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100th Anniversary Exhibition

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A special photographic exhibition of 80 images marking the 100th Anniversary of the 1911 Revolution will be held in the University of Edinburgh`s Adam House on 4th, 5th and 6th November.

The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution ended imperial rule in China and ushered in Asia`s first republic.

Friday 4th November : 10.00-17.00
Saturday 5th November: 10.00-17.00
Sunday 6th November : 10.00-14.00

This touring exhibition has been organised by the London office of the Chinese Embassy with support from the Consulate General`s offices in Manchester and Edinburgh. The venue for the exhibition has been arranged by the Confucius Institute for Scotland.

The event is co-hosted by the London Bureau of Xinhua News Agency and the Confederation of Chinese Associations UK. The exhibition has been produced by C Cubed Media. Special support has been given by COSCO (UK) Ltd.

VENUE:
Adam House, 5 Chambers Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1HT
DATES:
Friday 4th November : 10.00-17.00
Saturday 5th November: 10.00-17.00
Sunday 6th November : 10.00-14.00

Confucius Institute for Glasgow

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To help meet the growing demand for learning about China and Chinese the University of Glasgow held an opening ceremony to mark the establishment of a Confucius Institute within the University.

Established as a partnership with Nankai University in Tianjin, the CI in Glasgow is headed up by Professor Jane Duckett. For full details of the launch and to read about the CI University of Glasgow plans please visit their website.

A special exhibition of art works by Fan Zeng, one of China’s most famous artists, whose traditional ‘splashed ink’ and figure drawings are hugely popular in China will run in the Kelvin Gallery of the Hunterian Museum for six weeks to mark the opening of the Confucius Institute in the University of Glasgow.

CPD-Chinese Language & Culture 4 Nov

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Join us on Friday 4th Nov for a morning CPD session from Shaz Lawrence covering development of Chinese language/cultural programmes and
assessment strategies.

Whether you are considering teaching Chinese or are already doing so, this is a seminar that will give you insights, information and inspiration in equal measure.

Shaz Lawrence is a regular presenter at the San Francisco Chinese Education Conference and, closer to home, at the SSAT Conference in London.

Her workshops for teachers of Chinese are packed with practical ideas and resources that are easily applied to the Chinese language classroom. Earlier this year she ran a workshop with the Edinburgh City Confucius Hub Classroom which was very popular and she returns due to popular demand to Edinburgh. She will present two new workshops suitable for primary and secondary teachers.

Teach Chinese? Yes you can!

How to develop Chinese language/cultural programmes for beginner students; exploring strategies for a general classroom teacher with little or no previous knowledge of Chinese.

Assessment is for Learning in the Chinese Classroom: The Key to Success

Research suggests that learners learn best and attainment improves when students understand clearly what they are trying to learn and what is expected of them.

Shaz Lawrence – profile

Shaz Lawrence has over 20 years of experience teaching Chinese in Primary, and High School grade levels. She has been instrumental in the start up of many new language programs in Australia, and the US.

She holds a Bachelor of Education, an Advanced Degree in Language Acquisition, and has studied Mandarin Chinese in Taiwan and China.
Currently teaching Chinese to K-8 students in San Francisco, Shaz is also a teacher-trainer for schools in San Jose, Oakland, and San Francisco, California, USA.

She has two popular websites for teachers of Chinese – Creative Chinese and Chinese Monster Magic, plus Gigglepotz.com that offers over 5,000 general classroom resources from technology to lesson plans.

Her innovative and creative approach to teaching Chinese has resulted in the development of a DVD, 8 Modules of `Chinese Monster Magic` materials for young learners, and Units of work for Middle school students titled – `Paper Bag Chinese`. Her online weekly Newsletter – `Creative Chinese` gives innovative ideas and resources to over 300 teachers of Chinese in the UK, US, Australia, Taiwan and China.

