EdUHK’s Event on Chinese Filial Piety Traditions and Shared Cultural Roots
EdUHK’s Event on Chinese Filial Piety Traditions and Shared Cultural Roots
A one-day event entitled Roots: Chinese Culture’s Moral Qualities and Life Education was held today (8 July) at The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK). Attracting nearly a hundred of educators, the event was organised by EdUHK’s Centre for Religious and Spirituality Education (CRSE) to present its work projects in the promotion of Chinese culture education.
Since its establishment in 2006, CRSE has been devoting its efforts to promoting Chinese culture’s moral qualities and life education. This year, four Chinese culture learning projects have been launched, including Chinese Culture-based Life Education Project, Study of Chinese Classics, In Praise of Filial Piety and From Self-cultivation to regulation of Family. In celebration of CRSE’s 10th Anniversary, an event named Roots: Chinese Culture’s Moral Qualities and Life Education was held to present the results of the four projects.
Delivering an opening speech for the event was Professor John Lee Chi-kin, he said that, “With Chinese people being the majority group of Hong Kong society, most of our moral values originate from Chinese culture. Through understanding their cultural roots, children’s moral developed is facilitated. As filial piety is one of the most important elements in Chinese culture, the projects and results presented at this event evolve around such theme.”
He further pointed out that, “Through promoting filial piety, schools are teaching children to reflect on the meanings of life and be grateful to their parents and ancestors; it also helps students extend their love and care to society.”
Students of St Francis of Assisi's Caritas School were invited to perform and share their experiences of participating in the projects. Teachers of Buddhist Lam Bing Yim Memorial School (SPSD by HKBA) also shared theirs. Among the teachers, Ms Vanessa Wong, expressed that, “With illustrated books and relatable videos, students are able to understand the importance of filial piety and the value of a harmonious family in addition to the enhancement of their subject knowledge.”
At the event, students of EdUHK also presented their experiences of organising in-school services and learning activities related to Chinese culture at partner schools. Mr Peter Chan Ka-lok, a student of the Department of Chinese Language Studies, who re-created The Twenty-four Filial Exemplars in the context of contemporary life, expressed that, “Crossover is a current trend for cultural creations, so I attempted to combine the morals of traditional stories with contemporary real-life situations, for example, the story of a Hong Kong kid encountering the main characters from The Twenty-four Filial Exemplars. With these elements integrated, the content becomes more fun and more suitable for the taste of today’s children.” As one of the story-creators, Chan hopes that children can learn to appreciate the beauty of Chinese culture through these stories and be able to pass on the related moral qualities.
Concluding the opening speech, Professor Lee expressed that, “According to ‘Learning to Learn 2+’ and the Kindergarten Education Curriculum Guide (Provisional Final Draft), Chinese culture learning and values education are regarded as important trends in the future of Hong Kong education. The event integrates related elements, inviting educators to use such practice as a reference for their future responses to these trends.” Special thanks were given to the donors of these projects, namely Fung Sun Kwan Chinese Arts Foundation, Dr Kwong Kai-to and Rural Training College Alumni Association and Po Shin Kwong Ming Charity Education Foundation, whose generous support has sustained the work of CRSE.
