On May 2, 2013, we paid a visit to Confucius Institute for Business of the University of Copenhagen, the first Confucius Institute in Denmark. We received warm welcome from President Verner Worm and professors in Confucius Institutes for Business. During the visit, we came to know that Confucius Institute for Business offers courses of Chinese, Business Chinese and organizes HSK and “Chinese bridge” competition. Chinese paper-cutting, calligraphy and regimen of TCM are popular with students there. Language and culture are interwoven for they both are tools for communication, and therefore drama performance can be part of Chinese studies. With its great efforts, Confucius Institute for Business serves as a platform for people who learn Chinese and who communicate with one another in Chinese and a platform for friendly exchanges between China and Denmark.
At evening, we were invited to go to a special concert organized by Confucius Institute of Royal Danish Music Conservatoire, where we attended the opening of the first Confucius Institute for Music in the world. The top musicians from Central Conservatory of Music together with those from Royal Danish Music Conservatoire gave a brilliant performance of music such as traditional Chinese music played on such instruments as bipa(Chinese lute), flute, erhu(Chinese fiddle), guzheng(Chinese zither), Western music played on instruments such as piano, violin and bass, and Western-styled music played on traditional Chinese music instruments, a wonderful integration of traditional Chinese music and Western music.
The first-hand experience increases our awareness of importance of cultural exchanges for mutual understanding and respect, and of the significance of cultural integration and interaction for innovation and creative thinking.
(Text and photography by Ma Yitong, edit by Huang Simeng)