Shaz has been a regular presenter at the San Francisco Chinese Education Conference, and the SSAT Conference in London. Her workshops for teachers of Chinese are packed with practical ideas and resources that are easily applied to the Chinese language classroom. Her first workshop with the Edinburgh City Confucius Hub Classroom on May 25 2011 was very popular and she returns due to popular demand to Edinburgh.

Booking Details

VENUE: Confucius Institute for Scotland, Abden House, 1 Marchhall Crescent, Edinburgh, EH16 5HP
TIME : 09.30-14.00
COST : £30 inclusive of coffee, lunch and materials

For further information and to book please contact Meryl James of St George`s School for Girls on 0131 311 8000 or email her on mij@st-georges.edin.sch.uk

Art in Translation: Keynote and Conference – October 2011

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A full day conference on 28 Oct with a keynote address the evening before will examine the topic of Chinese Art:Translation, Adaptation and Modalities. The conference is part sponsored by the Confucius Institute for Scotland and is organised by Art in Translation.

DAY 1: The keynote address at 5.15pm on Thursday 27 October will be given by Roderick Whitfield, University of London,SOAS on the topic `When Buddhism Came to China`. The venue will be Lecture Room 1 at 20 Chambers Street

DAY 2: The full day conference programme on Friday 28 October runs from 9.30am-6pm and will take place in Teviot Dining Room, Teviot Row Student Union, 13 Bristo Square, Edinburgh EH8 9AJ.

Session 1: Why Translate?

Puay-Peng Ho, The Chinese University of Hong Kong: Mind the Gap: Will More Translated Works in the Field of Chinese Architectural History Help?
Michael Nylan, University of California-Berkeley: Heritage Issues in Translation: Convergent Preoccupations in Chinese and Western Scholarship
Chia-Ling Yang, University of Edinburgh: Archaic Art and Translated Modernity in China

Session 2: Exotic China, Exotic West

Youngsook Pak, University of London SOAS: Chaekkori – a Chosŏn Conundrum –
Alain George, University of Edinburgh: Chinese Art and Culture in the Islamic World (7th–10th c)
Yuka Kadoi, Art Institute of Chicago: China in Islamic Art after the Mongol Invasions of Eurasia: Centuries of Translations
Hsueh-Man Shen, New York University: ‘Dragon’ or ‘Long’ in Chinese Art

For more information and to book please visit http://www.artintranslation.org/
Attendance is charged at £30 (£15 concession) inclusive of full conference attendance plus an evening reception on Day 1 and tea/coffee plus lunch on Day 2.

Art in Translation aims to broaden the scope of understanding of art, architecture and visual design through events such as this conference and through its online journal which publishes English translations of the best writing on these topics from across the globe.

Scotland-China collection

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The range of publiciations available in the Confucius Institute library continues to expand in scope and variety with some new additions to the Scotland-China section which focuses on Scots who have lived and worked in China as government officials, soldiers, business people, missionaries and travellers.

The variety of topics include:

* early diplomatic contacts with China, by George Bogle in Tibet around 1780 and John Napier at Hong Kong in 1834
* government officials like James Stewart-Lockhart and Reginald Johnston, who served in Hong Kong and Wei-hai-wei in the late 19th and early 20th century – Johnston was also, of course, tutor to Pu Yi, the last Emperor of China
* merchants and business people, like Jardine Matheson and Co., and the Melrose tea family
* scientists and travellers such as botanists Robert Fortune and George Forrest, photographer John Thomson, doctor Patrick Manson, and journalist Archibald Colquhoun
* missionaries such as John Gilmour in Mongolia, Dugald Christie in Manchuria and Eric Liddell in Shandong
in the opposite direction, Chiang Yee`s classic The Silent Traveller in Edinburgh, recently reprinted by Mercat Press
* some less well known people like John Bell, who reached Beijing overland from Russia in 1721

To borrowing any of the books or DVDs from the Institute library a membership is required. Full details of membership and an application form are available here.
This collection focuses on books that show the links between the two nations. It is held in the Confucius Institute library and will be catalogued in the University of Edinburgh system.

