Newsletter No. 482

杏林常綠 Green Green Grass of Med 中大醫學院於2013年開始使用的新標誌由兩片杏葉組成,是為杏林注入生命力之意。 據《太平廣記.卷十二.董奉》載,三國吳人董奉隱居廬山,為人治病不收錢,僅要求重病 治癒者,植杏樹五株,輕者一株,數年後得杏樹十餘萬株,蔚然成林。後世遂以杏林象徵醫 學界。 醫學院標誌中一塊杏葉為紫色,與學院的主色一致;另一塊為綠色,比喻學院充滿年輕活 力。另外,紫色杏葉亦內藏玄機,細看之下可見葉紋呈現「中大」二字。 這個標誌的概念源自醫學院院長 陳家亮 教授,再由專業設計師設計。陳教授表示:「兩片 杏葉,除了寓意杏林,更有另一含意。『杏』之諧音為『幸』,希望醫學院上下都能體會,成 功當上醫生這服務大眾的職業,實在是吾生有『幸』,除了感激大學的栽培,更應善用自己 的專業知識,報答社會、造福人群」。 我們通常見到與醫學組織有關的標誌,是一根杖上纏着一條或兩條蛇。原來希臘神話中掌 管治療及藥物的神是Asclepius,他的手杖(Rod of Asclepius,上纏一蛇)便被用來代 表醫術。十九世紀美國不少醫學組織開始用上一個變調的標誌,手杖上纏着兩條蛇,甚至 還有一對翼,稱為Caduceus,這實為另一神祇Hermes的手杖(Hermes為諸神的信差、 旅人的守護神)。中大醫學院的杏葉清新悅目,獨闢蹊徑,頗合中文大學融會中西的旨趣。 The logo of the Faculty of Medicine has been in use since 2013. It consists of two overlapping apricot leaves, bringing a refreshing vivacity to the Faculty’s visual identity. Apricot trees have come to symbolize the medical profession since the Three Kingdoms Period in Chinese history. Legend has it that Dong Feng, a skilled yet reclusive medical practitioner, did not charge his patients any fee for his service but asked them to plant apricot trees in return—five for the seriously ill and one for the less seriously ill. A forest of apricot trees in the thousands sprang up in a few years’ time. One of the leaves in the logo is purple—the Faculty’s signature colour; the other one is green, symbolizing youth and vigour of the Faculty. If one looks closely at the purple leave, one can also find the Chinese characters of CUHK ( 中大 ) masked in the contours of its veins. The idea of the logo came from Prof. Francis Chan , Dean of Medicine. Professor Chan explains: ‘The two apricot leaves have another connotation on top of the medical field. The pronunciation of apricot ( 杏 ) is akin to that of the word “fortunate” ( 幸 ) in Chinese. This is a subtle reminder to all of us at the Faculty that it is a privilege to be able to devote ourselves to the practice of medicine to serve people. Apart from appreciating the opportunity given by the University, we should make use of our expertise to pay back to society for the greater good of the people.’ One often sees a rod entwined with one or two snakes on the visual identities of most medical organizations. The one with one snake is known as the Rod of Asclepius. Asclepius is the God of healing and medicine in Greek mythology. In the 19th century, many medical organizations in the US began to represent themselves with a slightly different image—a rod with two snakes on it. Some variants even have a pair of wings above the rod. This is called the Caduceus, or the Rod of Hermes. (In Greek mythology, Hermes is the messenger of the gods and the protector of travellers). The leave design of the Faculty of Medicine is refreshing and pleasing to the eye, a confident departure from the asklepian or the Caduceus that truly embodies the distinctive tradition of the Chinese University. 紫色杏葉與學院主色一致 葉紋呈現「中大」二字 綠色杏葉代表年輕活力 Purple is the Faculty’s signature colour Chinese characters of CUHK ( 中大 ) are masked in the contours of the leaf veins The colour green symbolizes youth and vigour of the Faculty 07 # 4 8 2 | 0 4 . 0 9 . 2 0 1 6 WORDS Words, lexicons, vocabulary items, howsoever you choose to call them, are the small change you keep in your pocket for you to get on the omnibus of prose writing. It is therefore important that you as a craftsman of drafts know how to use them to get from one place (the inner sanctum of your jumbled thoughts) to another (an understanding or even appreciation by your reader). The first thing is of course to know a nickel from a dime or a ten-dollar bill from a hundred. Confusing the two would inevitably lead to odd, embarrassing and sometimes disastrous consequences. A local star tutor of the English subject once displayed this essay question in her advertisement: Some parents think social networking website (sic) like Facebook is (sic) doing more harm than good on teenagers. To what extend (sic) do you agree? To the extent that extend might be a typo, a parent seeing this should have second thought about entrusting her children’s education to this star tutor. Loss of students is one concern; the reputation of the school is another. No slip is more damaging than this sentence in a letter to prospective students: We are exciting (sic) to welcome you to the many learning opportunities and activities organized on our campus. Words, like people, socialize in different circles. Upon the re-opening of the school premises after a period of renovation, a high school headmistress wrote to the parents: May we express our sincere appreciation…especially to you as parents, for your faith, trust and support in (sic) us in the education of your daughters throughout these past ...months as we make (sic) a better campus for them. The three words faith , trust and support share the same preposition in . But support usually goes to dinner with to or of . It is therefore preferable to revise this part of the headmistress’s thanksgiving to ‘…for your faith and trust in and support to us…’ Even when the choice of a word is correct in terms of its dictionary meaning, putting it in the context of others merits a second glance. An eminent professor wrote in an open letter: (xxx university) is the holy sanctuary of my intellectual birthplace. The meaning is clear, but a little more deliberation is warranted. The two words holy and sanctuary overlap semantically. A sanctuary is already a place used for religious or sacred purposes. Its modifier holy has very little to do and hence is dispensable. Further, a sanctuary conjures a safe, quiet and restful environment, ideal for the weary soul which has dragged itself through the mud of worldly concerns. To say it’s also where one’s intellectual achievement first started may be incongruous, to say the least. In the same open letter, the professor further wrote: …such actions will only bring out the darkest side of human (sic) and open the door for the intrusion by Satan. The phrase ‘…open the door to Satan’ is clear enough. The part ‘for the intrusion by’ adds nothing to it except subtracting the economy and crispness of the expression. Economy is a virtue in English prose writing. One sometimes comes across the following sentence in the notices or advertisements of governmental authorities: Parties which are interested in seeking funding…may visit the website of… If the noun phrase ‘parties interested in’ can do the job, why makes the reader mumble a couple of more syllables? Photo by AVRO (Beeld En Geluid Wiki - Gallerie: Toppop 1973) 如 琢 如 磨 / D raft C raft 中 大 品 牌 誌 / A natomy of a B rand

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