Institute Receives Praise
On One-Year Anniversary
CONFUCIUS
INSTITUTE
Newsletter
Dedicating a new bridge to
global education….
Georgia State
University
November, 2011
Vol. 1, No. 1
The Confucius Institute of Georgia State received many congratulations
on its first anniversary. The milestone was celebrated by the Institute’s friends
with a banquet Saturday, Oct. 15.
Dr. Weishan Wu, director of the Chinese Academy of Sculpture,
presented the Institute with a calligraphy banner and promised to sculpt a
statue of Confucius for the Atlanta organization, like the famous one that he
made for the master’s hometown in China. Confucius traveled extensively
teaching wisdom and has now retired and enlisted Institute participants to help
with the teaching, Wu said. He pointed out that language also embodies culture
and the teaching of language helps others to understand Chinese culture. The
most revered of Confucius’ ideas is that of harmony. Wu proposed that
Confucius would be happy with this one-year anniversary and with the more
than 300 Institutes across the world, which have made friends for China.
Dr. Wu has been doing sculpture and art design for more than 20 years
with more than 400 sculptures. His works are collected by museums all over the
world. He has won the Pangolin Award, the Recognition Award of Chinese
Urban Sculpture Achievements and was named the first “Y. K. Pao
Distinguished Artist” of Hong Kong. He has many titles: Member of the National
Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference; Director
of the Institute of Fine Arts at Chinese Art Academy; President of the Chinese
Academy of Sculpture; Deputy Director of the Steering Committee of China
Urban Sculpture; Director of the Institute of Fine Arts at Nanjing University;
Honorary Fellow of the Chinese University of Hong Kong; Honorary PhD from
Korean Inje University; and Member of the Royal British Society of Sculptors
and the Society of Portrait Sculptors, UK.
Mr. Liqing, Education Consul of the Chinese Consulate General of
Houston, expressed his pleasure at being able to extend warm and sincere
congratulations on behalf of the Consulate. He acknowledged all three of the
Confucius Institutes in Atlanta, pointing out that all were unique. He added that
the Institutes have a very important role in teaching the Chinese language and
supporting exchanges between Atlanta and China. “I wish you a healthy and
productive future,” he said.
Dr. Fenwick Huss, Dean of the Robinson College of Business, pointed
out the global nature of business today. Several years ago Dr. Peter Duker had
proposed that those without a global outlook would be unemployed, Dr. Huss
said; “That day has now come.” The Confucius Institute is important because
“the understanding of culture trumps strategy every day,” he said. Through the
study of culture, the
walls will become
bridges, he said. “I am
happy to celebrate this
bridge” he added,
speaking of the
Confucius Institute.
Dr. William
Long, new Dean of the
GSU College of Arts
and Science, said that
(continued on page 5)
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Highlights of Our First Year
Time
Event
Sep. 2010
Chinese Mid-autumn Festival Gala Show
15 Oct.
2010
20 Oct.
2010
Grand Opening of the Confucius Institute
26 Oct.
2010
Oct. 2010
GSU Arts Fair
Hosting the Delegation from Zhejiang
Business School, China
Chinese Film Festival
12 Nov.
2010
Joint Conference of Confucius Institutes at
the Southern America (Miami)
10 Dec.
2010
The 5th Confucius Institute Conference
(Beijing)
Dec. 2010
Winter Camp
Chinese Language and Culture Tour, Beijing,
Shanghai, Shaoxing
22 Jan.
2011
Launch and Exhibition of the Rabbit Year
Stamps designed by Kam Mak
28 Jan.
2011
Business Forum and Chinese New Year
Reception
30 Jan.
2011
Spring of Atlanta, Chinese Spring Festival
Gala Show
27 Feb.
2011
Art Troupes from Yangzhou University
staging traditional Chinese performances
23 Mar.
2011
The 2nd Chinese Film Festival
25 Mar.
2011
Lecture and Workshop on Chinese
calligraphy and seal cutting
18 Apr.
2011
Confucius Institute Assessment
May 2011
Summer Camp
Chinese Language and Culture Tour, Beijing,
Shanghai, Shaoxing
Grand Opening of
Confucius Library
Resource Center
The Confucius Institute
Headquarters, (hereinafter referred
to as Hanban), donated over 3,000
electronic, print, and media
resources to Georgia State's
Confucius Institute. With these
resources, two dedicated library
resource centers will be available
on campus for students interested
in the Chinese language within
Georgia State University's campus.
