On the Cultural Education Program for Overseas Student in China

Abstract：With the internationalized development of high schools， overseas student education has become a very important part of their compressive school scheme， getting more and more emphasis. Besides the major subjects， the Cultural Education is also important. The school can open some cultural classes by collecting appropriate contents on the basis of cultural requirement of overseas students， provide them a window through which they can get to know the Chinese culture， help them get used to the school environment and social environment， reducing the cultural shock during communication with Chinese people， meanwhile， it is helpful to strengthen the international friendship.

Key words： cultural Education， Confucius Thought， Chinese painting and calligraphy，Chinese martial art，traditional festival

1 Introduction

With the international development of colleges and universities， overseas student education has been paid more and more attention as part of the university development plan. Besides the professional teaching， the universities also offer the overseas students with a variety of cultural teaching or activities， which is very helpful for students to understand the Chinese traditions and customs， so that they can more quickly adapt to the learning environment， overcome the culture shock. The cultural activities play a good role in promoting international exchanges. Overseas students also are very interested in China's long history and traditional culture； they will study the culture in China， taking the mutual friendship back to their native country， continuing to present it to others. We will thank them for making efforts for the world-wide cultural spreading of Chinese one. This paper aims at discussing contents and mode of cultural education in order to help overseas students know it and love it， and develop a Chinese Cultural Complex.

2 The Importance of Cultural Education Program

During their study in China， Chinese culture often has a subtle influence on them by getting some intercultural communication competence and cross-cultural awareness. As the wisdom of the Chinese people， the cultural influence involves all aspects of life. It can help overseas students to get used to the student life in china by learning the customs and tradition， historical knowledge and even the geographical environment. They come from different countries with different cultural background， religious beliefs， moral values， customs and social values， etc. These factors sometimes can cause a certain social pressure and psychological stress， and even a cultural conflict. For the student who leaves home for China， there is a question of how to adapt to the new life. Cultural courses can help at this respect.

Moreover， Chinese cultural education has played an integral role in strengthening the cultural exchanges between the East and the West， promoting the friendship among China and foreign countries. For a Long time， the Western countries have been misunderstanding for various reasons， showing hostility towards China with ejection of Chinese culture， which has caused a cultural conflict to certain extent. Chinese cultural education is one of the effective ways to eliminate those conflicts due to cultural barriers and misunderstandings. It will be a great idea to arrange some Chinese cultural classes for the overseas students during their study period， through which they can get to know China as much as possible， be willing to embrace Chinese culture and spread Chinese culture， be willing to be friendship or cultural envoy to improve the friendly exchanges between the China and foreign countries， and to present their comments on our friendly attitude towards foreign countries. I believe it will surely improve China's international status in the new century.

3 Main Contents of Cultural Education Program

Chinese culture has a long history， and it is profound with extremely broad coverage over all aspects of lives of Chinese people. Cultural education content for overseas students can not cover many items because of the limited study time； therefore， the cultural education content should be selective， focusing on the most famous highlighting items. It will be helpful to communicate with students about their cultural needs， making certain appropriate changes to the teaching plan.， however the purpose of teaching is the same that it is to open a window through which they can have a better understanding of Chinese culture， getting used to the learning environment in Chinese institutions and the surrounding social environment， reducing the cultural conflict during their communication with Chinese people. The following is the most important items or elements I think to share with overseas students in the cultural education program.

3.1 Firstly， Confucianism

Confucius Thought is a wonderful work in the world culture and has been spread in the West more than 300 years of history. Confucius is as famous as the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates and Plato and is the top fifth in the “100 most influential figures in the history”. Germans show the high regards to Confucius and Kant as the founder of pedagogy， and Americans put Confucius in the first place of the world top ten thinkers. The rapid development of economy， science and technology in the 21st century has brought to mankind not only a better well-being， but also a lot of social problems， and it is a question of how to eliminate those negative social phenomena and to build a harmonious world. At the end of the 20th century， a significant voice called out to the world with the famous “Paris Declaration”. There is one sentence， “if humanity is to survive in the 21st century， we must look back to 2500 years to learn from the wisdom of Confucius.” We think that Confucianism will guide people to pursue the dream of peaceful world. The power comes from the core concept of Confucianism that it is to be harmonious and moderate. Confucian harmonious society lies in the harmony between people， human and society， man and nature， with differences but no conflict. Confucian Harmony concept is very helpful to resolve the conflict between the states， national groups， ethnic groups. There is a necessity of teaching the overseas students Confucius Thought because they are the future of the countries in different fields， if they can understand the Confucianism and use the philosophy to solve the international affairs， it will be a great contribution to the peaceful world.

3.2 Secondly， Chinese painting and calligraphy

Chinese painting is the wisdom of Chinese people and the historical heritage of the Chinese nation to the world. The famous Chinese painter Mr. Pan Tian-shou describes it as the fine art of arts. The evaluation he showed to the Chinese painting is of great height， not simply the height of artistic skills and personality training， but the height of the national spirit. A successful Chinese painting is a link between the image thinking and logical thinking and enables us to get deeper understanding of the world. Whenever we appreciate an excellent work， what we appreciate is not just the beauty of the painting but also a spiritual cultivation. It is the same to the foreign students that they are lingering in front of the painting； however， it is difficult for them to appreciate Chinese paintings. It is very obvious when they buy Chinese paintings in the cultural markets， such as Beijing Silk Street. Therefore， it is necessary to teach them and the purpose of the introduction of Chinese painting is guide students to understand the Chinese style by showing painting masterpieces so as to help them further explore the Aesthetics of those classic masterpieces and understand the unique Oriental philosophy.

