The competition consists of three parts:
1) The students have to deliver a 1-2 minute speech written by themselves, in which they can state the reasons why they like learning Chinese,and why they chose this language.
2) The students have to answer quiz questions. The questions are all from the “What’s in the newspapers” page of our web site, or from the downloadable collection of Confucius Chronicle articles.
3) The students have to do simple calligraphy made up of some characters made by one of the teachers of the Institute.

Grand Prize: a valuable Chinese language learning audio book complete with a special pen

Abstract

Among the most notable features of China’s multilayered religious landscape during the celebrated Tang dynasty (618–907) were the complex patterns of interaction among diverse religious traditions and the overall embrace of a culture of religious pluralism. The lecture will examine the main modes of literati engagement with multiple religions and the ways that shaped their religious identity by looking at the life and poetry of Bo Juyi (770–842), one of Tang era’s best-known poets. They both reveal studious and lifelong engagement with each of the three main religious traditions—Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism—which shed light not only on prevalent religious attitudes in Tang China, but also point to key features of religious life and identity formation that typify much of China’s long and multifaceted history.

Short bio

Mario Poceski is an associate professor of Buddhist studies and Chinese religions at the Religion Department, University of Florida. He received a PhD in East Asian Languages and Cultures, with specialization in Buddhist studies, from the University of California, Los Angeles (2000). He also spent extended periods as a visiting researcher at Komazawa University, Japan, Stanford University, and the National University of Singapore. A specialist in the history of Chinese Buddhism and a recipient of several prestigious fellowships, his latest books are Ordinary Mind as the Way: The Hongzhou School and the Growth of Chan Buddhism (Oxford UP 2007) and Introducing Chinese Religions (Routledge 2009). Poceski’s publications also include two other books and a number of articles and chapters on various aspects of Buddhist studies. Presently he is working on two new books: The Blackwell Companion to East and Inner Asian Buddhism (forthcoming from Blackwell), and The Records of Mazu and the Makings of Classical Chan Literature.

Both traditional Chinese opera and folk song arrangements singing the praises of Mao Zedong (which now belong to a sort of "musical sculpture park") received great impetus, and - as China is a multi-ethnic country – the melody of never heard small nations was revealed as well. In addition, with the spread of radio broadcasting, the demand for programs with modern music appeared. They began to combine western musical culture in a very successful way with elements of traditional Chinese music, with the result that great musical works were born in both the popular and the classical fields. In the folk song arrangements, Zoltán Kodály had a notable influence, while in the classical pieces, we can discover the style of Bartók.

Peter Kesselyák emeritus Communications General Counsel

The most likely explanation is that the Jews who travelled the Silk Road enjoyed relative religious tolerance in the multi-ethnic, multi-religious empire. This tolerance is evidenced by the beautiful synagogue that was built in 1163 in the the capital city of Kaifeng. In addition, we present Kaifeng Jewry and modern Jewry as well. This is a part of the 19th century, especially the second half, whgen wealthy Jewish merchants came from Shanghai, as well as, on the other hand, Jews fleeing from Nazi persecution. Although the Jewish population of the colonies was never considerable, their presence did not pass without leaving a trace.

Judit Vértes, expert at ELTE Russistic Institute

PROGRAM:

9:00 on behalf of the ELTE, congratulatory remarks by: Dr. Zoltan Horvath, Vice-Rector of International Affairs
9:10 In the name of Chinese universities appearing, toast proposed by Prof. Ding Weiguang deputy rector, Liaoning Medical University
9:25 ELTE shows: Márton Bélik, Head of International Training and Mobility Division
9:40 Presentation of the participating Chinese universities (Part 1)
10:30 Break
10:40 Presentation of the participating Chinese universities (Part 2)
11:25 Questions and Answers
12:00 End of meeting

Universities:

1) Capital University
2) China Academy of Art
3) Yunnan University
4) Shanghai University
5) Beijing Institute of Technology
6) Liaoning Medical University
7) Hangzhou Normal University
8) Donghua University
9) East China Normal University
10) Sun Yat-sen University
11) University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
12) Beijing Open University
13) Beijing Language and Culture University
14) Northwestern Polytechnical University
15) Beijing University Health Science Center
16) Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology
17) Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange

