Newsletter No. 12

CUHK Newsletter 中 — 大 — 通 — 訊 V o l . 1 No. 12 November 1990 The University's 40th Congregation for the conferment of honorary and higher degrees The University's 40th congregation was held at the Sir Run Run Shaw Hall on 11th October. HE the Governor and Chancellor of the University, Sir David Wilson, officiated at the ceremony, which was attended by over 1,000 graduates, parents and guests. Some 90 Council and staff members joined the official procession for the ceremony. This year honorary degrees were conferred to Mr. James Z. M. Kung, Dr. the Hon. Allen Lee Peng-fei, Prof. David Todd and Prof. Chang Kwang- chih. Their citations were written and delivered by Dr. Byron Weng of the Department of Government and Public Administration, The congregation also saw the award of higher degrees to 258 graduates, including three Doctors of Medicine, 10 Doctors of Philosophy, 101 Masters of of Philosophy, 22 Masters of Arts, two Masters of Divinity, 106 Masters of Business Administration, eight Masters of Arts (Education), one Master of Science, four Masters of Social Science, and one Master of Social Work. Outstanding graduates were separately introduced to the Chancellor and Lady Wilson at a tea reception held after the ceremony at the Benjamin Franklin Centre. Heaven and Man are One Prof. Chang Kwang-chih addressed the congregation on behalf of the honorary graduates Prof. Chang Kwang-chih, archaeologist and anthropologist, was conferred the degree of Doctor of Social Science, honoris causa, at the 40th congregation. On the same occasion he gave a talk on the need to reassert and implement the Chinese traditional concept of 'Heaven and Man are One, (天人合一 ) i n the process of China's modernization. He pointed out that Chinese civilization stresses the harmony between Man and Nature while Westerners have always considered the former as the conqueror of the latter. What Western civilization has achieved through technology and trade has to be weighed against the damage it has done to the environment. When China modernizes herself on the Western model, it is essential that she keeps what is good in the traditional and adopt only what is good in the new. To be successful, therefore, China should allow technology and market economy to thrive in a moral context of ‘Heaven and Man are One'. The full text of Prof. Chang's speech will be published in the next issue of the Chinese University Bulletin, 1