China is February’s country of the month on campus, the fourth of the academic year as part of a program sponsored by the Isabella Cannon Centre for International Studies. Beginning with Japan in September and continuing with Spain and Jordan, information on the featured country will be available at selected College Coffees, in printed brochures and on E-Net.
Useful Chinese Phrases and their English meaning
- Ni hao—Hello
- Zaoshang hao—Good morning
- Zhai jian—Good-bye
- Ni hao ma?—How are you?
- Xiexie—Thank you
- Shi—Yes
- Bu shi—No
Elon faculty members have had Chinese expertise and experiences:
- David Crowe, professor of history, teaches two Chinese history courses: China from 1842-1948 and China in Film and Historical Literature
- Pranab Das, associate professor of physics, is administering a grant on Global Perspectives on Science and Spirituality. China is one of the key target countries for this project. In Beijing, he met with a minister of cultural affairs as well as leaders of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and other leading scholars to help establish credentials for awarding sabbaticals to grant recipients. Das has been invited to present his paper “Complexity and the Notion of Design” at the International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science conference in Beijing in July 2005.
- Honglin Xiao, assistant professor of geography, has presented and published numerous papers and articles on Chinese geographic conditions. His recent works include “The Influence of Land Use/Cover Change on Karst Landform at Guizhou, China from Satellite Images” and “Stalagmite Record from Southeastern China of Monsoon and Enso Activity in the Period 8-4Ka” at the Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers in 2004 and 2005.
- Shouze Ma, assistant professor of performing arts, has been integrating traditional Chinese dance, folk dance and music into his work. His current interests blend LaoTzu’s Taoism with contemporary dance art forms. His most recent works include “The Secret of The Fan” and “The Voices of the Himalayas.” Ma has also taught at Shenyan Formal University, Northeast Formal University in Changchun, and Guandong Modern Dance Company in Guanzhou. He studied Chinese Tai Chi in Beijing for two weeks with an Elon faculty research and development fellowship last summer.
- The following faculty and staff have participated in a teaching exchange program between Elon and Southeast University in Nanjing: Jimmie Agnew, Bob Anderson, Andy Angyal, Tom Arcaro, Steve Braye, Chalmers Brumbaugh, Anne Cassebaum, Glenda Crawford, Mike Frontani, Heidi Glaesel Frontani, Don Grady, Brad Hamm, Ernie Lunsford, Jim Murphy, Jane Romer and Janet Warman.
These special events highlighting China have been planned during February:
- Thursday, Feb. 3 — Tai Chi lesson at 6:30 pm with Huan Xing Zeng (Koury Dance Studio)
- Tuesday, Feb. 8— Chinese College Coffee
- Tuesday, Feb. 8 — Chinese New Year Celebration at 7 pm. Presentation, fun, food, and movie! (International Pavilion)
- Thursday, Feb. 10 — Consider studying abroad in China! Presentation by the Beijing Center at 4 pm. Directly following at 5 pm, hear from Tim Partelow about his year in China (Carlton 113)
- Wednesday, Feb. 16 — Chinese Cooking Class at 5:30 pm. Hosted by Honglin Xiao, Hui-Hua Chang, Shouze Ma, and Tao Wang (Carlton 109)
- Wednesday, Feb. 23 — Chinese Film Night at 6:30 pm. Come see a Chinese film (TBA) with an introduction by Dr. David Crowe and Tim Partelow (McEwen 011).