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ECNU elements shine at global Chinese Spring Festival

02/19/2016


The Chinese Spring Festival, an occasion which features caring for families and friends, is also known for its inclusiveness, which allows people from across the world to join the celebration regardless of their cultural, racial and religious backgrounds. The traditions of the festival, such as going home for a family reunion, enjoying food together, getting rid of old clothes and wearing new ones, praying for a peaceful year and exchanging blessings, can be found across different cultures. With more and more people around the world have begun to celebrate the occassion, the Chinese Spring Festival goes more and more global. 

During the Spring Festival of the Year of Monkey, Professor Zhou Bin of the Institute for International Communication of Chinese Culture at ECNU, has made the global festival shine with more calligraphy charm.

During the Spring Festival, Professor Zhou sent a spring couplet to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Ban accepted it gladly and asked Zhou to extend his best wishes to all ECNUers: Happy New Year and good luck in the Year of Monkey!

Zhang Qiyue, Chinese Consulate General in New York, is a fan of Chinese calligraphy. As an old friend of Professor Zhou, she was very glad to have received the spring couplet written by him during the Special Festival and sent him a calligraphy work of her own in return.

Zhou has been teaching Ban Ki-moon calligraphy for four years. He also gives calligraphy lessons to the staff at the UN headquarters during school vacations in China. When teaching calligraphy, he says he’s rather teaching them the Chinese culture. In recent years, he has participated and chaired some “Happy Chinese Spring Festival” events. China’s Ministry of Culture has organized “Happy Chinese Spring Festival” events around the world to make the Chines New Year and the Chinese culture better understood.

On February 8 (the first day of the Chinese Year of Monkey), a “Happy Chinese Spring Festival” was held at the Junior United Nations of Calligraphy. Professor Zhou and some UN officials introduced the traditions and customs of the Chinese Spring Festival. During the events, the teenager participants wrote various forms of Chinese character “spring” to show their greetings of the new year. 

The Junior United Nations of Calligraphy is an international school for the children of diplomats and UN officials to learn Chinese calligraphy. Professor Zhou set up it in April, 2014 in New York with the support of Ban Ki-moon. It has attracted hundreds of teenagers to learn the Chinese calligraphy and culture since its establishment. 


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