Xiaosi

Inspiration from Tang Junyi

Old campus of New Asia College at Kweilin Street, Sham Shui Po.

Tang Jun-yi was not only the teacher of Lu in New Asia College, but also a mentor in supporting and inspiring her. In Lu's early time, she lost both her parent and her brother. She was alone, mentally unstable, and even isolated herself from others for four years. Mr. Mo Ke-fei, Lu's teacher in secondary school, introduced her to read Tang's The Sequel of Experience of Life《人生之體驗》.^[5] This book gave her a new lease of life and pulled her out from the depression. She was inspired by the writing of Mr. Tang and determined to study in New Asia College. She later received education in New Asia College and became Mr. Tang's student. After graduation, she started her teaching career in a secondary school. In 1971, Lu failed to lead some of her students back from sidetrack. She lost her faith in teaching and suffered from depression. Mr. Tang, therefore, suggested her to take a break from teaching, review and evaluation herself.^[3] It led to her decision of studying in Japan in 1973, which became a turning point in her life.

Tang's teaching motto and his New Confucianism have greatly influenced Lu's teaching and writings. As referring to Mr. Tang, teaching a student is similar to "carrying a student to walk near the edge of a cliff".^[6] A teacher should be especially careful when teaching and notice any possible danger. This idea was deep-rooted in Lu's mind and inspired her to devote her life in passes the knowledge and spirit to next generation. It is, at the same time, important for her students to honor the teachers and respects their teaching. On the other hand, the idea of New Confucianism could also be found in many of her writings. She reminds people not to blindly follow the traditions. Instead, people should learn to find the balance between conformity to social norms and rebellion against inequality.

Inspiration in Japan

The campus of Kyoto University

In 1973, Lu went to Japan to further pursue her study on contemporary Chinese Literature at the Institute for Research in Humanities of Kyoto University. She admired the Japanese culture, in which the study and development of humanities and literature are highly respected. During her study in Japan, she was amazed by the teaching methods in Japan, which teaching is not limited only in classroom but also through traveling. It was also remarkable that most of the published literature and newspapers are carefully preserved in universities’ libraries. This inspired her to later found the Hong Kong Literature Research Centre and establish the Hong Kong Literature Collection in CUHK.^[3]

Her study in Japan also helped her to review her life in Hong Kong in a different perspective and brought her a strong sense of nostalgia. The students in Japan reminded her of her students and her life as a teacher in Hong Kong. It fostered her to regain her will in teaching and develop a clearer goal and path to preserve and pass the knowledge and spirits in Hong Kong.^[7]

Gratitude to Teacher

The inspirations from Mr. Tang have greatly influenced Lu and made her an enthusiastic teacher in passing his spirits. Many of her writings have addressed her gratitude towards the teaching and support from Mr. Tang. In Memorial to My Teacher《告吾師在天之靈》, the guidance from Mr. Tang is significant in leading her to the right and clear path in her life. He has pulled her out from the anguish and perplexities in the past. It reveals the Chinese traditional teacher-student relationship and the respectful attitude of students towards their teachers. It is important to honor the teachers and pass their teachings to the next generation.^[8]

Patriotism

Albeit her admirations towards Japanese culture, she especially opposed the idea of militarism in Japan. Many of her writings have revealed the anti-war and patriotic feelings. In Thoughts in Kyoto《京都雜想》, the monument in celebrating the end of Sino-Japanese War in Japan is used as a symbol and sarcasm to Militarism in Japan. She reminds people not to forget the history. However, despite the great sorrow and sadness brought by Japanese invasion, people should, at the same time, learn to let go of the negative emotion in order to move forwards. In Forgiveness《不記恨》, although the sorrow in Sino-Japanese War is addressed, she urges people not to trap in the past. Forgiveness is crucial to lead people to a better future.^[8]

Nostalgia

Lu has witnessed the gradual transformation of Hong Kong from an industrial-oriented city to an international financial center. Under modernization, the rent of local shops surges from year to year, which small local business could hardly survive. Business in Hong Kong has entered a stage of homogenization. The lost of local colors has brought out the nostalgia feelings within Lu. Many of her writings have demonstrated her nostalgia towards the old Hong Kong. As shown in her writing 《懷舊十題》, nostalgia is not a trend but a significant feeling in revealing the deepest-emotion of a person. It represents part of our lives and becomes the eternal memory in our brain. In the Life of Teaching《一生承教》, Lu points out people's negligence of Hong Kong local colors and reminds people not to treasure thing only when they have lost it. Instead, we should treasure things which are still exist.^[9]

Metaphors

As influenced by Lu's father in exploring the nature, she always uses metaphors in relating the nature of different insects to humanities. Take Cicada《蟬》as an example, by describing the special characteristics and nature of cicada, Lu points out the core value of a teacher. To her, the life of a cicada is similar to the life of a teacher. Teachers are crucial in passing the knowledge to the next generation. No matter how long it takes, they should live properly to pass these spirits.

On the other hand, metaphors were also used to introduce Mr. Tang's idea of New Confucianism. Take Moth《蛾》 and Snail《蝸牛》as examples, Lu took them as metaphors to people nowadays. In Moth《蛾》, moths' nature of flying to flame is regarded as a fatal attraction. They are attracted to light, which repeatedly leads to their death caused by fire. Similarly, in Snail《蝸牛》, snails use only their feelers to move forward and refuse to leave the road. This stubborn attitude and nature lead to the death of the snails, which they are repeatedly mashed by humans or cars. These natures of moths and snails are similar to people nowadays, which they blindly follow the social conventions and repeat making the same mistake in the past. Through the use of metaphor, Lu urges people to change and critically examine the rationality of these practices.^[8]