{"id":12407,"date":"2026-04-20T15:36:49","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T13:36:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.confuciusmaastricht.nl\/?p=12407"},"modified":"2026-04-20T15:49:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T13:49:07","slug":"happy-international-chinese-language-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.confuciusmaastricht.nl\/en\/happy-international-chinese-language-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy International Chinese Language Day"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>On International Chinese Language Day 20 April 2026, we want to share one story and one thought.<\/p>\n<p>\u6211\u53eb\u5f20\u6587\u541b\uff0c\u6211\u662f\u5f20\u8001\u5e08<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy name is Zhang Wenjun. I am Teacher Zhang.\u201d\u00a0With this simple introduction, Wenjun our new Chinese language teacher opened her first lesson with a group of outstanding students preparing for the NAHSS Summer Camp in Beijing.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-woocommerce_single wp-image-12412\" src=\"https:\/\/www.confuciusmaastricht.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/02-600x400.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.confuciusmaastricht.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/02-600x400.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.confuciusmaastricht.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/02-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.confuciusmaastricht.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/02-1024x683.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.confuciusmaastricht.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/02-250x167.jpeg 250w, https:\/\/www.confuciusmaastricht.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/02.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A familiar starting point: introducing ourselves.\u00a0Yet, in Chinese, even this first step carries layers of meaning.<\/p>\n<p>When students learn Chinese names, they are not just learning sounds or characters. They are invited into a different perspective:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A name is not randomly chosen, it often reflects family wishes, values, and hopes for personal development.<\/li>\n<li>Each character carries meaning, intention, and direction.<\/li>\n<li>The way we address one another matters.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>Addressing someone as <i>family name + title<\/i> \u2014 <i>Zhang Laoshi<\/i> \u2014 is not only polite.\u00a0<\/span><span>It reflects a Confucian understanding of society: roles, responsibilities, and relationships matter.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The moment someone calls her \u201cTeacher Zhang,\u201d it signals clarity of responsibility, of respect, and of the relationship between teacher and student.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>In this, identity is not only individual, but relational.\u00a0In that moment, language becomes visible as structure. We loved how this first lesson gently challenged the students to reflect:<br \/>\n<i>If you were to choose your own Chinese name, which character would you choose? And how would you like to be called in the future?<\/i><\/p>\n<p>This is why we often say: learning Chinese is not only about language. It is about perspective.<\/p>\n<p>At Confucius Institute Maastricht, we believe in bringing the Chinese language into the world like a flower into a global garden, adding diversity, depth, and new ways of seeing colors.<\/p>\n<p>Because in the end, we are individuals, but never only individuals. We exist in relation to others, to society, and to a shared global future.<\/p>\n<p>\u8ba9\u8bed\u8a00\uff0c\u8fde\u63a5\u4e16\u754c\u3002<br \/>\nLet language connect the world.<\/p>\n<p>Happy International Chinese Language Day.<\/p>\n<p><span data-teams=\"true\">\u70b9\u4eae\u591a\u5f69\u68a6\u60f3<b><br \/>\n<\/b><\/span><span data-teams=\"true\">Sparking Colorful Dreams<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-12418 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.confuciusmaastricht.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/\u4e2d\u6587\u65e5\u6807\u5fd7\u4e0a\u4e0b1-199x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"199\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.confuciusmaastricht.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/\u4e2d\u6587\u65e5\u6807\u5fd7\u4e0a\u4e0b1-199x300.jpg 199w, https:\/\/www.confuciusmaastricht.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/\u4e2d\u6587\u65e5\u6807\u5fd7\u4e0a\u4e0b1-166x250.jpg 166w, https:\/\/www.confuciusmaastricht.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/\u4e2d\u6587\u65e5\u6807\u5fd7\u4e0a\u4e0b1-600x903.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.confuciusmaastricht.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/\u4e2d\u6587\u65e5\u6807\u5fd7\u4e0a\u4e0b1.jpg 646w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On International Chinese Language Day 20 April 2026, we want to share one story and one thought. \u6211\u53eb\u5f20\u6587\u541b\uff0c\u6211\u662f\u5f20\u8001\u5e08 \u201cMy name is Zhang Wenjun. I am Teacher Zhang.\u201d\u00a0With this simple introduction,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12409,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Happy International Chinese Language Day - Confucius Maastricht<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.confuciusmaastricht.nl\/en\/happy-international-chinese-language-day\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Happy International Chinese Language Day - Confucius Maastricht\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On International Chinese Language Day 20 April 2026, we want to share one story and one thought. \u6211\u53eb\u5f20\u6587\u541b\uff0c\u6211\u662f\u5f20\u8001\u5e08 \u201cMy name is Zhang Wenjun. 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