Enthusiasts of Chinese traditional culture got together at Filopappos Hill to hold the first Shangsi Festival in Athens, Greece. Guqin, Chinese flute, Hanfu and Gongfu were some of the cultural activities performed at the feet of Acropolis on April 6th as part of the first cultural gathering for the Chinese community in the Greek capital. The group also announced the establishment of the Hellenic Chinese Culture Association, the first non-profit organization focusing on promoting the Chinese traditional culture in Greece.
Te association aims on organizing regular Chinese traditional cultural gatherings and cultural related activities, as well as the exchanges and visits of Chinese cultural scholars and masters from China.
Shangsi, also known as the Double Third Festival, is one of the most ancient Chinese festivals, honoring Huangdi (Yellow Emperor), Fuxi (a Chinese culture hero and also an Emperor of ancient China). It was celebrated since the years of Xia Dynasty. The great calligrapher Wang Xizhi mentions this festival in his famous work Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Poems, written in regard to the Orchid Pavilion Gathering during the Six Dynasties (Xia) era.
The celebration of Shangsi in Greece was an idea of Kevin Miao and Eley Yuan, a Chinese couple living in Athens who dressed up with their Hanfu traditional costumes and played Guqin and Guzheng as well as flute. Not only did they perform Chinese classics such as High Mountains, Flowing Water, Songs of Fishing Boats at Dusk, Tune for a Beautiful Night, but also explained the well-known allusions of the music. Moreover, Greek attendees of the event also shared their interesting stories on learning the Chinese culture. Yannis, a Greek enthusiast of Chinese culture, performed Chinese Gongfu Eight Trigram Palm, while Manos and Dimitra talked about Chinese medicine and calligraphy.
The cultural gathering attracted a lot of interest of passers-by who stopped and watched the performances, and asked to learn more about the Chinese culture and music. They also expressed their strong desire of seeing more of these events in Greece.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
