International Chinese Language Day is a holiday established to promote and foster the Chinese language and culture. In order to celebrate International Chinese Day, and to give students a better understanding of the cultural differences, we planned a special movie viewing of "Grandson Comes From America". The film tells the story of old man Laoyangtou, an artist living alone in Hua County, Shaanxi Province, who has a complete collection of shadow puppets at home. One day, his son, who has been away from home for many years, suddenly brings home his foreign girlfriend and foreign stepson, Brooks. Before Laoyangtou's knows what is happening, his son and his girlfriend hurriedly entrust Brooks to him because they are going to work in Hoh Xil. Laoyangtou has to babysit his foreign grandson, who often clashes with him because of the cultural differences between China and America and the language barrier. In order for Brooks to drink fresh milk, Laoyangtou approaches the head of the township cultural station, Wang, who raises cows. The station manager, who was planning to start a class to pass on shadow puppetry, takes the opportunity to invite Laoyangtou to make a comeback. Under the influence of Wang's unremitting lobbying and Brooks' influence, Laoyangtou's shadow puppet class finally opens successfully, and he and Brooks became close because of this unique and warm way of communication.
During the movie viewing, the students watched the movie carefully. Confucius Institute at Rhodes University prepared tea, coffee, and snacks for the students. After the movie, the students had a lively interactive discussion, sharing their experience of watching the movie and their understanding of the culture clash while enjoying the food. At the end, the volunteer teachers made a concluding speech, thanking the participants for their support and participation, and some of them suggested that we should organize more movie-watching activities.
The event ended with the laughter of the students, and it not only promoted Chinese language and Chinese culture, but also enhanced the awareness and interest in International Chinese Language Day, promoted Chinese traditional culture in all its virtues and helped more people understand the intangible cultural heritage of shadow puppets.
