Eggcellent Easter

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Happy Easter Break! 复活节假期快乐！

Did you buy some eggs or egg-shaped chocolate for Easter? They look so cute and tasty that one can hardly resist the temptation not to buy one.

Chocolate eggs in a supermarket. Image@LiangWANG

But why it has to be eggs or egg-shaped thing during Easter? Here’s the explanation:

‘The egg, an ancient symbol of new life, has been associated with pagan festivals celebrating spring. From a Christian perspective, Easter eggs are said to represent Jesus’ emergence from the tomb and resurrection. Decorating eggs for Easter is a tradition that dates back to at least the 13th century, according to some sources. One explanation for this custom is that eggs were formerly a forbidden food during the Lenten season, so people would paint and decorate them to mark the end of the period of penance and fasting, then eat them on Easter as a celebration.’

History

Besides buying ready-made egg decorations from shops, painting eggs is one of the most popular activities for not only those families with young children, but also others who want to have creative experience with lots of fun during Easter. International student ambassadors from Queen’s recently joined an egg decorating event, organised by AHSS (Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences), to celebrate their Easter on campus.

Key words in Chinese

  • 复活节 (Fùhuó jié) – Easter
  • 装饰 (zhuāngshì) – to decorate
  • 绘画 (huìhuà) – to paint
  • 彩绘 (cǎihuì) – colour painting
  • 蛋 (dàn) – egg
  • 巧克力 (qiǎokèlì) – chocolate

How did it go? We invite one of the International Student Ambassadors, Xiuying, to share her experience with you.

Xiuying DENG is currently a postgraduate student in Marketing from Queen’s University Management School. Images@XiuyingDENG

I was so lucky to be invited and it was such an amazing experience! Drawing is not my strong point at all, to be honest, so I felt a bit nervous before getting started. Here I chose to paint a chick at first, which is really out of the ordinary with different colors because it wore a pair of glasses HAHA! Then, I “dressed up” three plastic eggs. As you can see, some were with colored ribbons and some were with small spots.

At the end of the event, we all voted together to see which was the best. Fortunately, I was awarded a souvenir by Queen’s. I felt that my drawing was not that bad. Anyway, it was an unforgettable experience for me to celebrate Easter in the UK, especially with the cohort of 10 lovely student ambassadors!

We hope you have had fun together with us. If you have done your own egg paintings or other decorations, you are very welcome to share your photos here for a collection of ‘eggcellent’ show.

  • Easter bunny and eggs – Image@XiaoxuanXIA

Celebrating Chinese Language Day

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联合国中文节快乐！(Liánhé Guó Zhōngwén jié kuàilè) Happy UN Chinese Language Day!

The Chinese language is one of the six official languages used in the United Nations and together with Arabic, English, French, Russian and Spanish, each of them is designated with a date to ‘celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity as well as to promote equal use of all six official languages throughout the Organization’.

Celebrating Chinese Language Day at Queen’s, Image@LiangWang

On Wednesday 13th April, just before the university’s Easter closure, The Language Centre organised a small-scale celebration with students – both Chinese and non-Chinese – at the McClay Library, Queen’s University Belfast. This is the first on-campus in-person Chinese event after a two-year-long isolation working from home.

Small but highly interactive with lots of fun, the cohort not only learned about the culture of this special day, but also explored a range of Chinese language resources and platforms in support of intercultural language learning both online and in physical settings.

The third semester language course enrolment remains open until Thursday 21st April. Check Mandarin Chinese course page for more details.

– With Kristoff, Sijie, Guangyan and Jiaqi (from left to right), Image@LiangWang

Call for participation –

  • Event 1 – We would like to hear your interesting stories about experience of using Chinese language in an intercultural context. This can be a Chinese-speaking person helping their international friends or learners of Chinese with the language, in which a misunderstanding or miscommunication took place, or a learner of Chinese encountering various situations when Chinese language was used in a creative but funny way.
  • Event 2 – Chinese and Irish Traditional Music – The Language of The Sound. We warmly welcome you, especially QUB students, to attend the student-led event at Queen’s on Saturday 28/05. Details and registration information will be published soon.
  • Event 3 – We are inviting volunteers to contribute to the Duanwu Festival (Friday 03/06) celebration in a variety of ways. It can be a culture workshop, performance, demo, talent show, photo or short video of your cultural celebration etc., as long as they are interactive and engaging.
  • Regular events – Chinese Culture Forum 2022. While we will do our best to arrange the sessions on topics or issues of potential interest, we are open to suggestions and proposals from you – whether you are a Queen’s staff member, or a student, or a visiting scholar, or a professional from the outside.

