Last month saw a significant and exciting event in Chinese cultural circles here which attracted 1,200 participants. I am referring to the public forum entitled “A Tale of Four Cities” organised by Lianhe Zaobao to mark its 80th anniversary.
Four prominent speakers, namely, Mr Tao Jie, columnist and assistant professor in journalism at the Chinese University of Hong Kong； Mr Zhu Xueqin, a history professor at Shanghai University； Ms Lung Ying-tai, a famed writer from Taiwan； and Mr Liu Thai Ker, architect and chairman of the National Arts Council in Singapore, were invited to speak from the cultural, architectural, historical and political perspectives on the city each comes from.
Drawing from their expertise and vast experience, they also presented their views on the differences and similarities, uniqueness, character and future of these four Asian cities. Apart from Shanghai, professor Zhu also spoke on the Chinese capital Beijing.
In addition, the speakers, of whom Mr Tao and Ms Lung are particularly well-known for their quick wit and eloquence, also exchanged views in a lively dialogue towards the end of the forum to make sure it ends on a high note.
The response to this high-quality forum was overwhelming and there has been no shortage of views and reactions published in Lianhe Zaobao long after it was over.
What is also noteworthy is that though admission was not free, the forum attracted a huge turnout and the participants remained enthusiastic throughout the full-day event.
The encouraging response is evidence that in spite of the declining standards of Chinese language here - a trend which seems irreversible - there are still many people who are willing to attend a high-level exchange of views and opinions conducted in Mandarin.
This seems at odd with our prevailing impression.
The success of the forum also proves the existence of a community that “engages in in-depth thinking in Mandarin”。
Indeed, a culture that has endured thousands of years must have many different depths to it. For instance, the co-existence of popular culture and high culture as well as highbrow and popular literature or art.
In other words, for a culture to flourish, to continue to attract the young to learn and practise it, the different levels within it must all be developed.
In terms of the use of language, without the foundation of colloquialism or slang, the finer aspects of a culture “will be cut off from the rest of the world”。 On the other hand, if the language is devoid of the development of extensive and profound knowledge as its objective, it will eventually be reduced to a “l(fā)ow-level language”。
In Singapore, the problem is that the organisations and authorities charged with promoting the Chinese language and Mandarin have always been under great pressure to lower the standard, to reduce the burden and to make learning easier.
To get more people to accept and learn Chinese which is perceived as “difficult”, the most effective means is to lower its standard. This has become the prevalent thinking.
From the point of view of efficiency and commercial interests, to keep the standard of the Chinese language at a relatively low level to entice more people to pick it up may indeed produce short-term results.
However, if there are too few educational and cultural institutions that encourage the use of Mandarin as a tool to engage in intellectual and stimulating conversation, even if Chinese is easy to learn, it will probably not have a promising future.
Sometimes, the more profound and intellectual something is, the more people will be drawn to it.
The public forum is one such example. I hope its success will spur more people to ponder the language issue from more angles and in greater depth.
。The writer is a senior reporter of Lianhe Zaobao. Translated by Yap Gee Poh.
