what is it like to study “unpopular and unique knowledge” at nanjing university?
2024-09-12
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"i am one of the first lucky ones admitted to the department of ancient chinese philology at nanjing university under the strong foundation program, and also one of the first batch of master's students to enter the postgraduate stage through the strong foundation program." on september 11, at the opening ceremony of the 2024 graduate students of nanjing university, duan lingchu, a "post-00" boy from anyang, henan, shared his story with the "unpopular and unique subject" of ancient chinese philology.
compared with other students, duan lingchu has an innate affinity for ancient characters. "oracle bones were unearthed in the yinxu in anyang, my hometown. there is also a chinese character museum in anyang. when i was young, i signed up to be a little guide at the chinese character museum." duan lingchu told reporters that he had a strong interest in ancient characters since he was a child. during the college entrance examination, duan lingchu chose the direction of ancient characters in the strong foundation plan without hesitation.
how to learn "unpopular and unique knowledge"? duan lingchu introduced that ancient philology is a field that is both "ancient" and "new". since entering undergraduate school, he and his classmates have systematically received academic training in ancient philology and unearthed documents under the guidance of teachers cheng shaoxuan and wei yihui. "from shuowen xiaozhuan to bamboo slips and silk manuscripts of the warring states period, bronze inscriptions of the shang and zhou dynasties, and the most intimate oracle bone inscriptions, systematic professional learning has enabled me to have a deeper understanding and exploration of this "unpopular and unique knowledge", and has also strengthened my ideal pursuit of devoting myself to the study of ancient philology and exploring the long-standing excellent traditional chinese culture."
in order to increase students' interest in ancient characters, students also visited mawangdui museum of bamboo slips in changsha, hunan, hunan provincial museum and many other places. during the transition period between undergraduate and master's degree, duan lingchu also joined the "nanjing university museum oracle bone sorting project" guided by professor cheng shaoxuan. "participating in scientific research projects not only enriched my academic experience, but also exercised my practical ability. the most important thing is that it made me feel the hot core of unpopular majors. oracle bone inscriptions are the source of chinese characters and the root of china's excellent traditional culture. being able to personally touch precious cultural relics from my hometown thousands of years ago at nanjing university, this dialogue between ancient and modern times has deeply touched me to this day. this enthusiasm for cultural inheritance is also the cold outside and hot inside of ancient philology." duan lingchu said.
on the day of the ceremony, nanjing university's four campuses in two cities simultaneously welcomed 8,848 new graduate students online and offline. tan zhemin, president of nanjing university and academician of the chinese academy of sciences, said that nanjing university has a "red" soul, a "truthful" pursuit, an "elegant" character, and a "pioneering" drive. it is a pioneer in dedicating itself to the country, a pioneer in scientific fame, a pioneer in cultural inheritance, and a pioneer in reform and opening up. it is also a place for students to embark on a new journey and build dreams for the future. we hope that students will stimulate their sense of innovation, demonstrate their innovative qualities, and enhance their innovative capabilities in nanjing university's high-level disciplinary ecology; broaden their global vision and make friends all over the world in nanjing university's global open education pattern; perceive and warm the society in nanjing university's training system of integrating industry and education, and integrating education and teaching, so as to gain true knowledge through practice and promote growth, and become better versions of themselves.
after the ceremony, tan tianniu, secretary of the party committee of nanjing university and academician of the chinese academy of sciences, gave a lecture entitled "carrying forward the spirit of scientists and striving to become top innovative talents in the new era" to all new graduate students. tan tianniu said that as the main force of scientific and technological innovation, graduate students must "dig deep" and meet higher requirements on the basis of understanding and mastering these issues. as my country develops from an educational "big country" to a "strong country", graduate education has become the main way to cultivate high-level top innovative talents, the basic layout for coping with global talent competition, and an important cornerstone for implementing the innovation-driven development strategy and building an innovative country. taking the development of scientific and technological innovation as the main line, tan tianniu started from five aspects: the review and enlightenment of the world's scientific and technological revolution, the main trends of world scientific and technological development, the development process of science and technology in new china, the responsibility of nanjing university in scientific and technological self-reliance, and the opportunities and missions of the younger generation of nanjing university students. he led the freshmen to deeply understand the contemporary connotation of the spirit of scientists, the glorious tradition and contemporary responsibility of nanjing university for 120 years, and helped the students to truly walk the path of postgraduate study.
yang tianzi, reporter of yangtze evening news/ziniu news
photo by she zhijun
proofread by sheng yuanyuan