You are all welcome to contact us by filling the Reply box (background, proposed topic, ways of delivery, availability, etc.)

One day in London

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Monday 28th March – What an intense and packed day at the UCL Institute of Education for our students Isabella and Caleb from Queen’s Management School, together with Dr Liang Wang from The Language Centre, to help with promoting the University and its International Business with Mandarin Chinese programme, among a cohort of a dozen of universities from the rest of the UK. 

It was great to be in attendance at the UK Schools and Universities Day 2022, sharing details of our offer, listening to what prospective students’ interests and concerns are, and joining in discussions on how to strengthen the ties between schools and universities across the UK in terms of Chinese language provision. As a final year student of International Business with Chinese, Isabella noted that: 

‘I learned a lot about what other universities across the UK were offering in relation to studying Mandarin Chinese, and spoke to staff of universities and schools from whom I understood there is a demand for studying Mandarin at university, particularly in conjunction with other subjects, such as business, sciences, arts, law and other languages.’ 

For any students who are interested in our International Business with Mandarin Chinese programme, please visit the course page.  

Longtaitou Festival

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What’s Longtaitou Festival?

The traditional Chinese Longtaitou (龙抬头 Lóng tái tóu) Festival, or Dragon-Head-Raising Festival, falls on the second day of the second lunar month every year, and recognises the start of spring and farming. This year it falls on 4th March.

Dragon Dance at the Chinese New Year Celebrations at Queen’s in 2020

In Chinese mythology, 龙 (Chinese dragon or coined as Loong), with its connotations for good luck and supreme power, is also the god managing weather and water, bring rainfalls for crops to grow and harvest. So this Longtaitou Festival is mainly about praying for good weather in spring with good rainfalls, the key time for plowing the fields.

Learning Chinese language and culture at Queen’s

3rd Semester Language Course Registration is open and closes promptly at 17:00 on Thursday 21 April 2022. Classes are expected to be extremely popular and fill up quickly, so early registration is strongly recommended.

To register with a Mandarin Chinese course, please follow the course information page for more information with links to registrations.

Mandarin Chinese Courses

2022 Chinese Language Video Festival launched

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‘China Chic’: Chinese Language Video Festival launched to celebrate UN Chinese Language Day

CGTN.COM

The theme this year is “China Chic” – a modern take on traditional Chinese heritage from young people around the world. As China has continued to progress and innovate, unique cultural elements have been adapted to fit the very latest trends, with the younger generation increasingly aware of regional differences.

All non-native Chinese speakers from around the world are invited to submit an original video showcasing the beauty of Chinese traditions and how they are incorporated into the modern world.

Read CGTN for more details.

Translating Friel: ‘The Widowhood System’ (1964) as a Chinese audiobook

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布莱恩.弗里尔的中国式重现——《咕家寡人》剧本朗读与研讨

  • Date: Friday 4th March 2022
  • Time: 18:30 – 19:45 GMT
  • Venue: Brian Friel Theatre, 20 University Square, Queen’s University, Belfast BT7 1NN
  • Language: English/Chinese
  • Booking: Eventbrite (free, but advanced booking essential)

Join us for an audio journey that brings together 1960s Northern Ireland and 21st Century China. Alongside excerpts from the original English version, Chinese Students from the Centre for Translating and Interpreting (CTI) at Queen’s University will narrate a new translated adaptation of Brian Friel’s short story ‘The Widowhood System’. 

