The University of Macau (UM) today (22 March) conferred a Doctor of Letters honoris causa degree on the renowned contemporary Chinese writer Wang Anyi, in recognition of her outstanding contributions to Chinese literature. Following the honorary degree conferment ceremony, Wang gave a lecture titled ‘Chinese-Language Literature in a Global Context’, which attracted many teachers and students from UM and secondary schools in Macao, people from the literary circle, and prominent members of the community. Dr Wang shared her thoughts on the origin and characteristics of modern Chinese language literature as well as its development in a global context.

During the ceremony, Tam Chon Weng, secretary for social affairs and culture, presented the certificate to Wang Anyi, in the company of UM University Council Chair Lam Kam Seng and UM Rector Yonghua Song.

According to Rector Yonghua Song, UM previously conferred honorary doctorates on six foremost Chinese language writers, namely Wang Meng, Louis Cha, Yu Kwang-chung, Mo Yan, Pai Hsien-yung, and Jia Pingwa. He says UM is committed to establishing close contact with pre-eminent Chinese writers, and honorary doctorates are a valuable academic and cultural resource of the university.

Hong Gang Jin, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, delivered a citation for Dr Wang. In the citation, Dean Jin praised Dr Wang for having gained widespread recognition and accolades in the literary circles both in China and in the West, adding that Wang has received several international literature awards.

In the lecture, Wang first discussed the origin and characteristics of Chinese language, which was followed by a detailed discussion of the characteristics and development of modern Chinese language novels. She analysed the characteristics of Chinese literary works in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, and overseas that were produced after the May Fourth Movement. She also reviewed the development of the Chinese language literature over the past four decades using her own experiences. During the question and answer session, she had an in-depth discussion with the audience on the subject. 

Source: Faculty of Arts and Humanitites

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