Campus Digest

HKBU co-organises Second International Forum of Chinese Studies

03 Oct 2014

Officiating guests and speakers pose for a photo Officiating guests and speakers pose for a photo
Officiating guests and speakers pose for a photo

 

The 2nd International Forum of Chinese Studies, organised by HKBU and the China Institute of Culture Limited, was held on 26 September on campus. Eighteen sinologists from the United States, Germany, Japan and Korea and experts of Chinese classical learning from the Mainland and Hong Kong spoke on the topic of "Chinese Culture and Hong Kong".

Professor Albert Chan, HKBU President and Vice-Chancellor, said that Hong Kong has a rich history of Chinese culture. He gave the example of Professor Qian Mu who came to Hong Kong in 1949 and founded the New Asia College with the aim of preserving Chinese culture in Hong Kong, as well as Professor Jao Tsung-i, Honorary Permanent Director of the HKBU Jao Tsung-I Academy of Sinology, who pointed out that Chinese culture is experiencing a renaissance in the 21st century. With interest for Sinology flourishing both in China and overseas, Professor Chan hoped that the Forum could facilitate cultural exchange and that Hong Kong could greatly contribute to the development of Chinese culture.

Ms Florence Hui, Under Secretary for Home Affairs of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said that the Forum not only assured Hong Kong of its efforts in promoting Chinese culture but also reminded Hong Kong of its potential as a stronghold of Chinese culture.

Professor Xu Jialu, President of the China Institute of Culture Limited, appealed to the public in his keynote speech to "recycle" lessons of great scholars and philosophers of the past to safeguard society and nation and to strengthen communication with overseas intellectuals in order to better construct universal human values which can be shared with the public and make an impact on government's policy-making.

Guest speakers of the Forum included Professor Tanaka Issei, Honorary Professor of the Institute of Oriental Culture of Tokyo University; Professor Roger Ames from the Department of Philosophy of the University of Hawaii at Manoa; Professor Martin Powers, Professor of Chinese Arts and Cultures at the University of Michigan; Professor Zhang Longxi, Chair Professor from the City University of Hong Kong; and Professor Naoshi Yamawaki from the University of Tokyo. Areas discussed include Confucian classics, Confucianism, Buddhism, traditional Chinese medicine and Hong Kong culture.