The Quest For Excellence: A History of The Chinese University of Hong Kong from 1963 to 1993

Description

This is an informal history of The Chinese University of Hong Kong from its inception in 1963 to its thirtieth anniversary in 1993. The founding of The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1963 marked a new era in the development of higher education in Hong Kong. It marked the birth of a second university in the territory, using both Chinese and English as the medium of instruction, thus providing greater opportunities for brilliant young men and women in Hong Kong to receive a university education. The new university embodied the unique educational experiences and ideals of its three constituent Colleges, namely, the Chinese Confucian humanism of New Asia College, the Western Christian spirit of Chung Chi College and the Hong Kong oriented pragmatism of United College. The goals of the University, at the time of its founding, aimed at the preservation and enrichment of Chinese culture, the exploration of modern Western knowledge and the integration of the cultures of East and West. Meanwhile, the University was also committed to nurturing talents in the service of a rapidly changing Hong Kong which was on the threshold of developing into a modern metropolis. The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) was officially inaugurated on 17 October 1963. Its origin, however, can be traced back to the late 1940s when the three Colleges - New Asia, Chung Chi and United - first appeared as private colleges set up by refugee scholars from China. It took almost fifteen years for these colleges to fight their way to university status and to become constituent Colleges of the second university in Hong Kong, using Chinese as the principal medium of instruction. This was an important breakthrough in the cultural and educational development of Hong Kong, as British tradition for long was to maintain no more than one government-supported university in a governed-territory, and English was used as the official language and medium of instruction. This book is the English version, but not exactly a translation, of the University's thirtieth commemorative volume on the history of the University, published in Chinese, in September 1993.