2022 Han Character Festival

Origin

Just like how Latin has influenced multiple Western languages, Han characters have also influenced many cultures in Eastern Asia. Han characters are still used today in many Asian languages.

Han characters not only play a key role in Chinese culture, but are also a valuable element in understanding the centuries-long transformation of their shape, the beauty of Chinese calligraphy, and the wisdom behind the creation of each character.

This year, the Han Character Festival will be held in a park outdoors with a carnival style. Many booths with fun activities in store will be set up.

Music booth: learning Mandarin through music.

DIY Tangyuan booth: appreciating the evolved shapes of Han characters over time by modeling them with dough.

Paper-cutting booth: discovering the beauty of symmetric forms in Han characters by paper-cutting.

Besides these many fun activities, we are excited to offer lots of food booths, as listed: aromatic Taiwanese sausages, red bean cakes, sausage, cotton candy, and Taiwanese chilled winter melon tea.

Taiwan Online Library invites you warmly to join us on May 14, for a roller coaster of delightful experiences in learning Han characters.

Please sign up at your earliest convenience to reserve spots and help us make thorough preparations.

We are looking forward to seeing you.

Best regards,

Taiwan Online Library

Booth : Taiwanese winter melon tea

Booth:Tea eggs

Tea eggs are a traditional and popular snack, boiled in black tea, sauce, and other spices. Its perfect balance of sweet and salty is complemented by the aroma of tea leaves. The widespread enjoyment of tea eggs allows them to be found in nearly every convenience store in Taiwan.

Booth: DIY Tangyuan

Tang yuan, a traditional dessert in Taiwan, truly brings together the family. Preparing the dough, cooking it in boiling water, savoring the end result. It is the special moments like these that unite distant kin with the familiar taste of home. One specific booth will be devoted to tang yuan; the participants will be given the chance to write Han characters on dough, and then have it cooked.

(** Tang yuan at the booth will be inedible, due to precautionary regulations regarding Covid **)

Booth: Tattoo in Chinese Zodiac

The 12 Zodiacs are a key feature of Han culture. This booth will provide temporary tattoos depicting the zodiacs, in which each design carries a pattern of elegance and story of culture.

Booth: book

Come to rich your life by reading books related to Taiwan.
Please visit http:tolib.org/about for our book-lending policies.
Book reservation: http:tolib.org/book

Booth: paper cutting

At this booth, you will produce symmetric Han characters by folding and cutting out from square sheets of paper. A popular design is the character "春" (spring) demonstrated during the lunar new year. Another example of symmetric Han characters is 草 (grass). How many other symmetric Han characters can you come up with? Please share your ideas at our booth during the events! The required supplies and tools will be provided for you.

As a side note: The Fold-and-Cut Theorem, which was first proposed in 1721 and eventually proven in 1999, states that any shape consisted of straight edges can be constructed by folding the paper and performing only one straight cut. If you are interested in learning additional details, please make sure to stop by out booth. We will offer further instructions and prepare paper models to give you a first-hand experience!

Booth: learn Han character by music

Interested in learning Mandarin through music? Stop by our booth for some tips that can be applied to learning any language, listen to live music, and gather Mandarin-specific resources to take home.

Booth: sausage

Booth: cotton candy

Booth: lantern

Booth: calligraphy

Booth: red bean cakes

Event location

Crosby Farm Regional Park, 2595 Crosby Farm Rd, St Paul, MN 55116 (Map)

Event date and time

Saturday, May 14, 2022 from 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM

Sign Up

Please click the number of seats you desire to reserve. Then an email will pop up. Please just send the email without changing the subject or content of the email. You will receive an email notification after signing up successfully. Please contact us if you have any questions . Email: librarian@tolib.org

One seat Two seats Three seats Four seats

Parking

FREE Parking is available in the park. However, there are a limited number of parking spots (50 regular parking spots and three disabled parking spots). Please refer to the following map for details about nearby street parking.

Team

Mei Chi Su

Mei Chi Su, is a Ph.D. student at University of Minnesota. She enjoys exposing herself in various cultures to understand and experience the living styles in different countries. She likes traveling, live music and movies.

Yu-Hsiang (Jeffery) Wang

Yu-Hsiang (Jeffery) Wang, a graduate from the University of Minnesota, works as a Manufacturing Associate in Takeda Pharmaceuticals. He likes to study, cook, and eat Taiwanese cuisine.

Jocelyn Yu

Jocelyn Yu. a graduate from Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences at the University of Minnesota. Enjoy cooking and eating tasty food!

Tony Wu

Tony Wu, is teaching at University of Minnesota, Statistics. His bobby are jogging,puzzle.

Chinwen Wei

Chinwen is a Postdoctoral researcher at University of Minnesota. Her favorite quote is "Science is the world without end, it is an eternal mystery."

Jake Jaderston

Jake graduated from Sterling College. He is a freestyle basketball performer and musician. He enjoys the Minnesota Timberwolves, board games, and hot and sour soup.

Karissa Jaderston

Karissa graduated with an MA from Columbia University in East Asian Languages and Cultures and spent time teaching English in Taiwan through Fulbright. She is a musician and songwriter. She enjoys spoiling her cat and sharing food with others.

Chris Campbell

Chris works in public health. Chris started to learn Mandarin in 2019. When Chris is not working, he enjoys cooking and playing video games.

Suzie Hsu

Suzie works in the medical device industry. She enjoys cooking and reading in her spare time.

Organizations

Taiwan Online Library

Event Hoster

Established in 2009, the Taiwan Online Library hosts 2 to 4 events every year, like concert, film festival, and a Han culture festival. Book services have been and will be provided for each event.

Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Chicago

Event Sponsor

The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Chicago (TECO-Chicago), overseen by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States , serves Taiwan citizens in the Midwestern United States and the interests of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Since 1979, TECO-Chicago has functioned as the Midwest regional branch of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States, which is located in Washington, D.C. Taiwan is one of the most prosperous, democratic, and politically mature countries in the world. Taiwan values the principles of democracy, free speech, human rights, religious freedom, humanitarianism, and market economics, which are hallmarks of the United States of America. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Chicago will continue its efforts to expand and strengthen the economic, cultural, and other ties to the U.S. Midwest, to enhance mutual cooperation and security between Taiwan and the United States far into the 21st century. Not only do these relations and efforts serve the goals and interests of both of our peoples, but also the greater cause of stability, security, peace, and economic development in the Asia-Pacific region.

Overseas Community Affairs Council