Liam Duffy (middle) and Chen Shengwu (right) pose for a photo in the livestream broadcast, holding their just-finished Chinese calligraphy works of the character "Fu", which means good fortune. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a total of 102 foreign nationals in the faculty of Wenzhou-Kean University have opted to spend the upcoming Lunar New Year, which falls on Feb 12 this year, in the Zhejiang province city of Wenzhou.
English-language professor Liam Duffy, a United States citizen, is one of them. Duffy was invited to attend a livestream broadcast in Wenzhou on the night of Feb 5, during which he chatted with Professor Chen Shengwu from Wenzhou University and local-culture expert Zhu Ming about Wenzhou's festive customs.
Duffy talked about how people celebrate Lunar New Year by setting off fireworks. Guided by Professor Chen, Duffy made his first attempt at reciting in Wenzhou dialect local prose, which detailed how Chinese people in ancient times used fireworks to celebrate the Lunar New Year. He also tried his hand at writing Chinese couplets during the broadcast.
Asked about how he would like to spend the Lunar New Year holiday, also known as Spring Festival, Duffy said that he would purchase food materials in advance and cook himself a sumptuous meal.
Having spent eight years in China and more than three years in Wenzhou, Duffy sent his best new-year wishes to the Chinese people at the end of the broadcast.
Wenzhou-Kean University is a joint venture between Wenzhou University in Zhejiang and Kean University in New Jersey, the United States. More than 90 percent of its curriculum has been introduced from Kean University and more than 90 percent of its faculty members are recruited internationally.