Our first library resource center will
\
be located within the Confucius
Institute office at 75 Piedmont
Avenue, Suite 926, Atlanta, GA
30303. Our second location will be
at Georgia State University's
Library North 4.
Recent Cultural Lecture
In September, Dr. Hubin Yin, a
renowned sociologist and
professor and Deputy Director at
the Institute of Ethnic Literature,
Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences, presented his research
on folk religion in the villages of
Northern China. He discussed the
villagers’ spiritual beliefs and the
affect of industrialization on this
group in the Hebei
The Master said, To rule a country of a thousand chariots, there must be reverent attention to business,
and sincerity; economy in expenditure, and love for men; and the employment of the people at the proper
seasons.'
3
Meet Our Faculty Members
Baotong Gu is director of the GSU Confucius Institute and Associate Professor of English at
Georgia State University. Dr. Gu's research interests lie at the intersection of several different areas:
technology theories, writing technology development, technology transfer, digital literacy, cross
cultural communication, content management, etc. His main publications include a scholarly
monograph, From Oracle Bones to Computers: The Emergence of Writing Technologies in China
(2009); and four co-edited collections, Content Management: Implications for Technical
Communicators (2008); Content Management: Bridging the Gap between Theory and Practice
(2009); Contemporary Western Rhetoric: Critical Methods and Paradigms (1998), and Contemporary
Western Rhetoric: Speech and Discourse Criticism (1998). His most recent work, Designing Web
st
Applications for the 21 -Century Writing Classrooms, co-edited with George Pullman, is being
published by Baywood Press.
Dr. Gu has taught various courses at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, including
technical writing, professional writing, electronic writing and publishing, business writing, technical
editing, grant and proposal writing, and writing in organizations.
\\\\
Shi Sun is from Beijing, China and serves as Deputy Director of the Confucius Institute at
Georgia State University and also Associate Professor at Beijing Language and Culture University
(BLCU). Sun has taught Mandarin Chinese language and culture courses to non-native
undergraduate and undergraduate students as well as students specializing in linguistics. She also
researches international student education management and various cross-cultural issues. Sun will be
a visiting faculty at the GSU Confucius Institute through 2012 and will be teaching advanced Chinese
language courses.
Wenwen Zhu is from Beijing, China and is a Visiting Faculty at the Georgia State University
Confucius Institute and is a lecturer at the Beijing Language and Culture University. Dr. Zhu received
her training in linguistics and applied linguistics from Beijing Language and Culture University and has
(More Faculty Bios on next page)
Contest Winners Announced
More than 20 students gathered Nov. 15 to
participate in the first annual Chinese Talent
Contest. “I never imagined we would be doing this
in one year,” commented Dr. Baotong Gu, Director
of the Confucius Institute at Georgia State
University. The institute celebrated its one-year
anniversary on October 15, 2011.
Talent contestants expressed various skills
through Chinese songs, poems, speeches, dances,
a short original play, a violin number, and Kung Fu
demonstrations. All participants illustrated different
aspects of Chinese culture or language. Students
from North Atlanta High School participated along
with Georgia State University students.
An additional 80 individuals submitted
entries for the Chinese calligraphy contest, and
their entries were displayed in the Troy Moore
Library at Georgia State University.
The distinguished judges of the contest
were Dr. Gu, Dr. Lee-Shuai, and Mrs. Zhao Fan Xia
of North Atlanta High School. The performance
scores were calculated based on relevance,
accuracy, expressiveness and originality. Dr. LeeShaui complimented the participants on their high
level of proficiency.
