Dear new students, respected teachers:
Today is a special and wonderful day. We are here to formally hold the 2019 Opening Ceremony of Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School.
As you may know, Shenzhen is a fast-paced city, is a national window for the reform and development, and PKU Shenzhen itself is also changing day by day. Last month, as Chancellor of PKU Shenzhen, I attended the 2019 Commencement Ceremony. It seems as if I have just sent off your senior schoolmates and watched them step into society and launch the next chapter of their life journey. Today, I am very happy to see a crowd of youthful and spirited faces before me once again. Each of you brings new life to our campus. In the next few years, you will become Nanyan’s the most beautiful sight and most inspirational story. Here, on behalf of PKU Shenzhen Graduate School, I would like to extend a warmest welcome to the class of 2019! Welcome!
We have people here from all corners of the world now gathered in the splendid scenery of our campus, which is located beside a river at the foot of a mountain. We inherit the rich cultural spirit of PKU that has accumulated over the 120 years, last year we celebrated 120th. Anniversary, and integrate it with the creative and pioneering atmosphere of Shenzhen. With schools grounded in cross-disciplinary research, you can sense the high level of internationalization. On top of this, we also have a strong belief in expert knowledge and comprehensive, quality-centered talent cultivation. As you receive rigorous academic training, you will at the same time proceed with research oriented towards practical applications and closely combined with multiple disciplines. The youth are the future of the people and the hope of the nation. The life that awaits you as a graduate student is one of the defining decisions of your lifetime, and it will have a significant impact on your future. On this important day, I have pieces of advice for you.
Firstly, I hope you will set up your aim to become down-to-earth and diligent scholars. As our former Chancellor Cai Yuanpei said in 1917, “A university is a place for researching and advancing knowledge of fundamental importance.” He wanted students to "hold on to a purpose and move forward in their studies.” As you enter this period of your lives as graduate students, you are no longer crude beginners in both knowledge accumulation and thinking cultivation. As bachelors, you came to understand what scholarship is and how to conduct scholastic research. As postgraduate student now, it is expected that you will carry out the scholastic endeavor to its ultimate depth. To do it well, you need to embrace perseverance and even loneliness. Our country has continuously devoted to advancing medicine in recent years. Not long ago, the Ministry of Science and Technology released the recent achievements entitled the National Major Scientific and Technological Special Project for “Significant New Drugs Development”, among which there is one called Carrimycin, created based on synthetic biotechnology, a ground-breaking move both in China and globally. Behind this achievement, is Professor Wang Yiguang, a scientist at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. I used to be the vice president of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, so I know this scholar personally very well. She is already 84 years old. She has spent a lifetime studying antibiotics. Starting from the days when she began to conduct basic research in this area, she has worked for 30 years at developing this new medicine. There is a Chinese old saying I think most of you may be familiar with, “You need to sit on a cold bench for 10 years before success.” Which means success requires absolutely firm patience and persistence. However, if you wish to make some achievements which contribute to the nation and the people and benefit for human kind, then you may have to work hard for 30 or even more years. Nevertheless, in this age of information explosion, even one second is long enough to make a remarkable difference in the fierce competition in the business arena. Without the awareness and willingness to sit on the cold bench, you are very likely to become impulsive and blindly-distracted due to influence of this ‘fast food’ culture. Idling away one’s time will only bring shame to the name of Peking University and to this moment of history.
Secondly, I hope you can have a global vision and high aspirations. During your postgraduate study, you are expected to not only acquire the existing knowledge in your own research field, but also undertake cross-discipline and cross-cultural communication. Our Nanyan campus is quite an internationalized one. You can take advantage of this by having dialogues and cooperating with scholars from different disciplines and cultural backgrounds, which may broaden your horizon and facilitate your higher order thinking. But at the same time, I would like to remind you all, that a person’s energy is limited, and your time as a postgraduate student is precious. You will find it hard to accomplish everything if you choose to do many tasks in the short time limit. You’ll have to be far-sighted and set a high and definite goal, and then make persistent efforts to achieve that goal. As our ancient scholar Wang Yangming, I think most of you are familiar with him too, said, “If not for firm aspirations, nothing could be done.” He also remarked, ”From sagely aspirations, comes the sage. From virtuous goals comes the virtuous person.” Every individual has to be inspired so that you can have the opportunity to fulfill your aspiration. What’s more, only by connecting your aspiration with societal progress and human well-being, will you realize a quality life. I hope you all can have high aspirations, stretch your thinking, and bravely put your thoughts into practice. In a few years at your Commencement Ceremony, I hope you could have pleasant and satisfactory reflections on your postgraduate years.
Thirdly, I hope you can be broad-minded and be ready to shoulder important responsibilities. This year marks the 100 year anniversary of the May Fourth Movement. 100 years ago, we had an important event, and 100 years later, this year, at an anniversary event, General Secretary Xi Jinping remarked that in this new era, the Chinese youth are in the best age of China’s development. They are now having the precious opportunity to achieve their life goal and to make contribution to our country, but at the same time, they are also bestowed with the mission of shouldering greater responsibilities. Since the birth of PKU, the development of the University has been closely connected with the fate of the Chinese people. Rejuvenating China is the mission of the youth of China, and it is even more the mission of the youth of PKU. This year, 2019, is a special year. We have witnessed the happening of many critical events, such as the elevation of Sino-US trade frictions, extreme violent actions in Hong Kong, and the unstable international situation. In spite of these events, we can see that China is positioning itself as a major power in the new age, and strongly proclaiming to the world the One Belt, One Road initiative, which is supposed to unite countries and regions with different cultures and ethnic groups together. Also, the construction of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Region is a magnificent endeavor to strengthen cooperation in technology, ecology and etc. with other parts of the world. Enterprises like Huawei are actively involved in the upsurge of national innovation. As a Chinese saying goes, “The conquest of the present difficulty forecasts a brighter future.” As a member of PKU, you should bravely march forward despite difficulties, and shoulder the responsibilities entrusted by our country.
This year also observes the 18th birthday of PKU Shenzhen Graduate School. Nanyan has already grown to an adult. Today, she, like you, is now standing at a new starting point. We are now actively advancing the construction of the international campus of Peking University Shenzhen. In the near future, Nanyan will play an even more important role as a higher education experiment base of PKU. I hope in the new era, in the development blueprint of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Region, we will hear the story of PKU development in Shenzhen. This is the special destiny of all of you who are present here today —it is also our common mission. Let’s work together to build up a bright future for Nanyan.
Finally, I would like to wish everyone here the fulfillment of your dreams. May you have great success in your study and your life. May your aspiration become your wings to help you fly higher and higher.
Once again I would say “Welcome” to every new student of Nanyan! I wish you all will enjoy the life in this campus and in Shenzhen. Thank you!
