The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Mooncake Festival, is a traditional festival celebrated in Chinese culture, where the full moon is a symbol of family reunion. Ancient Chinese emperors traditionally used the Mid-Autumn Festival to pray for the harvest, fine weather, and peace for the country.
The festival is annually held on the 15th day of the 8th month in the Chinese lunar calendar. This year, that day happened on the 29th of September and the Confucius Institute at Rhodes University held a celebration in honour of it. This very important festival is rooted in China’s long history and rich cultural traditions. It is a celebration with family reunions, mooncakes, parades, and lanterns. The evening was filled with joy, happiness, laughter, performances, food, and drinks.
The Deputy Dean of the Humanities Faculty and Director of the CIRU, Professor Patrice Mwepu, extended a warm welcome and a hand of gratitude to everyone that attended. He expressed that, “this is the time for celebration”. “During this day we get to share the moon cake, which is the symbol of harmony and unity. Chinese are our friends, we celebrate together, tonight you have a new family,” he added. The day was also dedicated to final year (3rd year and Honours) students who might not be studying Chinese the next year. “These students made a good choice, and they will be our ambassadors out there,” Professor Mwepu said.
Final year students and an honours student shared their journeys as Chinese Studies students. As someone who took the course as something interesting, the course really proved to be interesting and worth studying. Chinese Honours student, Zola Ncokazi 苏拉shared that she would encourage 1st and 2nd year Chinese students to continue with the course, even though it is difficult at first, but it is worth it. “It has been a hectic journey of vocabulary, characters, and tones and it’s very worth it. You get to jump into a whole different country whilst in Makhanda,” she said.
The 3rd year student, Amy 李爱 Brandon described the course as interesting and fun. She expressed that, “I have always felt welcomed here and the lecturers have always been welcoming and nice. I have learnt about a culture that I have never thought about before studying Chinese”.
Describing her journey as a lovely experience, the 3rd year student Akisa Kakia柯佳善 shared that, “I think something that stuck with me and the reason that we keep on staying in this department, is the love and the help that we get from teachers, how they treat us, and how they cheer us on”. “That is something I am going to take with me as I continue my journey with Chinese culture and learning more,” she said.
Allison Brandon王卓辰, a 3rd year student, described the course as exciting and enjoyable. Echoing the same sentiments as Akisa, she shared that, “the teachers here are so polite and very welcoming, it feels like a family.
Following their speeches was an incredible musical performance by the Chinese students and the evening continued to be a joyous celebration.
