The IUP Chinese program, led by Shijuan Liu, recently organized and held the annual celebration of the 2024 Mid-Autumn Festival.
The first celebration event, including various performances, was held on Sunday, September 15, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. in Cogswell Hall. Performers (Si Cheng and Viya Yu) from Pittsburgh played moon-related pieces on guqin and pipa. Cheng also gave a presentation introducing the two Chinese instruments. There were also songs, dances, and piano performances given by IUP students (e.g., Sicheng He, a graduate majoring in piano), staff, and faculty (e.g., Prof. Andrew Feng Zhou from the Physics program), and other community members in Indiana (e.g., medical doctor Shenggao Han and his family).
Several international teachers in the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program at IUP attended the event, and three of them (Anuja Sudheer from India, Ababacar Sedikh Niang from Senegal, and Hillary Bamukunda from Uganda) further performed Indian dances and poems related to the moon. Participants learned about the legend related to the moon festival, read the classic poems regarding the moon, and tasted the festive moon cakes. David Surtasky provided technical support to the event, and volunteers from the local high school demonstrated the Chinese lion dance and helped with setup and cleanup, together with the students from the IUP Chinese language courses.
The second event was held on Monday, September 16, in Jane Leonard Hall. Participants learned about the traditional and modern holidays in China and watched videos on stories and music related to the mid-Autumn festival. They also tried the Majiang (Mahjong) game and Chinese calligraphy, in addition to tasting moon cakes and other goodies.
The last event was held in the HUB on Tuesday, September 17. Students ate Chinese food and learned about the festival, led by student officers of the Chinese Language and Culture Club and funded by the IUP Multicultural Center and the Student Co-op.
The events were supported by the IUP Lively Arts and the Han-Qiao Chinese Enhancement Funds.