Recently, a meeting was held with the Master of LAITONG College (one of the residential colleges), alongside a special lecture by Xu Jun, Distinguished Professor of Liberal Arts, and Director of the Chinese Translation Museum of ZJU. Professor HE Lianzhen, Vice President of Zhejiang University, attended and delivered a speech. Professor FU Qiang, Vice Dean of ZJU, and Professor LI Hanying, Dean of International Campus, attended the meeting, which was hosted by QU Lijuan, Vice Dean of International Campus.
Professor HE Lianzhen said that she accepted the invitation of the campus to be the Master of LAITONG College out of her deep affection for International Campus, and even more out of her recognition of the campus' philosophy of education. During the six years of the growth together with all iZJUers, we have made great efforts and witnessed the campus grow from a “toddler” to a nationally recognized "model student" of international collaborative education. As an important educational platform of the campus, the Residential College has always adhered to the idea of "all for the students" and played an important role in the process of students' growth. Since the establishment of the Campus, more than 4,000 students have lived, learnt and grown up in the residential colleges, and have gone to a broader world stage from here.
The name LAITONG is taken from the last line of the University Anthem, "to rejuvenate our nation and to harmonize the world", which implies that the residential college advocates concepts Liberal, Affable, International, Tolerant, Open, Noble and Generous concepts. It is hoped that LAITONG College will uphold the value of "L A I T O N G", build a harmonious growth community for teachers and students, become a harmony home for iZJUers to study, work and live, and cultivate a number of outstanding students who are capable of taking on the great responsibility of national rejuvenation and promoting the progress of mankind.
The staff at LAITONG College also took the opportunity to meet with students, expressing their commitment to focusing on student growth and providing ongoing support in the future.
After the meeting, Professor XU Jun gave a special lecture entitled "Literature and Life: From the Unbearable Lightness of Being", which combined with his experience of translating French literature, inspired students to draw strength from literature and write their own wonderful life. He said that the core of the academy is "books", whether it is students "reading" or teachers "teaching", we are connected by "books". "There are three types of books that are especially recommended for students to read, namely philosophy, history and literature. Prof XU Jun shared his experience of translating Milan Kundera's novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Prof. Xu told the vivid and touching story of overcoming difficulties in translating Marcel Proust's book ‘Remembering the Watery Years’ with many of his peers, and he recounted the profound truths that a translator dedicates his life to literature, and then illuminates his own life because of literature. He encouraged students to cherish the time, read more good books, defy hardships, struggle, and bravely pursue their own bright future.
After the lecture, Professor XU Jun communicated with students face to face and answered questions raised by Chinese and foreign students about how translators can remain faithful, how translation can play the role of cultural transmission, how we can learn a language well, and how to understand human nature and love.
The leadership team of the International Campus, the dean’s assistants, the heads of each institute and each office, the staff at Guantong College, and more than 450 students and faculty from various residential colleges participated in the activity.
About Professor HE Lianzhen
Professor HE Lianzhen is currently Vice President of Zhejiang University. Prior to her current position, Prof. HE had served as Dean of School of International Studies, Dean of the Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Dean of ZJU’s International Campus, etc.
Prof. HE’s main research interests are language testing and assessment, applied linguistics, and discourse analysis. She has published widely in peer-reviewed journals such as Language Testing and Foreign Language Teaching and Research. She was senior visiting scholar at University of California at Los Angeles and Benjamin Meaker Visiting Professor at University of Bristol. She has won many awards at the national level, including National Professor of Distinction.
Prof. HE is also Director of the National Advisory Board for College Foreign Language Teaching of the Ministry of Education and Vice Chair of China Association for Language Testing and Assessment.
About Professor XU Jun
Xu jun, a distinguished professsor of Zhejiang University, one of the most famous translators and translaiton theorists in China and the world. He has translated more than 30 French novels and works of social sciences, authored 8 monographs, and published more than 270 academic papers centering on translation studies and French literature.
Article: XUE Qian, FU Shengwei, CHEN Yu
Photos: Hailan Culture
Editor: LI Yinan
Editor in charge: WU Fengbin
Translator: ZHANG Sanchu
English Editor: Robert Holmes, LIU Shuaiyin