By Sacrée Kabeya
The last time the world celebrated the Year of the Tiger was over a decade ago in 2010! At the Confucius Institute at Rhodes University (CIRU) there was a buzz of excitement to ring in the Chinese New Year; it was the first time in two years that they were able to gather safely, due to the Covid-19 pandemic that took the world by surprise. With a wide array of food, both traditional and local, the festivities created a lovely atmosphere for all in attendance.
The Chinese New Year is also known as the Spring Festival, and this holiday will continue in China until 15 February 2022. The official start of Chinese New Year was 1 February. Prof Patrice Mwepu and Prof Dexue Liu of the Confucius Institute hosted a small dinner party in celebration of this special occasion. All the new and old staff of the Institute were in attendance, as well as Prof Undine Weber in her capacity as the Head of the School of Languages and Literatures, and Mr. Jannie de Villiers from The Diocesan School for Girls. Prof Liu’s wife was also in attendance, and this was very special for her as her first Chinese New Year in Africa!
The evening started off with greetings and well wishes from the Director of CIRU, Prof Mwepu. In his address, he thanked everyone for accepting the invitation to celebrate this event together and to embrace this special culture: “This is a special day in the Chinese calendar where we begin a new life under the watch of the Tiger. On this evening we have so many things planned to share with you all and we are so thankful for the opportunity to meet again face-to-face after two years.”
Prof Weber echoed these sentiments and fondly remembered previous Chinese New Year celebrations: “In 2020 we were all here from the School of Languages – from African Languages, Afrikaans, Classics, Creative Writing, French, and German. Perhaps next year we will be able to gather again in full.” Prof Weber went on to warmly welcome the new staff at CIRU – Ms. Wan Ru, Ms. Zou Hanyang, Ms. Zou Hongmin, and Ms. Zhu Jingjing – wishing them all a fruitful journey at Rhodes University.
The highlight of the evening was definitely the two presentations by Ms. Zhu Jingjing and Ms. Zou Hanyang. These presentations gave us a more personal look into how Chinese New Year is celebrated within the family and what makes it so special to them personally. Ms. Zhu Jingjing shared about some of the traditions practiced in her family: “In China we love playing with firecrackers to celebrate the New Year! My father used to wake us up very early in the morning and this was very special, especially for the children.” Ms. Zou Hanyang explained some of the traditions that were followed in the Sichuan province where she grew up: “People would prepare a lot of food at home and have a big family reunion to celebrate growth in the New Year.”
Food served for Chinese Spring Festival
The staff at CIRU went all out to serve some authentic Chinese dishes for the New Year. Ms. Zang Li explained that for the New Year most households would prefer to cook all the food instead of buying ready-made dishes. On the menu there was Chinese hot pot (huo guo), lamb, pork, and vegetable dumplings (jiao zi), spring rolls (chun juan), and flavoured noodles (chao mian). A special tradition we were all able to participate in was the exchange of money and well-wishes for the new year! Overall, it was an evening well spent; and it indicates positive expectations for the year ahead. As Prof Weber said: “this year we have to be a bit like the tiger; we have to be fearless and passionate.”