Nanjing calls for Spring Festival couplets about city gates
In order to inherit fine traditional Chinese culture, remain committed to its innovative transformation and development, continuously enhance the influence of Chinese culture and further enhance spiritual strength to achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, the eighth season of “Spring Festival Couplets Hung at City Gates; Nanjing Makes a Good Start” program is calling for submission of couplets that will adorn the city’s 13 ancient city gates during the Chinese New Year in 2023. The program is jointly organized by the Xinhua Daily Media Group, the Nanjing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism and the Bank of China’s Jiangsu Branch.
The campaign has been running for seven years and already become a new form of Lunar New Year celebrations in Nanjing. It inherits the legacy of the city’s regional culture and historical landmarks and also shows icons of fine traditional culture such as the city wall, calligraphy, couplets and the Spring Festival. The campaign has drawn more than 100,000 participants from around the world.
For the first time, this edition has added the Seedling Award for teenagers and has already received many submissions from secondary school and university students.
Submission time:
November 1-25, 2022
City gates:
Zhonghua Gate, Jiqing Gate, Hanxi Gate, Qingliang Gate, Yijiang Gate, Yifeng Gate, Shence Gate, Xuanwu Gate, Jiefang Gate, Taiping Gate, Zhongshan Gate, Biaoying Gate, Wuding Gate
Content:
Content of the couplets must reflect the historical, cultural and regional characteristics of the city gates as well as the festive and peaceful atmosphere of the Year of the Rabbit. The creations should have a strong personal touch and also reflect the ethos of the times. They must conform to the rules for couplets with no more than 36 characters, with 22 characters at most for the couplets on Hanxi Gate, Qingliang Gate and Shence Gate.
Requirements:
Entrants must fill in their real name, full postal address, postal code and telephone number, and submit no more than five pairs of couplets per person. The handwriting should be neat and clear, indicating which gate it was made for; otherwise it will not be accepted for consideration.
Entries must be original, avoid plagiarism and cannot be submitted more than once.
The Spring Festival Couplets Collection Organizing Committee reserves the right to make any necessary changes to entries. If you do not agree to accept such possible changes, please indicate that clearly in your submission. The copyright and development and use of all selected works belong to the organizer.
Prizes:
2 first prizes, 3,000 yuan each in cash and certificate of honor;
5 second prizes, 2,000 yuan each in cash and certificate of honor;
6 third prizes, 1,000 yuan each in cash and certificate of honor;
Several Seedling Award winners will each receive a tailored gift featuring a cultural creation and certificate of honor
Note: Seedling Award entrants are aged 12-18; please indicate Seedling Award category in the submission and include information on school and class.
Ways of submission:
Email: njcb2000@163.com
WeChat: Follow the public account of the Nanjing Morning Post and reply with: real name + contact number + address + content of the couplets
Weibo: Follow the account of the Nanjing Morning Post and use the direct message function to send real name + contact number + address + content of the couplets
Mail: 23/F-B1, Xinhua Daily Media Group Plaza, No. 369 Jiangdong Middle Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province (postcode 210017). Please indicate “Spring Festival Couplets Submission” on the envelope.
