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China – Traditions and Culture
BCI London cordially invites you to the event “China – Traditions and Culture” on the 16th of December 2019; at 7 PM; at “Sofia” Gallery, BCI London.
Free registration for the event HERE
Doors open at 6.30 PM
The event program includes:
- Presentation of the Bulgarian edition of the Chinese book “Dream of the Red Chamber” by Cao Xueqin; Translator from Old Chinese: Petko Hinov; Publishing house: “Iztok-Zapad”
- Musical performances by members of the London Youlanqin Society, which will play the guqin and other traditional Chinese instruments, mentioned in the novel.
Special guests:
The students from China – Valentina and Yana, who have completed Bulgarian Philology in Beijing and are currently studying for a Master’s degree in London.
Members of the London Youlan Qin Society, established on 13th July 2003 as a London-based voluntary cultural organization. It is Europe’s first and only such Society, which aims to promote interest in and understanding of Chinese music, its culture and arts, philosophy and social meaning, especially of the qin in the UK. The qin or guqin, the Chinese 7-stringed zither, is one of China’s most significant classical instruments, and was declared by UNESCO in 2003 as a “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity”.
The novel “Dream of the Red Chamber” is a romantic tragedy, written by Cao Xueqin in 18th century, and has an extremely important place in Chinese classical literature.
Cao Xueqin was a Chinese writer during the Qing dynasty. He has been called “Chinese Shakespeare”.
Red Chamber is believed to be semi-autobiographical, mirroring the rise and decline of author Cao Xueqin’s own family and, by extension, of the Qing Dynasty. As the author details in the first chapter, it is intended to be a memorial to the damsels he knew in his youth: friends, relatives and servants. The novel is remarkable not only for its huge cast of characters and psychological scope, but also for its precise and detailed observation of the life and social structures typical of 18th-century Chinese society.