2019 High Table Dinner of Diligentia College

The theme of the night is “May your dreams soar up to the high sky, and the world is your oyster”. “May your dreams soar up to the high sky”  derives from a verse《Yu Jia Ao》written by Li Qingzhao. It says: At a height of ninety thousand li, the world is your oyster. “The world is your oyster” comes from Shakespeare’s play, which means the world is your platform to show yourself. All the designs, layout and program arrangements were closely related to this theme. Students Yang Hongyi in 2019 and Peng Yufei in 2017 hosted the dinner. In the beginning, two wonderful dances unveiled the dinner: on the one side, played《Qing Ping Yue》, a light-footed Chinese dance, and on the other side played the classical ballet with modern charms. We are entirely absorbed in the performances, just like our school's inclusive education policy, "combining tradition and modernity, integrating China and the western countries".

Then, Prof. Gu Yang, Associate Vice President and Dean of Diligentia College delivered a welcome speech for the dinner. In Prof. Gu Yang's warm speech, every second of Diligentia College this year flashed back: this summer, Diligentia College sent off the second undergraduate and the third graduate students, and in autumn, it welcomed new members. More and more students from different cultural backgrounds have joined the warm family of Diligentia. In hundreds of college activities, the relationship has grown tighter. Prof. Gu Yang said that the satisfying development of Diligentia College couldn’t be separated from the strong support of the University and the joint efforts of numerous college teachers and students. She sincerely thanked all the people who are concerned about the growth of Diligentia College.

As a special guest, Mr. Zeng Liqing, one of the founders of Tencent and Decent Investment, Member of Board of Directors of Diligentia College, has brought us an impressive keynote speech from the Internet field that he is proficient in and engaged in. You may be unfamiliar with the theory of network effect, but it is an inseparable part of the highly developed daily life of the Internet. Mr. Zeng used specific and objective data for comparison and clearly explains four functions from low to high, including product, logistics, information, and connection. He also showed us the huge differences in market return rates among companies at all levels. Based on the research and thinking of the current situation, and inspired by Newton's law of universal gravitation, Mr. Zeng added the elements of the distance and optimized the limitations that Metcalfe's law in 1972 could not cover. As a result, he proposed the famous Zeng Liqing's law in the field of network market value. Mr. Zeng mentioned the importance of "curiosity" many times in his speech. He said that it was the spirit of exploration and desire to observe more that drove him to pay attention to the defects of the existing model, and then came the outcome of Zeng Liqing's law. He shared three valuable life suggestions to our Diligentia students: 1. Keep an optimistic attitude and curiosity, and never forget to study throughout life. 2. Cultivate the ability of communication and team cooperation, and raise your own reputation. 3. Read "useless"(not closely related to textbooks but meaningful) books and be humorous. In his speech, Mr. Zeng also recommended books and films that he thought were worth watching. He quoted the point of view in " The Singularity is Near”, making a bold prediction for the bottleneck and future of human beings at this stage. He also mentioned a well-known film “Inception”, supposing that the scenes in science fiction films could be realized in terms of technology. "If this day comes, would you like to live in reality or dream?" Such a question provoked us to think. As Mr. Zeng said, the development of modern society is not linear anymore but has "acceleration" in all aspects. The young and energetic city that we are in is like a roc spreading its wings and mounting up high. Tonight, shouldering the expectations of Diligentia College, we listened to our predecessor’s earnest suggestions and dreamt to soar in the vast sky in the future.

In the end, more than 30 members of the "Incomparable Choir ", which was established in June this year by Diligentia College, brought us a song "by the Lake Baikal". The ensemble of piano and accordion was so melodious that the audience was brought into the beautiful scenery of Baikal Lake. Before the meal, a piece of "Meditation" ensemble was refreshing, bringing lingering sound for the high table dinner. Accompanied by beautiful scenery, everyone was drowned in the moment. Some were enjoying the cuisine presented by the waiter. Some were busy talking with people around. This dinner gave us a chance to meet with strangers. And distinct from coyness at the first meeting, the farewell was what we can hardly voice out after the dinner. The smiles on everyone’s face were kept in the photos and would never fade. Four years in university seems to be a long time, but in fact it is extremely transient, like a train that always arrives. The journey of life runs the same way. It's hard to predict the changes in life, so people tend to pursue the "eternal" things: they cherish every meeting with each other and the reunion at this moment. Through the long journey of life, this early winter night, this annual "family feast" for students will keep shining.