Chinese break in new year

Weber State University’s first Chinese New Year Celebration ended Wednesday, Feb. 18 with upbeat holiday cheer and the traditional Chinese New Year wish of financial success to the attendees.
Melissa Pittman, Chinese professor in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature and a native of Taiwan, explained how the biggest custom in China during this season, besides parents giving money to their children, is for companies to double their employees’ salaries during that month.
“Depending on how well the company is doing, employees will get at least the double amount of their normal monthly salary,” she said. “I have a friend who got four months’ pay once.”
With booths showcasing Chinese calligraphy and paper-cutting art, the all-day event was a much-shortened version of the 15-day festivities, which officially began in China last Sunday.
“We decided to pick a day in between the holidays that would work for our celebration on campus,” Pittman said, and explained how each day normally represents the celebration of different activities. “On the second day, wives get to visit their parents, who, in many cases, they hardly get to see throughout the year.”
Local and Chinese exchange students were able to showcase a bit of Chinese culture with a variety of dances and martial arts performances, including a Shao-Lin kung fu demonstration.
Out of the 24 exchange students from Shanghai, six performed traditional dances using lanterns and fans which Pittman helped coach.
“It’s their first stage performance,” Pittman said. “These girls have never danced before.”
After enjoying a dinner of egg rolls and Chinese noodles, Chao Wang, a second-year student and technical sales major, said he has made friends at WSU’s Chinese Club after leaving China four years ago to join his mother in Utah.
“Sometimes I get homesick, or I miss the food,” he said, “but I know that here I have a better future.”
Originally from Beijing, Wang said he hopes a career opportunity will open up in Utah in sales or international business, and is willing to work hard to achieve his goals.
“It is hard to have a good life in China,” he said, “and if I set a high goal, and work hard enough, I will achieve that goal because there are more opportunities here.”
The day ended with a Chinese film in the Wildcat Theater, and guests were invited to return again next week to meet Chinese director and filmmaker Wang Meibiao and view his film Cop on a Beat or, translated literally, The People’s Policeman.
Greg Lewis, professor of Asian world history at WSU since 1999, praised Chinese films for their beauty and calmness.
“The Chinese tend to be a little more sedate in their movie-making,” he said. “They don’t use explosives and blow up things as much as we do here.”
The documentary, which is in Chinese with English subtitles, will be offered free to the public next Wednesday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. in the Wildcat Theater.
For additional information, contact Greg Lewis at 801-675-6371.