As a newcomer to the Department, I, however, have found it full of academic fervor. I have taught in the States and other universities of Hong Kong, but never did I experience the kind of hardworking and concern for the development of Chinese history as in the History Department of Shue Yan. While students in other universities are better equipped in language efficiency and examination qualifications, the students in the History Department of the College are much more inquisitive and interested in the development of Modern China and Hong Kong. I sometime spend hours with students, just to satisfy their academic curiosity and to lead them to go further in research.

I would like to take this opportunity to remind students that history is not only a memory of facts; it is a useful technique for us to learn what we were, how we are and what we shall become. History is how facts are analyzed, argued and presented. There should be no limit to different interpretations, as there is no absolute truth in history or in any discipline, for this matter. History is multi-disciplined, and could be used in the contemporary world in the political and economic fields. History is a part of the general education with which students of all levels and different kinds of disciplines should compulsory takes, so as to provide them with the necessary knowledge to cope with the ever-going complexities of the modern life.

While I have been emphasizing the importance of history, I wish to remind students that it should be based on reliable sources, mainly primary sources. It will be tragic to find people, particularly in the media who fabricate history under the pretext of originality and attractiveness. Those directors who use scripts that are based on imaginations but that mention actual historical figures should be censured together with the Japanese historians and politicians who deny that they killed many innocent Chinese people in Nanking during the Second World War. Script writers could be free to write out interesting stories, but the historical background could not be fabricated to mislead viewers. A simple example will clarify my point. Hoshen was a corrupt and wicked minister of the Qialong reign, and it will do history an injustice if he is depicted as a humorous and loving person! Hoshen was handsome person, otherwise he would not be liked by the Emperor, but in one of the TV shows, he was a fat clumsy mandarin. The ways how TV shows distort history have the effect of misleading viewers, both young and old.

I think one should enjoy writing and reading history, but in making films and shows, one should have the moral duty not to twist for ones personal interests.