Mrs. Xia said that her teacher’s heart was
touched to see the students practicing up to the
last minute.
David Fair, who gave a speech about why
he loved Chinese, won the first place in the talent
contest. The second place win was shared by
Corban Irby, who sang in Chinese, “I Want It That
Way,” and Edwin Quach-Mach, who sang a fairy
tale song. Third place win was shared by Jade
Shelnut, who used a fan in an original dance
number; Bria-Maine Wilcox, who presented a
prose reading entitled “Fire”; and Samuel
Eppstein, who demonstrated Kung Fu.
Awards for Chinese composition were
also announced. David Fair received first place.
Bria-Maine Wilcox received second, and Ian Katz
and Edwin Quach-Mach shared third place.
The awards in the Chinese Calligraphy
contest were as follows: Rachel Jung, first; Jieun
Jang, second; Joey Johnson, Dyuanne Horgan,
and Edward Quach-Mach sharing third place.
The following also received
congratulations of their knowledge of Chinese
language and culture: Shane Conton, Yulia
Bereznev, Denaire Sterling, Zaire White, Riggal
Chart, Ryan Arbuckle, Robert Anderson, Carlos
R. Cruz, Thomas Lance II, John Rudd, Wyatt A.
Heaton, and Makiya Karimbocas.
4
Georgians in China
Georgia State University study aboard participants
unfurl their banner in China. Make sure your
passport is up to date now, and plan to join us in
2012. To be on the mailing list for information,
contact the Confucius Institute at 404-889-5298 or at
http://www.gsu.edu/ci/
More about Our Faculty
published widely in this field. She is very
experienced in teaching Chinese as a foreign
language and previously taught a broad range of
Chinese language courses to foreign students,
including intensive short-term Chinese language
training for international corporate clients and
credit courses for the Department of Modern
Languages at GSU. Zhu will be a visiting faculty
at the GSU Confucius Institute through 2012 and
will be teaching a Corporate Business Chinese
this semester.
Fengchun Nie is from Beijing, China and is a
Visiting Faculty at the Georgia State University
Confucius Institute and is a lecturer at the
Beijing Language and Culture University. His
research and teaching interests include Modern
Chinese Grammar and teaching Chinese as a
second language. He previously taught a broad
range of Chinese language courses to foreign
students. Nie will be a visiting faculty at the GSU
Confucius Institute through 2013 and will be
teaching some Chinese language courses for
the Confucius Institute and the Department of
Modern Languages.
Minyue Wang is a Visiting Faculty at the
Georgia State University Confucius Institute, and
also a lecturer at Beijing Language and Culture
University. He has taught such courses as
spoken Chinese, English-Chinese Translation,
and introduction to Chinese cultures. His main
research interest is English-Chinese Contrastive
Studies. He will be teaching at the GSU
Confucius Institute from September, 2012 to
August, 2013.
Shanshan Wang is from Shandong, China and is a
Visiting Faculty at the Georgia State University
Confucius Institute. She received her Bachelor’s
degree of International Economy and Trade from
Qingdao University and her Masters’ degree of
International Economy from Beijing Language
and Culture University. She has the rich intern
experiences in China’s state-owned financial
sections, such as the People's Bank of China,
China International Finance Forum. She also
has the extensive business and language
teaching experiences to foreign students as well
as native students. She will be teaching
Elementary Business Chinese and Chinese
Business Culture courses through 2013.
Yi Chen is from Hubei, China, one of the
Gradate Instructors at the Confucius Institute of
Georgia State University. She is a graduate
student from Beijing Language and Language
University, majoring in Foreign Applied
Linguistics with an emphasis on Translation.
Chen worked extensively as an interpreter for
the CI department of BLCU after she obtained
her B.A in English Language and Literature
from the school. She’s been engaged with the
CI at GSU since its establishment and has
enjoyed the privilege of escorting the CI’s first
two groups of students on their Study Abroad
Program to China.
