Source: School of Foreign Languages
Written by: School of Foreign Languages
Translated by: Sun Xinyue
Proofread by: Liang Jianxin
Edited by: Wang Dongmei

Recently, a culture salon on “Chinese fan-painting” was held in School of Foreign Languages, Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU). This salon, organized by graduate students in the Masters of Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages (MTCSOL) Program,displayed the exquisite Chinese fan-painting art by delineating Chinese painting and calligraphy. It attracted 20 international students from 15 countries including Russia, Indonesia, Korea, Greece, Thailand and Belgium, etc.

The salon was hosted by two international students who had studied Chinese for many years. At the beginning, they introduced the history and classification of traditional Chinese fans, helping the students gain a basic understanding of the circular fan, folding fan, Chinese painting and inscription. Then, through intriguing quizzes and a game named “listen to music and pass the fan”, students’ knowledge about Chinese fans was deepened. The game was well designed and interesting, during which students from different countries had heated discussions and created a lively atmosphere.

A Chinese student teaching the international student fan-painting hand by hand

During the “paint your own fan” and “vote for the best” part, the students finished painting their fans by themselves. They enjoyed the fun of fan-painting and experienced the charm of traditional Chinese culture. 

The “fan show” part witnessed the climax of the salon. Accompanied by music of different styles and rhythms, the students imitated the Chinese students dressed in cheongsams to swing the fans in their hands and change their postures, which made up an amusing and bustling scene. All the students then lifted their fans and held their favorite poses. Thus the best picture of “Chinese style, fan it up” was captured.
 

Group photo

When the salon was concluded, some students were still reluctant to leave. They added the last tint to their fans and expressed their sincere gratitude to the students who organized this activity. Grigorios Ntilis, a student from Greece said, “Thank you so much. I am very glad to take part in this activity. It is full of Chinese flavor.”