On Thursday 24 October 2024, Dr Jocelin Lingxia Zhou led some Chinese character activities with colleagues from Lancaster University Confucius Institute for local families as part of Light Up Lancaster Explore Week in The Storey.

The activities showed the evolution of Chinese characters from the traditional oracle bones structures to the present day Chinese simplified characters. The Chinese characters selected were on the Light Up Lancaster theme of light such as ‘日(sun), 月 (moon), 火 (fire) and more.

Families practiced writing the characters using Chinese calligraphy brushes and ink; using lego to build the characters; colouring in the characters on a worksheet and matching characters in a pairing activity. By taking part in these activities, the participants gained an understanding of the meaning of the characters and the story behind them.

The Lancaster University Confucius Institute team enjoyed interacting with many local families who were interested in learning about Chinese characters.

Explore Week is a new project from the organisers of Light Up Lancaster.

If you would like to find out more about the activities that took place during Light Up Lancaster Explore Week, please find below a link to a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwypwCEEX74

Light Up Lancaster is an annual family-friendly event across the city of Lancaster. With their passion for fireworks, light and art, Light Up Lancaster is a great platform to showcase Chinese culture. Lancaster University Confucius Institute has partnered with several artists and groups to create beautiful light-themed art installations that have featured at the festival since the event began in 2012.

Light Up Lancaster will return on 7th-9th November 2024.

To find out more about Light Up Lancaster, please visit: Light Up Lancaster