The complete rejuvenation of China "is the obligation of everyone" and "requires no more lip service but staunch action," visiting Chairman James CY Soong of Taiwan's People First Party said at one of China's oldest academies on Tuesday.
As a Hunanese who left for Taiwan 56 years ago, Soong, 63, said he had been dreaming of this trip to Yuelu Academy to pay his respects to historical luminaries for a long time.
Situated at the eastern foot of Yuelu Mountain in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province, the academy, established in AD 976, is one of the oldest higher educational institutions in China.
Unlike Beijing's Imperial Palace, where emperors resided, the white walled and gray tiled academy looks quiet and contemplative. Legacies of a host of figures from Confucius to Mao Zedong can be found in the compound.
Soong spent time inside the lecture hall where Zhu Xi (1130-1200) and Zhang Shi (1133-c.1180), both well-known Confucian scholars, held an open debate in the 12th century before more than 1,000 students.
In a later inscription for Hunan University, which now owns the school, Soong wrote 16 Chinese characters exalting the institution's far-flung academic influence and the importance of seeking truth through sound argument.
"The legacies of great teachers show us that intellectuals should not only be acquainted with classical works but also have their country in mind," he said.
"No one can block the trend of the Chinese nation's rejuvenation, and our attitude toward it is critical. It is the common aspiration of people across the Taiwan Straits," he said.
"Looking back, those who follow the will of the people prosper while those who resist it perish. If everyone had their country in mind some 100 years ago, China would have avoided the poverty and frailty of that time," he said.
Soong began his nine-day mainland trip last Thursday and has already visited the cities of Xi'an, Nanjing, Shanghai and Changsha. He left for Beijing at 2:30 PM on Tuesday.
