International kids sing praises of Chinese poetry

STUDENTS from the city’s international schools came together yesterday in the culmination of a nine-month celebration of Chinese poetry.

Performances and an awards ceremony brought this year’s campaign by the education commission and educational center of science and art to a close.

Productions by Shanghai Community International School and Shanghai High School International Division won the top secondary school awards. Dulwich College was best in the primary school division, and the winner of the kindergarten division was the Utsukushigaoka Montessori Kindergarten.

In 2011, the education commission started to promote Chinese literature among international students. In this year’s event, “Chanted Poetry, Beautiful Classics,” students combined poetry recitals with music, dance and role playing.

“Learning Chinese poetry is a bit difficult especially at the beginning,” Wang Liru, a second grader at the international division of a high school affiliated to Fudan University, told Shanghai Daily. Wang is from South Africa, but prefers to be known by her Chinese name.

Together with her classmates, Wang took a part in a performance based on the poem “Snow, on the Pattern of Qinyuanchun” by Mao Zedong.

“Our teachers explained to us the meaning of each word and the background story. Practicing the performance with my classmates helped me to memorize the poem,” said Wang.

The ceremony was held at No. 2 High School of East China Normal University, with over 300 students, teachers and officials in attendance.