Former Taiwan culture minister Lung Ying-tai moderates discussion on cultural values in the Chinese world
OLIVER.CHOU@SCMP.COM
PUBLISHED : Friday, 08 January, 2016, 5:52pm
UPDATED : Friday, 08 January, 2016, 6:35pm
Former Taiwan culture minister Lung Ying-tai (centre) attends the HKU discussion. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
Eminent writers and poets from Hong Kong and Taiwan have offered a timely reminder of cultural values in the midst of the current “disarray”.
Dubbed “The Inspired Island II”, the star-studded occasion was an event to launch a literary and film festival profiling each of the seven featured literary celebrities – three from Hong Kong and four from Taiwan.
READ MORE: Cherish Hong Kong during a trying time, advises Taiwan’s former cultural minister
“The significance of this occasion is far more than the launch of documentary films, but one that pays tribute to our venerable masters,” said Lung Ying-tai, a prolific writer and former Taiwan culture minister, to a full-house audience in the university’s Grand Hall yesterday.
Lung, who has returned for a new three-year term as Hung Leung Hau Ling Distinguished Fellow in Humanities at HKU, where she stayed from 2004-2012, paid homage to a league of legendary literary figures on their lives and works.
The talk was preceded by a short film that encapsulated all seven literary figures, including the late Yesi, the Hong Kong poet par excellence who passed away in 2013. His narrative, “if a city has no literature, it will have no identity and the ability to converse with others on equal ground” prompted deep thought from the audience.
“I hope his literary work and commentaries offer inspiration to society in disarray,” said Yesi’s wife, who was in the audience.
Liu Yichang, the 98-year-old guru whose scripts were turned into blockbuster movies such as Wong Kar-wai’s 2046, was present to advise young writers “to be innovative and produce literary works of their own”.
READ MORE: Lung Ying-tai thrills HKU audience with talk
Lung added that Liu, who left Shanghai for Hong Kong in 1948, made his debut as a writer in a 1,000-word article for HK$10, which was then the equivalent of 30 bowls of wonton noodles.
In a dialogue with her three senior Taiwan colleagues on stage, Lung challenged them with simple but thought-provoking issues.
On his role in preserving Chinese culture, Pai Hsien-yung, a refined writer and expert on Kunqu opera, was optimistic about a renaissance if traditional culture could be revitalised.
“I think cultural DNA was in play when I lectured on Kunqu across the mainland when thousands of students came to listen,” the 78-year old said.
Poet Lo Fu, 87, was not worried about the legacy of Chinese culture.
“Wherever Lo Fu goes, there is Chinese culture,” he said, drawing warm applause.
Lin Wen-yue, a prolific writer and translator, said beauty would be the moment when she cuddled her child on her lap while marking students’ papers during winter months.
The loudest cheers of the night came from Pai’s comments on the key to Chinese culture. “Language is a great rallying force and I hope the original Chinese characters, practised in Taiwan and Hong Kong, will live on forever.”
Lung concluded: “Regardless of the political disarray or uncertain future, there is one thing we must hold on to, and that is our culture, which is our passport to the world.”
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1899123/we-must-protect-our-culture-amid-current-disarray
