Pure poetry that has China achatter

The 100 contestants of Rendezvous With Chinese Poetry line up on stage. The person with the highest scores stands out and earns the chance to become the challenger. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Rendezvous With Chinese Poetry has distinguished itself from similar TV quiz-type programs in that it has built an intimate connection with its audience and does not restrict itself to pure knowledge.

Commentators on stage usually provide helpful explanations, including less obvious information about poems included in the competition, which gives rise to interesting anecdotes and helps audiences better appreciate the poems, Wen says.

He developed an interest in classic poems when he was in junior middle school, he says, thanks to his Chinese teacher, who then encouraged his students to read extensively and fed them reams of reading material that he hoped would satiate their interest, even as it further fuel it.

However, in recent years, Wen says, his reading has essentially been limited to his work.

Watching Rendezvous With Chinese Poetry helped revive his dormant interest, and he began spending time reading poetry again. As he has read more books of poems or about poetry, his appreciation for the beauty of poetry has grown, he says.

"I believe poetry can help you find balance in life. Today life is so hectic that once in a while it's good to slow down, and poetry can help you do that."

Apart from providing entertainment, and broadening the public's knowledge and appreciation of poetry, Rendezvous With Chinese Poetry has also served as a springboard for discussion relating to how educating people about Chinese language is done and how it can be improved.

Jiang Jian, a teacher of Chinese at a middle school that is connected to Tsinghua University in Beijing, says cultural programs such as Rendezvous With Chinese Poetry have inspired him in his teaching.

During the winter school break he drew on an idea from one segment of the program to work with his students in a class' group chat on WeChat, the popular social app. For example, he asked the students to provide poem lines with certain Chinese characters at certain positions in the line.

"All the students found the gamelike way of learning very interesting and were enthusiastic participants," Jiang says.