Wenzhou-Kean University Holds the 5th Chinese Classics Recitation Competition

Recently, The Fifth Chinese Classic Recitation Competition of Wenzhou-Kean University came to a successful conclusion. The competition was organized by Wenzhou-Kean University Library and co-organized by Voice of WKU. Dr. Xie Zhiwu, Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs and Director of the Library of Wenzhou-Kean University attended the competition. The competition aimed to promote the excellent traditional Chinese culture and inspire the love and inheritance of Chinese classic literature among the students. The competition attracted many players from various colleges to participate enthusiastically.

Dr. Xie Zhiwu gave a speech at the competition, expressing his hope that students would gain a deeper understanding of the magnificence of Chinese culture through the competition, strengthen their cultural self-confidence, and let the world see the unique charm of Chinese classics.

The competition was divided into two rounds, in which the contestants were required to recite ancient poems in the first round, and to recite and comment on modern texts in the second round.

From “The Book of Songs・The Zheng Feng・Qiang Zhong Zi”, we can experience the tangled feelings of pure love, from “He Xin Lang”, we can realize the grandeur of the ambition that is hard to be rewarded, from “Zhuang Zi・Autumn Waters”, we can appreciate the profoundness of Taoist thoughts, from “Xiang Ji Xuan Zhi”, we can appreciate the warmth of ordinary life, from “Farewell Fugue”, we can regret the sorrow of separation, and from “Long Live the Youth”, we can release the youthful heat...The twelve contestants' wonderful performance earned the praise from both the jury and on-site audience. Afterwards, the teachers of the jury made professional comments on the contestants from various professional perspectives, such as pronunciation, intonation, rhythm, text, stage design, and so on, and together they selected the final top eight contestants.

 

In the end, Ma Yichang, a freshman psychology major, won the champion, Bai Yining,a freshman finance major, won the second place, and Yu Huiyu,a freshman communication major, won the third place.

As an invited judge, Mr. Xia Xinxin, host of Wenzhou News Media Center said, “What impressed me deeply was Bai Yining's recitation of ‘Autumn's Nostalgia’, because it was a work of Shi Tiesheng, and he prepared wheelchair props in order to get into the author's state of mind, and tried to reproduce the scene as authentic as possible. At the same time, his true feelings also touched us and made us resonate with the topic of family love.

Ma Yichang, the winner of the school competition, said, “I have participated in several recitation competitions during my childhood. Although they were only small events, they planted the seed of love for recitation in my heart. During this competition, I was inevitably nervous, but I was more focused on how to present the emotional core of the work through my voice than the result of the competition.