Jingting Liu is currently a graduate instructor
in the CI at GSU, the first business oriented of
its kind in the US. She achieved her bachelor’s
degree in Economics and will soon finish her
master’s program in International Politics and
Economics. With a special research interest in
5
Coming Soon: a student organization. You don’t have to know Chinese to join—just be willing
to extend the hand of friendship.
More about Our Faculty
international business, especially the trade for cultural goods between China and the world, movies and
books for example, she’s now working in the Confucius Institute to help people know more about China’s
economy and culture. She’ll offer a non-credit course “China on Screen” on Chinese language and social
background through films.
Yue Wang is from Beijing, China and is a Chinese teaching instructor at the Georgia State University
Confucius Institute and is a postgraduate at the Beijing Language and Culture University. Her major is
Chinese linguistics. Wang has lots of experiences in teaching Chinese as a foreign language and
previously taught different kinds of Chinese language courses to foreign students, She taught Chinese elementary
and advanced Comprehensive courses in Tstinghua University, listening and speaking
Chinese in Beijing Union University, Chinese practice courses in Beijing Language and Culture
University. Wang will be a Chinese teaching instructor at the GSU Confucius Institute until the summer
of 2012 and will be teaching elementary Chinese language and Chinese songs for the Confucius
Institute.
Qingxia Huang is from Beijing Language and Culture University, China and is a graduate instructor at
the Georgia State University Confucius Institute. She taught in Princeton in Beijing Chinese language program
and Beijing Language and Culture University. Huang will be teaching Chinese courses and researching teaching
Chinese as a foreign language at the GSU Confucius Institute through 2011.
Anniversary Celebration Continued…..
he was impressed with the achievements of the Confucius Institute and pointed out that the Institute
teams with the Center for Arts in a variety of cultural activities. He quoted Confucius: “The Master said:
‘Devote yourself to the Way, depend on Integrity, rely on Humanity, and wander in the arts.’ " ( Confucius
Analects 7.6)
Dr. Risa Palm, provost and executive vice president of GSU, expressed her congratulations and
her expectations of a greater future for the Institute. She said that the university’s new strategic plan
emphasized collaboration in research. She noted that it is important for the university to stay in the
forefront of research and collaboration in teaching in order to achieve global competence.
Dr. Baotong Gu, director of the GSU Confucius Institute, welcomed other important guests: Mr.
Michael Shannon; Equifax Corporate Vice President; Mr. Carl Zwerner, Former President of Glass Capital
Management; Mr. Frank Blount, JI Ventures: Chairman and CEO; Mr. Farooq Mughal, MSGP Managing
Partner and also a Constituent Member at Overseas Security Advisory Council of the US Dept. of State;
Ms. Faith Bibbs, Asset Manager of Perot Systems Government Services; Mr. Jung Mar and Mrs. Ethel
Mar, Members of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Chinese Americans; Lisa Wallace,
Marketing Director of UPS Capital; Jane Li,,Richard Xu, Chequetta Desources, and Alejandra Barron, all
of Home Depot, Global Sourcing Division; Dr. Rong Cai, Director of the Confucius Institute of Emory
University; Dr. Ken Jin, Director of the Confucius Institute at Kennesaw State University; and David and
Anna Sun, Members of the Board of Directors of the Chinese Business Association.
Several faculty musicians of Remin University were present before they gave a classical music
concert later in the evening. They were Yang Gefang, Chen Xiaowei, Qi Yue, Wang Ying, Zhang Fang.
Also attending were the family of Dr. Wu—his wife Xiaoping Wu and his daughter Shuang Wu and his
teacher, former professor of art at University of Michigan, Professor Mingshi Huang
Other guests from GSU included Dr. Walter Massey, Vice President for Development; Dr. Randy
Kamphaus, Dean of the College of Education; Dr. Carol Winkler, Associate Dean of the College of Arts
and Sciences; Dr. Irene Duhaime, Associate Dean of the Robinson College; of Business, Mr. James
Dutton, President of the Student Government Association; and several students who had traveled to
China through the Institute.