{"id":3706,"date":"2023-04-20T03:48:44","date_gmt":"2023-04-20T02:48:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/mandarinchinese\/?p=3706"},"modified":"2023-04-20T11:06:02","modified_gmt":"2023-04-20T10:06:02","slug":"happy-un-chinese-language-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/mandarinchinese\/2023\/04\/20\/happy-un-chinese-language-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy UN Chinese Language Day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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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.<\/p>The UN<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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On this occasion we provide this special edition to invite you to join us in celebrating the charm of the Chinese language – in its written form through calligraphy and spoken form through recitation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SONG Yihui<\/strong> (\u5b8b\u4e00\u5349), a recently graduated doctoral student from School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, has a number of hobbies rooted in traditional Chinese culture, including calligraphy, classic dancing and Hanfu costume. Below she tells us how she has maintained her practice of Chinese calligraphy since childhood.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I first learned calligraphy when I was eight years old, probably because of my curiosity facilitated by my parents. At that time, I started from learning to write the basic strokes – horizontal and vertical, which required a lot of patience and perseverance. I was so envious of other fellows who could exercise their skillful hands freely. However, after learning Yan-style of calligraphy for three years when I wrote with more confidence, I had to put down my brush and switched my full attention to my study which became more demanding. It was not until in my college time that I picked up my brush again with my genuine passion for calligraphy. This flame of enthusiasm has been kept for my life in the UK. When I was packing up my luggage, I had no hesitation to include my beloved set of calligraphy treasures in the suitcase.<\/p>

To me, calligraphy is a journey of time and space through the written form of our language, with which I could always conduct spiritual dialogues with our ancestors thousands of years ago.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Below is a selected collection of Yihui’s calligraphic works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n