This year the Double Ninth Day falls on Sunday 25th October. In Chinese it is called as 重阳 (Chóngyáng), also known as Seniors’ Day. What does it mean then? Why is it related to the elderly historically and contemporarily in Chinese society? What do Chinese people do on the day?
Come join in our latest session of the Chinese Culture Forum 2020 series, delivered by Sihua Tang, a Master in Education candidate from SSESW, Queen’s and also enthusiastic volunteer in promoting language and culture.
For members of the public who would like to attend, please leave your name and email contact in the comment box (will not be displayed) below so that we can send you the invitation link.
This year the Mid-Autumn Festival, 中秋节 (Zhōngqiū jié) in Chinese, falls rightly on the 1st October, which coincides the Chinese National Day.
At Queen’s we are hosting an online celebration including a culture talk with language taster session, cultural performances, a culture quiz and poem appreciation, contributed by Queen’s Chinese students and alumni. The event is scheduled between 12:30 and 13:45 on the day. You are all very welcome to attend the session with the information and registration link below:
Festive greeting with invitation from the Language Centre
Normally people would greet each other by saying 中秋节快乐 (Happy Mid-Autumn Festival). However, in this special time of facing pandemic threat, we can add 安康 (ānkāng), meaning peace and healthy, after 快乐 (kuàilè), which becomes “中秋节快乐安康 (Zhōngqiū jié kuàilè ānkāng)”.
中 (zhōng) – middle, centre
秋 (qiū) – autumn
中秋 (Zhōngqiū) – mid-Autumn
节 (jié) – festival, day
快乐 (kuàilè) – happy
安康 (ānkāng) – peace and healthy
To learn more Chinese vocabulary and expressions in a structured way, you are welcome to attend one of our Chinese courses for non-specialist purposes.
Please submit your answers in the comment box below.
Q1. Mid-Autumn Festival is the time for people to ______ in China. A. travel for sightseeing B. have dragon boat races C. worship family ancestors D. have family reunion
Q2. When is the Mid-Autumn Festival due, according to the Chinese lunar calendar? A. the 1st day of the 8th month B. the 8th day of the 8th month C. the 15th day of the 8th month D. the last day of the 8th month
Q3. What particular dessert do Chinese people like to eat on Mid-Autumn Festival? A. pan cake B. moon cake C. pork pie D. jiaozi dumpling
Q4. What do Chinese people, home and abroad, particularly do on this particular occasion? A. watching TV and playing cards B. making moon cakes and pies C. watching the moon and thinking of family D. going to pubs and eating out
Q5. In which year did the Mid-Autumn festival become an official holiday in China? A. 2008 B. 2004 C. 2010 D. 2001
Q6. What kinds of Chinese mythology are closely related to Mid-Autumn Festival? A. The Monkey Myth B. The Moon Goddess Chang’e C. Yu, the hero who rebuilt the Earth D. Yi, the hero who shot suns
Q7. How many suns did Yi shoot down from the sky? A. 10 B. 9 C. 8 D. 1
Q8. Why did Chang’e leave Yi? A. Yi could not afford the cost of living B. Chang’e’s parents did not allow her to be with him C. Chang’e did not love Yi anymore D. In order to keep the elixir, Chang’e swallowed it and ascended to the moon
Q9. What does this radical part ‘𥫗’ mean in the character of ‘筝 (zheng, or Chinese zither)’? A. bamboo B. wood C. Stone D. Grass
Q10. What is normally written on the surface of a mooncake? A. Greetings and wishes for the festival celebration B. The company trademark/logo/slogan which made the mooncake C. Instructions of how to taste the mooncake D. The ingredients of the mooncake
With new students’ arrival and returning students back to Queen’s, the campus is full of welcomes and smiles – although social distance should still be maintained. The first charted airplane from Beijing to Belfast in ready on its way, due to departure in the evening on the 18th Sept. Let’s wish them a smooth and pleasant journey!
How to say ‘welcome’ in Chinese?
Photo taken at the Belfast City Airport. The welcome board displays multilingual expressions of ‘Welcome’ messages. However, some messages, including Chinese, are hardly visible due to background colour. Image@ Liang Wang.
So, to say ‘welcome’ in Chinese, one would at least say the word ‘欢迎’ twice to demonstrate a real welcoming atmosphere, plus a smiling face, and perhaps shaking hands in formal and business contexts. One seldom hugs or kisses to welcome people in the Chinese culture.
How to say ‘Welcome to Queen’s University Belfast!’, then?
The gate and The Lanyon Building of Queen’s University Belfast. Image@QUB
Now that you know how to say ‘welcome’ – 欢迎, the order of the message is exactly the same as in English in this expression. Let’s learn a few more vocabulary, including Queen’s in Chinese.