The China Project – Concerts – 3,4,5 November 2011

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Event Date: 05/11/2011

Book now for one of the three unique musical fusion evenings with Emma Smith and the Silk String Quartert in early November.

Emma Smith, Scottish double bass player, a regular with Eliza Carthy`s band and Gorillaz, to name but two, will join with Silk String Quartet on of Europe’s best professional Chinese music ensembles for classical and contemporary music. Performing on traditional Chinese instruments – the pipa, yangqin, erhu and guzheng – they have performed with collaborators including Lang Lang and Damon Albarn.

Kimho Ip, musical curator at the Confucius Institute for Scotland will join the ensemble playing the Yang Qin.

The China Project explores the blend of Scottish and Chinese musical cultures. Including music by Mo Fan and Lau, the concert also features a new commission by renowned Scottish composer Jim Sutherland. This is a rare opportunity to hear these captivating instruments both in their own musical world and delving into a radical new one, where western and eastern instruments form a wholly new ensemble.

Thu 3 Nov 2011, 7.30pm Eden Court Theatre, Inverness
£12/£10 concession/£5 under 18 – Friends £2 discount.
www.eden-court.co.uk Tel 01463 234234

Fri 4 Nov 2011, 7.30pm The Bongo Club, Edinburgh
£10/£8 concession/£5 students.
Tickets on the door or from www.bongoclub.co.uk Over 18`s only

Sat 5 Nov 2011, 7.30pm Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh
£13.75/£11.75 concession
www.bruntontheatre.co.uk TelL 0131 665 2240

China Modern: Literary perspectives on the 1911 Revolution – September 2011

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Join us to hear two eminent speakers from Tsinghua University and Harvard University present insights into the 1911 Revolution via literary analysis. Taking place in the Playfair Library from 5.30pm-7.15pm followed by a drinks reception on Tsinghau`s Professor WANG Hui and Harvard`s Professor David Der-wei Wang will speak on the topics below:

Professor WANG Hui: Six Moments in the Life of Ah Q:

Professor David Der-wei Wang: `The Future of New China`: Liang Qichao`s Vision of Literature and Revolution

This double bill with such renowned speakers will ensure a vibrant opening session for the 2011 BACS Conference taking place in the University of Edinburgh from 7-9 September.

To book your place at this public event which on Wed 7th Sept in the Playfair Library, Old College, North Bridge, Edinburgh, please email info@confuciusinstitute.ac.uk .

Registered BACS delegates do not need to reserve places.

Edinburgh Student Second in World

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Following the UK heat of the `Chinese Bridge` Proficiency Competition held in London in May, winner Peter Dolby journeyed to Changsha (Hunan Province) to compete against 120 country finalists.

`Chinese Bridge` is the international Chinese language contest sponsored by Hanban, a division of the Ministry of Education.
The heats in Beijing narrowed the field from 120 to only 6 finalists and on 8th August Peter gave a superb performance in the final which saw him awarded second place in this global competition.

Peter, a graduate of Chinese Studies in the University of Edinburgh, was a great representative who had to use his language skills in a variety of ways in this competition and many congratulations go to him on this achievement. The competition is broadcast on Chinese TV and both the semi final and final can be seen online.

About Chinese Bridge

Chinese Bridge official website – in Chinese

Hunan TV

Chinese Politics and Economics – August 2011

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Join us on the afternoon of 11 August for insights into contemporary Chinese politics and economics delivered by leading Chinese intellectuals from Tsinghua University.

The Confucius Institute, working with LSE, is proud to be host this special event which will see four renowned academics from one of Chinese`s leading universities share their insights and answer audience questions.

The programme for this event is shown below.

