On April 6th, a special activity called “International Children’s Book Day—reading without boundary, listening to the voices of the world” was held in the Municipal Library of Changchun. Over a hundred children and readers attended the event. Eight JISU students from China and abroad read Chinese and foreign classic literature in multiple languages including English, French, Russian, Korean, Italian, Mongolian and Spanish. They won loud applauses from audience.
The event lasted over an hour. A foreign exchange student, Nila from France, read Hugo’s poemWhen Everything Falls Asleepin French; Talin from Russia read Sergei Esenin’sI Remember;Michelle from Mongolia read Xi Murong’sFarewell Song; Du Juan from Italy readI Have a Crescent Moon; and Ming Huiyuan from Korea read Zheng Xuanzong’sVisitor. They worked together with Chinese children to read classic poems in both foreign and Chinese languages with accurate rhythm and intonation, making the performances very impressive.
What’s worth noting is that our student He Meixuan, majoring in Spanish, read Neruda’sYour Smilein Spanish; Russian student Yuliya and Indonesian student Su Huina readTwinkle Twinkle Little StarandOde to Plum Blossomrespectively in Chinese, which demonstrated their academic achievements and Chinese proficiency. Their performances were greatly acclaimed by the audience.
After reading with the children, the overseas students expressed that they now have a deeper understanding of and appreciation for Chinese and foreign classic literature. They also want to keep improving their Chinese to be able to popularize classic literature works and promote cultural exchange throughout the world.
Group photo of our students from China and abroad with children
