The language
The Chinese language, one of the oldest and most widely spoken languages in the world, has its roots in ancient Chinese culture.
Mandarin, also known as “High Chinese”, is spoken by over one billion people as their mother tongue and is the official language in China, Taiwan and Singapore. Around 3000 speakers live in Dresden.
Old Chinese is the origin of most of today’s Chinese languages such as Cantonese and Tibetan.
Many years later, in the 20th century, in 1956, it was decided to introduce a general Chinese language in the course of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
Mandarin is the most widely spoken form and is promoted by the Chinese government. There are also seven other main dialects: Wu (e.g. Shanghai dialect), Yue (e.g. Cantonese), Min (e.g. Xiamen dialect), Xiang (e.g. Changsha dialect), Hakka (e.g. Meizhou dialect), Gan (e.g. Nanchang dialect) and Jin (e.g. Taiyuan dialect). These are spoken in various regions of China.
Script
One of the three symbolic scripts found in the origins of human history – alongside the Sumerian and Egyptian scripts – is the Chinese script. The Chinese script consists of 60,000 characters, based on complex characters, each of which has its own meaning. The origins of Chinese writing date back to the Shang Dynasty (approx. 1600-1046 BC).
Over the centuries, Chinese characters have been further developed and standardized. An important milestone was the creation of the first Chinese dictionary “Shuowen Jiezi” in 100 AD.
Today, Chinese writing is used in various regions of East Asia, including China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. The introduction of simplified characters in the People’s Republic of China has made the script lighter, causing many characters to lose their original meaning. In other regions, traditional characters are still used.
Dresden spricht …
Workshops, tours, writing and printing workshops under the motto “Dresden speaks many languages”
Period
03-12.2024
Porject coordination
Yvonn Spauschus (Projektleitung)
Yulia Vishnichenko · Moussa Mbarek · Nadine Wölk · Rosa Brockelt · Yuliya Firsova · Martin Mannig (workshop leader)
Rosa Brockelt · Rosa Hauch · Falk Goernert · Birthe Mühlhoff (moderation, documentation)
Adina Rieckmann · Lydia Hänsel (tourguides)
Inge · Mahsa · Karin (voluntary help)
Cooperation partners
JugendKunstschule Dresden – Standort Passage, Omse e.V., Nachbarschaftshilfeverein, Stadtteilverein Johannstadt e.V., Malteser Hilfsdienste e.V., Jugendhaus LILA as well as Chinesisch-Deutsches Zentrum e.V., Lebenshilfe Dresden e.V., GEH8 Kunstraum und Ateliers e.V., Umweltzentrum Dresden – ABC Tische and many more
Supported by
The project is funded by the State Ministry for Social Affairs and Social Cohesion. This measure is co-financed with tax funds on the basis of the budget passed by the Saxon state parliament within the framework of the state programme Integrative Maßnahmen.