Registration 1.30-2.00pm
Welcome 2.00-2.10pm

Political Insight Session 2.10-3.30pm
Speaker: Prof. YAN Xuetong:
“The Trend of International Configuration”
Speaker Prof. WANG Tianfu:
“Social Stratification Structure in China: Past and Present”

Tea & Coffee Break 3.30-4pm

Economic Insight Session 4pm-5.20pm
Speaker: Prof LONG Denggao
“Development and Trend: FDI in China”
Speaker: Prof LIU Taoxiong
“China’s Economic Growth: 2011-2020”
Q&A session 5.20-6pm

Drinks Reception 6pm-7pm

Places for this event are limited and seats must be reserved. To book a space please email info@confuciusinstitute.ac.uk with the subject title Tsinghua at the Confucius Institute. If you have any questions please call on 0131 662 2180.

Sponsored Teaching Materials Courses in China

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A series of seven day sponsored training programmes introducing Chinese language teaching materials are on offer from Hanban from July till Dec 2011.

Open to full time Chinese language teachers, age under 60, from mainstream teaching institutions, such as universities, colleges, secondary and primary schools the full cost of the training programme including tuition, food, accommodation and teaching materials will be met by Hanban. Participants are asked to cover the cost of their airfare to China though if there is financial difficulty an application may be made to Hanban/Confucius Institute Headquarters.

There are six sessions on offer each of which lasts for seven days breaking down into two days for international travel, one day cultural experience and four days in class training.

Summer Class A1 17‐23 July 2011
Summer Class A2 24‐30 July 2011
Summer Class B 01‐07 Aug 2011
Term Time Class C 18‐24 September 2011
Term Time Class D 10‐16 October 2011
Winter Class E 11‐17 December 2011

Primary and Secondary School Teacher sessions will take place in Sun Yat-sen University,Guangzhou; Xiamen University, Xiamen; Jilin University, Changchun; Beijing Foreign StudiesUniversity; Beijing Normal University; Hainan Normal University, Haikou and East China Normal University, Shanghai.

University and other Adult Learning Organisation Teacher sessions will take place in Peking University, Beijing; Nankai University, Tianjin; Wuhan University, Wuhan and Dalian University of Foreign Languages, Dalian.

To find out more about this initiative please click here.

If you are interested in applying for a space you can make an online application here.

If you have a problem in opening the .rar file which gives details of specific arrangements at each university please email jie.chen@ed.ac.uk and we will send you a zip file of the contents.

BACS -priority registration open till 31 July – September 2011

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Priority delegate registration for the British Association of Chinese Studies conference being organised with the Confucius Institute for Scotland is available until Sunday 31st July.

Opening on September 7th with keynote addresses from renowed Professors Wang Hui and David Derwei Wang the conference will run through till mid-afternoon on Friday September 9th. A special exhibition on `Cao Yu: Pioneer of Modern Chinese Drama` created by the Shanghai Theatre Academy Theatre Museum working with the University of Leeds will also be on show during the Conference.

For more information and to register please visit the Conference website.

BCLTS – conference programme available – June 2011

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The conference programme for BCLTS 29 Jun-01 Jul is now available to download along with cross-referenced abstracts. The conference dinner will take place on Wednesday 29 June and non-members are requested to book and pay online if they wish to attend the dinner which is charged at only £15.

Studies in Chinese Cinema – July 2011

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Join us on Saturday 2nd July 2011, Rainy Hall, New College, the Mound, Edinburgh, to consider aspects of Chinese Cinema in the company of four renowned experts in the field.

Our speakers come from the USA and the UK and all four are contributors to The CHINESE CINEMA BOOK published earlier this month which was edited by our two UK experts.

Dr Song Hwee Lim, co-editor of The Chinese Cinema Book, is Senior Lecturer in Film Studies at the University of Exeter. He is the author of Celluloid Comrades: Representations of Male Homosexuality in Contemporary Chinese Cinemas (University of Hawaii Press, 2006), co-editor of Remapping World Cinema: Identity, Culture and Politics in Film (Wallflower Press, 2006), and founding editor of the Journal of Chinese Cinemas. He recently completed a book manu entitled Tsai Ming-liang and a Cinema of Slowness. He is Chief Editor of the Journal of Chinese Cinemas.