The lecture was about the nuances of intercultural communication, cultural diplomacy - such as economic and political interests, a means of shaping the image of the country - some of the questions about Hungarian-Chinese relations. Looking from China, Hungary is as distant as China is from Hungary. How to bring Hungary closer to the Chinese, how to ensure that positive values are associated with the name of Hungary? What is our message? Culture makes a country known, attractive, but we cannot automatically count on the success of Hungarian culture, which is valuable to us and which we want to convey. On what basis can we judge what corresponds to changes in Chinese taste, or what may be popular with the Chinese public? How objective is Hungary's image in China? Who do they know beyond Petőfi, Liszt and Puskás? How can we stay competitive in a saturated cultural market in China?

Judit Nagy Hajbáné is an intercultural communication consultant, and a former special educational and cultural diplomat in Shanghai.

Program:

First Turn
An optional Chinese film part, max. 3-minute monologue, synchronous performance

Second Turn
The performance of a film clip a monologue a few minutes long, chosen by the Institute

Competition jury members: Dr. Szonja Buslig, Ji Ping, Ye Qiuyue, Li Xiujuan, Tong Aiyun, Ding Yang and Dr. Gergely Salát
First prize: Everyday Chinese audio book and pen

While the jury was reaching a decision, Dzsenifer Halmai and Rita Vízer, students of the ELTE Chinese Department performed the Chinese version of the song Lemon Tree.

Since 1997, the Hungarian Academy of Science has commemorated the day, November 3rd 1825, when István Széchenyi offered a year’s income from his estates for the establishment of the Hungarian Society of Scholars, and it has organized the Hungarian Science Festival at about the same time every year since 2003. In 2011, the Confucius Institute also joined the series of events.

Lectures

Dr. Gergely Salát – Hungarian Researchers in China
Dr. Ágnes Birtalan – From the secret history of the Mongos to research into shamanism; Lajos Ligeti’s activities and scientific research
Norbert Németh – Sándor Csoma Kőrösi, the explorer of Tibetan culture
Dr. Umemura Yuko – Hungarian researchers in Japan at the beginning of the 20th century
Dr. Mózes Csoma – The beginnings of Hungarian research into Korea

In the first half of the last century, the Chinese armed forces and the Korean independence fighters in north-eastern China fought shoulder to shoulder against the expanding Japanese Empire. After the Second World War, the established People's Republic of China wanted to thank the Manchurian Korean minority for its participation in the struggle against the invaders, so in 1955, the township of Jenpien (Yanbian), densely populated by Koreans, was declared a Korean autonomous region.
The inhabitants of the area called it the DPRK, like their homeland, and because the living standards in this area were higher than in the rural areas of China until the end of the eighties, they also received assistance. They could only obtain a very hazy picture of South Korea through the propaganda from Pyongyang, which changed only during the televised broadcasts of the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games. The Korean csoszondzsok (chosunjok), thanks to the Chinese-Korean autonomous district, could retain their own culture: they can use both the Chinese and the Korean languages, they have their own schools, publications and tv channels.
According to an exact expression, the 2 million 300 thousand csoszondzsok community sees the two Koreas opposition over the post as a child whose parents are divorced: both revered and none could deny the other side.

Dr. Mózes Csoma, adjunct of the ELTE Faculty of Humanities, Central Asia Departement of Korean Studies

Adrienn Simon, interpreter-translator, reports on the special life of the Chinese interpreters, on the unique demands made on them and on her experience in recent years. What new demands do the clients have? What sort of preparedness is required of the interpreter? What do the clients really expect? What is the difference between a Chinese and a European Union interpreter? What are the circumstances which we cannot control, but which can affect our work? Is it necessary for the interpreter to be a good translator at the same time? Does the market need it? We invite you for a relaxing, hopefully interactive evening program discussing these very real issues.

