[School of International Education] Organizes International Students to Participate in Jiangsu Province Chinese Classics Recitation Competition and Wins Award

To thoroughly implement the guiding principles of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, better support the development of both an education and cultural powerhouse, and fully promote the Chinese Classics Recitation Project along with the Classics Enlighten China themed reading initiative, the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Education and the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism have launched the Classics Enlighten China, Carrying on Cultural Heritage 2024 Chinese Classics Recitation, Commentary, and Interpretation activities. This aims to enhance the use of standard spoken and written Chinese while preserving and promoting the excellent Chinese language and culture. The School of International Education, in collaboration with the Quality Education Department, organized eight Thai international students to actively participate in this event. Among them, the work Poetry Rhythm of Huai'an by five students including Sun Zhixun won the Excellence Award in the international student category.

During the preparation period for the competition, under the careful guidance of Sun Xiaoxia and Wang Yubao from the Quality Education Department, the participating international students took Huai'an, known as the Capital of the Grand Canal, as their starting point. They deeply studied multiple classic Chinese poems about Huai'an, providing detailed explanations of the background of these ancient poems, their authors, and the cultural connotations of the poems. They also focused on the training of recitation skills, such as the control of voice and intonation, expression of emotions, and cultivation of stage presence. Their recitation received unanimous recognition from the experts.

This activity improved the Chinese language proficiency of international students and ignited their passion for Chinese classics. Moreover, it allowed them to experience the rhythmic beauty and profound cultural connotations of ancient Chinese poetry, helping them understand the essence of Chinese culture. This has made a positive contribution to bringing outstanding traditional Chinese culture to the world. NJCIT will continue to use competitions to enhance both teaching and learning, continuously improving the level of Chinese language education for international students studying in China and strengthening their ability to use Chinese in real-life situations.

Photo by Sun Xiaoxia, Quality Education Department

Text by Dai Yangzhi, School of International Education

Reviewed by Cao Xue, School of International Education