University of Saint Joseph and her Alumni Association explored Chinese Confucian culture

 

University of Saint Joseph and her Alumni Association explored Chinese Confucian culture

 

In order to further the understanding on Chinese culture, the University of Saint Joseph (USJ) and her Alumni Association organized a Chinese cultural trip to Shandong. Setting off a couple of days ago, the tour visited the top university in Shandong and the Oriental Holy City, Qufu city in Shandong province. 

 

As a tour leader, Father Peter Stilwell, Rector of University of Saint Joseph along with other professors and alumni in a group of 15 people set off to visit Chinese traditional cultural study and experimental base in Shandong University on 11th April in the morning. Researchers and academic staff in the base introduced the purpose and function of the base, as well as demonstrating Chinese etiquette to the visiting tour, such as “respect to the teachers” in Confucianism, ancient music and visual art and culture. Along with Chinese and foreign students, the visiting tour gained understanding and learnt the apprenticeship in Han Dynasty, a set of etiquette in respecting teachers. In addition to this, they also observed and experienced the Chinese ritual and musical culture, as well as the depth of tea culture.

 

The tour also visited some of the World Cultural Heritage located in Qufu city, including the temple, Family Mansion and cemetery. They gained understanding on one of the great names in history, Confucius and gained a more in-depth experience in Confucian culture. Further their understanding on the significant contribution on the Confucian culture to Chinese traditional culture and impact on the world civilization. Members of the visiting tour coming from different cultural backgrounds were very impressed of the Chinese Confucian culture after a full day of the activities.

 

Rector Peter Stilwell says, 

“University is an essential media to education. Attention has to be paid on Confucian culture study, to enhance students’ understanding and comprehension on Chinese and western traditional culture. It’s has been a long run that Macau is an exchange of Chinese and western culture. More exchange and communication have to be addressed to better enrich two different cultures. Hence, University of Saint Joseph wishes to bring the constantly latest contribution to the society.”

Mr Chui expressed his thoughts, saying,

”The sage, Confucius’s teaching on education remains as an significance on contemporary education. Macau society ought to advocate Chinese traditional culture and cultivate the idea of “respect to the teachers”.  

AAUSJ Christmas Charity Visit 2012

More than 10 delegates from AAUSJ visited the Children Center of Our Lady of Penha (Lar de Nossa Senhora da Penha) on 1 December for the Christmas Charity.  A number of daily-consumption frozen food and aprons are presented to the Center with singing the tradition Christmas songs to the intellectually-disabled children in the Center to celebrate Christmas.

Cynthia Leong, Chair of the General Assembly of AAUSJ, expects to have more alumni to support the social vulnerable groups for their both material and spiritual needs.  Through this charity visit, she is looking for establishment of a regular mechanism to visit the children and to assist them, in order to build a long-term relationship with them.

The delegates feel that such charity visit is very fruitful to understand the needs of the intellectually-disabled children and they also expect that AAUSJ can organize more charity activities in coming future to respond to the needs in the community.  This delegation includes Benjamin Yue, President of the Executive Committee, Isabel Tchiang, VP of the Executive Committee and Miles Choi, Secretary of the Executive Committee.

A Message from the President of the Alumni Association of the University of Saint Joseph to All Graduands of 2012

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