Newsletter No. 378

2 No. 378, 19.5.2011 青 年慈善家鄭承峰先生是中大校友，他慷慨捐助港 幣一千萬元，供中大發展「通識教育基礎課程」。 為答謝鄭先生的厚愛和支持，中大特將通識教育研究中心 命名為「鄭承峰通識教育研究中心」，並在3月25日揭幕。 經濟餘裕的商人，本着取諸社會、用諸社會的理念捐助大 學建大樓、設獎學金或教授席很常見，但捐款專門推動通 識教育，則大抵是出於另類獨特信念的驅使。鄭先生解釋： 「從近日很多天災人禍中，立時見到的是人文教育與人文 質素在面對逆境時所彰顯的力量；專才固然重要，但社會 只有專才其實不夠理想，專才同時要有通才的視野，才能 全面發揮個人能力。通識教育是一把百合鑰匙，可以打開 各種知識的寶庫。」因此他慨捐巨款加以推動。 鄭先生本人就是一位通才。他曾就讀聖神修院、羅馬傳信 大學，2007年取得中大哲學文學碩士學位。唸哲學的時 候，很多人告訴他唸這科目是找不到工作的，他的回答是： 「哲學是一種為『人』而唸的學問，以『人』為目的，而非以 『人』作工具作手段。」他還提到自己從「社會大學」所受 的教育，就是對社會文化、新聞、時代轉變、政制的了解及 關注，再加上時刻評估自我價值，問一下：「自己可以做甚 麼」，從而自我鞭策，力求長進和提升。 現在他有自己的生意，哲學也引領他去思考「人」的需要， 所以在檢討生意的成果時，除了以利潤為指標外，也會考 慮產品和服務是否為用家的生活帶來方便進步。 除了發展自己的事業外，鄭先生也擔任多項公職，有傳媒 甚至冠以「公職王」稱號。對此他說：「如果『王』是指多 的話，不一定是好事，反之，對公益的熱心、對公益有良心， 才是重要。」他自言小時候家境不好，繳不出學校書簿費， 幸得善心人幫助才解了燃眉之急。後來家庭經濟改善，現 在行有餘力，就希望做點事情回饋社會。 鄭氏家族捐助中大已非首次，鄭承峰先生的父親鄭應炎先 生及兄長鄭承隆博士早於2005年就成立「鄭承隆通識教 育及哲學研究基金」，資助中大的哲學及文化發展，推動 通識教育研究及促進各地通識教育的交流。沈祖堯校長 對鄭氏家族的支持深表感激，他表示：「鄭氏家族的慷慨 捐款是對中大人文傳統及通識教育傳統的肯定。」 對於時下青年人的交流普遍缺乏語言質素，不能也不願 意討論人與人生等深層的問題，鄭承峰先生有點慨嘆。不 過，在他印象中，曾修讀中大通識基礎課程的學生總能流 露出自信，活學活用，也懂得感恩，把握機會。他希望他們 日後多發揮自己，多認識社會，多感受不同的文化，多為 「人」做事或關心有益於「人文」的事。他說：「如果人生 活在世，時時想着以人為本的話，不僅對於自己的事業，對 於社會和世界都會有一定貢獻。」 M r. Baldwin Cheng, an alumnus of CUHK, has made a generous donation of HK$10 million in support of the development of the University’s General Education Foundation Programme. To commemorate Cheng’s contribution, the Research Centre for General Education in CUHK is now renamed the Baldwin Cheng Research Centre for General Education and the opening ceremony of it was held on 25 March. It is not uncommon for rich entrepreneurs to make donations to universities for building teaching complexes, setting up scholarships or professorships. But for a donation earmarked for the promotion of general education, there must be some conviction behind it. Mr. Cheng explained, ‘From the recent natural disasters, we’ve witnessed the power of humanity and the value of humanities education in the face of adversity. Specialized knowledge can be put to good use only when it is married with general knowledge. Without general knowledge, specialists won’t be able to unleash their full potential. General education is a master key that can open many treasure chests of knowledge.’ This is the reason he earmarked his donation for the promotion of general education. Mr. Cheng is a generalist himself. Before gaining his MA in Philosophy from CUHK in 2007, he had been educated at the Holy Spirit Seminary and the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome. When studying at CUHK, he was told by many that philosophy would not help him land a plum job. His reply was: ‘We study philosophy to understand the nature of human existence, instead of using it as an instrument for success.’ He also mentioned the education he had received from society. That refers to the knowledge and curiosity about culture, social affairs, changing times, and politics. Also important is the consistent evaluation of your own value by asking yourself: ‘What can I do?’ This is the driving force of growth. NowMr. Cheng has his own business. With his philosophy training, he always has the needs of humans in mind. So, besides profits, the yardstick he uses to measure the success of his products or services is whether they will make their users’ life better. In addition to his own career, Mr. Cheng is engaged in public service in a number of areas. He was dubbed the ‘king of public service’ by the media. In response to this title, he said, ‘If “king” means a large number, it’s nothing laudable. I believe what really matters is that you have to put your heart and soul to it.’ He said that when he was young, there were times when his family was not doing well financially and was unable to pay his school fees. Fortunately, with the help of some good Samaritans they rode out the difficult times and his family’s financial situation improved later. Now that he is financially competent, he wants to do something to give back. The Cheng family has been a staunch supporter of the University. Under the patronage of Mr. Baldwin Cheng’s father, Mr. Cheng Ying-yim, and his brother, Dr. Edwin Cheng, a research fund on general education and philosophy research was established in 2005 to support CUHK’s philosophy and cultural development. CUHK Vice-Chancellor Prof. Joseph J.Y. Sung expressed his gratitude to Mr. Cheng and his family. He said, ‘The generous donation from the Cheng family is an affirmation of CUHK’s humanistic and general education tradition.’ Mr. Cheng is worried about many young people’s lack of conversation skills. They are unable and unwilling to enter into discussions on deep issues of life. But it is his impression that the students who have completed the General Education Foundation Programme are more confident, resourceful, thankful, and able to seize opportunities. He hopes that they will exploit their potential to the full, know more about society, explore different cultures, make more contributions to humanity, and care about humanities related issues. He said, ‘If a person lives his or her life with a sense of common humanity, he or she will be able to make contributions to society and the world.’ 為學生打 一把百合 鑰匙 ─ 校友捐款推動 通識教育 Handing Students the Master Key: Alumnus Donation to Support General Education