2020 Oracle Bone Inscriptions Cup “Chinese Characters and Me” Speech Contest successfully concludes

The final of the 2020 Oracle Bone Inscriptions Cup “Chinese Characters and Me” Speech Contest for International Students concluded on Nov. 17. (People's Daily Online/Weng Qiyu）

On Nov. 17, the final of the 2020 Oracle Bone Inscriptions Cup “Chinese Characters and Me” Speech Contest for International Students, hosted by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, organized by People’s Daily Online and supported by the Henan Provincial People’s Government, successfully concluded in Zhengzhou, central China’s Henan Province.

The Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries Vice President, Hu Sishe, Chief Counsel at the Foreign Affairs Office of Henan Provincial People’s Government, Li Zhen, and other guests attended the event. A professor at the Minzu University of China, Meng Man, the popular researcher of Chinese characters Richard Sears, also known as “Uncle Chinese Characters”, together with other experts, were invited to be the judges.

Hu Sishe, Vice President of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (People's Daily Online/Weng Qiyu）

Hu Sishe said that the Chinese character is the carrier of Chinese culture. As “harmony” has always been a highly valued virtue in Chinese civilization, the concepts of “harmony between man and nature” and “harmony in diversity”, being the cultural genes of the Chinese nation, are deeply rooted in the hearts of every Chinese. The contest, with “harmony and coexistence” as its theme, aims to help contestants better understand China’s traditional culture and values, he added.

Mankind has become more closely interconnected amid the current COVID-19 pandemic, and only through solidarity and cooperation can countries overcome the virus, Hu said, calling upon people of all countries to adopt the concept of “harmony” and let go of disputes and prejudices in order to create a peaceful, tranquil, prosperous and beautiful world.

Kenne Michel Olivier from Cameroon emerged as the eventual winner. (People's Daily Online/Weng Qiyu）

In the finals, ten finalists from South Korea, Cambodia, the Czech Republic, Tajikistan, Nigeria and other countries spoke of their bonds with Chinese characters and shared their understanding of the traditional Chinese values of “harmony and coexistence”. Kenne Michel Olivier from Cameroon emerged as the eventual winner.

Under the theme of “harmony and coexistence”, an idea that Chinese civilization has emphasized for thousands of years, the event attracted international students in China, foreigners working in China, and non-native Chinese speakers after it was launched online on Oct. 16, 2020.

By assessing the contestants’ Chinese language expression and cross-cultural communication ability, the contest aims to help foreigners better understand the profound nature of Chinese characters, the Chinese values of “harmony and coexistence”, as well as the concept of “a community with a shared future for mankind”.