In Memory of Taras Shevchenko: SISU holds Sino-Ukrainian cultural exchange event

 

In Memory of Taras Shevchenko: SISU holds Sino-Ukrainian cultural exchange event

In Memory of Taras Shevchenko: SISU holds Sino-Ukrainian cultural exchange event

In Memory of Taras Shevchenko: SISU holds Sino-Ukrainian cultural exchange event

On March 22, Mr. Dmytro Ponomarenko, Consul-General of Ukraine in Shanghai, and Mrs. Olga Sukhomlyn, Vice Consul-General of Ukraine in Shanghai visited the Songjiang campus of Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) to attend the Sino-Ukrainian cultural exchange event with the theme of The Charm of Kobzar Singers—Appreciation: Poems and Paintings of Taras Shevchenko, which was hosted by both the School of Russian and Eurasian Studies (SRES) of SISU and the Consulate General of Ukraine in Shanghai (China) in memory of the poet Taras Shevchenko on the 205th anniversary of his birth.

Mr. Dmytro Ponomarenko noted that the Consulate General of Ukraine in Shanghai and SISU had embraced a thriving partnership by jointly hosting many cultural exchange activities, and that it was the fourth time that he had visited SISU. Recent years has witnessed closer interaction and cooperation between China and Ukraine. For instance, in November last year, Stepan Kubiv, First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine, led a delegation to attend the first China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai. In the years to come, the Consulate General will further enhance cooperation with SISU in culture and education, facilitating the development of SISU's Department of Ukraine Studies and Center for Ukraine Studies.

Mrs. Ren Yao, Secretary of Party General Branch of SRES, briefed on the history and disciplinary structure of SRES, and the development, employment of graduates and international cooperation of the Department of Ukraine Studies. She also extended thanks on behalf of the university to the Consulate General for having supported SISU’s Department of Ukraine Studies and looked forward to the Consulate General’s efforts in promoting official cooperation agreements between SISU and renowned universities in Ukraine, such as the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and the University of Lviv.

After the briefing, Dr. Xu Lisha, a lecturer of Ukrainian Studies, introduced to all present at the event Taras Shevchenko, the most well-known poet, writer, painter and social activist in Ukraine, as well as a national hero who embodied the national spirits of Ukraine, and briefed on his life, poems, artworks and translation of his poems across the world.

During the poetry recital, students majoring in Ukrainian Studies of SISU recited in Ukrainian some of Shevchenko’s most notable poems, which was well received by the audience, while overseas students from Ukraine recited the poet’s works in Chinese. An Hao, former overseas Ukrainian student in SISU, together with her partner Tania, sang Shevchenko’s poems with passion in beautiful voice, whose performance won rounds of applause. Zeng Ziru, candidate for Master of Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages (MTCSOL) in Tongji University who had participated in the TV show Chinese Poetry Congress, recited “Destiny”, his favorite poem by Shevchenko, fluently in Chinese, leaving a deep impression on the audience.

Mr. Iurii Pasichnyk, famous pastel painter in Ukraine, was invited by the Consulate General to this event to teach pastel painting. Mr. Pasichnyk had not only participated in many international art exhibitions organized by the Embassy of Spain in Ukraine, Shanghai Hongqiao Contemporary Art Museum, among other organizations, but also he had held several exhibitions of his own works in Kyiv, Vinnytsia and Shanghai. Under the instruction of Mr. Pasichnyk, students from both China and Ukraine painted fine pastel paintings covering a range of themes including Nature, plants, cartoon characters and Sino-Ukrainian friendship. Among these paintings, Ukrainian-majored students selected two favorite ones to be given to Consul-General as a souvenir. Mrs. Ren Yao, on behalf of SRES, presented gifts to Consul-General and Vice Consul-General, and Consul-General, on behalf of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, presented many books to SISU’s Department of Ukraine Studies in support of its development.

Attending the event were Ren Yao, Secretary of Party General Branch of SRES, Qi Xin, deputy dean of SRES, Qian Qin, director of the Department of Central and Eastern European Studies, Dr. Xu Lisha, lecturer of Ukrainian Studies, all the students of Ukrainian major and some of the overseas students from Ukraine in Shanghai.