Dr Julian Ward, co-editor of The Chinese Cinema Book, is a Senior Lecturer in Chinese Studies at the University of Edinburgh. Research interests include travel writing, particularly in the travel diaries of Xu Xiake. He is Associate Editor of the Journal of Chinese Cinemas.

Wendy Larson is Professor of Chinese Language and Literature in the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures at the University of Oregon. Her research includes Women and Writing in Modern China (Stanford, 1998), and the co-edited Gender in Motion: Divisions of Labor and Cultural Change in late Imperial and Modern China (Rowman and Littlefield 2005)

Jason McGrath is Associate Professor of Chinese film and literature at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. He is the author of Postsocialist Modernity: Chinese Cinema, Literature, and Criticism in the Market Age (Stanford UP, 2008), and his essays on Chinese film have appeared in journals such as Modern Chinese Literature and Culture as well anthologies including Chinese Films in Focus II, and The Urban Generation: Chinese Cinema and Society at the Turn of the Twenty-first Century. His current projects include an anthology of Chinese critical writings on film and a book entitled Inscribing the Real.

The event will run from 2pm-6pm followed by a reception. The topics on which our speakers will focus are:

2.30pm Wendy Larson `Chinese Culture on the Global Stage: Zhang Yimou and the Fifth Generation Filmmakers`
3.15pm Jason McGrath `Realism and Chinese Independent Cinema
4.15pm Julian Ward `The history of the August First Film Studio: from Socialist Realism to Main Melodies` 5pm Song Hwee Lim `Tsai Ming-Liang and the Cinema of Slowness`

This event is free but to ensure your place please register by email to jie.chen@ed.ac.uk

If you have any questions please call us on 0131 662 2180.

John Chinnery – Tribute Talk at AGM

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The Confucius Institute for Scotland is the venue for this year`s Scotland China Association AGM held on the morning of Sat 11 June.

Following the AGM which will start at 11am there will be a special talk given by Frances Wood, Head of the Chinese Department at the British Library. Her talk is entitled `John Chinnery, A Seriously Witty Sinologist`

As well as being SCA`s Honorary President, John Chinnery became the the first head of the department of Chinese in the University of Edinburgh in 1965. His early work laid the foundations for the vibrant relationship the University has today with China.

Attendance at the AGM and talk is free but to help us manage numbers please email billandlesley@yahoo.co.uk to your attendance. There is also an option to attend a buffet lunch at the Institute. Bookings and payment are required in advance by Wed 1st June. The cost is £10 per person inclusive of a glass of wine or a soft drink.

For further information or to book either for the AGM/Talk or AGM/Talk and Buffet Lunch please contact billandlesley@yahoo.co.uk

SCA is a non-profit, non-political and non-sectarian organisation for people who have an interest in all aspects of Chinese life and civilisation. Please visit their website for more information.

Scholarships to China – deadline 26 May

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The Confucius Institute Scholarships for 2011 have just been announced and this year there are three types of scholarship on offer.

Type A
Scholarships for four weeks to be taken between July-Aug 2011 or Sept 2011-Jan 2012

Type B
Scholarships of one academic year focusing on Chinese language & culture, education or Chinese history as a major.

Type C
Master in International Education of Chinese Language scholarship

The deadline for submission is Thursday 26 May 2011. Please download the PDF guidelines below. Please note online application to the global database via http://cis.chinese.cn/ and written application to the Confucius Institute are both required

Please read through the information provided in the PDF below and on the Hanban website shown above. Should you have any questions please contact us on 0131 662 2180 or email info@confuciusinstitute.ac.uk.

As you will see applicants should have or be awaiting results of the new HSK exam. For those who do not hold HSK at present a special HSK exam will take place on 21 May. Please register by 19 May. Full details on the HSK and the registration form can be found at www.confuciusinstitute.ac.uk/hsk

Good luck!

