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Chinese Language Introduced in Saudi Schools

Students greeted Chinese language instructors with flowers and traditional Saudi hospitality, using Chinese phrases they had learned recently(X)
Students greeted Chinese language instructors with flowers and traditional Saudi hospitality, using Chinese phrases they had learned recently(X)
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Chinese Language Introduced in Saudi Schools

Students greeted Chinese language instructors with flowers and traditional Saudi hospitality, using Chinese phrases they had learned recently(X)
Students greeted Chinese language instructors with flowers and traditional Saudi hospitality, using Chinese phrases they had learned recently(X)

Schools across six Saudi educational regions—Riyadh, Yanbu, the Eastern Province, Jeddah, Jazan, and Tabuk—welcomed teachers from the People's Republic of China as part of the national project to introduce Chinese language instruction. This initiative aims to enrich students' linguistic and cultural diversity.

Starting this academic year, students will receive mandatory Chinese language lessons. However, grades in this subject will not impact students’ cumulative GPA, allowing them to learn the language without the pressure of traditional academic evaluation.

Chinese language lessons will be introduced to 57 schools in Riyadh, 41 in Jeddah, 25 in Jazan, and five in Khobar.

Maryam Al-Sari, principal of the Second Intermediate School in Sabya—one of the schools approved for Chinese language instruction in the Jazan Education Department—shared that the Chinese teacher began her duties on Monday.

To celebrate her arrival, the school staff organized a welcoming ceremony reflecting Saudi hospitality and culture.

Students greeted the teacher with flowers and traditional Saudi hospitality, using Chinese phrases they had learned recently. The day featured a unique blend of Saudi and Chinese educational experiences.

“From the start, we aimed to create a common ground between the students, school staff, and the Chinese teacher by forming a support team that includes an English teacher,” Al-Sari told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“We also educated the students on the importance of Saudi-China relations, which is a key goal of Vision 2030, and emphasized their role in showcasing Saudi cultural values."

One of the Chinese teachers joining schools in Jazan, was greeted with flowers, traditional Saudi coffee, and warm hospitality.

“I was thrilled to be welcomed by the students and the school staff. The reception was very warm and heartfelt, and I am grateful for the kindness I’ve experienced,” the teacher told Asharq Al-Awsat.

When asked about how Chinese teachers are chosen, the teacher revealed that they must first pass an exam, obtain a Chinese teaching certificate, and complete training abroad.

The Saudi Ministry of Education’s goal in bringing Chinese teachers to Saudi schools is to improve education through diverse teaching methods and cultural exchange.

This initiative aims to enhance students’ skills, promote better understanding between different cultures, and raise the overall quality of education.

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Culture

Picasso on a Plate: Unseen Ceramics Up for Auction

Artworks by Pablo Picasso are pictured during the media preview of 'Picasso for Asia: A Conversation' at M+ in Hong Kong. May JAMES / AFP
Artworks by Pablo Picasso are pictured during the media preview of 'Picasso for Asia: A Conversation' at M+ in Hong Kong. May JAMES / AFP
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Picasso on a Plate: Unseen Ceramics Up for Auction

Artworks by Pablo Picasso are pictured during the media preview of 'Picasso for Asia: A Conversation' at M+ in Hong Kong. May JAMES / AFP
Artworks by Pablo Picasso are pictured during the media preview of 'Picasso for Asia: A Conversation' at M+ in Hong Kong. May JAMES / AFP

A clutch of one-off and hitherto unseen ceramic plates and dishes by Pablo Picasso are going under the hammer in Geneva on June 19.

Emblematic motifs from Picasso's artistic universe -- pigeons, fish, a goat, a bull, and a bird adorn the colorful plates and dishes, AFP said.

"It's a truly exceptional collection. The plates and dishes we have here are real Picasso works," Bernard Piguet, director of the Piguet auction house in Geneva, told AFP.

"These unique pieces belonged to Picasso's estate, and in the early 1980s, his heirs gave them to one of their friends," he said.

The close friend, a French art lover whose name has not been revealed, kept them until his death. His heirs have decided to put the ceramics up for sale.

Made between 1947 and 1963 in the Madoura workshop in Vallauris on the southeast French coast, the ceramic artworks are being exhibited to the general public for the first time ahead of Thursday's auction.

'Reasonable' prices

The seven pieces are being sold in separate lots.

Two large platters decorated with pigeons are both expected to fetch between 30,000 and 50,000 Swiss francs ($37,000-$61,500).

A third plate depicting three blue, pink, and brick-colored fish on a white background, resembling a child's drawing, is estimated at 20,000 to 30,000 francs.

A thin brick, titled "Head of a Bearded Man", and painted with ceramic pastels in yellow, white, garnet, brown, blue orange and green, has the same estimate.

Glazed on a painted background in shades of grey, brown, and black, a terracotta plate depicting a goat's head bears the prestigious stamp "Original Picasso print" on the back. It is valued at 20,000-30,000 francs.

The two others feature a bull on a hexagonal terracotta tile (15,000-20,000 francs), and a stylized bird on a plate painted in black and white (15,000-25,000 francs).

"It's a lot," Piguet said of the price. "But don't forget that these are works of art in their own right and unique pieces" without replicas.

"If you step back from Picasso's work and his drawings, which are becoming practically unaffordable today, you have here original works by Picasso that command a reasonable estimate."

New outlet

Picasso was one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. The prolific Spanish painter died in 1973, aged 91.

He created thousands of plates, platters, vases, pitchers, and other earthenware utensils in the Madoura ceramics studio, run by the pottery couple Georges and Suzanne Ramie.

After World War II, "Picasso was already an internationally-renowned artist," said Adeline Bisch Balerna, head of paintings and sculptures at Piguet.

"He had already opened up a huge number of avenues for all artists; the great, well-known works had been created, and he was seeking new means of expression for his art."

Picasso would visit the Madoura studio, meet Georges Ranie, and be "captivated by all the possibilities offered" by this new artistic outlet, she explained.

Piguet is also auctioning two Picasso works "never before seen on the art market", from the same family friend's collection: "Serenade" (1919), an Indian ink and watercolor painting estimated at 20,000-30,000 francs, and the pencil drawing "Famille balzacienne" (1962), valued at 80,000-120,000 francs.

Unseen Klein

Meanwhile the contemporary art in Thursday's sale includes one of French artist Yves Klein's first blue monochromes, in what is its first appearance on the art market, according to Piguet auction house.

From 1959, "Monochrome bleu sans titre (IKB 328)", estimated at 100,000-150,000 francs, is painted in International Klein Blue, the deep blue hue developed by the artist himself.

"In daylight, it really has this luminous blue, this completely fascinating Klein blue. And when you put it indoors, you see it as a dark blue, almost midnight blue," said Bernard Piguet.

Klein died in 1962 aged 34, following a series of heart attacks.

The work comes from the collection of the Swiss artist couple Muriel and Gerald Minkoff, who liked to exchange their works with their contemporaries.

It was discovered by their successors in their Geneva apartment, according to Piguet.