The Confucius Institute In Sofia Have Hosted A Lecture On Chinese Characters Chess

On 8th October 2025, the Confucius Institute in Sofia have hosted an online lecture on Chinese characters chess. The event has featured Mrs Zhang Xiling - a senior coach of Chinese characters chess (CCC) from the Ningbo Institute For Applied Research On the Chinese Characters (NIARCC), as a guest speaker. The training has been attended by almost twenty participants, including Prof. Chen Ying - the Chinese director of the Confucius Institute in Sofia, along with the teaching staff and the volunteers at CIS. The lecture has been chaired by Prof. Chen Ying.
During the lecture, the coach Mrs Zhang Xiling has provided a detailed introduction to the composition of the Chinese characters chess pieces and has systematically explained the rules governing the pieces arrangement, their deployment, their movement, the word formation, the capturing and the clearing of the board. Drawing upon her extensive teaching experience with Chinese character chess, the Confucius Institute in Sofia’s teacher Ms Ding Chen has shared some practical techniques and some key considerations for competitive play.
It is worth noting that Wu Wenwen - a student from the Chinese Language School at the Bulgarian-Chinese Cultural Exchange Association under the Confucius Institute in Sofia, has won the third prize in the Fourth Five Continents Chinese Youth Chinese Characters Chess Online Competition under the dedicated guidance of the Institute's teaching staff. To further promote this educational and entertaining cultural activity, the Confucius Institute in Sofia will collaborate with the Chinese Cultural Centre in Sofia to organise the first Bulgarian Chinese Character Chess Competition this year.

The Confucius Institute in Sofia
Text: Chen Chen
Photos: Chen Chen
Editors: Prof. Chen Ying, Aksiniya Koleva
English translation: Maya Kostadinova

Picture 1. A screenshot from the lecture of the coach - Mrs Zhang Xiling.

Picture 2. The teacher Ms Ding Chen sharing her experience in CCC competitions.

Picture 3. A group photo from the online meeting of the participants.