来 (lái) – to come
女王 (nǚwáng) – queen
大学 (dàxué) – university
贝尔法斯特 (Bèi’ěrfǎsītè) – Belfast
Queen’s University Belfast (Queen’s in a known context) has its Chinese equivalence， which is called 贝尔法斯特女王大学. It can be further shortened as 女王大学 in the local context. Therefore, put together, the whole expression can be 欢迎来(贝尔法斯特)女王大学！
10th September is the Teachers’ Day in China. Let’s take this opportunity to wish all the teachers and would-be teachers a very special (no holiday, nor extra payment) and happy (only among ourselves) day!
On this day in China meetings and ceremonial events are often held to award star teachers who are considered role models and have made significant contributions to education at different levels. Pupils and students often give flowers and cards to their mentors to thank them for their influence on many young hearts and minds.
Image: The Lanyon Building, Queen’s University Belfast
Language tips:
祝 (zhù) – to wish, to celebrate
教师 (jiàoshī) – teacher
节 (jié) – festival
教师节 – Teachers’ Day
快乐 (kuàilè) – happy
How would you celebrate Teachers’ Day in your culture? Share with us if you have any stories by writing in the comment box below.
The new semester language courses are open for registration now
LANGUAGE CENTRE PROGRAMME
AUTUMN 2020
Registration opens on Monday 7 September at 00:30 and close promptly at 17:00 on Thursday 8 October. Classes are expected to be extremely popular and usually fill up quickly, so early registration is strongly recommended.
I just want to thank you, Yu and all the Language Centre team for this course and all the resources over the past few weeks. The free and open access has been fantastic and this Mandarin course has been a great starter for me! … I will certainly keep my eye on Language Centre updates, and hope that I may return to the next course in the future! In the meantime, I look forward to consolidating the Mandarin taught in this course …
Many thanks again, and please pass my thanks on to Yu for her great teaching, 谢谢！
Did you know that the Chinese traditionally celebrate their own Valentine’s Day on the 7th day of the 7th month in the lunar calendar? It falls on Tuesday 25th August this year.
Officially called Qixi Festival (七夕节 Qīxī jié), it celebrates the annual reunion of the cowherd (牛郎 Niúláng) and weaver girl (织女 Zhīnǚ) in mythology, dating back to the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD), which later inspired the Tanabata (たなばた) festival in Japan and Chilseok (칠석) festival in Korea.
It’s been a traditional occasion for girls to pray to the weaver girl for wisdom by demonstrating their talented domestic skills (e.g. needlework and weave). Modern-day celebration highlights the female’s role and contribution to families and society.
Due to pandemic we are unable to host any onsite activities for entertainment and appreciation of its culture. However, here’s the display of last year’s celebration of Qixi Festival, including photos of Chinese paper-folding/cutting, Guzheng music performance and Chinese calligraphy.
TIME FLIES! It’s coming to the end of July when many of us have been in our summer holiday mode whether travelling around or having staycation. Here’s the update of the Chinese LIG.
Two of our Language Interest Group volunteers, Zhenru Shang (尚珍如) and Xiaohui Liao (廖小惠), return to China this month and we’d like to thank them for their contribution to the LIG activities as well as the Spring Festival celebrations earlier in the year. We wish them good luck in completing their degrees in the coming months and make further pursuit in their respective life. While they are back in China, they can still be in touch via Teams, if you would like to continue to make appointments.
Meanwhile, let’s welcome a new volunteer, Shamisha Tew (张蜜莎), to join the team in supporting Chinese language practice in real life communication. As a learner of Chinese, she can speak native level of Mandarin Chinese and is happy to meet you online and share with you her intercultural language learning experience.
Lockdown Language Learning – Mandarin Chinese recordings uploaded
With the completion of the last live clinic of Lockdown Chinese session, all the resources and recordings are now available via the Mandarin Chinese Section.
Whilst we do not have an official end date after which these resources will no longer be available, once the initial 5/10 weeks of live clinics comes to an end, we will review the situation on an ongoing basis and the resources will be removed alongside the transition to more normal working routines.
If you would like to stay with us in the follow-up Chinese language courses, please keep an eye on the update of our Language Centre website.
Thanks again for your great participation and enthusiasm! Stay safe and positive for a summer break.
This year the iconic Dragon Boat Festival (端午节 Duānwǔjié) falls on Thursday 25th June. Although it won’t be the same as before that we could get together to celebrate, we welcome you to join the Chinese Culture Forum via MS Teams.
Date: Wednesday 24th June Time: 4 – 5 pm Access: MS Teams > QUB Chinese LIG
Today is the longest day in the northern hemisphere – how do you celebrate it?
In Chinese culture, this day is called 夏至 (xiàzhì), literally meaning the extreme (至) of the summer (夏). It is one of the 24 solar terms in Chinese culture.
Watch the video below to see how Chinese people celebrate it. Did you notice any of the celebrations of Chinese friends or neighbours today?
