Confucius Institute at Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, holds a Chinese book exhibition

From July 28 to 31, 2014, the Confucius Institute at Chulalongkorn University held a Chinese book exhibition jointly with the library of Faculty of Arts of this University. Attendees of the opening ceremony of the exhibition included Pro. Dr. Suchart Thadathamrongvech, former Minister of Education of Thailand; M. R. Kalaya Tingsabadh, Vice President of Chulalongkorn University; Dr. Propod Assavavirulhakarn, Thai Director of the Confucius Institute; Dr. Han Shenglong, Chinese Director of the Institute; and Prof. Fu Zengyou, Senior Consultant of the Institute. A total of more than 150 excellent Chinese books of 40 types were carefully selected by the Confucius Institute for this exhibition. Over 2,000 people were attracted to the exhibition, including teachers and students of the University and people from all works of life in Thailand.

Dr. Propod Assavavirulhakarn, Thai Director of the Confucius Institute, cutting the ribbons for the book exhibition

The books exhibited were mostly Chinese classics, including the classic works of Confucianism in China, such as the Four Books (The Great Learning, The Doctrine of the Mean, Confucian Analects, and The Works of Mencius) and the Five Classics (The Book of Songs, The Book of History, The Book of Changes, The Book of Rites and The Spring and Autumn Annals), as well as traditional Chinese literary classics, such as Romance of the Three Kingdoms, A Dream of Red Mansions, Journey to the West, and Outlaws of the Marsh. Also, a great variety of Chinese dictionaries and reference books of practical use and Chinese teaching materials were exhibited. What’s more, professional and volunteer teachers from the Confucius Institute were offering elaborate introductions on the content and features of these Chinese books to the visitors at the exhibition. For those students who are learning Chinese, the teachers explained to them the scope of application of these books and how to use various Chinese reference books and teaching materials, which were highly welcomed by the students.

Dr. Propod Assavavirulhakarn, Dr. Han Shenglong, and Prof. Fu Zengyou, viewing the books

Prof. Dr. Suchart Thadathamrongvech, viewing the books accompanied by Prof. Fu Zengyou

Thai students viewing the books

Also, the journal Confucius Institute (Chinese-Thai version) produced by the Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban) together with the Confucius Institute at Chulalongkorn University appeared in this exhibition, which received a lot of attention. With the classic and elegant designs, delicate and exquisite illustrations, and vivid and beautiful texts, these journals attracted a large number of Thai people to read. They were amazed by the fact that they could not only learn more about traditional Chinese culture, but also better understand the significance and profundity of the friendship between China and Thailand.

Dr. Han Shenglong expressed that this Chinese book exhibition was the sixth one co-hosted by the Confucius Institute at Chulalongkorn University and the Faculty of Arts of this University. With its expansion and growth in scale and influence, this exhibition has become a good opportunity for Thai people to have a better knowledge and understanding of China. With the construction of the Chinese library of the Institute, future Chinese book exhibitions like this are likely to scale new heights both in types of books and the number of visitors. This will help spread Chinese culture and be beneficial to the promotion of Chinese teaching materials and cultural books provided by Hanban in overseas markets.

By Zhang Huajin