Adrienn Simon, professional interpreter and translator, Translation Services Transjet

The presentation highlights how you should build an international brand in relation to the Chinese market. The artist looked at the history of Chinese and foreign brands, and showed how they can be merged to develop their own brands, which are able to generate a minimal investment in the Asian and international media professionals and media attention.

Meimei Ding Alter & Kiss, founder and creative director

The resume of the lecture in English

The artistic presentation of the ensemble proclaims the love of music worldwide. Prof. Dr. Liu Yuening gathered young and talented artists around her, who are all masters of the traditional Chinese dulcimer. On 24th August, Jasmine Flower gave a highly successful performance at the National Theatre of Performing Arts Center. Their first album titled Jasmine Blossoming gives back perfectly the charm of this unique musical instrument.

In fact, China is now taking a global role, and foreign policy interests can best be interpreted at the global level. Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi drafted six main objectives of the Chinese foreign policy, on which they should focus during the achievement of the twelfth five-year plan.

Dr. Tamás Matura Hungarian Institute of International Affairs Research Assistant

The aim of the Researcher’s Night (fruitioned with the help of the European Commision) is to promote the career of researchers and science, of all easy to understand way.

The Confucius Institute made a sinology lecture series for the event. The performances were held from 7 pm till dawn continously with themes in connection with ancient and modern China. The program ended at midnight, by eating mid-autumn monn cookies.

The presentations:

Dr. Imre Hamar: The characteristics of Chinese Buddhism Museum krt. 4 / F
Dr. Szonja Buslig: Zheng He, China's globe-trotter Múzeum krt. 4 / F
Dr. Huba Bartos: The people of China, their languages and writings Múzeum krt. 4 / F
Dr. Gergely Salát: Criminal law in ancient China, Múzeum krt. 4 / F

Moon Cakes bet Múzeum krt. 4, in front of building "F"

Website of the Researchers' Night

The audience could hear seven classical Chinese piece of music by professional artists. The melodies were played on traditional Chinese instruments by the artists: the pipa (Chinese lute), Ruan (Chinese guitar), the erhu(two-string violin), the guzheng (many-stringed Chinese zither) and ganqin (Chinese zither), it’s voice sometimes ruefully silky,sometimes emotionally soft, pulsating rhythm and sometimes close together.

The arts play won the audience's admiration: the endless applause was rewarded with an extra performance.

Sinologist Kornélia Major gave an exciting presentation about the transformation of literature in the 20th century. During these years, the old Chinese literature was transformed and reborn in modern guise. The traditional types of novel were re-explained, a large number of transcripts emerged, and finally the nascent works became their own parodies.

Chinese Nationalism has been one of the a mainstream political factors since the early years of the Chinese Communist Party. Developed from culturalism, admitting the conceptions of Sun Yat-sen and Liang Qichao, Chinese Nationalism has played an important role from the 50s up to our own time in both China’s foreign policy and internal affairs. As the domestic and international situations change, the tools of nationalism also change continually, but the aim of nationalism: to acquire and preserve the sovereignty of the People’s Republic of China remains the same.

... to put it in a nutshell: everything that it takes to ensure an unforgettable family afternoon. ELTE Confucius Institute offered several programs for both younger and older visitors. Children could try their hand at paper-cutting and chinese knotting, attempt to pick-and-eat peanuts with chopsticks, and what is more they had a chance to taste Chinese children’s favourite sweets. Little girls loved dressing up as “oriental princesses”, while boys went for the warrior costumes. Our Institute was honoured by the attendance of the Chairman of Parliament, Dr. László Kövér. Dr. Imre Hamar presented him with a wonderful “Good-luck-knot” (made by our contributor) when he visited our tent.

The members of the jury convened by the Confucius Institute are Li Xinhua, Educational Advisor of the Chinese Embassy, Dr. Zoltán Horváth, Vice-Rector for International Affairs of ELTE, Dr. Ferenc Hudecz, former Rector of ELTE University and the successor advisor of Confucius Institutes, Dr. Jiang Wenyan vice-director and last but not least, Dr. Imre Hamar, Director , forwarded the materials of eight talented students to Hanban and the universities marked by the students. The final assessment of the proposals will be carried out by Hanban. The host institution will inform the lucky applicants.

