China News Service, Changchun, February 16th: Title: Busy Spring Festival for Spanish Sinologists: Traditional Chinese Folk Customs with a Strong New Year Flavor

　　Author Li Dan

　　Apply ink, spread paper, hammer rubbing, peel off the paper... each and every cheerful word "福" appears on the paper. On the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, at the Changchun Confucian Temple in Jilin, Dachi from Spain experienced rubbing the Chinese character "福" using woodblock printing. The strong fragrance of ink exuded a strong flavor of the New Year.

On February 15th (the sixth day of the first lunar month), Daqi participated in the Chinese New Year rubbing activity of blessing characters at the Changchun Confucian Temple Museum. Photo provided by interviewee

　　Daqi is a Sinology scholar who has lived in China for 5 years and currently teaches at Jilin University. During this Spring Festival, Daqi was very busy: making dumplings, posting Spring Festival couplets, setting off firecrackers, and praying for blessings during the New Year... The customs and fun of Chinese people celebrating the Spring Festival deeply fascinated Daqi. In his eyes, Chinese New Year is unique, a time of reunion, liveliness and security.

On February 9 (New Year's Eve), Daqi posted Spring Festival couplets at his residence in Changchun, Jilin. Photo provided by interviewee

　　"Lucky stars shine on a safe house, and five blessings come to a wealthy family." Looking at the pasted Spring Festival couplets, Daqi showed a satisfied smile. This year, Daqi spent New Year's Eve at a friend's house in China. This was the second Spring Festival that Daqi spent in Changchun. He became more and more familiar with various New Year customs in Northeast China.

　　There is a tradition in the north of eating dumplings during New Year's Eve dinner, and Da Qi likes this ritual that symbolizes reunion. Mixing noodles, mixing stuffing, and rolling out dumpling wrappers are all fun when the whole family comes together.

　　"The dough should be thin on the edges and thick in the middle. Hold the rolling pin in one hand and turn the dough with the other." Daqi is already very proficient in the technical task of rolling out dumpling wrappers, but when it comes to "kneading the dough" he becomes embarrassed, "Every time My arms are so tired." Dutch said with a smile.

On February 9 (New Year's Eve), Daqi made dumplings with his friend's mother at a friend's home in Changchun, Jilin, to welcome the New Year. Photo provided by interviewee

　　"Put the meat filling in the middle of the dumpling wrapper, not too much. Dip some water on the edge of the dumpling wrapper, and then fold the dumpling wrapper in half to make wrinkles like this." Under the guidance of his friend's mother, Daqi folded the dumpling wrapper in half and pinched it tightly. , carefully roll the lace from right to left. "This year I made two kinds of stuffings, pork and vegetable stuffing and leek and shrimp stuffing, both of which are my favorites."

　　Daqi said that the Chinese Spring Festival helped him understand the Chinese people's desire for reunion, and also made him fall in love with this traditional Chinese festival even more. Daqi’s understanding of the Spring Festival is that it expresses the deep desire of the Chinese people. “The Spring Festival is the festival of hope.”

　　During this Spring Festival, Daqi also recorded a New Year greeting for his friends. Everyone was once again surprised by his Chinese proficiency, "Dear Chinese friends, good luck in the Year of the Dragon and good luck! Many people think that China is a dragon, but I think there are dragons in China." She is a beautiful and energetic woman with a strong vitality that can bring blessings to the whole world," Dutch said.

　　Daqi’s relationship with China originated from his father. In the 1970s, Daqi's father came to China and brought back many precious photos and images of China. From then on, Daqi and his brothers and sisters had a longing for China.

On New Year's Day this year, Dachi played games with Chinese children to welcome the New Year. Photo by Li Dan

　　Over the years, Dutch has been committed to promoting cultural exchanges between the East and the West, both in work and in life. In his spare time, he likes to carry out cultural activities with Chinese children. Daqi’s goal is to let the world understand China through his academic research and practical experience.

　　Recently, the Chinese version of "End of the World", a book about cross-cultural communication edited by Dach, will be published soon. This book records a world heritage cultural route. Taking advantage of the vacation, Dutch was finalizing the cover design. The book quotes many famous Chinese classics, such as "It is a joy to have friends come from afar." Daqi said that China also has cultural routes, including the "Sichuan Road" and the "Maritime Silk Road" connecting Xi'an and Chengdu. He hopes that Westerners can learn more about Eastern wisdom through this book, and he also hopes that Chinese people can understand Western culture.

　　Talking about the New Year's wish, Daqi said that he will continue to work and live in China. "I hope to promote cross-cultural spiritual exchanges, help the East and the West learn from each other, enhance common welfare, and build a new story and a new future for each other." (End) )