A Comparative Cultural Teaching Study of the Qingming Festival and the Mexican Day of the Dead in International Chinese Education

Abstract

Festival culture teaching is an important component of international Chinese education. It not only imparts linguistic knowledge, but also helps students understand the thinking modes and values of the target language countries. The Qingming Festival and the Day of the Dead represent the unique views on death of China and Mexico respectively: the former embodies the ethical feelings of "honoring the deceased and cherishing the memory of ancestors", while the latter reflects the philosophical speculation that "death is a complement to life". On the basis of elaborating the cultural connotations of the two festivals, this paper designs a comparative teaching plan integrated with poetry appreciation. It aims to help students understand cultural differences through cultural dialogue and discover the commonality of human emotions amid such differences, thus realizing cross-cultural communication in the true sense.