On 17 December 2022, the Confucius Institute of the University of Banja Luka organized a series of workshops and activities, within the “Banja Luka Winter” manifestation, for all visitors in which they could learn more about different elements of Chinese culture. The workshops were organized in the ‘Staklenac’ Music Pavilion and were free of charge.
At the Chinese calligraphy workshop, visitors had the opportunity to learn about Chinese
characters and write them with brushes specially designed for this art form that originated in
China. It is believed that the oldest forms of calligraphy in ancient China were created by
carving characters into turtle shells or cow horns, and that the oldest characters preserved to
this day were inscribed on metal plates around 200 BC. Around 220 BC, the emperor Qin Shi
Huang created a set of 3,300 standardized Chinese characters that gave rise to the Chinese
script used today.
In honour of the Chinese New Year and the Year of the Rabbit, children enjoyed themselves
while making Chinese New Year paper decorations, with the help and guidance of Chinese
professors at the Confucius Institute, who introduced them to the customs that are practiced in China during this holiday, also called Spring Festival.
The programme also included the performance of the ‘Kerubini’ Chamber Choir of the
Confucius Institute which sang several Chinese songs, followed by the Confucius Institute Taiji
Group, which demonstrated the ancient Chinese martial art taiji for visitors and passers-by.
The master chef of the Chinese company Shandong closed this day dedicated to Chinese
culture by preparing and serving the traditional Chinese dish jiaozi (Chinese dumplings), which,
due to their characteristic shape reminiscent of gold or silver, are a symbol of wealth, which is
why they are traditionally prepared for the New Year holidays, and wished all the participants at the workshop a prosperous and happy year.