In the morning of August 15, 2022, Professor YANG Liu, the College Master of Ma Man Kei and Lo Pak Sam College, gave a lecture from an aesthetic perspective, themed “Lotus Rising Out of Water and Artistic Works Gilding with Color “, triggering enlightenment on our attitudes towards life. This aesthetic lecture is of great significance and opened the prelude to the life of new college students.
Prof. YANG listed vivid examples to introduce the aesthetic expressions in environmental design, songs, dramas, poems, and prose, showing two different expressions and aesthetic methods of “lotus rising out of water and artistic works gilding with colour”. Then, Prof. YANG extended it to two life attitudes of living naturally or colourfully. She said, “No matter what type of aesthetic attitude and life attitude everyone chooses, we can all create a wonderful and poetic life.”
Next, Dr. Gary FUNG, the Associate Master of the college, introduced UM’s characteristic Residential College (RC) education to the students. He explained in detail the “4-in-1” education model, the seven competencies of RC 2.0, and the mentorship programme, as well as the rules and regulations of MLC.
The vibe of the whole lecture was harmonious and lively with friendly and active interactions between the College Master and the students. When the College Master mentioned the choice of attitude toward life, the students spoke freely and expressed their views and attitudes.
Feeling the world with one’s own aesthetic attitude can be as elegant and relaxed as the lotus rising out of the water, or as rigorous and delicate as the gilded and colourful embroidery. The lifestyle that suits oneself is the best choice. We can all learn to appreciate and discover the differences in people’s styles of beauty and aesthetic expressions, in which the profound value of life is reflected in such aesthetic thoughts. This lecture not only introduced MLC but also made the students think about aesthetics and attitude toward life. As the first lecture at the beginning of the academic year, this lecture opened up the college life of the students beautifully like a poem and received a warm response.