“粒太小了，两颗球......” =O
“新加坡的奶奶都是这样的吗？和孙女像朋友一样......思想新潮、开放？”=)
I love the view from my window…
In the evening...
It would have been a very different look in winter. Pity I was too busy to notice…and time passed me by. I have never seen autumn, and I will not be able to see autumn from this window…
With departure so near, I finally headed to PKU Museum this afternoon with mama and Jian Kang. The latter proved himself a knowledgeable curator once again in the 2-hour visit. Yes…two hours!
Basically, PKU’s history began in the late 19th century till today. It walks hand in hand with Modern Chinese History…
PKU has its origins in 京师学堂, proposed by 梁启超 in the Qing Dynasty. The school was then situated near Tiananmen. In 1911, 辛亥革命 caused the school to close temporarily, and it was reopened in 1912 with its present name 北京大学. I can’t remember the first principal’s name, but a revolutionary leader was 蔡元培, whose motto was 兼容并包 – allowing debate and free-flow of ideas. In 1919 of course, PKU students were involved in the May 4th incident at Tiananmen. During the Japanese invasion, 北大、清华 and 南开 merged to form 西南综合大学. In 1952, 文科 and 理科 were shifted to 北大 while 清华 focused on 工科. If I’m not wrong, 文科 refers to the humanities and social sciences, 理科 is the hard sciences, while 工科 is more technical, engineering-based. 1989, June 4th, Tiananmen incident again…involving PKU students.
During and after the visit, what struck me was the change in the attitudes of PKU’s students, and especially, their fighting spirit. I wondered if the June 4th incident marked the decline in “student activists”, and of course, the role the party plays in all these…
On a lighter note, I asked Jian Kang how attached he is to the school. How exactly does it feel to belong to a school whose former educators have accomplished great things and made significant contributions to history? At the end of it, what’s it like from a foreigner’s perspective? Even if I personally recognise that my roots are in China, Singapore has a different modern history to tell…how does it all feel…
Wished we had more time to talk… Once I’m interested and start thinking, questions keep coming…
In the evening at Wei Ming Lake, 3 of us met for a devotion on Psalm 23.
The girls depart for their hometown next Friday, so this was actually our final meeting. In the beginning, it appeared to be mere coincidence that Lisa and I both went to the wrong venue for our class. Looking back, God had our meeting well planned.
A rewarding session.
I cannot thank You enough, Lord Jesus Christ.
gRacE =)
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