enad.tsinghua.edu.cn , April 20, 2021
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The 110th anniversary's special five-forum "On the University" series organized by Tsinghua University concluded on April 16, with speakers exchanging ideas on the theme "Thoughts" in the last forum.
Tsinghua University President Qiu Yong attended the closing ceremony of the series and delivered his concluding remarks.
President Qiu thanked all the speakers, guests, participants, and organizers for making the anniversary-special series successful.
"Universities must remain open, universities must pursue innovation, universities should fulfill their responsibility for philanthropy, universities should practice the concept of sustainable development, and universities should play the role of a source of ideas so that we can hold up a blue sky or a brighter future for humanity," he said as he reviewed the series, which explored the importance of openness, innovation, philanthropy, sustainable development, and thoughts in the five forums held both on spot and online.
With one week to go until Tsinghua's 110th anniversary on April 25th, President Qiu said the "On the University" Series demonstrated a heart-warming and pragmatic anniversary celebration with a spirit of sharing, committed to the anniversary theme "Strive for Excellence, Innovate for the Future."
He said Tsinghua will hold the Global Forum of University Presidents 2021 from April 19 to 24 as part of the anniversary celebration. More than 110 universities' leaders will explore emerging aspirations for global higher education and support greater levels of collaboration among universities worldwide.
"In the past two years, we held a pragmatic attitude, conducted an in-depth analysis of existing problems in all aspects of the University. So a confident Tsinghua will better solve problems, and try to reach new heights of development," President Qiu said. "And we will work together with our counterparts in higher education across the world to share experiences with one another and explore a better future for university development."
The fifth and the last forum of the "On the University" series was attended by Xiang Botao, the Vice Chairperson of Tsinghua University Council and Tsinghua Vice President Peng Gang.
Seven Tsinghua experts from humanities, sociology, law, economics, arts, global policies, and humanities delivered their speeches on the theme of "Thoughts."
Huang Dekuan, Chair Professor of Humanities and Director of the Research and Conservation Center for Unearthed Texts, described the history and content of the Tsinghua bamboo slips, each of which records the thoughts of ancient predecessors and contains valuable academic resources. He was part of Tsinghua's team that preserved and studied the "Tsinghua bamboo slips". The team has published 10 volumes of Tsinghua University Warring States Bamboo Manuscripts, while 44 texts of the volumes have been selected for the National Catalogue of Precious Ancient Texts.
Wang Hui, Distinguished Professor of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences from the School of Humanities, pointed out that the 20th century China, whether revolutionary or reformist, sought to change the hegemonic, imperial world order, exploring a community with a shared future for mankind. According to him, the concept of "century" is not only a chronological term, but also a cognitive model of historical situations.
For another distinguished Professor of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences from the School of Social Sciences, in Li Qiang's eyes, China was experiencing the greatest process of industrialization and urbanization the world had ever seen. To provide a better experimental scenario for scholars and observers, Tsinghua launched the New Qinghe Experiment in 2008 to improve community life in an area next to the Tsinghua campus, improving people's livelihood, property management, and community intervention.
Professor Zhou Guangquan from the School of Law, who also serves as the Vice Chairman of the Constitution and Law Committee of the National People's Congress, shared his experiences in the making of China's Civil Code, revealed concerns and considerations of legslator about the law's relationship the people, with examples like why the Code does not cover tort liability of Autonomous Driving Vehicles. Professor Zhou encouraged lawmakers and enforcers to listen to the voice of the people in order to build the rule of law in China.
Lu Xiaobo, Dean and Professor of the Academy of Arts & Design, began his speech with the question of "What is design?" He believed that, in the new era, design must find harmony between nature and artificiality, and meet the people's needs. Design, for him, is not only an art, but also reflects social concerns.
David Daokui Li, the Mansfield Freeman Chair Professor of Economics in the School of Social Sciences, shared his efforts in developing a theory called "Government and Market Economics" to theorize China's economic development in the past 40 years, which he calls "the miracle of human economic history".
Professor Li, who is also Director of the Academy Center for the Chinese Economic Practice and Thinking, said in order to keep up the development, there must be new economic thinking to theorize it.
Professor Jiang Xiaojuan, Dean and Professor from the School of Public Policy and Management, acknowledged that digital technology has led to grave social problems. She encouraged intergovernmental officials to advance cooperation in the area of digital technology, and stressed that the humanities should play an important role in promoting technology for the social good.
The forum was broadcast live on Tsinghua's multiple social media platforms.