Chinese calligraphy is a form of artistic expression， occupying an important position in China's traditional culture with a long history. From its starting in Yin and Shang dynasties to the glory of the Qin and Han dynasties， till Wei and Jin's charm， to the peak of the Sui and Tang dynasties and the Song dynasty， maturity of the Ming and Qing dynasties， finally until today， it is still blossoming with great beauty. It is unique in the world as a special art. It is written only with black strokes but having the rhythm of drawings， no music sound but with musical harmony. The foreign students have been amazed at the Chinese characters， but to their more surprise， Chinese people can use a soft brush pen to write elegant or rigorous calligraphic works. They are eager to know how to write and how to appreciate them. There will be introduction of the fonts， the strokes and the rules of writing of Chinese characters. They can also write by themselves by using the soft brush pen with the guidance of Chinese calligraphic teachers.

3.3 Thirdly， Shaolin Gongfu and Tai Chi

Chinese martial arts has a long history as well， famous at home and abroad， especially the martial arts films such as Crouching Tiger， Hidden Dragon， Kung Fu Panda in recent decades make the Chinese martial arts famous in the world. There are many Gongfu villages， even in Henan Province， there are two well-known martial arts， Shaolin boxing and tai chi， among which Shaolin Temple is famous in the world. When we talk about Shaolin Gongfu， the students are shouting， “we want to go to Shaolin Temple boxing school， learning Shaolin Gongfu！” With the introduction of Shaolin Gongfu， we can help students understand Chinese martial arts culture with another perspective.

The foreign students also want to learn Tai chi. They think it is like yoga which can help people to reach the unity with nature. At present， China is making efforts to present the Chinese martial arts vigorously to the world， even using martial arts as a breakthrough into the Olympic Games. In August 2012， there are Tai chi delegations from 33 cities in 18 countries from five continents participating in the fourth international tournament of traditional Yang style Tai Chi. To the surprise， the foreigners’ performance is excellent. We can see that they love it so that they make great efforts to learn and practice. Another conclusion can be made that the folk arts of a country is more attractive to the foreign people. The Tai chi theory is based on the Taoist philosophy and Taoist health preservation philosophy. Tai chi exercises can help people to achieve the realm of calmness and harmony with nature. Foreign Students can understand the philosophy by learning tai chi and understand why tai chi is being done slowly but beneficial to health and powerful in defense. The reason why the soft and weak can win the strong moves is not the technique and brute force， but the philosophy of Wudang Taoism passed from generation to generation， just like the Chinese saying，” Water is beneficial to lots of things on the earth but no fighting against them. If you do not fight against others and others will not be able to fight against you. ” If the people follow the philosophy， the world will be in peace and human being will be in harmony with the nature.

3.4 Finally， Chinese traditional festivals

Chinese traditional festival is the important carrier of cultural traditions. During the celebration those traditional festivals Chinese people generally do a lot of performances for traditional education to some extent on a regular basis so as to keep their continuation and strengthen the tradition in people's lives. The core function of the Celebrations in holidays is to help people to understand the nature， be close to nature， pay attention to the coordinating relationship between man and nature； promote family harmony， kinship solidarity and social cohesion， foster the good sentiments of the people， carry forward the optimistic and enterprising spirit. Foreign student are charmed to see the festival firecrackers， red lanterns， wonderful dragon and lion dances， ethnic dance etc. for their rich Chinese characteristics， which can help them understand China. They love the Chinese Spring Festival， love dumplings and are willing to experience the festive atmosphere of it. When they know the Qing Ming Festival provides Chinese people a opportunity to go back their hometowns for sweeping tombs to worship ancestors， cherishing the memory of the martyrs. They also actively participate in early spring outing， kite-flying or swinging. Not to mention the Mid-Autumn Festival， they think it is for family reunion with a kind of romantic poetry style， full of family warmth. Before foreign students returning to their countries， they will never forget to bring a Millennium junction for good fortune and friendship， and they always will make international long distance calls to sent us best wishes before every traditional festival in China. All of the above exudes all the great appeal of the Chinese culture.

4 How to arrange Culture education program

Cultural programs mainly can be carried out with lectures by instructors by using all kinds of multimedia materials， focusing on the most famous Chinese cultural elements. Help them read books， watch videos， surf internet for Chinese Culture. Organize a culture club， exchanging experiences， discussing Cultural similarities and differences between the present and past and among different countries. In addition， arrange some visits during weekends and holidays to experience the Chinese traditional culture， especially visiting the base of Chinese traditional culture， such as the Forbidden City in Beijing， Confucius hometown， mount Tai， Jinan Springs and other places， etc.

5 Conclusion

In summary， Culture education program provides a friendly platform of Chinese culture on which we can help foreign students understand the Chinese culture from a different view point. I am sure they will like Chinese culture， be willing to become a cultural ambassador to promote Chinese culture and China's friendly diplomatic posture， promote hospitality of Chinese people， break the malicious propaganda of the Western countries， and enhance the beautiful image of China on the world cultural stage. This is the most fundamental teaching objectives of Culture education program.

References：

[1] Carol Stepanchuk， Rosemary G. Palmer. Michael Burgan. Confucius： Chinese Philosopher and Teacher. Capstone， 2008.

[2] Lucy Driscoll， Kenji Toda. Chinese Calligraphy. Kessinger Publishing， 2011.

[3] Brian Kennedy， Elizabeth Guo. Chinese Martial Arts Training Manuals： A Historical Survey. Blue Snakes Books， 2005.

[4] Wong Kiew Kit. The Art of Shaolin Kung Fu： The Secrets of Kung Fu for Self-Defense， Health， and Enlightenment. Tuttle Publishing， 2002.

[5] Judith Karen Gee， Chen-zhi Huang. A book of Chinese Festivals. Steam RR Publications， 1989.