Bulletin Vol. 6 No. 1 Sep 1969

There is a Chinese saying: "It takes ten years for a tree to grow up. It takes a hundred years for the fruits of education to ripen." To train and nurture potential leaders of a community is a long- range undertaking which may take up the span of a whole century. Th e celebration of New Asia's 20th Anniversary, in this sense, opens up to a vista of vast promises. For if we take into consideration the pioneering spirit when New Asia College came into being on a side street of Nathan Road, all the difficulties it had encountered and overcome since then and the potential contribution it will continue to make to higher education in Hong Kong, all of us here would agree that the 20th Anniversary is indeed an occasion that deserves commemoration. Three years from now, New Asia College will move to Shatin. Together with Chung Chi College and United College, it will form an integral part of The Chinese University Campus. These three foundation colleges are complementary to one another, working closely together in a university structure without losing their own individualities at the same time. At the Asian Workshop on Higher Education held at The Chinese University last month, New Asia College contributed a position paper: "On the Import of 'the Humanities'", quoting and giving emphasis to the words of an Italian scholar of the Renaissance: "the Unity of Truth" and "the Dignity of Man". When people all over the world are beginning to doubt the spiritual values of our human heritage, it is refreshing to hear the words of "the Dignity of Man" reiterated. The emphasis on humanism is part of New Asia's individuality and is very much in line with the thinking of The Chinese University. What, then, is the essence of humanism? It would be best to cite two concrete illustrations. The Scotch bard, Robert Burns, once wrote: "A man is a man for all that" This line reflects the basic doctrine of Christianity: A l l human beings are equal in the eyes of God. It also represents the central idea of modern individualism: every one is equal to his fellows in his own right. Tao Yuan-Ming, a Chinese poet in the Chin Dynasty, dispatched a servan t to his son and in his letter wrote: "Treat him well. He, too, is a son." Humanism, here , is tainted with the broad humanity and filial piety of the Chinese. Whether Scotch or Chinese, their pathos stems from the same source: Charity and Dignity of Man. Thus, the words of the two poets do not contradict, but rather complement each other. The essence of humanism lies in these two lines: you must respect others as much as you respect yourself. So, today, upon the occasion of celebrating the 20th Anniversary of New Asia College, I would like to borrow the words of these two poets to congratulate New Asia with the sincere expectation that New Asia will continue to uphold its ideals of humanism and to bear the fruits of its long-range effort in the training and nurturing of potential leaders for the community. Lectures, Exhibitions, Performances and Publications A variety of exhibitions was held on New Asia College campus from 27th to 29th September in celebration of the Twentieth Anniversary. The exhibition included a display of rare Chinese books, photographs of the College, the staff's publications and displays sponsored by the Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Sociology and Business Management Departments of the College. Films and slides of special interest were shown in the amphitheatre and various classrooms. In honour of the Twentieth Anniversary, New Asia College published, among others, the following books on 28th September, 1969: 1. Special Bulletin in Celebration of the College's Twentieth Anniversary ( A historical account and general information of New Asia College with photographs and a record of the College Anthem) 2. New Asia Academic Annual (Twenty-one articles on humanities, social and natural sciences) 3. New Asia Journal, Volume I X, No. 1 (Seven articles on literature, history and philosophy, contributed by the academic staff of the Institute of Advanced Chinese Studies and Research) 4. Index to Essays, Lectures and Research Works by the Institute of Advanced Chinese Studies and Research ( An index to more tha n six hundred essays, lectures and research papers of the Institute) 5. Essays on Philosophy (Sixteen essays written by Mr. Hsieh Tso-yu ) To celebrate the Twentieth Anniversary of the College's Founders' Day, the College has launched a series of programmes which will last for three months starting from the end of September. The — 6 —