On the afternoon of December 15, 2014, Professor Gabriel de Broglie, Member of L’Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques and Chancelier of L’Institut de France, visited PKU and attended “Sino-French Dialogue on Language and Culture: The Beauty of Language”. The calligrapher and painter Fan Zeng, Vice President of PKU Li Yansong, and Professor Dong Qiang, Dean of PKU Department of French, met Professor Broglie in the School of Economics building. Professor Gabriel de Broglie and the Vice President Li Yansong both delivered wonderful speeches about language and culture.
First of all, Mr. Gabriel de Broglie expressed his understanding of language and cultures around the world. He noted that French and Chinese are both unique and distinct languages. The French Language plays an important role in diplomacy and has many apparent advantages when being used in the fields of education, scientific study, and official documents. This was illustrated when he turned abstract language theories in to easily-comprehended ones and demonstrated the beauty of French in poems and essays, which deeply impressed the students and teachers. He ended his speech by quoting the remarks made by a former French president
Mr. Fan vividly depicted the beauty of the Chinese language and culture. He quoted from Noble Prize winner Prigogine: “Chinese culture sparked inspiration of European science.” He explained Chinese culture in terms of language as well as its deep implication in philosophy. He praised that the Chinese language is a language of poetry, and China is a country of poems. Mr. Fan’s speech got everyone immersed in the breathtaking beauty and charm of the Chinese language by using ancient poems as examples. His illustrations presented the audience with the unique beauty of Chinese language.
Professor Gabriel de Broglie and Mr. Fan’s speeches were both well received with long-lasting applause.
Written by Xin Yuan
