Galloping into the New Year! With the Lunar New Year approaching, the Taichung City Confucius Temple, in collaboration with the Taichung City Qingxi New Arts Association, will hold the Bingwu Year “Auspicious Horses Present Blessings, Welcoming Spring Calligraphy” event at 8:50 a.m. on January 31, inviting 30 calligraphers, New Year print artists, and printmakers to create works on site, allowing the public to collect New Year characters and New Year prints free of charge. Wu Shih-wei, Director General of the Civil Affairs Bureau, Taichung City Government, stated that 600 sets of Spring Festival couplets and New Year print paper have been specially prepared this year for free distribution. The venue will also feature a New Year print rubbing experience area and a “Welcoming Spring and Receiving Blessings” wooden ornament DIY pendant making area, so that parents and children can enjoy the activities together. Citizens are welcome to come and receive the limited-quantity Spring Festival couplets and participate in these festive activities to joyfully welcome the Lunar New Year.
Director General Shih-Wei Wu noted that the “Welcoming Spring Calligraphy” event is not only a festive activity to greet the New Year, but also a concrete demonstration of promoting traditional culture, and that holding it at the quaint and solemn Taichung City Confucius Temple carries distinctive cultural significance. In addition to admiring up close the artistic beauty of calligraphers’ live brushwork and experiencing the profound cultural depth embodied in ink and brush, the Spring Festival couplets distributed on site also bear the blessings and best wishes of the Sage, symbolizing the inspiration of wisdom and the arrival of good fortune. It is hoped that, through the event, citizens will gain a deeper understanding of and cherish traditional culture while experiencing the strong festive atmosphere, and wishes everyone a safe and peaceful New Year for the whole family, with blessings of both good fortune and wisdom.
Shu-Hua Li, Director of the Taichung City Confucius Temple, stated that the Taichung City Confucius Temple’s Welcoming Spring Calligraphy event enters its 11th year this year and has received widespread public acclaim. This year’s event will be held from 8:50 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., with the Taichung City Qingxi New Arts Association selecting and dispatching 30 calligraphers, New Year print artists, and printmakers to provide free on-site service to the public. In addition to live calligraphy, a New Year print rubbing experience area has also been arranged on site, offering simple and easy-to-follow instruction so that children can personally experience the beauty of traditional rubbing techniques. In addition, a “Welcoming Spring and Receiving Blessings” wooden ornament DIY pendant making area will be available, limited to 200 sets, allowing children to unleash their creativity and complete their own festive works. The Spring Festival couplets and handmade pendants received by citizens may be used to decorate their homes before the Lunar New Year, adding to the festive cheer.
Taichung City Confucius Temple explained that, on the day of the event, it will invite the Yongxing Community Dance Team of Taichung City’s South District to deliver a lively opening performance, and the Ci Yun Choir of Zhongtian Temple in Beitun District will present a splendid musical program with its angelic voices, allowing the public, while appreciating calligraphic art, to also immerse themselves in an artistic feast interwoven with music and dance. The public are welcome to visit the Confucius Temple’s Lunar New Year arts and calligraphy event, and to take this opportunity to pray for blessings from the Most Sacred Teacher, Confucius, wishing for abundant good fortune and increased wisdom in the New Year. For details, please visit the official website of the Taichung City Confucius Temple (https://www.confucius.taichung.gov.tw/).