Chinese Cultural Activities at Sainte-Marie High School

On 30th November 2024, Chinese teachers of the Confucius Institute in Artois Chen Yunyun, Xu Meng and Qiu Shuzhen were invited to Sainte-Marie High School in Lille to conduct a series of Chinese cultural activities in support of the school's Open Day and the recruitment of Chinese learners. The event lasted three and a half hours and was attended by more than two hundred students and their parents.
 

As the Open Day lasted over a long period of time, many students and parents flowed to visit the different language classrooms. Ms. Chen Yunyun randomly played different styles of pipa music, attracting parents to stop and listen in the Chinese classrooms. Ms. Chen also used a combination of performance and explanation to introduce the knowledge of the Pipa for those who were interested. During this time, the school's teacher who plays western instruments was attracted by Ms. Chen's performance and tried playing a piece of music full of French style by using the Pipa. Ms. Qiu Shuzhen presented the Chinese tea ceremony and explained the knowledge related to the tea ceremony. Ms. Qiu set up a Chinese style tea table in advance and interacted with the parents and students, helped them learn about the six major types of tea in China and the origins of tea through interactive questions during the tea tasting. At the same time, during the tea ceremony, Ms. Qiu encouraged the students to sign up for the Chinese language program so that they can go to China in person to taste authentic Chinese tea in the future.

Mr. Xu Meng was in charge of demonstrating Taijiquan and explaining Taiji related knowledge. With the song ‘The Wild Geese’ as the background music, Mr. Xu showed the teachers, students and parents the Chen-style Taijiquan Essential Eighteen Moves, interspersed with short presentations about the theoretical knowledge of Taijiquan and the characteristics and benefits of Taijiquan, as well as exchanging ideas with students and answering their questions. In addition, Mr. Xu invited some of the students from time to time to experience Taijiquan and learnt some classical moves. During the process, he used the Chinese words ‘one, two, three, four ......’ to give instructions, inviting participants to follow along and feel the characteristics of Chinese pronunciation.     

The activities were welcomed and enjoyed by the teachers, students and parents of the school, and was part of the Confucius Institute's series of bringing Chinese cultural activities into the local Chinese classroom, contributing to the promotion of enrolment in Chinese language programs in local schools.