An online gala with the theme “Together for an Artistic Future” was held on April 23 to celebrate the 13th UN Chinese Language Day.

Hosted by the Office of Confucius Institutes at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) and organized by overseas Confucius Institutes, the gala was broadcast live globally and attracted about 300 viewers. 

An online gala with the theme “Together for an Artistic Future” is hosted by the Office of Confucius Institutes at BFSU on April 23. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn]  

The event was an audio-visual celebration combining various forms of art, including instrument playing, song and dance performances, and creative language programs such as cross talks, recitations and tongue twisters. 

BFSU teachers and students perform Song of the Great Wind, a Chinese folk song, with Peizhu, an ancient musical instrument at the gala. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn]

The gala started with Song of the Great Wind, a Chinese folk composition played with Peizhu, an ancient musical instrument. The song was performed by teachers and students from the BFSU music class and their magnificent performance showed the grandeur of Chinese culture. 

The gala was highlighted by the song performance We Are the World. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn]

We Are the World, sung in multiple languages, embodied the determination of people all over the world to help each other and to work together, pushing the gala to a climax. 

The event ended with the singing of the theme song for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games Together for a Shared Future.

Languages are carriers of culture while art is a universal language, said Jin Limin, director of the Office of Confucius Institutes at BFSU, who added that language studies build appreciation for the beauty of different civilizations with openness and mutual benefit gained from study of their varied and shared features.

The current global situation requires people to strengthen mutual learning and enhance understanding, according to him. 

Jin quoted an old saying in China that mountains or seas cannot separate people with common aspirations, and said he looks forward to meeting like-minded people at BFSU to appreciate art, talk about Chinese language and enhance friendship.

Students from the Confucius Institute at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and BFSU perform an instrumental ensemble, Always with Me. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn] 

Maryknoll School’s Confucius Classroom performs a recitation of Boat at the online gala. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn]

As a BFSU Office of Confucius Institutes’ innovative project, the gala looks to break through the limitations of time and space, enhance cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries and commemorate the UN Chinese Language Day.

The office will give full play to its multilingual advantages, make more efforts to explore novel forms and content and build the gala into a unique cultural project of BFSU that demonstrates the beauty of Chinese language and culture and facilitates cultural exchanges and understanding between China and the world.