Academic Lecture: Professor Wen Yongning Guides CityU Students in the Appreciation of Classical Chinese Poetry
On November 21, the academic lecture "Literature History and Classical Chinese Poetry Reading" jointly organized by CityU Library and the General Education Department of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences was held at the Ho Yin Convention Centre. The lecture invited Professor Wen Yongning, Deputy Dean of the College of Humanities of Shenzhen University, to give lectures on the reading of classical Chinese poetry to enrich the students' knowledge reserves.
Professor Wen Yongning is profound in his knowledge and accomplished in literature, history and philosophy. He is also the vice president of the China Zhouyi Academy, the director of the Chinese Confucian Academy and an academic member of the Yi Jing Association. Prof. Wen presented his monograph Manuscripts on the Study of Tai Xuan and I Ching to CityU. The University Librarian Ms. Shi Li Mei accepted the gift and presented him in return the Macao Cultural Signatures Photo Album: Search for Breadth and Depth in Cultural Heritage List edited by CityU.
In the lecture, Prof. Wen first led the students to explore the bibliography of classical Chinese poetry. Taking Li Bai's well-known On A Quiet Night as an example, he said that the version of the poem in the Song Dynasty was "I saw the moonlight before my couch, And wondered if it were not the frost on the ground. I raised my head and looked out on the mountain noon, I bowed my head and though of my far-off home (translation by TR. S. Obata). It was only changed the current version that we are familiar with after the Ming Dynasty. Professor Wen said that to study classical Chinese poetry, students must be aware of the bibliography, ask more questions, conduct more researches and carry out more studies. It should be avoided by all means to simply follow others' ideas. At the same time, the study of classical Chinese poetry also requires knowledge of literature and history, combining with the culture, technology, system and political environment of the times, in order to explore the true meaning of the poems. It is necessary to "know the classics", "understand the system", "learn the literary quotations", master the "folk knowledge", and "learn the names of birds, animals, fish and insects" to better appreciate the classical poems. In addition, reading classical poems also requires the knowledge of religion and philosophy in order to interpret the author's thoughts. In the poem A Spring Day by Zhu Xi: "I seek for spring by riverside on a fine day, O what refreshing sight does the boundless view bring? I find the face of vernal wind in easy way: Myriads of reds and violets reveal only spring" (translation by Xu Yuanchong and Xu Ming), it looks like Zhu Xi was depicting the scenery, but in fact he was using the spring scenery to describe the spirit of learning. For example, "sishui" (a place in Shandong) in the poem was used to refer to the ten scholars of Confucianism. Therefore, A Spring Day was really about the spirit of learning through the depiction of scenery. Therefore, reading classical Chinese poetry requires a certain knowledge in bibliography, literature and history, and even religious and philosophical to understand the deep meaning of the poems.
In this lecture, Professor Wen widely cited references, and guided students to appreciate the beautiful classical Chinese poetry and literary while learning the methods of reading and appreciating the poems with his profound knowledge of literature, history and philosophy. Prof Wen's interpretation was full of wit and humor, and students still yearned for more at the end of the two-hour lecture. It is hoped that through the activity, students will be encouraged to read more and think more, and explore the resources of the library to enhance their understanding of classical Chinese poetry and self-cultivation.
