In mid-November, sponsored by Tongji University and Chinese Character Museum, Wen Xianchu organized a lecture of “Origins of Chinese Characters and Chinese traditional culture” in the lecture hall on the second floor of Yifu Building, with the guidance of Publicity Department of Tongji University Party Committee and Tongji University Library. Professor Wan Xianchu's passionate lecture drew attention from the teachers, students, as well as other enthusiasts of Chinese characters, to feel the cultural charm of the Chinese character glyphs.

Mr. Liu Qiang, a professor from the School of Humanities of Tongji University and the lecturer of CCTV’s “Lecture Room”, hosted this lecture.

Professor Wan Xianchu introduced the subject from the question of how to read characters.Then, with a lot of examples, he showed that the original Chinese characters played the role as a tool, which could reflect “Taoism”, the long-standing Chinese culture and the wisdom of our ancestors. Throughout professor Wan's lecture, humanistic care could be easily found.

The audience asked some questions in Q&A session, referring to the difference between “text” and “character” and how to make the philosophy and morals contained in Chinese characters close to our real life. Professor Wan gave incisive answers for us. At the end of the lecture, Liu Qiang, the host, concluded that the text is not only written on the paper, but also in the heart, even on the soul.

Text: Chen Chen
Photography:Zhu Yihan