Source: School of Foreign Languages
Written by: Zhang Shan, Li Xiaojuan
Translated by: Fan Shimeng, Li Shouyi
Proofread by: Liang Jianxin
Edited by: Wang Dongmei

Recently, a Chinese salon on seal carving was held by students of Master of Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages program at School of Foreign Languages, Sun Yat-sen University. The activity attracted 27 international students from 12 countries including the United States, Japan, Mexico, Spain, Russia, etc.

As a representation of traditional folk art, Chinese seal carving was listed as one of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage elements. Although the carving space it provides may be limited, Chinese seal demonstrates the charm of Chinese calligraphy and facilitates international students’ understanding of Chinese characters and culture. 
 

Seal Carving
 

Started with a video on seal carving, the activity helped the international students gain a basic understanding about the theme. In the "Carve Your Own Seal" part, some participants used the seal scripts of Chinese characters as templates to carve their own names, some participants created a variety of patterns, enriching the content of the seals. For example, Shakhbozi from Tajikistan put simplified Chinese characters of "I love my mother" on the stamps, expressing his deep affection to his mother. Some couples carved either their names or the shape of heart to make the seal carving process an exclusive memory.

Zhou Xiaobing, professor of School of Foreign Languages and director of Base for International Chinese Teaching Materials Developing and Teacher Training, attended the activity. Professor Zhou pointed out that while character teaching is of great difficulty, the seal carving activity made characters more tangible for international students and gave them the opportunity to experience Chinese culture. He also suggested that more two-way cultural exchange activities should be held in the future to promote mutual understanding.
 

Heart to Heart
 

The salon concluded with all the international students stamping their own seals on a Chinese calligraphy work of "Heart to Heart". “I am very happy to participate in the activity, the atmosphere was awesome and I am looking forward to the next event," a Spanish student named Saul commented.

The Chinese salon series of activities have been held by Department of Chinese as a Second Language since 2007 and the seal carving salon is the 109th of the series.