by Vivien Liu
NEW YORK, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- An ancient pictograph evolving into a Chinese character; a child's mouth forming the sounds of a word; a brush sweeping across paper; and the centuries-old notes of a guqin filling the air...
For students and visitors in New York, these became different entry points into Chinese culture -- ways to encounter it not just through books, but through sight, sound and direct experience.
A series of cultural activities, recently held at the State University of New York at Old Westbury and the Long Island School of Chinese, featured exhibitions of Chinese poetry, calligraphy, painting and seal carving, guqin performances and a lecture on the origins and evolution of Chinese characters.
At the center of the programs were Chinese artist and guqin performer Nie Hui and her husband, cultural researcher Xie Feidong, who have worked together for years to study and share traditional Chinese culture and arts.
In one session, children were invited to say the Chinese word for "laugh" and observe what happened to their faces. As they pronounced it, the corners of their mouths lifted into a smile.
The exercise connected language with something the children could immediately see and feel. The lesson then moved to the visual origins of Chinese writing.
Nie drew early pictographic forms of the sun and moon, showing how ancient characters resembled the objects they represented.
"Chinese characters were originally pictographic characters. They were a picture," Xie said.
A discussion of oracle-bone inscriptions offered another glimpse into the early development of Chinese writing and the ways ancient people drew upon images of the natural world to express meaning.
For Christian D'Ambrosi, an American student pursuing a master's degree in education at SUNY Old Westbury, the presentation further sparked an interest in China that had taken root years earlier.
"I was here to learn more about Chinese culture, because I've always loved Chinese history," he said. "I hope to teach about Chinese history in the future."
The activities also explored connections across cultures, including a discussion linking the ancient Chinese story of Dayu controlling the floods to the biblical story of Noah's Ark.
"Art and culture have no borders," Xie said.
Catherine Fan, a high school junior and volunteer at the Long Island School of Chinese who plays the guzheng, particularly enjoyed hearing Nie perform Liu Shui (Flowing Water) on the guqin.
The ancient melody has traveled far beyond the classroom. A recording of Liu Shui was included on the Golden Record carried aboard NASA's Voyager spacecraft, launched in 1977 with sounds and music selected to represent life and culture on Earth.
For Edmund Yan, a Chinese American attendee, the Chinese paintings were particularly striking.
"I think it's very impressive how detailed it is and how much personality you can put into it," Yan said. "Being able to show off the personality of the artwork with just black and white is very beautiful and very impressive."
Olivia Chen, a sixth-grade student who has attended the Long Island School of Chinese since second grade, said the program helped explain what lies behind the characters she learns in class.
"We actually learn the history of words and stuff like that here," she said. "In Chinese class, we learn how to read, write and memorize words."
"I hope that the children today can remember a particular character that touched them," Xie said.
Nie captured their approach in a single line: "Let art have the depth of culture, and let culture have the beauty of art." ■
