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

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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