Thanks to the lecture, illustrated with photos and videos, the audience could come to know the evryday life, beliefs, celebrations and customs. The Mongvors of course, are perfectly fluent in Chinese, but they prefer to communicate in their own language – which undoubtedly belongs to the mongol language family. This unique language and culture are what makes these people particularly interesting for researchers and visitors alike.

The exam took place in the ELTE Foreign Language Training Center. Nearly 60 students were tested during the exam. The written test was followed by the oral. The test sheets and recordings (just as last year) will be corrected by Hanban.

The session began with a performance by the Indonesian Embassy dancers which was followed by the opening speech by Péter Edvi, President of the International Children’s Emergency Service and Péter Harrach, Member of Parliament. Both expressed their pleasure, that once a year, every deprived child in the country has the opportunity to participate in programs in the capital, and in the countryside as well on Children’s Day. In the press conference, Péter Edvi praised the Chinese contribution: the ever-more colourful tent and programs provided by ELTE Confucius Institute.

The hard-working students began their examination at 9 o’clock under the supervision of teachers from the Confucius Institute. The written tests were followed by the listening exercises, which posed few problems for the skillful students. During the oral exam, the children were afraid at first, but later they answered the questions more and more eagerly. Everyone performed well on the exam and deserve our hearty congratulations.

The prestigious competition took place in the ELTE University, Gólyavár Building, Terézia Mária Hall.

For the Grand Prize, the Chinese Scholarship and the chance of participating in the Grand Finals held in China, altogether 13 students from 5 universities took part. The seven-member jury rated the performance of the students.

Members of the jury:
• Dr. Guo Xiaoguang – Cultural Attaché of the Chinese Embassy of Hungary
• Dr. Jiang Wenyan – Deputy Director of the ELTE Confucius Institute
• Guo Jiaming – Director of the Chinese-Hungarian Bilingual Elementary School
• Katalin Miklós - colleague at the Chinese Public Administration, Economy and Society Research Center
• Kou Danyang – BGF Foreign Trade Faculty of Oriental Languages teacher
• Ji Yi - City Park of Hungarian-English Bilingual Primary School teacher
• János Kiss – Buddhist College teacher
• Teng Weijie – Chief Editor of Xindaobao

The competition consisted of three parts: the competitors had to perform an essay in Chinese written by themselves; after that, they had to answer questions in connection with China. The highlight of the competition was the third round, when they entertained the jury with their dances, cabaret acts or singing.

The students of ELTE, the School of Oriental Languages and the BGF Faculty of Foreign Trade shared the third prize: Ildikó Nagy, Balázs Váczi and Barbara Molnár.

The second prize was also shared by two students of the Corvinus University: Márton Barcza and Borisz Vörös. The first prize was won by the student of the ELTE Confucius Institute, Lajos Palásti, whose song ‘’The sun never rests above the mere’’, performed together with violinist Csongor Veér, met with huge success.

After the contest, the Chinese Embassy hosted a reception for the competitors, organizers and the invited members of the jury.

...of their age, so they were kept secret by their authors, and could be published only decades later. The exciting presentation was followed by a lively discussion, during which the speaker and the students could share their thoughts on the subject.

...Publishing represented China with a colorful stand. Not only books about Chinese history and culture, but also language books and dictionaries were there for the public to admire. The main attraction of the exhibition was the book entitled “My Chinese Picture Dictionary” in Hungarian. A set of these dictionaries was presented by Liu Bogeng, Deputy Director, as a gift to Dr. Imre Hamar, head of ELTE Confucius Institute.
Mr. Liu expressed his hope that Hungarian students could profit by using the dictionary, and would be able to learn the Chinese language more perfectly.

