Speech By Prof. Yangsheng Xu at The Inauguration Ceremony 2019
Governing Board members, students, families, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning! On this day of ceremony and excitement, we welcome our new students of 2019. This year, 1326 undergraduate students and 770 graduate students arrived at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen from all parts of the country and the globe. On behalf of Prof. Rocky Tuan, Chairman of Governing Board, our faculty and CUHK-Shenzhen community, I extend to you a warm welcome and heartfelt congratulations!
Over thirty years ago, a local journal named Shenzhen Youth gave an apt description of this city. ‘Here you meet with firmer handshakes and readier smiles. It is a place where people are valued by their integrity, wisdom, and the power of love. It is where dreams begin.’ Back then, this quote warmed the hearts of thousands of talented young people from across the nation to seek out a new life in Shenzhen, one of modern China’s pioneering regions that embraced the reform and opening-up. Today, I welcome you with these very lines, for we value the same qualities here, integrity, wisdom, and the power of love. It is where you plant your dreams and nurture them to grow. Dear students, again, I welcome you.
This marks the sixth autumn since the establishment of our University. Our fourth and newest school, the School of Life and Health Sciences, is now saluting their very first student cohort. In the meantime, we are making steady progress in the planning and preparation of our School of Medicine and its affiliated hospitals up to the highest possible standards. Phase two campus development is also verging on its completion. Our campus today, friends, as you might be thinking, is very beautiful. Within another two years or so, our campus will be extended and more beautiful. Over the past years, many distinguished scholars have joined our faculty team. They come from all over the world, with the aspiration to make CUHK-Shenzhen a first-rate international university. Within the last eight months, we passed the two comprehensive reviews conducted by the Ministry of Education and another one by the University Grants Committee of Hong Kong, our education quality highly commended by both review teams.
I once summarised the spirit of me and my colleagues: with devoted zeal, we establish a university of lasting eminence and a brand that endures through ages, thus live up to a conscience that withstands eternity. I am proud to say that we have upheld this spirit, and the society has given us full recognition. In the future to come, we shall keep close in mind our mission, to further advance our progress in research and development, to forge ahead in our efforts to bring into being a world-class research university.
Dear students and parents, I want to thank you for choosing CUHK-Shenzhen, for it is your confidence in us that has made our rapid development possible. My special thanks go to our parents here today, as I know how much it takes to raise a child, let alone to such excellence. May I ask you to rise and be recognized? Let’s give them a round of applause. Your trust and support constantly reminds us the enormous responsibility placed on us.
Every year, I say this to our new students: ‘University life opens a new beginning. Go and empty yourself of past learning and achievements. Start all over again.’ It is a privilege to be called a CUHK-Shenzhen student, for a great many candidates, though equally talented in many aspects, do not have the chance to sit where you are today, which is to the great disappointment of them and their families. You have all been through unimaginably intense competition before you earned the identity of CUHK-Shenzhener. Dear students, I therefore hope you will seize the opportunity and make the most of what’s available to you here.
I would like to take this opportunity to make two points, which I hope you may find useful as you navigate your university life.
I encourage you, first of all, to stay open-minded. Go and get to know people, make friends with individuals of different age, subject area, and cultural background. At CUHK-Shenzhen, your friend circles need not be limited to your peers, though they are a vital part. Suppose you make four good friends each year, multiplied by four years, you will not be surprised to have the treasure of ten-odd close friends. They will be of invaluable support in your future endeavours, be it professionally or spiritually. The collegiate system, as is well known, stands as the core cultural tradition of CUHK. It was first initiated with the mission to ‘Reinvent the private academy teaching traditions of Song and Ming Dynasty, draw from European mentorship system, uphold humanistic education aims, and ultimately bring into contact the East and the West.’ Seemingly distantly related, both the private academy teaching traditions of ancient China and the mentorship system in West Europe place an emphasis on creating a mutual-teaching and mutual-learning culture. More than mere impartation of knowledge, this mode of education facilitates free exchange of ideas and experiences, and in the meantime, allows people to shape one another’s character, disposition, and interest. Educating the man comes before imparting the knowledge and skills.
Next, I would like to urge the importance of time management. Becoming a university student means you should from now on treat yourself as an adult and take the responsibilities of your own life. Back in high school, your parents and teachers made every arrangement for you. But from this day onward, you will be the one who makes plans for yourself and sees to the execution of each. At university, no one will be always keeping an eye on you, because the lesson of self-discipline, which is critical to future success, must be learned during your university years, if not already. You may choose to spend time on your phones, browsing the Internet, and playing computer games. The alternative is to manage your time properly, make sound plans, and lead a meaningful life. And of course, it’s your choice to make, and every one must face it. Time management makes a big difference in people’s life, and I believe a huge part of what one can achieve lies in his or her ability to make the most of fragmented time. Studying, however diligently, without thinking and reflecting leads to nowhere, nor does relying on a moment’s whim or mechanically following the advice of others. A sustaining and academically well-performing university life requires good time management, and has room for independent thinking and extracurricular activities.
Today, dear students, you are taking the first critical step of your adulthood journey. But how, in what manner, should you take it? As our ancient sage put it, ‘he whose will falters his wit withers’. I hope you take this step with a strong will, to aspire for excellence, to take responsibilities, and to dream big. You can and must embrace a broader vision and an open mind, and relate personal pursuits to the betterment of our society, country, and the world at large.
The world we live in today is far from a rose garden. With uncertainties and unsettlements in all forms daily arising, how should we respond? What I can be sure of is that future hopes and bright prospects for the human race can only be achieved through the efforts and duties we fulfill today. It’s not always the grand and world-changing deeds that we must attempt. Often, what we can do are small and few. But if we can connect these small deeds of excellence and keep them on, we may one day hope to gain the strength and brilliance equivalent to the that of the sun, giving ourselves warmth, and the world light.
Dear students, as you study and lead your university life here, I hope you will bear this spirit constantly in mind. Although I cannot promise you and your parents a bright future, I can and feel proud to promise our country and our world a wonderful group of young people who are capable of creating a bright future after the four years to come.
Thank you!