The Widowhood System是一个由布莱恩.弗里尔写于二十世纪六十年代的爱尔兰故事。三个嗜酒如命的中年单身汉，为了追逐埋藏于心多年的赛鸽梦，开始了一场堂吉诃德式的养鸽之旅。殊不知，赛鸽的命运和他们的人生产生了奇妙的重合……

大半个世纪后，一群来到贝尔法斯特的中国留学生在故纸堆里发现了这个故事，他们决定用自己的方式把它讲述出来，于是便有了《咕家寡人》。

About this event

What effect does translation have in transporting a story across time and space? When the page is adapted for the stage, what role does a translator play? What happens when a translator, often considered as the one doing the paperwork, leaves their desk to work as a theatre practitioner?

In this script reading and discussion event, co-organized by CTI, Friel Reimagined, and the Brian Friel Theatre, the translator, Chuchu, the music producer, Kehan and the actors will present the original text, the translated work and the procedure of the adaptation— a Chinese audiobook based on the story ‘The Widowhood System’ by the great Irish playwright Brian Friel. With the original text in English, the Chinese voice actors reading the translated version, and the translator sharing the background of the translation and adaptation process, this event aims to provide a unique insight into how a translated play is produced and presented.

活动简介 

翻译，改编，排演，录制一出广播剧是一种怎样的体验？让一群21世纪的中国年轻人讲述一个1960年代的爱尔兰故事，会碰撞出什么奇妙的火花？

此次剧本朗读会，将由音乐制作人可瀚带领来自女王大学口笔译中心，以及计算机学院的中国演员们，呈现《咕家寡人》的部分内容。以舞台表演与原创音效相配合，给大家带来一场跨越时空的听觉盛宴。朗读结束后，译者楚楚将带领大家走进戏剧翻译的台前与幕后，揭秘《咕家寡人》的制作过程。大家也可以畅所欲言，和主创团队分享自己对于故事的感受，提出宝贵建议。

一起来听故事吧！说不定，你能在这个故事里，看到你自己。

Translator Profile 译者简介 

Shurui Yang, aka Chuchu, is a PhD in translation from Center of Translation and Interpreting. Supervised by Prof. David Johnston and Dr. Kathleen Kaess, she mainly focuses on translating Brian Friel’s work from English into Chinese.

杨姝睿（楚楚），女王大学口笔译中心翻译博士在读。师从戏剧翻译家David Johnston教授与Kathleen Kaess博士。主要研究方向为布莱恩·弗里尔的戏剧翻译。

More information

Chinese Competition for UK HEI Learners

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Please note that The Language Centre is not involved in this competition provision. Any queries regarding this competition shall be sent to the organiser directly.

2022 Chinese Competition of Charitable Projects & Business Innovations for UK University Students

Following the successful running of the online Chinese Competition of Charitable Projects and Business Innovations for UK University Students in 2020 and 2021 despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2022 Competition will be held in April 2022, organised by Centre for Language Education and Cooperation, UK.

Competition Date:
10th April 2022 (Sunday)

Format:
Zoom Online

Contestants’ Qualifications:
Undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD students studying at schools, faculties, departments, Confucius Institutes and language centers of the UK universities and people who take part-time courses, short courses and/or evening classes at the UK universities in 2021 to 2022. The mother tongue is not Chinese and the key family members’ mother tongue is not Chinese.

Theme:
Topics related to charitable projects and business innovations, including but not limited to charitable projects, business plans, product introductions, introduction of companies and enterprises, business cases, project initiatives and market researches.

Content:
Speech presentation*: 8 to 10 minutes
Q&A: 5 minutes
*Remarks: If there are videos produced by the contestant imbedded in the presentation, the videos can be no more than twice and longer than 1 minute.

Language:
Mandarin Chinese

Prizes:
Contestants who rank top 6 of the competition will be awarded certificates and partial contribution to the return airfare of undertaking work placement and/or attending business Chinese classes in China. The rest of the contestants will be awarded certificate of participation of the competition and souvenirs.

Enrollment:
1) Contestants please complete and submit the online application form together with the speech synopsis and other required supporting documents no later than 5pm on 11th March (Friday)
2) Participating universities please email the signed and dated confirmation form to the Organising Committee on later than 5pm on the 11th March (Friday).

Number of Contestants:
In principle no more than 3 contestants from each participating university.

