Clubs uphold China's cultural heritage

Every night on Jinan University’s campus in Guangzhou, a group of students plays diabolo as a crowd watches on in amazement.

在广州暨南大学校园内，每晚都有一群学生表演抖空竹，围观的人们无不惊呼连连。

Chen Zhelun, 25, a Malaysian-Chinese majoring in animation, founded the diabolo club, which aims to restore the popularity of this traditional Chinese game. He is one of many students expressing their interest in the country’s cultural heritage by starting clubs.

就读于动画专业、25岁的马来西亚籍留学生陈哲伦一手创办了“扯铃社”（编者注：“空竹”又称“扯铃”），目的是提升这项中国传统游戏的人气。很多学生为表达对中国文化遗产的喜爱而纷纷创建社团，陈哲伦便是其中之一。

Originally from China, the diabolo is popular among Chinese living in Malaysia.

空竹起源于中国，颇受马来西亚华人的欢迎。

“We played diabolo from primary school onward. I thought I could find someone to play with on campus in China, but when I arrived I found that only a few students knew about it. So I launched a club to promote it, ” says Chen.

陈哲伦说：“我们从小学便开始抖空竹。我原本以为在中国大学校园里能够找到一些志同道合的人，但是当我到这里后，我发现只有少数学生知道它。所以我创建了这个社团去推广它。”

To Chen’s surprise, the old game has attracted a huge crowd —more than 1, 000 students have joined the club and they are invited to perform at many campus activities. The group has already prepared more than 30 routines.

令陈哲伦意外的是，这项古老的游戏竟然吸引了一大群人的注意——1000多名学生加入扯铃社，社团也受邀前往很多大学表演。目前，该社团已安排了30几个行程。

“It strengthens your body, improves blood circulation and it’s fun, ” says Chen.

陈哲伦说：“抖空竹可以强身健体、促进血液循环且十分有趣。”

But some prefer quieter pastimes. Every weekend, one classroom on Shenzhen University’s campus is always packed, but it’s unusually silent. That’s because the members of the Lanting calligraphy club are writing Chinese characters with traditional brushes.

而有的人则更喜欢一些比较安静的消遣方式。每个周末，深圳大学的一间教室里总是挤满了人，但却异常安静。这是因为兰亭书法社的成员们正在练毛笔字。

Fan Dongling, 21, a junior majoring in Chinese literature at Shenzhen University, says it’s a shame that young people no longer appreciate the beauty of Chinese characters due to typing on computers.

来自深圳大学中文系大三年级、21岁的范冬琳（音译）表示，年轻人由于用电脑打字，因而不再欣赏汉字的美，这令人惋惜。

So Fan often arranges for students to attend calligraphy shows in local communities and encourages them to sign up for competitions.

所以范冬琳组织学生去参加社区书法表演，鼓励他们去报名参加比赛。

“We also dropped the requirement for students to write traditional characters rather than simplified ones, ” says Fan.

范冬琳说：“我们也不再硬性要求学生，一定要写繁体字而不是简体字。”

Although her club is quiet, Fan says it keeps members healthy, both mentally and physically.

尽管她的社团十分安静，但范冬琳表示这有助于社团成员保持身心健康。

“Using brushes to write Chinese characters requires a lot of muscle strength and control, which can help you control yourself and find inner peace, ” says Fan.

范冬琳说：“练毛笔字需要很多肌肉的力量和调控能力，它可以帮助你更好地自我调控，达到内心平衡。”

As special as they are, some clubs promoting traditional Chinese culture struggle to recruit new members.

由于一些社团的特殊性，他们在招募新成员时也遇到了些麻烦。

“Some students think traditional things are outdated. They like celebrating Western festivals like Christmas or Valentine’s Day, but they seldom pay attention to traditional ones, ” says Kong Yanquan, 21, a junior majoring in civil engineering at Guangxi University.

“有些学生认为传统的东西都过时了。他们喜欢过圣诞节、情人节这些西方节日，但却很少去关注中国传统的东西。”就读于广西大学土木工程专业大三年级、21岁的孔炎泉(音译）说道。

As head of the traditional Chinese local operas club, Kong tried hard to attract freshmen, but his efforts didn’t payoff.

作为该校中国传统地方戏曲社团的社长，尽管孔炎泉努力地去吸引新生的关注，但却未能如他所愿。

“We invited a Peking Opera troupe to perform on campus and share some tips with us, ” says Kong. “But only a few students showed any interest. Most of them prefer watching costume TV dramas.”

“我们邀请京剧团到学校演出，并和我们分享一些技巧。”孔炎泉说。“但只有少数学生感兴趣。大多数人则更喜欢看偶像剧。”

Wang Feng, 22, a senior majoring in accounting at Qingdao University of Science &Technology takes a different approach. He sees the key to promoting traditional culture among his peers is to integrate trendy and modern elements into it.

就读于青岛大学会计专业大四年级，22岁的王峰（音译）则另辟蹊径。他认为，要想在同龄人中推广传统文化，关键在于要将当下的流行元素融入其中。

“We used to offer only weiqi and Chinese chess in our club, ” says Wang. “But since we added other board games, like Five-in-a-Row and Three Kingdoms Kill (sanguosha), more members have joined.”

“以前，我们社团里只有围棋和象棋，”王峰说。“但自从我们增加了像五子棋和三国杀这样的棋类游戏之后，便有更多人前来加入了社团。”

Kong plans to try new measures to attract students to his club, too.

孔炎泉也正在计划采取新的举措来吸引学生加入自己的社团。

“I think it’s everyone’s responsibility to preserve and promote China’s traditional culture among young people, ” he says.

他说：“我认为每个人都有责任来保护中国传统文化，并在年轻人中加以推广。”