20 April 2022, the start of Guyu, or "Rain of Millet", the sixth solar term in the Chinese lunar calendar, was designated as the 13th UN Chinese Language Day. The Open University of China (OUC) celebrated the event for the first time, organising activities related to writing the 24 solar terms in seal-script style. Ms. Fan Xianrui, vice president of the OUC, attended the event and spoke at the opening ceremony.
Mr. Zhao Wengeng, an expert on bone or tortoise-shell inscriptions; Professor Tang Yingshan of the OUC Faculty of Humanities; and Wang Guochuan, executive deputy director of MOE Vocational Education Steering Committee Office (Executive Committee Office), gave calligraphy and painting demonstrations, while OUC faculty and staff participated by writing the 24 solar terms using traditional Chinese-calligraphy brush, paper, and ink stone.
Language Days at the UN was established by the UN Department of Public Information (now known as the Department of Global Communications) in 2010, seeking to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity while promoting equal use of the six official languages throughout the organisation. The date for the Chinese day was selected to be Guyu, the 6th of the 24 solar terms in the Chinese lunar calendar, and to pay tribute to Cangjie, the inventor of Chinese characters.
The OUC is dedicated to telling China’s stories and promoting Chinese voices in order to present China in a realistic and comprehensive manner, as well as to enhance its cultural impact, and this celebration showcased its efforts in doing so.
By OUC International Department