Mr. Xi Jinping, Vice President of the People’s Republic of China, Prof. Marc Waer, Rector of the K.U.Leuven, and H.E. Patrick Nijs, Belgian Ambassador in China, H.E. Patrick Nijs, Belgian Ambassador in China and Prof. Johan De Graeve, President and Chief Executive of GROUP T and Chairman of the Confucius Institute at GROUP T. (Foto: Filip Van Loock)
The Chinese Culture Experience Center was developed by the Confucius Institute Headquarters in Beijing and has been presented to Confucius Institutes all over the world. At this moment, 59 of these centers are being installed at Confucius Institutes spread over 51 countries.
The Chinese Culture Experience Center is a series of software applications that give the general public an interactive introduction to the Chinese language, culture, history, and everyday life. Meanwhile, the applications donated to the Confucius Institute at GROUP T by Mr. Xi Jinping have been installed on touch-screen consoles spread over the GROUP T campus.
Ten themes
A total of 10 of these consoles have been installed by the Confucius Institute at GROUP T, each covering another aspect of China. A first application is about Kung Fu and Chinese Calligraphy. In this demonstration three-dimensional virtual technology is used. Calligraphy is the art of writing. Kung Fu refers to a series of movements similar to boxing, but with the use of weapons. These aspects stress the integration of rigidity and elasticity and the cultivation of the spirit by physical training. Kung Fu and calligraphy represent the crystallization of Chinese wisdom and are both considered as cultural treasures in China, deeply loved by people around the world.
A second touch-screen console gives an overview of Chinese Ancient Thinkers: Confucius, Laozi, and Zhuangzi. Their philosophies laid the solid foundation for traditional Chinese culture. A selection of sayings shows their different views on study, career, love, and friendship.
The third demonstration deals with the Chinese Characters Tripod, which was used for offering sacrifices in ancient times. The evolution of Chinese characters is demonstrated inside the tripod.
Opera and Scenery
Taking a Photo in Beijing Opera Costumes is the following console. It allows you to dress up as a Beijing opera performer in just one minute and have your photo taken. (There are three models to choose from.) Beijing Opera enjoys a history of more than 200 years and is credited as the quintessence of Chinese culture. Integrating singing, dialogue, acting, and acrobatics, Beijing Opera tells stories, creates characters, and expresses feelings through stylized performances.
The fifth touch-screen displays Chinese Scenery: true natural splendor with beautiful mountains and rivers. A large variety of historical attractions and scenes match the colorful landscape to form a vivid panorama.
Science and technology
Ancient Chinese Science and Technology could of course not be left out. You can touch the screen of this console to select an item from ancient Chinese science or technology. They bear witness to the long and brilliant 5,000–year history of Chinese civilization. China not only created four world-famous inventions (paper, gunpowder, the compass, and printing), but also reaped great achievements in a lot of scientific and technological fields.
The seventh console demonstrates the Paper-cutting of Chinese Horoscope Animals. Paper-cutting is China’s most characteristic decorative folk art, more than 1,800 years old. The touch-screen allows you to create your own paper-cuttings. As you insert your year of birth, a paper-cutting of your animal horoscope is made.
Music, cities, and food
The Chinese Folk Music console invites you to select any of 5 typically Chinese, unique musical instruments: the erhu, the guzheng, the xiao, the bamboo flute, and the lusheng. An introduction of the instrument follows and when touching it, beautiful melodies are played.
Then there is the touch-screen called Changing Cities. Twentieth–century images of Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Lhasa, and Guangzhou are shown on video to demonstrate the development of Chinese cities.
Last but not least: Chinese Food. Chinese cuisine enjoys worldwide fame because of its long history and variety. On the screen you can select the eight great cuisines of China: those of Shandong, Sichuan, Cantonese, Fujian, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hunan, and Anhui. Unfortunately, samplings are not available, but it does look very tasty.
Yves Persoons