Paper-cutting is an element of Chinese folk art that is popular with all ages. People in China use the tissue-creations to decorate walls, windows and doors with symbols of good luck and happiness. In April, the students of Hungarian-Chinese Bilingual School could test the skills they had learnt during the ELTE Confucius Institute paper-cutting course.
The young children could choose from among five samples the one on the basis of which they wanted to create their masterpieces. They took the competition very seriously, working carefully with their scissors. The first prize was won by Wu Xiaoxi with her elegant pair of herons.
The works can be seen on promotion2011.chinese.cn, and you can even vote for your favorite!

At the lecture given by Dr. Yu and Márk Oravecz, the audience could find out about traditional Chinese therapy and healthcare, receive advice on their health and observe real acupuncture treatment first hand. They could also buy products of the Dr. Chen Pharmacy at a discounted price.

On April 7, Ambassador Gao Jian gave a celebratory dinner in honor of ELTE University at the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China. The dinner was attended by Liang Caide, the political counselor of the Chinese Embassy, Li Xinhua, the counselor for educational affairs, the Rector of ELTE University, Dr. Barna Mezey, the Vice-Rector for International Affairs, Dr- Zoltán Horváth and the Director of ELTE Confucius Institute, Dr. Imre Hamar.
The Ambassador emphasized that she had invited several other university leaders, but it was ELTE that accepted the invitation first. This shows how important ELTE deems the development of links between China and Hungary. From her perspective, ELTE Confucius Institute has achieved a great deal in spreading Chinese culture and language. She will provide help for the ELTE leaders in organizing the Conference of the European Confucius Institutes.
The Rector of the ELTE informed the Ambassador that he had succeeded in finding suitable premises for the Confucius Institute.

We have uploaded the many interesting speeches to the website of Hanban, Centre of Confucius Institutes. Anyone can vote for his or her favorite contestant until the 1st of May on promotion2011.chinese.cn, and thus help them to win valuable prizes.

In the ELTE Confucius Institute Modern China Lectures series, Dr. János Bóka of the University of Szeged Faculty of Law gave a talk with the title: "The People’s Court in the constitutional arrangement of the People’s Republic of China". Dr Boka told us that during the Chinese ‘’reform and opening’’ period, the role of the courts has changed constantly, as well as the entire system of law. Today we can say that in China "rule by law" applies, which is not the same as ‘’the rule of law’’, although it makes its operation predictable. Conflict resolution operated by the courts is changing, along with their positions vis a vis other state bodies, the composition of their staff and the procedures as well. The separation of powers in the Chinese Constitution is not recognized, but in practice - even though politics sometimes influences the working of the courts - the judiciary exercises major authority.

The organizers of the event were waiting the kids with artisan occupations, paper cutting, knotting and face painting, a story-telling corner, a kung-fu demonstration, and greeted grown-up visitors with an exhibition of Chinese materials, lectures on Chinese medicine and the highly acclaimed Photo Exhibition of the Institute. Our teacher, Niu Zhinan, together with the chief of the event, performed Sándor Petofi’s well-known poem My Mother’s Hen, both in Hungarian and Chinese.
As a special evening program, opera singer Zhang Yu – who is an outstanding teacher of the Confucius Institute – held a concert to celebrate the release of her new CD . The event was a great success: nearly two hundred thousand forints were collected for good causes.

Photos: Lívia Szentmártoni

...poems read by our teacher, Li Linping. The competitors, as they heard the first words, offset to with their brushes and ink. From the wonderful works, Mr. Li Linping chose the best three. László L. Tibeti took third place; Timea Mei Tang came second, and Szilvia Oláh finally won the first place. Congratulations to everyone!

The ELTE Confucius Institute is organizing the Spring HSK exam, for which Hungarian candidates must sign up on the www.chinesetesting.cn website by 22 April.

The website is available in English and Chinese and applicants must provide the following details:
- username
- name (and possibly Chinese name, if available)
- sex,
- date of birth,
- nationality,
- mother tongue,
- photo identification document type,
- photo identity document number,
- telephone number
- address

Successful registration requires a color ID photo to be uploaded. The exam fee must be paid in the Confucius Institute between 25 April and 28 April (10:30 to 18:00 every day).

NOTE: exam registration is valid only in case of successful online registration and if the exam fee is paid before the deadline.

