last lesson

Four Hong Kong professors, Chen Jianmin, Chen Zuwei, Xing Fuzeng, and Zhang Canhui, share their 30-year life stories about knowledge, education, life, faith, and love. As an era draws to a close, at the moment of their departure, they write a book for a future reunion...

In different eras, how do teachers teach their "last lesson" before leaving their teaching positions?
How can these fragments of thought penetrate layers of barriers and reunite with readers in the future?
Enclave Publishing curates the "Last Lesson" series; the first work includes lecture records and articles by four Hong Kong professors.

Farewell on the Eve of Trial | Chan Kin-man On November 19, 2018, the trial of the "Occupy Central Nine" began; the following year, Chan Kin-man was sentenced to 16 months in prison. Just five days before the trial, Chan Kin-man delivered his final lecture at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, attended by over 600 people. Having taught at the Department of Sociology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong for many years and been deeply involved in civil rights movements, Chan Kin-man's lecture was a farewell on the eve of his imprisonment, a valuable lesson in how his life impacted others.

The Last Lesson That Never Happened | By Chen Zuwei In 2021, after 30 years of teaching at the Department of Politics and Public Administration at the University of Hong Kong, Chen Zuwei became a visiting scholar at the Center for Humanities and Social Sciences, Central Research Institute, Taiwan, and resigned from HKU at the end of the year. Unable to properly bid farewell to his classmates on campus, he penned "The Last Lesson That Never Happened" as a written farewell from his time in a foreign land.

"I'm on a Lonely Road Again" | Xing Fuzeng In November 2023, Professor Xing Fuzeng, former Dean of the School of Divinity at Chung Chi College, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, delivered a retirement lecture in the university's lecture hall, attended by over 400 attendees. Xing Fuzeng's lecture explored the historical writing between the past and the present, accompanying everyone in their search for steadfastness in this great era. At the end of his lecture, he sang "Who Understands the Wanderer's Heart," a song written by Pan Yuanliang for Wang Jie: "I've heard that anything too idealistic is untouchable / I'm on a lonely road again / There, there will be happiness, happiness..."

Farewell in Front of the Camera in the Age of Pandemic | Zhang Canhui In May 2022, Hong Kong had just experienced its fifth wave of the pandemic. Simultaneously, Zhang Canhui, a long-time professor in the Department of Philosophy at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, gave his final online lecture before his retirement, discussing the philosophy of death and aging. "As life continues to progress, it also cycles internally, engaging in repetitive self-reflection. Therefore, both teaching and learning themselves, as well as the issues discussed above, remain timeless."

｜Golden Quotes｜

"The road is long and bleak, the streetlights flickering. The night is long, where can I find guidance? In the pitch darkness, I guess I can only look at the stars." - Chen Jianmin
"I hope that university authorities will uphold the principles of 'independent spirit, free thought' (Chen Yinke) and 'inclusiveness' (Cai Yuanpei) in running schools. Otherwise, faculty, students, and administrators will not feel a sense of belonging to the university, and the university will not be able to continue to be a feast for the eyes. In today's difficult environment, holding on to such hopes is likely to bring deeper disappointment. But I firmly believe that only by adhering to this spirit can the university demonstrate its integrity and value, and only then will the scene of 'a new generation surpassing the old' appear." - Chen Zuwei
"When we enter this great era and have to make choices within it, we feel all kinds of struggles and tensions. We are all in the present of history, unable to predict the outcome when participating in it, and truly experiencing the unbearable weights and heavinesses of life." - Xing Fuzeng
"I've been teaching for decades, and even now I still look back and discuss issues like death, aging, and the meaning of life. This is a reflection of both Confucius and Eliot. As life continues to progress, it also cycles internally, engaging in repeated self-reflection. Therefore, whether it's teaching and learning itself, or the past and the various issues discussed above, they are all timeless." - Zhang Canhui
Features of this book
Chen Jianmin, Chen Zuwei, Xing Fuzeng, Zhang Canhui
Thirty-year life confessions from four Hong Kong professors:
Farewell is for reunion, memory is hope, cultivating until the future

Amidst the turbulent times, they left their teaching positions, yet they left behind testimonies. This book contains a complete record of over a hundred farewell speeches, as well as "final lessons that never happened," penned by those who left in a hurry. Times may retreat, trends may collapse, and history may repeat itself, but one lesson will remain forever fresh in our hearts.

Back-to-school gifts. Touching recommendations
Wang Fan-sen (Academician of the Academia Sinica)
Wu Lai-yi (barrister, former member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council)
Li Xueli (Chief Operating Officer of The Reporter)
Lin Xiuxing (Associate Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, National Yangming University)
Zhou Baosong (Associate Professor, Department of Politics and Administration, The Chinese University of Hong Kong)
Chen Hui (writer)
Ma Shifang (writer, host)
Ye Hao (Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, National Chengchi University)
Yan Zeya (writer and publisher)

2024-09-27

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