The year 2024 marks the 500th anniversary of the birth of the Portuguese poet Camões. On the occasion of this great event in Portuguese literature and in order to broaden the knowledge of our students and teachers about the history of Portugal and Portuguese literature, the Portuguese Village of Phoenix Language Village organized a series of activities on the theme of “World Portuguese Day.” Professor Yao Jingming from the University of Macao was invited to give a lecture on the theme, “The Soul of Portugal, Camões” and to guide hands-on craft making activities.

On the 28th of April, Phoenix Language Village hosted a two-day series of events entitled “World Portuguese Day: 500 Years of Portuguese Literature,” which featured lectures on Portuguese literature and hands-on craft making activities. Professor Yao Jingming of the Department of Portuguese at the University of Macao, former Deputy Director of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Macao, winner of several poetry prizes and the Order of the Sword of Santiago awarded by the President of Portugal, was the guest of honor at the lecture. The lecture was attended by Chen Xi, Director of International Education Affairs of BNU Zhuhai and Dean of Phoenix School; He Jiangkun, Vice Dean of Phoenix School; and Associate Professor Song Haoyan, Director of Undergraduate Programmes of the International College of Macao University of Science and Technology, as well as other invited guests from Macao universities. The teachers and students of BNU Zhuhai also participated in the lecture.

Lecture by Prof. Yao Jingming, The Soul of Portugal, Camões

Under the title of The Soul of Portugal, Camões , Professor Yao Jingming introduced the ups and downs of the life of the poet Camões , who travelled through Portugal, Africa, India and Macao, China, in the context of the era of Portuguese geographic discovery. Combining the great voyage of discovery and the Renaissance, Professor Yao analyzed the content of the epic work of Os Lus í adas and its significance in the history of literature and art in the light of the spirit of humanism. Professor Yao also shared his account of his stay in the Macao region of China and the Portuguese sentiments of the Macao Camões Memorial Sites, as an intersection of Camões’ history with that of China.

In Professor Yao's narration, Camões witnessed the historical process of Portugal's decline from the hegemony of maritime trade during his lifetime. His epic poem successfully combines his personal experience with the destiny of the nation-state, and both directly and indirectly, with his personal expression rich in wisdom and talent, shows the changing destiny of the Portuguese nation to the world. In the passages of the epic Os Lus í adas , Greek and Roman myths are integrated, demonstrating the strong national pride of the Portuguese people and the humanistic spirit of the Renaissance. As a promoter of the national spirit, Camões holds a very high position in Portuguese history, and has been written about and celebrated in Portuguese language literature throughout the ages. There are different accounts in the historical literature as to whether or not he actually visited Macao, but his presence can still be seen in the cultural heritage of the city. Professor Yao’s eloquent presentation inspired the students to further explore and enter the field.

Professor Yao Jingming with the audience

Prof. Chen Xi thanked Prof. Yao Jingming for his wonderful and insightful lecture to the teachers and students of BNU Zhuhai. She proposed to strengthen the cooperation between the University of Macao and Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai, especially in the field of humanities, and to enhance the cultural and economic links and exchanges between the Portuguese Village and the Portuguese-speaking countries and regions, in all aspects. At the same time, the cooperation and exchanges between the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of University of Macao and the Phoenix School of Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai should be strengthened, so as to integrate resources and further expand the influence of the Portuguese Village in the Greater Bay Area, and to build a cultural exchange center for Portuguese-speaking countries and regions.

Interactive question and answer session for students

During the interactive part of the lecture, students raised high-quality questions, such as how to understand the influence of the specific events experienced by Camões on the literature he created; what is the most appropriate research direction to choose when conducting cross-cultural literary research; how to reduce the difficulty of learning a non-native language while avoiding excessive cross-cultural learning, “cultural discount” in cross-cultural learning, and so on. These questions demonstrated the eagerness of the students to learn more about cross-cultural studies. Professor Yao gave detailed answers to the above questions and used his own research experience as an example to encourage students to break through cultural barriers, broaden their international horizons, think and analyze problems from different dimensions, and continuously improve their self-cognitive capacities.

Students create handmade works of Portuguese literature

Prof. Yao Jingming guides students to create handmade works of Portuguese literature

At the end of the lecture, in order for the students to learn more about other famous literary figures in the history of Portuguese literature, such as the poets Fernando Pessoa and Sofia Andresen, etc., and to enhance their understanding of Portuguese literature, Phoenix Language Village invited Prof. Yao to guide the students’ hands-on craft making activities focused on the content of Portuguese literature. A selection of posters of Portuguese poetry and books on Portuguese literature were displayed at the Village. The students went through them and chose the most moving and touching phrases to create paper bag collages, bookmarks and fans. “I think of you, and my heart becomes complete,” “I am fascinated by the scent of flowers because I feel love,” “My heart is slightly bigger than the whole universe,” etc. Professor Yao kindly guided each student's work, and towards the end of the activity, everyone was excited to take a photo with Prof. Yao with their own crafts.

Students took photos with Professor Yao Jingming after the craft session

This Portuguese Day theme activity aligns with the running philosophy of Phoenix School, which is to build an open education system that faces the world, to innovate the talent cultivation mode, to create a unique international education curriculum system integrating international and local elements, and to build a dialogue platform for international exchanges. With literature as the carrier, the celebration of famous historical figures as the opportunity, and expert research results as the guidance, this themed activity was a wonderful way for teachers and students to enhance cross-cultural cognition, expand their international vision and enhance their cross-cultural understanding ability. It achieved the expected results and won the affirmation of teachers and students. Phoenix School will continue to launch other culturally themed activities to make greater contributions to the cultivation of international talents of BNU Zhuhai.

Translator: Wang Lihong

Proofreading: Martin Wittenberg