More information about the HSK exam

The room was packed, because young and old alike came to learn the perfect movements of master Zhao. The participants diligently practiced the simple moves that were presented in order to preserve their health, improve their physical coordination and thereby bring their bodies and minds into harmony. At the end of the lesson, everyone went home refreshed both physically and mentally.

. According to Mongolian chronicles and folklore, after his death Genghis Khan’s body was buried somewhere in the Ordosz-region of today’s Inner Mongolia, in territory flanked by the bends of the Yellow River.
Ágnes Birtalan, head of the ELTE Central-Asia Department, presented a lecture illustrated with photographs of the historical background to the cult of the Khan, led the audience through the major sites of the cult of Genghis, and gave them a taste about the exciting but little known traditional Mongolian culture.

Last year, many talented students showed off their abilities on the stage of ELTE Confucius Institute, three of them also had the opportunity to demonstrate their talents in China. 2011 is the year of the rabbit, the proper time for showing talent, so it is no wonder that even now there were a fair number of enterprising young people who were ready to perform for the Chinese audience.
The chairman of the jury was Dr. Li Xinhua, Educational Councilor of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Hungary. The special guest of the jury was Richárd Fuchs, editor-reporter from RTL Klub and also a fan of Asian cultures. Yang Changchun, Chief Executive Officer of ZTE Hungary Ltd., Ms. Geng Jie, co-owner of the Chinese weekly newspaper Új Szemle and last but not least, Adrienn Simon, the famous Chinese translator and interpreter made up the jury. The competitors nervously prepared for the great contest: there were those who sang Chinese songs, some made the audience laugh with stand-up comedy, while others impressed us with kung-fu fighting, but of course, the show could not miss Chinese recitation and a piano recital. While the jury counted all the points of the competitors, Erik Lajos Palásti, the golden-throated star of our Institute performed his latest hit. The result was preceded by a tense silence. The third-prize winner was Ildikó Nagy with her song, Preludes Water Melody, Blanka Kovács came second with her unique piano recital. The second and third prizes, ZTE branded high-end mobile phones, were handed over to the winners by Mr. Yang Changchun. The first prize in the Talent Show went to Anna Csupor for a beautiful Chinese melody, Jasmine Flowers. Dr. Li Xinhua symbolically presented her with her the six-month scholarship to China.
Congratulations to the participants and thanks for ZTE Hungary Ltd. for the valuable mobile phone prizes!

For the event, we put together an exciting selection of the books we’ve received as gifts from Hanban, our mother institute, about Chinese history, geography and language issues. The exhibition provided an excellent opportunity for those interested to get to know the treasures of our library. A delicious cup of tea was really good while reading: we provided a Chinese tea exhibition as well, where everyone had a chance to taste our excellent Chinese teas.

Visitors were welcomed with an introduction to traditional tea-making, tea tasting and a calligraphy demonstration. They could sample tasty teas while listening to soft Chinese zither melodies and anyone was free to admire the technique of master Li’s brushwork. The master could made everyone a personal calligram to take home.

After a brief introduction by Program Director Lívia Szentmártoni, Lajos Palásti, the ,”golden voiced” star of the Confucius Institute shared the experiences of his performance at the Chinese National New Year Gala and his Lunar New Year experiences, which he was lucky enough to enjoy within a 57- member small family. Young people listened to the exciting performance with great interest and as direct result, many of them decided to find out about Chinese language and culture within the framework of the introductory courses offered by the ELTE Confucius Institute.

Nearly eighty people came forward, who learned about the basic characters of Chinese language and a few simple words. The lessons – to the satisfaction of the students – were held in English by our well-trained Chinese teachers. Many of the participants decided to continue their studies and also joined our beginner-level Chinese language course, which started February 28.