Support from the industry:
Senior business personnel of the UK based key Chinese entreprises and companies and the local British counterparts will join the judging panel of the competition and provide awards for the competition as well as offer work placement for prominent contestants of the competition.

Contact:
Name: Christina Zhang
Email: bccompetition@clecuk.org

Application Form (to be submitted by contestants online)

Confirmation FormDownload

Happy Lantern Festival

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Happy Lantern Festival! 元宵节快乐！

With thanks to our students Chen and Yuhang who shared the beautiful lantern photos taken in Belfast, we would like to wish you all a happy and healthy year!

Today is the Lantern Festival, which marks the first full moon of the new lunar year and the end of the Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) celebration period. We hope you have enjoyed our Year of the Tiger celebration events so far, and welcome you to continue with our Chinese Culture Forum, with two cultural talks remaining in February (16th and 23rd).

For upcoming events, please follow our Chinese Culture Forum 2022 for updates.

Chinese Sign Language Dance

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The Chinese New Year is conventionally known as Spring Festival (春节 chūnjié) in China, which welcomes the arrival of spring despite of the cold weather that remains. People are full of hope for a new start in their life when the world comes back to life.

With thanks to our talented graduate Tang LI, we hope that you will be able to enjoy this melody and beautiful Chinese sign language dance.

Song: Early Spring (《春三月》)

Performer: Tang LI, graduate from Queen’s University Management School

For better effect, you may watch it from Youtube.
For audience from mainland China, you may watch this performance by click this link.

The meaning and translation of the Chinese sign language dance:

niǎo’r rào zhǐyuān shēngshēng sù
鸟儿 绕  纸鸢   声声    诉 The birds dance with the paper kite, cooing and wooing.
sānyuè lái bǎi cǎo kāi
三  月  来  百  草  开  The grass blooms in March
yíng xiāng mǎn xiù wàn wù sū
盈   香    满  袖  万  物 苏   The air is full of fragrance as the earth comes back to life.
chóng míng hé zhe huānxiào xīnshì shū
虫    鸣   和 着  欢笑   心事  舒  The insects sing cheerfully, with no worries in mind.
sānyuè lái nuǎn yáng fù
三  月  来  暖   阳   复   The world has warmed since March
xiāng xié qù tàqīng chù
相    携  去 踏青   处  as the people venture out, a new green world to find
mò shàng huā kāi mǎn lù xiāng rù tǔ
陌 上    花  开  满  路 香    入 土 Flowers bloom everywhere alongside the paths and the soil was soaked with incense.
sānyuè lái yǒu guī rén
三  月  来  有  归  人  As people return in March
mǎ tà qiǎn cǎo shēng cuīcù
马 踏 浅   草  声    催促 with horses treading the shallow grass,
chūn yǒu qī guī yǒu rì
春   有  期 归  有  日 Spring has its term and people know to expect it.
jīn guī tú
今  归  途 As people return again
sānyuè lái shēng qíngsù
三  月  来  生    情愫     They plant their sentiment in March
chūn gāng fù
春   刚   复  As Spring arrives again
qíng rù gǔ 
情   入 骨  The sentiment is so profound that it has been rooted to the people’s bones
jiè lǚ dōng fēng hù sù
借  缕 东   风   互 诉   whispering to one another through the spring breeze
xiāng ài mù
相    爱 慕   their love and affection for each other.

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Chinese singing and folk dance

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There is no celebration without singing and dancing.

Yangge dance (秧歌 yāngge) has a long history dating back to Han Dynasty and has become an essential part of festival celebrations in China. Every year, in the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, Yangge will be performed to mark a prosperous new year.

In this short video presentation, we invited the Yangge Dance Team of Chinese Welfare Association Northern Ireland to send their CNY greetings with some folk dance clips for appreciation. Hope you will enjoy it.

For better effect, you may watch it from Youtube.
For audience from mainland China, you can access the video via this link

We are also grateful to Sharon Fan, one of our Chinese tutors, to perform her singing for your appreciation.

For better effect, you may watch it from Youtube.
For audience from mainland China, you may access via this link.
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