Newsletter No. 49

No.49 December 1993 CUHK Newsletter (1) it is very similar to 'Nan Yang University' (南洋大學） in Singapore and 'Nan Fang Un i v e r s i t y ' (南方大學） i n Guangzhou, and will easily cause confusion; (2) Qin shi Huang di was notorious for burning the Chinese classics; (3) Nan Hai has for a long time been the name of a particular county in Guangdong Province, a county that has absolutely no relevance to the new university. New Territories University (新界大學) This name associates the university far too exclusively with the New Territories. Beacon Hill University Beacon Hill overlooks Hung Mui Kuk ( 紅梅谷）, the site originally proposed for the new university. But its official name in Chinese (筆架山） carries no meaning of 'guidance' or 'inspiration' as its English counterpart does, and is inappropriate as the name of a university. Hin King University (顯徑大學） The name 'Hin King' was derived from the names of two villages — Hin Tin (顯 田） and Sheung King Hou ( 上 徑 口 ）一 both found near the Hung Mui Kuk campus site. Since a better site at Ma Liu Shui was later granted to the University, and since in Mandarin the suggested name is pronounced in the same manner as '險徑' (meaning a dangerous and difficult path), the suggestion had to be dropped. 'Personal' Names Clementi University (金文泰大學） Sir Cecil Clementi, Governor of Hong Kong from 1925 to 1930, was a sinologue known for his concern for educational developments in the territory. However, a well-known secondary school on Hong Kong Island had already been named after him and to use his name again for the University might imply an association between the two. Royal Names The use of the names of leading members of the Royal Family was open to two major objections: (1) There had been no precedent in the Chinese education tradition for a high seat of learning to be so named. (2) Royal names when rendered into Chinese tend to be meaningless, and can be pronounced very differently in different Chinese dialects. Some such pronunciations might depart far from the English original. Names to Reflect Cultural Heritage ， Educational Goals, or Constitution Tung Wen University (同文大學） 'Tung Wen' (同文） refers to the unification of the forms of Chinese characters. This name was not favoured because it did not signify the interflow of cultures and would evoke an undesirable association with Tung Wen Shu Yuan' （同文書院）, a school operated by the Japanese in Shanghai in the early 20th century. Ming Tak University (明德大學） 'MingTak' (明德） means to 'illustrate illustrious virtue' and is taken from the Book of the Great Learning (《大學》）, an important work in the Chinese classics. The same two characters however form part of the motto of the University of Hong Kong (明德格物）, and it would be rather odd to use them as the name of the new university. San Yi University (三一大學） 'San Yi' means 'three in one' — t h r e e (san) constituent colleges in one (yi) university. But to those not familiar with the history of the University, the same words may mean the Holy Trinity or a date that is particularly memorable (like June 4). Chung Wah University (中華大學) The literal meaning of this name is ' the university of China', which is not entirely appropriate for a university established in Hong Kong, a British colony. The Federal Chinese University of Hong (香港聯合中 文大學） or Hong Kong Chinese Federal University (香港華聯 大學） The Chinese Colleges Joint Council (an organization with representatives from the three original colleges) had early on indicated its objection to the inclusion of the word 'federal' in either the Chinese or English name of the new university. They pointed out that other federal-type universities such as London University or the University of Toronto were not saddled with such an appendage in their names. To respect the Joint Council's feelings, the Provisional Council adopted neither of these proposals, noting that the first one was particularly unsuitable, as its Chinese version might imply that the new university was primarily an enlarged United College. What's in Its Name? The Provisional Council's final choice was The Chinese University of Hong Kong', which they believed could best convey the institution's Hong Kong connection and its cultural heritage. The late Dr. Choh-Ming Li, founding vice-chancellor, had this to say about the name of the University in the first Vice-Chancellor's Report: The name of The Chinese University, in Chinese, may mean the use of Chinese as the principal language of instruction. It 5