by Wei Gu In China, age is a topic often brought up in daily conversation. As the Chinese language is rich in content and has a flexible structure, there are different ways to ask about the age of different people. Based on different age groups, I would like to introduce three basic ways of expressing […]
Semester 2 Course Timetable
Idioms and Proverbs about Niu (Ox or Cow)
We thought it would be interesting to hear some of the traditional proverbs connected with the Ox. 牛 Niú In Chinese, we could just use the word 牛 as an adjective to describe someone or something as awesome. 初生牛犊不怕虎 Chū shēng niú dú bú pà hǔ New-born calves are not afraid of tigers. This idiom […]
Snow in Chinese Culture
By Ping Zhang Did you wake to the first snow outside your window? The first snow of this winter officially hit Edinburgh on 3rd December. Did you know that Chinese people probably like snow more than people from any other country in the world? There are many Chinese cultures that relate to snow. With its white […]
Why do Chinese people have two Birthdays every year?
By Ji Wu Isn’t it interesting that Chinese people have two birthdays every year? In fact, it’s because that in China, two calendric systems are being used. One is the common calendar that is used around the world, i.e. the Gregorian Calendar, and the other is the traditional Chinese calendar, also known as the Lunar […]
Meet the Team
Professor Ping Zhang Chinese Co Director of SCIBC Ping moved to Edinburgh with her family and joined the Confucius Institute in August 2018 and comes to us from Tianjin University where she holds the posts of Doctoral Advisor, Professor (Public Finance and Administration) and is our Co-Director. Ping’s research focuses on public financial administration of […]
The Book of Shanghai : Chen Danya & Wang Zhanhei in conversation
This is a joint event by Manchester University Confucius Institute and Comma Press, exploring what it is like to be a writer in 21st Century China and to write about Shanghai – a futuristic metropolis and one of the world’s biggest cities. This special event showcases Comma’s city anthology The Book of Shanghai, which features […]
Podcasting Chinese Lives : In Conversation with Story FM
Our colleagues at the Confucius Institute at the University of Glasgow are hosting a talk on Thursday 26th November from 1pm to 2pm In this event Kou Aizhe (Story FM) will be talking about his work with Story FM and how he tells the stories of the subjects featured in his podcasts. There will be […]
First-ever Chinese Student Guide to Edinburgh set to inspire UK’s fastest-growing international student group
A brand-new Mandarin language Student Guide to Edinburgh has recently been launched by Edinburgh Tourism Action Group (ETAG), it offers inspiration and support to young Chinese people who have chosen Scotland and the rest of the UK for their studies. The new guidebook – which is being circulated digitally to Chinese students in the city […]