Beautiful melodies: UoN students charmed by musical acts ahead of Chinese Language Day

University of Nairobi students were on Thursday entertained by a traditional Chinese musical instrument performance as the Asian community ushers in the International Day of the Chinese language. 

The International Day of the Chinese Language will be commemorated on April 20. 

UoN students were charmed by performances by China-based Nanjing University traditional instrument orchestra choir during the diversity, beauty and harmony of traditional Chinese musical instrument fete in Nairobi. 

UoN Director of Corporate Affairs John Orindi said it is important to deepen people-to-people cooperation between Kenya and Chinese due to the trade interactions between the two countries. 

"China is one of the important bilateral partners of Kenya. It is important to understand Chinese culture and language, they also need to understand our Kiswahili. So that when people are doing business we can engage meaningfully and effectively," Orindi said. 

"Today is one of those days we appreciate the Chinese culture and their language as well." 

Orindi said for a country to develop, it must be strong culturally. He said a country's strong culture brings stronger international visibility and unity to the people. 

"What we are learning for the Chinese, they have preserved their culture, they have preserved their tradition and therefore they are unified and develop much faster," Orindi.

In his opinion, a country that is fragmented and copied from other people's cultures cannot develop as fast as one that is unified in culture. 

Associate Dean of the Institute for International Students at Nanjing University and Confucius Institute Deputy Director Cheng Xu said they hope that through such kind of cultural exchanges, the two countries will deepen their relations. 

"Kenya is far away from China but very many Chinese people know about Kenya and we hope our visit can strengthen our relationship and traditional friendship," Xu said. 

He said the United Nations chose April 20 to be International Chinese Language Day. 

April 20 was chosen as the date "to pay tribute to Cangjie, a mythical figure who is presumed to have invented Chinese characters about 5,000 years ago".

He was optimistic that more people around the world would get to know the Chinese language and the culture as well.

UoN Confucius Institute Director Prof Wang Shangxue said language goes hand in hand with culture. 

She said the traditional musical instruments are part of the Chinese culture. 

"By luck, the  Nanjing University music delegation came to visit us then they performed the traditional songs so the Kenyan people and the Chinese people can appreciate the Chinese culture," 

Prof Shangxue said the event wasn't just about China's culture but also Kenya's. 

"You saw Kenyan students performing alongside Chinese students the song Jambo Kenya both in Swahili and Mandarin. It was the merging of the two cultures," 

She said the combined music act by Kenyan students and  Nanjing University students depicts the good cooperation and relationship between the two countries.