March 25 , 2010
Insights into Chinese culture, business
Chinese culture has long fascinated Western society.
Beginning tomorrow, McMaster University’s Confucius Institute is hosting events over the next few
weeks that will offer insights into aspects of China’s art and language.
Tomorrow (March 26), an exhibit organized and curated by fourth-year art history students and the Hamilton Public Library will explore the differences and similarities of pictograph-based languages and alphabet-based languages. Interactive computer programs will allow visitors to hear Chinese words Romanized using the Pinyin system. Visitors will also be able to try their hand at writing Chinese pictograms.
March 26-April 8: The Art of Language: a Chinese Experience, Hamilton Public Library, 4th
Floor. Opening reception will be from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Please RSVP by email to
theartoflanguage.PR@gmail.com.
If you think learning the Chinese language is challenging, imagine being non-Chinese and competing in a worldwide Chinese contest. On March 27, the 9th Chinese Bridge: The Chinese Proficiency Competition for College Students Worldwide takes place at McMaster Innovation Park. Each contestant must give a presentation in Chinese, answer questions on the Chinese language and Chinese culture, and demonstrate some artistic talents related to Chinese culture. Students from more than 10 colleges and universities are expected to compete. The best two contestants will win the opportunity to compete at the next two levels in China.
March 27, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.: Chinese Bridge Chinese Proficiency Competition
Time at McMaster Innovation Park, 175 Longwood Road South, Suite 105, Hamilton.
In Chinese culture, the I-Ching or Book of Changes is one of the oldest of classical Chinese texts. Centred on the law of opposites and the practice of accepting change as inevitable, it has been used by the Chinese for centuries to find harmony in their relationships and wealth in their business. As part of the Confucius Institute Distinguished Speakers Series, two free public lectures will discuss how the philosophies of the I-Ching guide decision-making. Both lectures will be presented by Hung-gay Fung, professor of the School of Business Administration at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
April 2: 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., in DeGroote School of Business, Room 505:
I-Ching and Business Leadership.
April 2: 4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m., in Togo Salmon Hall 719: I-Ching and its relevance to life and Confucianism.
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For more information, please contact:
Angela Sheng,
Director, Confucius Institute,
McMaster University,
905-525-9140 ext. 23156
shenga@mcmaster.ca
Jane Christmas
Manager, Public & Media Relations
McMaster University
905-525-9140 ext. 27988
chrisja@mcmaster.ca
Michelle Donovan
Public Relations Manager: Broadcast Media
McMaster University
905-525-9140 ext. 22869
donovam@mcmaster.ca