The Confucius Institute celebrated for the first time in 2020 with spectacular stage productions – then in downtown Debrecen, on the Dósa Palatín square – and then last year due to the pandemic, it created a new tradition by presenting one segment of Chinese art at window exhibitions – recalled Pál Csontos in his welcome speech. The Hungarian director of the institute emphasized: that this year we can be together again during the holiday, for which, thanks to the Budapest Chinese Cultural Center, after Budapest and Miskolc, the traveling exhibition made of New Year’s pictures and presenting 12 works visited Debrecen and the university.
The woodcut exhibition was opened by Jin Hao, director of the Budapest Chinese Cultural Center.
Each picture is a story at the same time and contains the simple, yet beautiful wishes of the Chinese. Just as I wish that the current cooperation thanks to the exhibition will be followed by more between our institute and the University of Debrecen
– said Jin Hao.
In addition to the exhibition, a spectacular decoration in the special room “The Island” of the University and National Library of the University of Debrecen (DEENK) ensured the appropriate atmosphere for the occasion.
The primary task of the library is to support education and research, and to manage and archive various documents, but it is also of prime importance to convey the culture of Hungary and other nations. That is why the modern community space of DEENK hosted the mid-autumn festival, thus combining modernity and traditions
– said Karácsony Gyöngyi, the general director of DEENK.
The holiday, which is based on thousands of years of traditions – whose characteristic dish is the moon cake – is held every year on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month according to the lunar calendar.
As round as the moon is, the life of the city, the university, and the Faculty of Humanities are completed by the Confucius Institute, which cares for the Chinese language and culture, and has been operating in the institution since 2019
– emphasized Péter Csatár, deputy dean of the Faculty of Humanities.
After the opening of the exhibition, Liu Yonghan, a Hungarian master’s student at the Faculty of Humanities, performed on the Guzheng – a Chinese zither – to complete the atmosphere.
The celebration continued with Feng Xueying’s tea ceremony and the “Beautiful Flowers and Full Moon” dance, then Cui Xianjun, the Chinese director of the DE Confucius Institute, introduced the new teachers, teachers Feng Xueying and Pap Fruzsina, and teacher Wang Zaijun, who will teach Chinese language and the latter also excels in the sport of taijiquan, of which he also improvised a one-man show.
Today we are here to spend the festival together, appreciate the beautiful paintings, think about our hometown and our distant relatives, exchange ideas about culture, strengthen our understanding of each other, and learn from each other through this. All of this could even be described as “This wonderful hour and beautiful scenery rival the heavens, so raise your glass to the moon so we can share this joy,” said Cui Xianjun, quoting the lines of Su Dongpo, one of the great writers of the Song Dynasty.
The program continued with a singing program and a “fashion show” featuring the most beautiful pieces from the clothing collection of the Chinese students studying at UD, then ended with a joint tea party and the consumption of mooncakes in the “Sziget”.
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