“As the sun rises over thousands of doors and homes, the old Spring Festival couplets are replaced with new ones.” Spring Festival couplets, as an important part of Chinese Spring Festival folk culture, are not only a way for people to convey New Year’s blessings but also a carrier that showcases the rich cultural connotations of the Spring Festival. To help international students better experience the cultural connotations of the Chinese Spring Festival, strengthen their sense of identification with Chinese culture, and immerse themselves in the rich festive atmosphere of the Chinese Lunar New Year, the School of Culture, Tourism and International Education held an activity of writing Spring Festival couplets to send blessings at the Kalando World Cultures Experience Center on February 8, 2024.
At the activity site, Wei Nan, the head of the Teaching and Management Division for International Students, explained to international students the culture of the Chinese Spring Festival, and the history and format of the Spring Festival couplets. Jiang Zhihao, the teacher of three calligraphies, demonstrated to them the writing art and form of the Spring Festival couplets and the Chinese character “Fu”. During the demonstration, they all showed great interest. After discussing the content they wanted to write with their classmates, they proceeded to write the Spring Festival couplets in a group collaboration manner. During the practice, everyone earnestly experienced the brushwork techniques, constantly consulted the teacher for writing tips, and felt the subtleties and fun of writing spring couplets.
After that, they returned to their dormitories to clean up. Xu Fengtian, the head of the International Student Enrollment and Management Division, explained to them the cultural connotations of the Spring Cleaning: it not only carries the beautiful wish for peace and health in the New Year but also reflects the emotional desire to discard the old and usher in the new, reflecting the traditional Chinese virtue of valuing hygiene and expressing people’s good expectations for the coming year. Then, with the help of teachers, international students pasted their hand-written Spring Festival couplets on the two sides of their dormitory doors to welcome the arrival of the Year of the Dragon.Writing Spring Festival couplets is a time-honored New Year culture hiding in the brush tip, a treasure passed down through the ages in Chinese folk customs. Pasting auspicious Spring Festival couplets is a traditional ceremony to welcome the New Year. International students all expressed that through this activity, they have gained a deeper understanding of Chinese Spring Festival culture, and would continue to delve into the study of the Spring Festival culture and spread the traditional Chinese cultural connotations contained in the couplets to the world.
