Poster for the 2021 event hosted by the UNSRC Chinese Book Club
Date
April 20
Next time
20 April 2025 (2025-04-20)
Frequency
annual
First time
12 November 2010; 13 years ago (2010-11-12)
Related to
International Mother Language Day, UN Arabic Language Day, UN English Language Day, UN French Language Day, UN Portuguese Language Day, UN Russian Language Day, UN Spanish Language Day, UN Swahili Language Day
UN Chinese Language Day (Chinese: 联合国中文日; pinyin: Liánhéguó zhōngwénrì) is observed annually on April 20.[1] The event was established by the UN Department of Public Information[2] in 2010, seeking "to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity as well as to promote equal use of all six of its official working languages throughout the organization". April 20 was chosen as the date "to pay tribute to Cangjie, a mythical figure who is presumed to have invented Chinese characters about 5,000 years ago".[3]
The first Chinese Language Day was celebrated in 2010 on the 12th of November,[4][5] but since 2011 the date has been the 20th of April, roughly corresponding to Guyu in the Chinese calendar.[6] Chinese people celebrate Guyu (which usually begins around April 20) in honour of Cangjie, because of a legend that when Cangjie invented Chinese characters, the deities and ghosts cried and it rained millet; the word "Guyu" literally means "rain of millet".[6]
^"UN launches new initiative to promote multilingualism" (Press release). United Nations. 2010-02-19. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
^"Liánhéguó zhōngwénrì - bèijǐng xìnxī" 联合国中文日 - 背景信息 [United Nations Chinese Language Day - Background Information]. United Nations (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2023-02-09. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
^"UN celebrates Chinese Language Day with art and exhibitions" (Press release). United Nations. 2011-04-20. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
^Jingbo Huang (2010-11-11). "Chinese Language Day celebrated at HQ on Friday, 12 November". deleGATE — iSeek for Member States. Archived from the original on 2012-09-27. Retrieved 2011-07-26.
^"First-ever Chinese Language Day celebrated at UN". Xinhuanet. 2010-11-13. Archived from the original on 2010-11-16. Retrieved 2011-07-26.
^ ab"Chinese Language Day". United Nations. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
and 29 Related for: UN Chinese Language Day information
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