At the occasion of the Chinese New Year, the Confucius Institute at Saint Joseph University (USJ), in collaboration with the Embassy of China and Hanban (aiming to promote Chinese language and culture worldwide), presented to the Lebanese public a show of varieties entitled, ‘Printempschinois’ (Chinese spring).

The Chinese troup gathered students and teachers from Shenyang Normal University in China.The spectacle was performed with great success on January 23 and 24 at the campus of human sciences in Beirut , on January 25 at Safadi Cultural Centre in Tripoli and on January 26 at Rafic Hariri School in Sidon.

The spectacle, a mixture of traditional melodies and contemporary rhythms, combining refinement with popular effects, hass taged about thirty paintings inspired from the Chinese art, except two Lebanese classical music and an excerpt of Carmen, the Bizet’s Opera.

Dr Antoine Hokayem, vice-rector for international relations and president of the Confucius Institute at Saint Joseph University said, ‘It has been two years since the former ambassador of Republic of China Liu Zheming, expressed his joy when he saw the Chinese New Year celebrated for the first time in Lebanon and in the Middle East, at the Confucius Institute of our university. Even though the celebration did not take place last year – because of some circumstances, the Chinese New Year is one of the events that should be organised every year.

We do that because we firmly believe that the mission of our institute is not limited to teaching the Chinese language, but also to diffuse the Chinese culture and specificities such as traditional medicine, cooking, politics, calligraphy, dance and music, like we have done tonight’.