DATE
RSVP
Chinese Summer Camp 2010 Hosted by The Confucius Institute at The University of Akron
Dear Campers:
你好(Hello)! 欢迎 (Welcome)!
Congratulations on your decision to join
the 2010 Chinese Summer Camp at The
University of Akron.
Although you may have been to Summer
camps before, this one is a camp like no
other. You can
learn Chinese language, watch Chinese
videos, listen to Chinese music, eat Chi-
nese food, play Chinese
games, … Just think about it—having fun
with your new Chinese friends, Isn’t it
great?!
Our dedicated camp faculty, staff, and
volunteers are from the Confucius Insti-
tute at The University of
Akron, Akron International Friendship,
ASIA Inc. and the Chinese Students and
Scholars Association. We are ready!
This week-long Chinese Summer Camp
will leave you with memories of lifetime.
I am looking forward to
seeing you at the Camp.
谢谢 (Thank you)!
Yang Lin, Ph.D.
Director
Confucius Institute at
The University of Akron
Issue 1- Monday, July 19, 2010
Today we are celebrating:
Chinese New Year, Lunar New Year, or
Spring Festival __春节 __ chūnjié
is the most important of the traditional
Chinese holidays. Within China, regional cus-
toms and traditions concerning the celebration of the Chinese new
year vary widely. People will pour out their money to buy pre-
sents, decoration, material, food, and clothing. It is also the tradi-
tion that every family thoroughly cleans the house to sweep away
any ill-fortune in hopes to make way for good incoming luck.
Windows and doors will be decorated with red color paper -cuts
and couplets with popular themes of “happiness”, “wealth”, and
“longevity”. On the Eve of Chinese New Year, supper is a feast
with families. Food will include such items as pigs, ducks, chicken
and sweet delicacies. The family will end the night with firecrack-
ers. Early the next morning, children will greet their parents by
wishing them a healthy and happy new year, and receive money in
red paper envelopes. The Chinese New Year tradition is a great
way to reconcile; forgetting all grudges, and sincerely wishes
peace & happiness
"Chinese Lion Dance"
The Chinese lion dance has been performed
for approximately 2000 years. As early as the
Han Dynasty, only the Emperors and his court
were permitted to view it. Today, the Lion
Dance is used at 'open-to-the-public' venues such as, Chinese New
Year, the Moon Festival, Dragon Boat Races at Universi-
ties nation-wide and for most cultural events. The main purpose
of the Lion Dance is to 'scare away' evil spirits and
bring good luck for the year. The Chinese words for
'lion dance' are 'Shi-Wu', literally dancing lion. The
word for 'drum' is 'gu'. The word for gong is 'luo'. The
drum and gong play as the Lion goes through the kung-
fu routines. China Camp Lion Dance Performance by Coiling
Dragon Chinese kung-Fu School— www.coilingdragonkungfu.com
DATE
Featured Activity:
Tai Chi- Today you learned a bit
about the Standard Simplified
Beijing 24 Taijiquan Form. This
form of Tai Chi was based on the
Yang Family style of T'ai Chi
Ch'uan. The 24 Taijiquan Form
could be performed in 4 to 8 min-
utes, and consisted, as would be
expected, of 24 movements, al-
though some of the movements
have two or three parts.
When done properly, the short
form can exemplify grace,
beauty, and many fundamentals
of the art. For these reasons, the
Standard Simplified 24 Taijiquan
Form has become quite popular
and is now taught, practiced and
played all over the world.
Simple Chinese Character Pinyin (pronunciation) English
你 nǐ you
好 hǎo good /fine
你好 nǐhǎo hello
春节 chūnjié spring festival
歌 ɡē song
唱歌 Chàng gē sing a song