Confucius Institute at Mahasarakham University Holds First Chinese Opera Cultural Festival

On June 25th, the “Cultural Exchanges in ASEAN Countries” and the First Chinese Opera Cultural Festival was held at Mahasarakham University (MSU) by the Confucius Institute at MSU and the Administration of Culture, Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television of Nanning Municipality. People present at the event include Liao Junyun, Chinese Consul-General in Khon Kaen; Praphat Sathan-Itthirit, Director of Culture Department of Mahasarakham; Li Youliang, Deputy Director of the Administration of Culture, Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television of Nanning Municipality; Fang Ning, Dean of the Culture and Art Research Institute of Nanning; Hong Zerong, Permanent Honorary Chairman of Chinese School Association in Northern Thailand; Dr. Prayook Srivilai, Vice-President of MSU; He Dong, Chinese Director of the Confucius Institute at MSU.

Dr. Prayook Srivilai, Deputy Director Li Youliang, Director Praphat Sathan-Itthirit on behalf of the Governor of Mahasarakham Province and Consul-General Liao Junyun addressed the opening ceremony respectively. After the speeches, the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts at MSU signed cooperation agreements with the Confucius Institute at MSU and the Culture and Art Research Institute of Nanning respectively and became a member of the China-ASEAN Opera Cooperation and Exchange Mechanism.

Guests cutting the ribbon at the opening ceremony

Guests

The “Cultural Exchanges in ASEAN Countries” and the First Chinese Opera Cultural Festival mainly consists of three sections: cultural exhibition, lectures on Chinese Opera culture and Chinese Opera performances. At the exhibition center, works of Chinese photography, calligraphy and painting were on display. At another exhibition area, intangible cultural heritage programs of Nanning such as traditional Chinese medicine and traditional handicrafts were also shown to the audience. They can experience themselves with the guidance and help of the staff. Surrounded by crowds, Chinese and Thailand performers danced and learnt from each other, which impressed the audience with diverse culture.

Audience experiencing traditional embroidery of Guangxi

Prof. Mao Xiaoyu from the Chinese National Academy of Arts is the speaker of the lecture on Chinese Opera culture. He explained the profound terms in simple language and gave a lively and interesting lecture with the cooperation of Opera performers. Through this lecture, the students present acquired some knowledge and grew an interest in Chinese Opera culture. Two Chinese Opera performances were shown in the afternoon and the evening respectively. The ensemble of the “Cultural Exchanges in ASEAN Countries” performed classic South School Cantonese Opera such as “The Drunken Imperial Concubine”, “the Heavenly Maids Scatter Blossoms”, “the Banquet and Yong Opera Da Bi Me”n and “Mu Hu Guan”. The audience marveled at the singing and dancing of the performers and gave rounds of applause.

Lecture of Chinese Opera culture

Chinese Opera performance

As the saying goes that “State-to-state relations thrive when there is friendship between the peoples. And such friendship grows out of close interactions between the peoples”, cultural exchanges are the sources of exchanges between two countries. Only when we understand each other’s culture can we foster mutual respect and inclusiveness. The “Cultural Exchanges in ASEAN Countries” attracted students from higher institutes in Mahasarakham and many local overseas Chinese. With rich contents, the event made all the audience feel the profoundness of Chinese Opera and brought them a visual and auditory cultural feast.

(Story by Sun Guangyong, people.com.cn, Bangkok, June 28th, photos by the Confucius Institute at Mahasarakham University)

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