient for communicating with friends, family and colleagues in China, ordering food and refreshments, purchasing tickets, and more. Ensure to set up WeChat Pay in advance, which can be used to pay for the above purchases, and can be used in stores and for travel in China as contactless payment.
Later that evening, I went for a walk in Huacheng Square (花城广场 Huāchéng Guǎngchǎng), a plaza leading to the Canton Tower (广州塔 Guǎngzhōu Tǎ). The tower already looks magnificent in the daylight, but at nighttime, the tower stands, colourfully, lit up across the end of the plaza, with lights in the pavement changing colour in coordination with that of the tower. Music playing through the gardens and the city lights surrounding the plaza made for an incredible environment and ambience.
Huacheng Square and Canton TowerHuacheng Square and Canton Tower
Getting to know Guangzhou
The next morning, I had a small mission to complete, my first experience of travelling internally in the city using Didi, the main taxi service in China, and asking transport queries in Mandarin. Using Didi was incredibly convenient, at the click of a button on the Didi app, a taxi would arrive in less than 5 minutes.
Upon arrival at the train station, I made my way to the ticket desk. The staff only spoke Mandarin, so it was challenging at first asking the questions I needed help with, but excellent language practice. Once I successfully acquired train tickets and the information I needed, I then made my way back to Huacheng Square, this time hopping into a taxi at the taxi stand. The taxi drivers in Guangzhou were incredibly friendly, complimenting my language skills, though I found my Mandarin rather rusty!
Pro-Tip: if travelling to China, learn the numbers 1-10, this will be helpful when using Didi. Taxi drivers will ask for you to confirm the last four digits of the phone number used in your booking (note: the driver won’t be able to see your full phone number – only the last four digits – for data protection), to ensure you are the correct passenger and will often ask in Mandarin.
Then, I met with a colleague and we decided to explore the Guangdong Museum (广东省博物馆 Guǎngdōngshěng Bówùguǎn), as recommended by our colleagues from Guangzhou.
Getting to know more about Chinese culture, particularly Cantonese art and history, through intricate wood carvings and ancient pottery was amazing. For nature and archaeology fans, there was an exhibition on archaeological and paleontological finds and fascinating exhibitions on jade and other local minerals in China.
Pro-Tip: When travelling in China with an international passport, many tourist attractions will allow free entry, including the Guangdong Museum. Note: some temporary exhibitions may require a separate ticket to be purchased.
That evening, I went to dinner with my colleagues, and tried Canton food, which I thoroughly enjoyed! Other than dim sum, I was not overly familiar with Canton food, so this was an incredible experience. For anyone who is curious about dietary requirements, vegetarian food options in China are quite accessible, as although there are many meat and seafood dishes, I encountered a great selection of vegetarian, and further vegan-friendly dishes. Staff are also incredibly friendly, so feel free to ask about dietary requirements and ingredients.
When walking back to the hotel after dinner, I spotted a poster of one of my favourite singers, Lay Zhang (张艺兴 Zhāng Yìxìng) – so for any fans of C-Pop and C-Dramas, keep your eyes peeled because you can spot posters of some of your favourite actors and singers all around the city.
Queen’s Event
The final day in Guangzhou was the day of the Offer Holder and Alumni Event hosted by Queen’s University (英国女王大学2024广州见面会 Yīngguó Nǚwáng Dàxué 2024 Guǎngzhōu Jiànmiànhuì). This was a fantastic event to meet offer holders who were excited to start their journey in Queen’s, and meet with fellow alumni and old friends! I had the opportunity to meet up with Kexin, a friend I made in my first year of studying at Queen’s, reminiscing on our studies and sharing our journeys post-graduation.
Goodbye, Guangzhou!
After the event and a flight cancellation due to monsoon warnings, I was on my way to the train station to catch a last minute, 11-hour overnight train to Shanghai. Upon arrival to the station, the grand station had a wide selection of restaurants and cafes, from internationally known brands, to Chinese favourites. I grabbed a seat at a Chinese restaurant and ate a selection of small Chinese dishes, a mixture of local vegetables, beef and steamed egg.
I later boarded the train, finding my room which consisted of bunk beds, a table, sufficient storage and a sofa. Unfortunately, due to the dark night sky, I couldn’t see much of the view on the train journey, but with helpful staff, a lovely roommate and a bit of rest, the journey flew by. Arriving first thing in the morning the next day in Shanghai, I was ready to start the next section of the trip.
Thank you so much for reading this blog of my time in Guangzhou, stay tuned to read more about my more trips in China!
Isabella
More to read…
Please click the button below to read more stories from the ‘My China Story’ column.
Good news —— The Chairman’s Bao has offered its free trial period until Wed 12/06
The Chairman’s Bao (TCB), or《主席日报》(Zhǔxí Rìbào) in Chinese, is the platform for the world’s most comprehensive news-based graded reader for learners of Chinese.
This summer, TCB has kindly offered a number of free trial places for its institutional users. At Queen’s, we have limited places to give out to those who have been learning Chinese with us currently or those who intend to learn the language.
If you would like to get a chance for a free trial, please contact Dr Liang Wang (Liang.Wang[@]qub.ac.uk) for more information and log-in details.
The date for the Chinese day was selected from Guyu (“Rain of Millet”), which is the 6th of 24 solar terms in the traditional East Asian calendars, to pay tribute to Cangjie. Cangjie is a very important figure in ancient China, claimed to be an official historian of the Yellow Emperor and the inventor of Chinese characters. Legend has it that he had four eyes and four pupils, and that when he invented the characters, the deities and ghosts cried and the sky rained millet. From then on, Chinese people celebrate the day Guyu in honour of Cangjie. In the Gregorian calendar, it usually begins around April 20.
To celebrate this year’s UN Chinese Language Day, we are delighted to welcome two speakers, Isabella Souza Mclaughlin (苏蔓伊) at Queen’s and Qinyuan Li (李沁园) from Trinity College Dublin, to our Chinese Culture Forum. They will offer insights into their journeys of learning, teaching, and researching the Chinese language in the island of Ireland.
Speakers:
Isabella Souza Mclaughlin is a bilingual English and Portuguese speaker with a keen interest in language-learning. Graduated with BSc in International Business with Mandarin Chinese, Isabella is currently Global Marketing and Recruitment Co-ordinator in Global Student Recruitment at Queen’s.
Qinyuan Li is a PhD candidate in language education at the School of Education, Trinity College Dublin. She has developed her research interests in multilingualism, language acquisition, and the application of technology in educational contexts. Currently, she is engaged in a research project titled ‘Third or Additional Language Learning Strategies: How Learners in Ireland Learn the Chinese Language’, which is funded by the TCD-China Scholarship Council Award.
Date: Friday 19 April 2024
Time: 14:00-15:30 (GMT)
Channel: QUB MS Teams (link will be shared after registration)
