Prayers

早晨！後天就是五四運動的一百零六周年紀念。說到五四運動，相信不少人會提到胡適。胡適對於大家而言，應該不陌生，因為他的《差不多先生》往往被選為初中的中文範文，所以大家都應讀過。但不知大家知不知道，胡適其實不是他原來的名字。他原名胡嗣糜，為何會改成胡「適」，字「適之」？這就要說到嚴復，晚清最有名的翻譯家。 嚴復一生翻譯不少西方書籍，以信雅達見稱，當中以翻譯赫胥黎的《天演論》影響最大，特別是「物競天擇，適者生存」一句，更是無人不曉。胡適就是因為認同此句，故從「嗣糜」改成「適」。後來嚴復晚年又歸結自己的學問在「惟適之安」四字，並命人刻於自己的墓碑上。「惟適之安」原出於唐朝韓愈的文章，但嚴復將之賦予新意，變成惟有適應時代，才能安身立命的意思。所以胡適可能受此影響，又將自己的字改成「適之」。可見嚴復對於胡適的影響之深。 有趣的是，如果大家對於嚴復和胡適的政治立場有所了解，就知道他們二人的南轅北轍。確實嚴復於晚清是引進西方思想的重要人物，但他晚年趨向保守，甚至民國時期曾加入籌安會，支持袁世凱稱帝。胡適則由始至終均為自由主義的支持者，提倡民主共和。可是胡適從來沒有因為嚴復的政治立場而改名，也沒有因此否定嚴復的學問與貢獻。正如五四運動的孕育地—北京大學，有進步開放的陳獨秀、李大釗等等，亦有非常保守，甚至將民主一字拆為「Demon（惡魔）」與「Crazy（瘋癲）」的辜鴻銘。他們都能在同一片天空下，教授不同的課，真正體驗了民主自由的精神。 固然，「外爭主權，內除國賊」展現了五四運動愛國的一面，但亦不要忘記運動中提倡的「德先生」與「賽先生」所有的啟蒙向度。願大家能一起繼承五四運動的精神。   Mr. Yim YL

[Harvey] Good morning, everyone. As the Prefect Team, one of our key responsibilities is to serve and support all of you, our fellow Shungtakians. But have you ever thought about what responsibility truly means? How do you feel when you’re given a task to complete or a role to fulfill? Responsibility can feel overwhelming at

In the biblical story of David and Goliath, David, a young shepherd, volunteers to fight the Philistine giant Goliath, who had been terrorising the Israelites on the battlefield. Armed only with a sling and five stones, David demonstrates his faith and courage. He takes one of the stones, places it in his sling, twirls it

I am not sure how many of you remember what I shared with you last time. The sharing was at the beginning of September and was about reacting positively when facing challenges, so that we can learn from failure and improve ourselves to become a better version. It’s now the beginning of Term 2. Have

The theme for this month is ‘Fulfill responsibilities, strive for self-improvement’. I am sure we hear these words on a daily basis: Be responsible, if you are not, then you cannot improve. Yet, there seems to be so many responsibilities as we wear many hats in our lives, so it is not always that easy

Christy: Hey, Harvey, why do you look so happy. What’s going on? Did you finally finish your Christmas shopping? Harvey: Nope, not even close. But I am feeling joyful because it’s Gaudete Sunday yesterday —also known as the Sunday of Joy! Christy: Oh, that makes sense! The Third Sunday of Advent is all about joy.