University Concept and Humanistic Spirit - Tsinghua University Humanistic Lectures - (First Series)

Author: Hu Xianzhang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-10-01
Features: What is the Chinese characteristic? I say: leaning on five thousand years and adhering to the "Three Orientations." If we do not lean on five thousand years, not to mention five thousand years, even if we lose the history of the past hundred years when the Chinese people fought bravely, sacrificed blood and lives, as well as the culture that has been formed from this, we would be forgetting our roots, and such a nation would lose its soul and self-destruct. A professor once jokingly told me, "You, as an academician, say that losing Chinese culture makes one a 'banana.' I don't quite agree. What is a banana? Yellow outside, white inside. The people you refer to understand Western culture? They don't understand it at all! Without a 'white heart,' it's not a 'banana!' They are hollow 'bananas.' Therefore, losing one's culture is like losing one's identity. A nation is primarily a cultural concept. Last year, on November 16, 2004, an article titled 'High Alert of the Breakdown of Chinese Culture' was published on page 4 of Science Times. It was very good. Chinese characteristics must also adhere to the "Three Orientations": oriented toward modernization, the world, and the future. Oriented toward modernization, we must face reality; oriented toward the world, we must expand our horizons; oriented toward the future, we must extend our time. If you do not face reality or extend in time and space, you cannot keep pace with the times. If you do not learn from advanced culture, you will fall behind. If we do not adhere to the "Three Orientations," we will lack forward momentum and will inevitably be by the times, repeating the tragedy of isolationism. Many of our universities today want to internationalize, and I do not oppose that, but what is a first-class university? Mr. Tu Youguang of our university said it very correctly: it is a University of China, not a University in China, with "of" not "in." If a first-class university in China is Harvard, MIT, Cambridge, or Oxford, it is "in" not "of," then we would have completely failed in running a first-class university! Our universities must first cultivate "Chinese" students: students who can serve China, and "great" students who can innovate. Simply put, they must be patriotic and innovative. By adhering to the "Three Orientations," we aim to absorb all advanced cultures, enabling Chinese national culture to keep pace with the times and play its due role in the world. Leaning on five thousand years and adhering to the "Three Orientations," in the end, is to embody the important thought of the "Three Represents." Therefore, we must highly value culture. Science and technology are productive forces, while humanities culture is the guiding light, compass, driving force, and living source of productive forces. Therefore, we should highly value the culture of the Chinese nation, highly value modern science and technology, and adhere to the scientific outlook on development. I strongly agree with what was said in a teaching achievement project application from Tsinghua University: Without cultural consciousness, there is no cultural self-esteem; without cultural self-esteem, there is no national self-esteem; without national self-esteem, there is no national self-reliance. Therefore, cultural consciousness is very important. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of Einstein's theory of special relativity. I would like to quote two passages from Einstein to conclude my report, also in memory of this great man who was deeply connected with the Chinese people. The passages are: "A person who lives should ask themselves, 'How should we live?'