新加坡華文文教界最近有一個高水平的盛會，吸引了1200名公眾參加。為了慶祝創(chuàng)刊80周年紀念，《聯(lián)合早報》邀請來自香港、上海、新加坡和臺北的陶杰、朱學勤、劉太格和龍應(yīng)臺，進行了一場“名城論壇”公開講演會。
這四名專家和學者，根據(jù)他們的專長，從文化、建筑、歷史與政治的角度，談?wù)搧喼尬鍌€的城市：香港、上海、北京、新加坡和臺北－－它們的異同、獨特歷史、特性、人文精神和前景展望。
陶杰與龍應(yīng)臺的敏捷才思與口才是有名的；朱學勤是中國中年一輩學者中的佼佼者，劉太格作為規(guī)劃新加坡城市面貌的建筑師／管理人員，他和上述三人在交流時所可能碰撞出的火花，都是“名城論壇”水平的保障。
這是場高質(zhì)量的講座，不僅反響熱烈，而且影響深遠。公眾對講座內(nèi)容的回響，在講座后仍不時見諸本地報章的交流版與專欄。值得注意的是，這次論壇是收費的，而且從早上開始至黃昏結(jié)束，現(xiàn)場觀眾的熱情始終不減。
這個令人鼓舞的成績說明什么呢？它說明了盡管本地華文水平低落是一個現(xiàn)實，甚至是大勢所趨，本地還是有不少人愿意參與以華語進行高層次思想沖擊。這個現(xiàn)象，和我們的一貫印象似乎有所出入。
這次論壇的成功，證實“用華語做深度思考”這個群體是存在的。
其實，一種流傳數(shù)千年而不衰的文化，其內(nèi)在必然存有多種不同層次，有俗文化和高雅文化的層次，既能陽春白雪，也能下里巴人。同樣的，一種文化倘若要蓬勃發(fā)展，要不斷吸引后人學習、鉆研和使用，其內(nèi)部的各個層次也都需要得到一定發(fā)展。
就語言的應(yīng)用來說，如果沒有廣大俚俗用語為基礎(chǔ)，一個文化的高雅部分將“與世隔絕”，而如果沒有精深思想為深遠目的，這種語言也只能淪為“低級”語言。
問題是，在新加坡，推廣華文華語的單位和機構(gòu)，長期以來都面對往低、易、減發(fā)展的壓力。被視為“難學”的華文要讓更多人接受，吸引更多人學習，的方法就是降低華文用語的程度，這似乎已經(jīng)成為一種普遍的思想定勢。
從追求效率和商業(yè)利益的角度說，把華文水平壓在一個相對低的水平上以鼓勵人們學習，可能是一個短期內(nèi)見到效用的方法。然而，如果在這個國家，鼓勵以華語進行深入對話的教育和文化機構(gòu)太少的話，那么華文即使易學，也不會有太大前途。
有時候，越精深的事物，人們越趨之若鶩。
這一次的“名城論壇”，就是這么一個例子。希望這次“名城論壇”的成功，讓人們從更多不同角度思考華文問題。
Four prominent speakers, namely, Mr Tao Jie, columnist and assistant professor in journalism at the Chinese University of Hong Kong； Mr Zhu Xueqin, a history professor at Shanghai University； Ms Lung Ying-tai, a famed writer from Taiwan； and Mr Liu Thai Ker, architect and chairman of the National Arts Council in Singapore, were invited to speak from the cultural, architectural, historical and political perspectives on the city each comes from.
Drawing from their expertise and vast experience, they also presented their views on the differences and similarities, uniqueness, character and future of these four Asian cities. Apart from Shanghai, professor Zhu also spoke on the Chinese capital Beijing.
In addition, the speakers, of whom Mr Tao and Ms Lung are particularly well-known for their quick wit and eloquence, also exchanged views in a lively dialogue towards the end of the forum to make sure it ends on a high note.
The response to this high-quality forum was overwhelming and there has been no shortage of views and reactions published in Lianhe Zaobao long after it was over.
What is also noteworthy is that though admission was not free, the forum attracted a huge turnout and the participants remained enthusiastic throughout the full-day event.
The encouraging response is evidence that in spite of the declining standards of Chinese language here - a trend which seems irreversible - there are still many people who are willing to attend a high-level exchange of views and opinions conducted in Mandarin.
This seems at odd with our prevailing impression.
The success of the forum also proves the existence of a community that “engages in in-depth thinking in Mandarin”。
Indeed, a culture that has endured thousands of years must have many different depths to it. For instance, the co-existence of popular culture and high culture as well as highbrow and popular literature or art.
In other words, for a culture to flourish, to continue to attract the young to learn and practise it, the different levels within it must all be developed.
In terms of the use of language, without the foundation of colloquialism or slang, the finer aspects of a culture “will be cut off from the rest of the world”。 On the other hand, if the language is devoid of the development of extensive and profound knowledge as its objective, it will eventually be reduced to a “l(fā)ow-level language”。
In Singapore, the problem is that the organisations and authorities charged with promoting the Chinese language and Mandarin have always been under great pressure to lower the standard, to reduce the burden and to make learning easier.
