(ECNS) — The fifteenth United Nations (UN) Chinese language Language Day, coinciding with Grain Rain, symbolizes the intertwined cultural legacy of Chinese language characters and photo voltaic phrases, boosting world appreciation for Chinese language language and tradition.
Grain Rain, the final photo voltaic time period in Spring, fell on April 19 this 12 months. It originates from the outdated saying, “Rain brings up the expansion of lots of of grains.”
The bond between written Chinese language and Grain Rain contributes to the institution of UN Chinese language Language Day.
The UN inaugurated its Language Days in 2010, highlighting the significance of linguistic and cultural variety and advocating the equality of its six official languages.
That very same 12 months, the Chinese language Everlasting Mission to the UN proposed that UN Chinese language Language Day be noticed on the day of Grain Rain in honor of Cangjie, a legendary determine presumed to be the inventor of Chinese language characters about 5,000 years in the past. His tales had been recorded in lots of classics.
“Throughout the Qin and Han dynasties (221 B.C. – 220 A.D.), Cangjie’s feat was related to the auspicious omen of a harvest. Since then, there was a people customized to venerate Cangjie on the day later generally known as Grain Rain,” stated Tao Quyong, an affiliate professor on the College of Liberal Arts, Renmin College of China.
“Historic Chinese language revered Cangjie due to the importance of the written characters for the event of a civilization,” Tao added, “Furthermore, characters or the writing methods allow language to transcend time and house.”
Folks have lengthy understood that modifications in local weather and phenology are essential for agricultural actions. These findings have been integrated into the 24 photo voltaic phrases.
Annually, the UN Chinese language Language Day is well known globally with numerous actions together with the“Chinese language Bridge”competitors, calligraphy practices, Chinese language songs, artwork exhibitions, and so forth.
Chinese language language training is now performed in over 180 international locations and areas, with greater than 80 international locations incorporating it into their nationwide training methods. The variety of individuals studying Chinese language exceeds 30 million, with almost 200 million having engaged with it globally. This fever of studying the Chinese language language continues to develop, reflecting its enduring attraction.
Distinguished historian Chen Yinke stated, “Deciphering a single character is writing a cultural historical past.” Every Chinese language character incorporates Chinese language individuals’s mind-set.
Annie, a woman from the USA, was uncovered to the Chinese language language in elementary faculty. She then studied at Peking College to realize a deeper perception into China. She realized the cultural variations related to the Chinese language character “Yuan (future)”, amongst others.
“In China, individuals usually ascribe coincidence to ‘Yuan,’ which is an exquisite phrase with profound connotations. Nonetheless, there isn’t any precise equal of ‘yuan’ in English, due to variations in geographical atmosphere and conventional ideas among the many two international locations. That’s why it’s important to study overseas languages to understand the meanings and emotions of the supply language independently as a substitute of relying solely on translation,” Annie stated.
Chinese language characters are the one self-originating writing system on the planet nonetheless in use immediately. The institution of UN Chinese language Language Day successfully promotes the Chinese language language, facilitating exchanges and mutual studying between China and different nations, Tao famous.
“We should always leverage applied sciences to unfold the appeal of Chinese language characters to extra individuals worldwide,” Tao stated.
