The Confucius Institute in Sofia Held a Series of Lectures "You and Me Talk about China" during the Confucius Institute Week

On October 2, the series of lectures "You and Me Talk about China" as part of the Confucius Institute Week started at the lecture hall at the Confucius Institute in Sofia. More than one hundred people attended the opening ceremony, including Mr. Guan Xin, cultural counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Bulgaria; Professor Nako Stefanov, researcher at the Center for Eastern Languages and Cultures at Sofia University and honorary director of the Confucius Institute in Sofia; Assoc. Prof. Antonia Tsankova, Head of the Chinese Department at the Center for Eastern Languages and Cultures of Sofia University; Assoc. Prof. Nedelin Markov, Head of the Department of Regional Development, Faculty of Economics, Thracian University, Stara Zagora; Mrs. Snezhana Todorova, Chair of the Bulgarian Journalists Association; Mr. Yu Cheng, representative of the Chinese Cultural Center in Sofia; Mrs. Aksiniya Koleva, Bulgarian Director of the Confucius Institute in Sofia; Professor Liu Xiuming, Chinese Director; representatives, teachers and students from Confucius classrooms and teaching sites affiliated to the Confucius Institute in Sofia, as well as local people. The Chinese and Bulgarian director of the Confucius Institute in Sofia delivered an opening speech. Teachers from the Institute performed on traditional musical instruments such as xun and guzheng.

This year the Confucius Institute Week event presents a series of five lectures, which are conducted in a hybrid offline and online setup. The themes of the lectures include language research, culture, diplomatic cooperation, etc. The topics include: "The concept of love in Chinese classical folk songs"; "Historical and Contemporary Discourse in China’s “Nature – Society” Synthesis”; "Research on China-Bulgaria friendship, cooperation, development and progress"; "China: The (Un)recognized Global Leader” and "The translator – a tailor of intercultural gaps".

Following the opening ceremony, after a short break of 10 minutes, the first lecture began. The first lecture was "The Concept of Love in Chinese Classical Folk Songs" presented by Assoc. Prof. Professor Antonia Tsankova, Head of the Chinese Department at the Center for Eastern Languages and Cultures of Sofia University. Assoc. Prof. Tsankova used the “Book of Songs” as an example and through a combination of linguistic, cultural and quantitative analysis explained the traditional view of love in the early days of Chinese language and culture. The lecture presented novel ideas, rigorous logic, clear organization, it was easy to understand, and demonstrated Assoc. Prof. Tsankova’s profound knowledge of Chinese language and culture as well as excellent scientific research skills.

The series of lectures "You and Me Talk about China" during the Confucius Institute Week is a result of recent and difficult research conducted by experts. The lectures aim to build a better and broader academic exchange platform for Chinese lovers in Bulgaria in the fields of Eastern and Western language and culture, as well as the economy, culture, and academic concepts of China and the world. The Confucius Institute hopes that this series of lectures during the Confucius Institute Week will be interesting and productive, and that the participants will come up with new ideas and inspiration and establish new academic connections through mutual exchange.

Confucius Institute in Sofia

Text: Liu Ruiling

Photos: Liu Xiuming, Petya Shukerska

Editors: Liu Xiuming, Aksiniya Koleva

English translation: Dima Pironkova

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