To get more people to accept and learn Chinese which is perceived as “difficult”, the most effective means is to lower its standard. This has become the prevalent thinking.
From the point of view of efficiency and commercial interests, to keep the standard of the Chinese language at a relatively low level to entice more people to pick it up may indeed produce short-term results.
However, if there are too few educational and cultural institutions that encourage the use of Mandarin as a tool to engage in intellectual and stimulating conversation, even if Chinese is easy to learn, it will probably not have a promising future.
Sometimes, the more profound and intellectual something is, the more people will be drawn to it.
The public forum is one such example. I hope its success will spur more people to ponder the language issue from more angles and in greater depth.
。The writer is a senior reporter of Lianhe Zaobao. Translated by Yap Gee Poh.
新加坡華文文教界最近有一個高水平的盛會，吸引了1200名公眾參加。為了慶祝創(chuàng)刊80周年紀念，《聯(lián)合早報》邀請來自香港、上海、新加坡和臺北的陶杰、朱學勤、劉太格和龍應(yīng)臺，進行了一場“名城論壇”公開講演會。
這四名專家和學者，根據(jù)他們的專長，從文化、建筑、歷史與政治的角度，談?wù)搧喼尬鍌€的城市：香港、上海、北京、新加坡和臺北－－它們的異同、獨特歷史、特性、人文精神和前景展望。
陶杰與龍應(yīng)臺的敏捷才思與口才是有名的；朱學勤是中國中年一輩學者中的佼佼者，劉太格作為規(guī)劃新加坡城市面貌的建筑師／管理人員，他和上述三人在交流時所可能碰撞出的火花，都是“名城論壇”水平的保障。
這是場高質(zhì)量的講座，不僅反響熱烈，而且影響深遠。公眾對講座內(nèi)容的回響，在講座后仍不時見諸本地報章的交流版與專欄。值得注意的是，這次論壇是收費的，而且從早上開始至黃昏結(jié)束，現(xiàn)場觀眾的熱情始終不減。
這個令人鼓舞的成績說明什么呢？它說明了盡管本地華文水平低落是一個現(xiàn)實，甚至是大勢所趨，本地還是有不少人愿意參與以華語進行高層次思想沖擊。這個現(xiàn)象，和我們的一貫印象似乎有所出入。
這次論壇的成功，證實“用華語做深度思考”這個群體是存在的。
其實，一種流傳數(shù)千年而不衰的文化，其內(nèi)在必然存有多種不同層次，有俗文化和高雅文化的層次，既能陽春白雪，也能下里巴人。同樣的，一種文化倘若要蓬勃發(fā)展，要不斷吸引后人學習、鉆研和使用，其內(nèi)部的各個層次也都需要得到一定發(fā)展。
就語言的應(yīng)用來說，如果沒有廣大俚俗用語為基礎(chǔ)，一個文化的高雅部分將“與世隔絕”，而如果沒有精深思想為深遠目的，這種語言也只能淪為“低級”語言。
問題是，在新加坡，推廣華文華語的單位和機構(gòu)，長期以來都面對往低、易、減發(fā)展的壓力。被視為“難學”的華文要讓更多人接受，吸引更多人學習，的方法就是降低華文用語的程度，這似乎已經(jīng)成為一種普遍的思想定勢。
從追求效率和商業(yè)利益的角度說，把華文水平壓在一個相對低的水平上以鼓勵人們學習，可能是一個短期內(nèi)見到效用的方法。然而，如果在這個國家，鼓勵以華語進行深入對話的教育和文化機構(gòu)太少的話，那么華文即使易學，也不會有太大前途。
有時候，越精深的事物，人們越趨之若鶩。
這一次的“名城論壇”，就是這么一個例子。希望這次“名城論壇”的成功，讓人們從更多不同角度思考華文問題。