October 14, 2011, Confucius classroom Munich held the 60th culture salon. The theme was “The Ancient Chinese Thought and the Traditional Architectural Culture ", which was presented by Dr. LI Min from Beijing Foreign Studies University. She studied under Professor ZHONG Jingwen, the well-known folk literary scholar, the famous folklorist and educator. Dr. LI Min is engaged in Chinese as foreign language teaching cultural teaching and research of traditional Chinese culture. She has a deep knowledge in Chinese folklore research.

Munich, known as " the Architectural Museum of Europe", has cultivated the local people’s interests in architecture and its basic skills. The topic of this salon attracted a large number of audience. Up to 80 people packed the auditorium, and some of the listeners had to stand at the back of it.

The performance group of Confucius classroom Munich was the only non-European performance team invited to this event. When we just arrived, the performance group was warmly welcomed by the audience. The actors and actresses dressed in brilliant national costumes which were very beautiful and eye-catching in the Folk Museum Village. Many visitors took out of the cameras and posed for pictures with the actors and actresses.

Professor LI started the lecture in the way of questioning. She first asked the audience what the biggest differences between the European architecture and Chinese architecture. The well-prepared audience answered it accurately. They said the biggest differences were the wooden frame and the roof. Then, Professor LI explained how the traditional Chinese architecture represented the traditional thinking from the four aspects, the traditional idea of Yin and Yang, the Confucianism, the Taoism and the religious thought. She deliberately let the audience understand the traditional Chinese thinking through the architecture. In the lecture, Professor LI not only talked about the traditional Chinese architecture, but also the representative architecture of modern China. So the audience understood the linkages between the ancient China and the modern China.

Her simple-termed and illustrated talk led the audience to the ancient and modern China. In nearly an hour's lecture, the audience listened enthusiastically and nodded from time to time. When the lecture ended, the audience was interested to ask questions and they were reluctant to leave.

The lecture not only publicized the Chinese culture, but also made the audience understand the traditional Chinese thinking further from a unique perspective. Professor LI said her aim was to let the audience recognize that Chinese culture was a unique culture with long history, and Chinese people had their own way of understanding things. From the response of the audience, the lecture reached its goal, so that the audience had new understanding of the Chinese culture with their appreciative mood.