Cultural Nostalgia by Yiyi Wu

Hong Kong Ming Pao’s monthly magazine published Cultural Nostalgia by Yiyi Wu, a MA student in Centre for Chinese History and Culture (CCHC).

In this issue, the theme of the column “The Seasons of the Academy” is “Nostalgia of Students”

University of Macau

Centre for Chinese History and Culture

Yiyi Wu

In 士與中國文化（Shi and Chinese Culture）, Yu Ying-shih puts it, “The transmission and innovation of culture and thought has been the central task of “Shi” from the beginning to the end.” Confucius represents the archetype of the “Shi” (can be understood as “Scholar”) in Chinese culture, proposing that “Shi should reach the Way”. In the revival of Confucianism in the Song Dynasty, Fan Zhongyan (a Chinese poet, and one of the famous representative of Scholar-officials in ancient China) proposed that the “Shi” should “first worry about the worries of the world and then rejoice in the happiness of the world”, demonstrating the ideal and pride of a “Shi” who could help the common people, which shows that the spiritual outlook of “Shi” has developed with the various stages of Chinese history. Today, the students of the Chinese nation can be described as contemporary “Shi”.

This 5,000 years of history and culture has become an inherent “cultural nostalgia” for contemporary “Shi”, a sense of longing, attachment and admiration for the culture and thought of the Chinese nation. Only by tracing the roots of Chinese culture, exploring the relationship between nature and human civilisation, understanding the changes in human affairs through the ages, and appreciating the glory of the wise and benevolent people in history, can the nostalgia be dispelled gradually.

As a MA student in the Centre for Chinese History and Culture at the University of Macau, this “cultural nostalgia” has driven me to gain a deeper understanding of the historical and cultural ties between Macao and China, and Macao has become a gateway to cultural exchanges between the East and the West due to its geographical location. In the future, I hope to continue to uphold the spirit of “Shi”, to “care about everything at home and in the world”, and to take up the mission of passing on and innovating Chinese culture and thought!