（通讯员，曾切）为落实课程实践育人目标，深化文明交流互鉴，提升学生跨文化沟通与中外文学比较素养，2026 年 11 月 11 日，我院 24 级英语优师班 5 名学子与加拿大温莎大学 2 名学生组建跨国研讨小组，开展中外古典神话主题线上交流活动。活动以楚辞《九歌・云中君》为核心开展专题分享，采用 “中方主讲答疑、外方互动研讨、双向平等对话” 模式，交流氛围融洽、研讨深入，成效良好。
活动中，我方主讲同学结合课程内容介绍。《九歌》是经屈原整理润色的楚地祭祀乐歌，为中国浪漫主义诗歌经典，承载着上古先民的自然崇拜与祭祀传统。分享重点解读云中君与巫的人神互动意象，描绘巫者载歌祈神、云神驾龙倏忽来去的诗意场景，并澄清一种常见文化误读：该篇常被简单理解为世俗情爱篇章，实则为祭神乐歌，寄托先民敬畏自然、祈求五谷丰登、家国安宁的祈愿，彰显中华文化含蓄尚善、敬顺自然的特质。
分享结束后，温莎大学同学围绕云中君形象、巫祭文化、《九歌》艺术特色及古人自然观等问题提问。我方学生依托课程积累从容作答，以通俗表达传递中华古典文化意蕴，弥合跨文化认知鸿沟，展现出扎实学识与良好的国际沟通素养。
随后进入双向研讨环节。我方学生立足思辨视角，就希腊神话的人物特质、文化内涵、改编偏差以及人神伦理差异向外方提问。温莎大学同学分享了希腊诸神人格化、世俗化的特点，阐释神话背后早期西方社会的价值取向。
中外小组成员平等交流、互问互思，对比辨析中西神话的叙事范式与精神内核。同学们认识到，以《云中君》为代表的楚地祭神神话重在敬畏自然、集体祈福；希腊神话则凸显个体性情与凡人化的神性，二者差异正是中西文明底色的生动体现。
本次线上交流是《中国文化概要（英）》课程知行合一的实践载体。优师班学子立足课堂，向外讲好《云中君》故事，同时主动了解西方文化，在文明互鉴中体察文化差异。活动创新了课程实践形态，锤炼了学生跨文化表达与临场应变能力，推动学生在文明对话中厚植文化自信。下一步，我院将持续推进该系列的学生国际交流实践，引导学子深耕文化、拓宽视野，成长为兼具文化底蕴与国际视野的外语人才。
Bridging Cultures with Poetry: Tracing the Literary Heritage of the “Nine Songs” and Conveying the Elegance of Chu Culture
—The School of Foreign Languages and the University of Windsor’s Language, Literature and Culture Program Hold an Online Literary Seminar (Session II): “Nine Songs·Lord of the Clouds”
(Reporter: Zeng Jin) To fulfill the goal of cultivating students through course practice, deepen mutual learning among civilizations, and enhance students’ cross-cultural communication skills and literary comparison competence, on November 11, 2026, five students from our school’s Class of 2024 Jinchu Excellent Teacher program and two students from the University of Windsor (Canada) formed cross-national seminar groups and launched an online exchange activity on the theme of ancient Chinese and foreign mythology. Centered on “Nine Songs·Lord of the Clouds” from the “Songs of Chu”, the event featured thematic sharing in a model of “Chinese side’s keynote presentation and Q&A, foreign side’s interactive discussion, and two-way equal dialogue.” The atmosphere was warm and engaging, the discussions in-depth, and the outcomes highly rewarding.
During the event, our student presenters gave an introduction based on course content. The “Nine Songs” are sacrificial songs of the Chu region polished and refined by Qu Yuan, standing as a classic of Chinese Romanticist poetry and carrying the nature worship and sacrificial traditions of ancient ancestors. The sharing focused on interpreting the imagery of human-deity interaction between the Lord of the Clouds and the shaman, depicting poetic scenes of shamans singing and dancing in worship of the divine, and of cloud gods riding dragons swiftly to and fro. They also clarified a common cultural misunderstanding: the poem is often simply read as a worldly love poem, when it is in fact a sacred musical composition expressing the ancestors’ reverence for nature and their prayers for abundant harvests and peace and security for the nation and its people—embodying the Chinese cultural qualities of harmonizing goodness and revering nature.
After the presentations, students from the University of Windsor raised questions on the image of the Lord of the Clouds, shamanic culture, the artistic features of the “Nine Songs”, and ancient views of nature. Our students drew on their course knowledge to answer with confidence, conveying the cultural connotations of Chinese classics in accessible language. They bridged cross-cultural cognitive gaps and demonstrated solid scholarship and strong international communication skills.
The session then moved into a two-way discussion. From a critical-thinking perspective, our students asked questions about the character traits and cultural connotations of figures in Greek mythology, differences in adaptation, and the ethical differences between gods. The University of Windsor students shared the personified and secularized characteristics of the Greek pantheon, explaining the value orientations of early Western society behind these myths.
Through equal exchange and mutual questioning and reflection, members of both groups comparatively analyzed the narrative paradigms and spiritual cores of Chinese and Western mythology. Students came to realize that the sacrificial mythology of the Chu region, represented by “Lord of the Clouds,” emphasizes reverence for nature and collective prayer, whereas Greek mythology highlights individual temperament and the humanized divinity of ordinary life—the very difference between the two vividly reflecting the distinct foundations of Chinese and Western civilizations.
This online exchange served as a practical vehicle for integrating knowledge and practice in the course “Overview of Chinese Culture”. Students from the teacher education class engaged with the classroom content, told the story of the “Lord of the Clouds” to an international audience, and took the initiative to learn about Western culture, examining cultural differences within the broader framework of mutual learning among civilizations. The activity innovated the form of course practice, honed students’ cross-cultural expression and adaptability, and encouraged students to build cultural confidence through dialogue among civilizations. Going forward, our school will continue to advance this series of student international exchange practices, guiding students to deepen their cultural grounding and broaden their horizons, so that they may grow into foreign-language talents with both cultural depth and an international vision.
