Source: SYSU News Center, Department of Philosophy
Written by: Tang Yiquan, Chen Qi
Translated by: Zhang Saijia
Edited by: Wang Dongmei
On November 9, 2013, the inauguration ceremony of Shek Cheong Hall, the Department of Philosophy Building of Sun Yat-sen University, was held on South Campus. With nearly 40 million RMB contributed by Mr. Chau Shek Cheong, an alumnus of Class 1979 in Department of Philosophy of SYSU, member of CPPCC Guangdong Provincial Committee, honorary chairman of Ka Ying Chow Commercial Association Limited, and chairman of Director Board of Changsheng China Property Company Limited, Shek Cheong Hall, the Department of Philosophy Building, was officially put into use. President Xu Ningsheng, Deputy Secretary Li Ping, Deputy Secretary and Vice President Zhu Kongjun, Mr. Chau Shek Cheong, and representatives of teachers, students and alumni of Department of Philosophy, a total of more than 500 people attended the ceremony.
A scene of the inauguration ceremony of Shek Cheong Hall
The university leaders extended sincere thanks to Mr. Chau Shek Cheong, who also expressed his gratitude to Department of Philosophy and expectation for the students in his speech. The distinguished guests unveiled the plaque of Shek Cheong Hall together. After the ceremony, the Alumni Association of Department of Philosophy of Sun Yat-sen University was officially established.
The distinguished guests taking group photo after the ceremony
Shek Cheong Hall is a generous gift for the alma mater given by Mr. Chau Shek Cheong on November 12, 2004, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of Sun Yat-sen University. After the site selection, the foundation laying ceremony of Shek Cheong Hall was held in October, 2007. During the process of construction, Mr. Chau’s company was thrown into a hard situation under the attack of the global financial crisis in 2008. However, he never gave up, “I will bite the bullet because I must do what I have promised.” When being asked whether there was a regretful thought during such a hard time of construction, Mr. Chau answered without hesitation that “I never regretted!” Because of his determination and belief, and with the support form the university leaders, Mr. Chau overcame all the difficulties and survived the financial crisis. Shek Cheong Hall resumed construction in November, 2009 and was completed in December, 2012.
Shek Cheong Hall has eight floors and a total construction area of more than 13, 000 square meters. It claims to be the largest philosophy department building in the world, given the fact that the philosophy departments in China which have their own buildings are few to count. As the first philosophy department building in south China, Shek Cheong Hall is equipped with complete facilities and functions, including offices, classrooms, lecture halls, research rooms, etc. All the professors and associate professors of Department of Philosophy have their own individual offices. Moreover, two key research institutes of humanities and social sciences of Ministry of Education — Institute of Marxist Philosophy and Chinese Modernization and Institute of Logic and Cognition, are located in Shek Cheong Hall. The Reference Room of Chinese Philosophy and Religion, Archive for the Introduction of Western Knowledge, Library of Professor Zhang Xian, and Library of Professor Li Jinquan also provide rich academic resources for teachers and students.
As one of the traditional subjects of humanities and social sciences of Sun Yat-sen University, the Department of Philosophy has a long history and a profound academic accumulation. It gathered outstanding teachers at the beginning of its establishment and brought in a new atmosphere in a lot of areas with prestige spread all over the world. Professor Feng Youlan, renowned philosopher and philosophical historian in China, was the first dean of the Department of Philosophy, whose successors included Fu Sinian, He Sijing, etc. Nowadays, it has a faculty of excellent teachers.
