'Beauty of Chinese characters' attracts San Francisco youths

A biennial global youth design contest to introduce American youngsters and younger generations of overseas Chinese to Chinese characters and culture drew large crowds as it opened here on Thursday.

The Beauty of Chinese Characters Global Youth Design Contest 2018, which opened at the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco, California, is meant to help foreigners develop their own ideas about the unique form of Chinese characters through images and pictures, Luo Linquan, the Chinese consul general, said, adding, "China needs to know the rest of the world while it also needs to be known to the rest of the world."

Luo said the contest is significant because language, which involves both oral and written forms, is a tool of communication. Chinese characters initially evolved from images. They embody the unique way ancient Chinese people observed the world and expressed their ideas, the envoy said.

"If one wants to learn about a country's concepts, path of development, policy and behaviors, the best way is to study its history, philosophy and language, and to communicate with the people of that country," he added.

The contest is jointly sponsored by Beijing Normal University and the Academy of Arts & Design of Tsinghua University of China.

Professors from the two universities spoke about the history, evolution and development of Chinese characters as well as the art of character design that has evolved over thousands of years.

A ninth grader from Stuart Hall High School in downtown San Francisco, giving his name only as Kounalakis, spoke in fluent Chinese. He said he began to learn the language when he was only three years old.

"I benefit from learning Chinese -- I can get an A in Chinese. And most of all, I love the beauty of Chinese characters, which are entirely different from the English alphabet," the American youngster said.

This year's contest is themed "Harmony at home".

The concept of harmony is deeply rooted in Chinese culture and thoughts. It is the philosophy behind China proposing to build a community of shared future for mankind. It is also a fundamental cultural basis of China's efforts to contribute to a new type of international relations, Luo said.

The first edition of the contest saw 1,250 pieces of work pouring in from 16 countries and regions.