On the picture there is Zhang Yu, teacher of our Institute

On the issue of federalism, he said that although China is traditionally a centralized state, federal trends have always been present in the country,. In the first half of the 20th century, some political thinkers gave serious consideration to federalism, but then history took its course, and after decades of anarchy, China became a centralized state again. However, the real situation – especially today – involves a sort of de facto federalism. There are major differences between certain areas of the country and local authorities enjoy considerable autonomy. Decisions are made through informal agreements between central and local leaderships; the relationship between different levels are not institutionalized, but local governments have opportunities to pursue their own interests against both the central governments and other local authorities

On Wednesday night there was a real crowd of visitors at the Urania, all of them keen to enjoy the performance by the Peiyang Art Group. The artists were on tour in Budapest at the invitation of the Confucius Institute. First, there was a small evening reception, at which Dr. Imre Hamar, director of the Confucius Institute and Dr. Ernő Keszei, Vice-Rector of ELTE gave opening speeches. Following their addresses Dr. Gao Jian, ambassador of the People’s Republic of China in Hungary, welcomed those present. Last but not least, Rudolf Riedl, chief executive of the Asia Center, gave a toast, wishing the participants a pleasant evening. The Gala itself was opened by Dr. Imre Hamar, who was followed by a welcoming speech from Dr. Wang Qingnian, educational councelor of the Chinese Embassy. Before the performance, Dr. Li Yidan, Vice-Rector of the University of Tianjin, presented the famous Art Group. During the evening, every corner of Chinese culture was touched: we heard Chinese folk songs and saw joyful dances, and indeed the artists had a special surprise for the Hungarian audience: Brahms’ famous Hungarian Dances played on Chinese instruments. The star of our institute, Lajos Palásti, who only two weeks ago performed at the Chinese National New Year Gala in front of hundreds of television viewers, also took part in the event, and his performance was enhanced by the accompaniment of Prima Junior prize winner Csongor Veér. Towards the end of the event, the happy atmosphere was heightened by a tombola: the lucky winners took away two Budapest-Beijing- return tickets courtesy of Hainan Airlines, two high-end mobile phones offered by Huawei Technologies Hungary Ltd. and the book by Gábor Hoch – Everyone’s Intellectual Guide to China, presented by the Asia Center and Tradeland.

Special thanks are due to our sponsors for the precious gifts, to Moonvalley Wines Ltd. for the exclusive New Year wines, and to Csongor Veér for his superlative performance.

As an introduction, they learned about the history of knotting, and the symbolism of classical Chinese knots. Half an hour later, under the guidance of the instructor, the red, blue and purple satin braids had already begun to take shape in the hands of the participants. On the next occasion, having learned the basics on Friday, they will be able to learn how to make the “good luck” and other knots.

The deputy manager introduced the ELTE Confucius Institute and described its educational and cultural programs to the attaché. Mr. Guo emphasized the importance of languages, as the main tool for understanding different cultures. He also expressed his belief that without knowing the given culture, it is not possible to learn the language. Mr. Guo also guaranteed his support for the Institute and approved of its activities devoted to spreading Chinese language and culture.

The attaché visited the library and the classrooms, and also became familiar with the process through which the various language courses are organised. He was particularly impressed by the free Chinese courses. With smile on his face, he noted that in the evening, when the university departments have already closed, the cheerful learning in the Institute is just beginning. At the end of the visit, Dr. Imre Hamar emphasized that with the support of the embassy, we will continue our efforts to popularise Chinese culture and language with the Hungarian audience.

... – so much so that they invited him to Beijing for a second time to give a performance. This time, he will be the only only European participant in the Chinese New Year Gala. The huge show is to be broadcast by Chinese Central Television. Follow the events live if you can!

In the picture, you can see Lajos Erik Palásti and Dashan, the famous Canadian artist living in China.

The professor offered an expert, detailed analysis of the basic document of the Huayan order, the Sutra Avatamsaka, in his lecture. Although he spoke in Chinese, the exciting theme attracted a substantial audience: besides the undergraduate and PhD students of the Chinese Department, a number of Chinese-speaking “outsiders” also listened to the lecture with great pleasure.

Download: "Harmony Concept: The Essence of the Huayan Thought and its Source in the Traditional Chinese Philosophy" - (华严的和谐观与其中国思想的源头)