Confucius Institute at the University of Vienna Organized Spring Reception

More+Events ♦ Published: January 15, 2023; 19:23 ♦ (Vindobona)

The Confucius Institute of the University of Vienna organized a reception for the Chinese Spring Festival. The Chinese New Year "The Year of the Rabbit" is dedicated to the Water Rabbit. At the reception, the Chinese Embassy Counselor in Vienna also gave a speech.

The Confucius Institute organized a reception for the Chinese Spring Festival in the large festival hall of the University of Vienna. / Picture: © Wikimedia Commons, Bwag, CC BY-SA 4.0

The Chinese New Year, which this year is under the sign of the hare, begins on January 22. The Confucius Institute of the University of Vienna organized a reception on the occasion of the "Year of the Rabbit" in the main university building.

The Water Rabbit is the 40th year of the Chinese calendar. It is a term from the field of Chinese astrology and denotes those lunar years characterized by a connection of the tenth celestial trunk with the fourth earth branch, symbolized by the hare.

At the reception itself, Richard Trappl, Director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Vienna, together with Yao Xiaozhou from Beijing Foreign Studies University, gave a speech praising the special relationship between Austria and China and assuring further scientific exchange.

Also, the embassy counselor Yang Wenxu, from the embassy of the People's Republic of China, gave a speech in which he explained the meaning of hare symbolizing longevity, peace, and prosperity. In this context, the embassy councilor explained that China also stands for peace and prosperity in the world.

Other speeches were held by Barbara Good, Head of International Relations at the University of Vienna and Nicola Kraml, Managing Director of the Innovation Center of the University of Vienna. Furthermore, the writer Richard Hauser held a literary recitation.

The event was musically accompanied by Ms. Wang Ming playing a guzheng, a Chinese zither. Another great highlight was the artistic performance of Ms. Fang Jianhua with a presentation of the traditional Chinese art "Bian Lian".

An ancient Chinese dramatic art, Bian Lian is part of the larger Sichuan opera genre. Colorful costumes and dramatic music accompany the performance. They also wear vividly colored masks, typically depicting well-known characters from the opera, which they change from one face to another almost instantaneously with the swipe of a fan, a movement of the head, or a wave of the hand.