Prof Pai Hsien-yung, a renowned writer and a recent\nrecipient of the Doctor of Letters honoris<\/i>\ncausa <\/i>degree <\/i>from the University of Macau (UM), today (24 February) delivered a\nlecture titled \u2018My Kun Opera Journey\u2019 at UM in the University Hall, to share\nhis insights on Kun opera, a precious gem of traditional Chinese culture.<\/p>
Rector Wei Zhao delivered a speech at the lecture.\n\u2018The fact that such Chinese literary gurus as Pai Hsien-yung, Wang Meng, Mo\nYan, Yu Guangzhong, and Jin Yong received our honorary titles means encouragingly\nthat they recognise what our university does, in particular our discipline of\nChinese language and literature,\u2019 said Rector Zhao. \u2018We are pleased to say that\nit is one of our most established, strongest and most academically influential\ndisciplines. Let this fact speak for itself: the number of its academic\npublications found in the top journals or publishers has reached or even\nexceeded what a top university is expected to perform as far as this field is\nconcerned.\u2019 He added, \u2018It has also always been my stance that a top university\ncan\u2019t go without a strong programme of the language and literature studied in\nthe mother tongue of that place, and in our case Chinese. For this discipline\nto have a well-grounded development, this view and policy have to be\nmaintained.\u2019<\/p>