Application Procedures for the Confucius Institute Scholarship | 孔子学院奖学金申请办法 (2011)

Chinese Language Acquisition Seminar 20 April

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A special seminar on Chinese language acquisition will be held on 20 April when Tim Dodds, Principal of Chatswood Public School in New South Wales will share with us the experiences of that continent.

Australia has for many decades had a strong Chinese community and has an established Asia Literacy Programme from which we can learn a great deal.

On this research fellowship visit, Tim is looking into the leadership implications of establishing Confucius Classrooms, and his work has many synergies with educational priorities here in Scotland.

The seminar which is scheduled 2pm-3.30pm has been arranged for members of SCEN. To book a seat please email JudithMcClure12A@aol.com.

VENUE: Confucius Institute for Scotland, Abden House, 1 Marchhall Crescent, Edinburgh, EH16 5HP
DATE : Wed 20 April
TIME : 2pm-3.30pm.

Chinese Bridge Winner

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The overall winner of the 10th Chinese Bridge competition held in London on 19 March is Peter Dolby, a 4th year undergraduate from Chinese Studies at the University of Edinburgh who, after a long day of competition, was awarded first prize by Chinese Ambassador Liu Xiaoming.

This nationwide heat saw the three Edinburgh students each gain a place in the top ten. The Chinese Bridge competition has been running for ten years but this is the first time that Edinburgh has sent students to compete.

Accompanying the students were He Jin, one of the Institute`s Chinese language teachers who teaches all three students, and Wang Shunqing recently arrived co-director.

In addition to a cash prize,Peter will go forward to the global competition which will take place in Beijing in July 2011.

Ambassador Platt-China Boys – April 2011

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Thurs 21st April will see former Ambassador Platt, long time China specialist, author of `China Boys` and President of the Asia Society in New York for 12 years, address a full house at the Confucius Institute.

As a young diplomatic officer in the early 1960s, when Communist China was firmly closed to the west, Platt took the unusual step of studying Mandarin. This put him in a key position when U.S. relations to China suddenly opened. Platt was one of the State Department officials chosen to accompany President Nixon on his historic visit to China in 1972. The following year he and his family were stationed in Beijing with the opening of a U.S. Liaison Office, the forerunner of the U.S. Embassy in the PRC.

Showing some of his ‘home movie’ footage of the Nixon trip, and film of family and diplomatic events, and reading from his memoir, Platt will talk about life in China in 1973. As a former President of the Asia Society, which oversees numerous contacts and exchanges with China, and a frequent visitor and lecturer in the PRC, Platt is in a unique position to compare those early days of diplomatic contact to relations with the West today, as China now emerges as a major player on the world stage and an economic power house.

The talk takes place in the Confucius Institute for Scotland at Abden House from 6pm-7.30pm and will be followed by a drinks reception.

All available seats for this talk are now booked.

Chinese New Year in Schools – February 2011

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February, being Chinese New Year period is a month when demand for China Days are at their peak. Many schools use the combination of the half term break and the Chinese New Year to fit in some non-curricular activities.

The Institute is organising a number of China Days for Confucius Classrooms in February.

If you go down to the Gyle today….

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This half term week at the Gyle, you will have the chance to meet Edinburgh Zoo`s large and cuddly Giant Panda mascots!

Stop by the Confucius Institute activity area where there are activities for kids and info for adults including

Dot-to-dot panda pictures with Chinese numbers
How to draw bamboo
How to write the Chinese character for `bamboo`
Get your name written in Chinese
Test your chopstick skills
Have your picture taken with a panda mascot (11am – 3pm)
See Chinese learning materials, videos, pictures, and more
Pick up your free copy of a China Daily European edition newspaper,
as well as lots of info on China and learning Chinese.

Enter our simple survey and each day one lucky winner will be drawn who will receive a family ticket for four to visit Edinburgh Zoo.

See you at the Gyle!