World Youth and Teenage Chinese Knowledge Contest

Entry Requirements for the World Youth and Teenage Chinese Knowledge Contest

1、Chinese Language Basics
Focuses on the fundamental structure and usage of the Chinese language, covering:

• Chinese Characters: Stroke order, radicals (e.g., 氵，木), and the distinction between simplified and traditional characters; systematic examination of common characters (e.g., 山，水，人) and their pronunciations in Pinyin.

• Vocabulary and Grammar: Basic parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives), common phrases (e.g., 家人，吃飯), and essential grammatical structures (e.g., subject-verb-object order, tense particles like "了" and "過").

• Cultural Fundamentals: Introduction to traditional festivals (e.g., 春節，中秋節), historical figures (e.g., 孔子，李白), and classic texts (e.g., 《三字經》, 《古詩十九首》).

• Geographic and Social Context: Basic knowledge of Chinese-speaking regions (e.g., China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore) and their cultural similarities/differences.

2、Language Phenomena and Cultural Principles
Explores the logic and cultural depth of the Chinese language, including:

• Idioms and Proverbs: Origins and moral implications of classical idioms (e.g., 守株待兔，刻舟求劍) and their modern usage.

• Ancient Poetry and Literature: Analysis of poetic rhythms (e.g., 唐詩格律), cultural metaphors in classical works (e.g., 李白的自然詩，杜甫的社會詩), and the historical background of famous essays (e.g., 《滕王閣序》).

• Linguistic Evolution: Impact of social development on language (e.g., new media terms like 互聯網，微信；loanwords from English, such as 咖啡 kāfēi "coffee").

• Phonetics and Rhetoric: Tonal rules (e.g., third-tone sandhi), reduplication (e.g., 慢慢走，高高興興), and literary devices (e.g., 比喻，排比) in modern and classical Chinese.

3、Practical Language Application
Emphasizes real-world usage and problem-solving skills:

• Map Skills in Chinese: Interpretation of Chinese-language maps (e.g., 中國行政區劃圖), geographic terminology (e.g., 高原，盆地), and directional expressions (e.g., 東南西北).

• Text Comprehension: Analysis of modern essays, ancient poetry, and contemporary articles (e.g., news, short stories) to extract main ideas, infer meanings, and summarize content.

• Writing and Communication:

  • Children’s Group: Simple sentence construction (e.g., 我喜歡春天，因為有鮮花和小鳥) and picture-based storytelling.

  • Adolescent Group: Argumentative essays (e.g., 傳統文化是否應該創新), narrative compositions, and practical writing (e.g., 英文書信翻譯，演講稿撰寫).

• Cultural Simulation Tasks: Role-playing in scenarios like 模擬古詩詞大會 (simulated ancient poetry competitions) or 跨文化交流活動 (cross-cultural communication), requiring participants to apply idioms, etiquette, and historical knowledge.

4、Question Types and Difficulty Setting

• Diversified Question Formats: Multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank (characters/Pinyin), short-answer (idiom explanations), essay writing, and translation (e.g., classical Chinese to modern Chinese).

• Age-Appropriate Difficulty:

  • Children’s Group (Ages 8–12): Focus on basic recognition (e.g., matching characters to meanings, identifying festival customs) and simple writing (50–100 words).

  • Adolescent Group (Ages 13–18): Emphasizes analysis and application (e.g., comparing 唐詩 vs. 宋詞，debating the impact of social media on Chinese), with extended writing (300–500 words) and critical thinking tasks (e.g., 淺析網絡用語對規範漢語的影響).

This framework balances foundational language skills with cultural literacy, ensuring participants develop both precision in Chinese usage and a deep understanding of its historical and social contexts.