By Caroline Berg in New York
China Daily 2013-04-10
More than a century of relations between Columbia University and
China were highlighted in a ceremony inaugurating the opening of the
Confucius Institute at the New York school.
Columbia's ties with China began in the 1870s, and some of the
first Chinese students to study in the US were at the Ivy League school,
Lee Bollinger, president of the university, said yesterday in remarks
at the ceremony.
"The Confucius Institute will help further expand Columbia's
scholarly engagement with China," Bollinger said at the event in the
Faculty Room at Columbia's Low Memorial Library, which has a gallery of
ancient Chinese artifacts spanning six dynasties.
Beijing-based Renmin University of China will collaborate with
Columbia on the institute's programs. The two universities first formed
an academic partnership in 2008.
"It will be a research-oriented partnership, which aims to
advance our understanding concerning teaching Chinese as a second
language and also Chinese culture in modern China," Bollinger said.
The ceremony included remarks by Xu Lin, director-general of
Hanban and chief executive of the Confucius Institute Headquarters; Chen
Yulu, president of Renmin University; Dong Xiaojun, acting consul
general of China in New York; and Robert Hymes, chair of Columbia's
Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures.
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