The Chinese characters cheng (“Sincerity”) and ming (“Intelligence”) come from Zhongyong (“The Doctrine of the Mean”), which says, “Sincerity is the way of Heaven; behaving with sincerity is the way of men”, and “Intelligence derived from sincerity is nature. Sincerity derived from intelligence is instruction. Given sincerity, there shall be intelligence; given intelligence, there shall be sincerity.” “Sincerity” is concerned with ethics and behaviour, and “Intelligence” is in the realm of knowledge and awareness. “Sincerity” is tantamount to reality and truth, and “Intelligence”, learning and understanding.

The college emblem is an image of Confucius asking Laozi about manners, taken from a painting found in an excavated Han Dynasty tomb. The College motto “Sincerity and Intelligence” is placed in the center of the image. New Asia College stresses the study and promotion of traditional Chinese culture, and China is traditionally the land of good manners. Manners are important to our lives, as they make up the rules maintaining social order and human relations.