From October 27 to 28, social practice and cultural activities "Learning China from china" sponsored by China Scholarship Council, were held by JCI, in collaboration with other universities and colleges in Jiangxi province. In addition to the overseas students of JCI, nearly 100 overseas students from Nanchang University, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Nanchang Hangkong University, Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jiangxi Normal University, Jiangxi Agricultural University and Gannan Normal University, participated in the activities.
During the two-day social practice and cultural experience activity, the overseas students visited the China Ceramic Museum to experience the rich ceramic culture closely and experience the ceramic making process hands-on. They also visited representative ceramic production enterprises in Jingdezhen Ceramic Industrial Park, such as Zhenshang King-size Porcelain, Rao-yv Qing-bai ware, Fengyao Carmine. Through the experience of learning the production of different ceramics, they felt the charm of porcelain capital with 1000 years’ history of porcelain making and experienced the charm of ceramic technology and art. In JCI, students showed zest in the manual experiments of throwing, clay sculpture and blue-and-white painting. Teachers of JCI demonstrated on the spot the basic methods of ceramic manual shaping and explained the things to note. To tell the history of blue-and-white porcelain, the development characteristics of it in various periods were analyzed and classic works were appreciated. In the experiential learning, each international student carefully studied throwing, coiling and slabbing, traditional blue and white drawing techniques, the use of pens and material technology, etc.
"I have gained a lot from this social practice and cultural experience. I have gained a deeper understanding of the connotation of Chinese culture, which is worth learning by the world," said Maji (Hussein Sumerian), a graduate student grade 2017 from Iraq.
CALEB FRANK, a Papua New Guinea student at Nanchang Hangkong University, said: "The workers painted beautiful pictures on the vases, some of them even were made with needles. It's amazing. I learned a lot about ceramics and ancient life, as well as traditional Chinese culture."
NANT, an Indian student from Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said after the event: "This event is of great significance. We have learned the knowledge of ancient Chinese ceramics, and know that ceramic art is a very special art in China and of great cultural value."
Saya Muli, an Indonesian student at Nanchang University, says that Jiangxi has the world's porcelain capital, Jingdezhen. “From the activities of CSC in 2018, I understand why this city is called the Capital of Porcelain. These two days in Jingdezhen have become a happy memory of my life in China.”
The “Learning China from china" social practice and cultural experience activity, is the first China Scholarship Council theme activity that JCI has undertaken. It is also an innovation of the International School in implementing the Chinese ceramic culture communication project. Besides, it is an innovation in response to the national call to implement the "One Belt And One Road" national strategic initiative. It has made active exploration for Jiangxi to tell the world good ceramic stories and China stories and spread the voice of China. The theme activities combine theory with practice: from indoor to outdoor, from the museum to the enterprise park, from the visual appreciation to experience. The activity forms, rich in content, fully show JCI’s discipline characteristics, give full play to the professional advantages of JCI. All the activities make the overseas students of the universities and colleges in Jiangxi province have a good understanding of China's long history of pottery and porcelain, enhance their love of Chinese culture and promote their appreciation of the Chinese ceramic culture.
People's Daily Online, Xinhuanet.com, Chinanews.com, China.org.cn and other media reported on the event.
