At the beginning of the New Academic Year, in order to give new students a holistic understanding of Macao, Choi Kai Yau College and Cheng Yu Tung College co-organized a series of activities, “Approaching Macao through history and culture”, including a lecture on history and culture on September 22, entitled “Complicating East-West Narratives: 400 years of Macao History”, as well as an appreciation and viewing of the film entitled “Macao: Back to Common Roots Narrative Film” on September 26.
Professor Catherine S. Chan from the Department of History was invited by two residential Colleges to give a lecture entitled “Complicating East-West Narratives: 400 years of Macao History”. Professor Chan gave a brief overview of Macao history to the students, and plenty of informative photos were used to help the students of the two Colleges learn about the historical development of Macao’s 400 years under Chinese and Portuguese governance. The lecture served as a good preparation and cultural bridging for the subsequent exhibition and narrative film about Macao. On September 26, students of the two Colleges went to the MGM Theater to watch the film “Macao – Back to Common Roots Narrative Film”. Without any exaggeration, utilizing only a simple colour palette and simple brushstrokes, the 100-meter-long scroll painting featured in the narrative film elegantly outlined the development of Macao in the past five hundred years. From a small coastal town focused on agriculture and fishing, to its governance by the West, its reunification with the Motherland and its current development, Macao’s journey has been encapsulated vividly on the screen by the documentary. With its gentle and simple style, the documentary brought the viewers closer to the historical events; with its objective perspective and rich graphic format, the viewers gained a more coherent and richer understanding of Macao’s history. In addition to proffering the open, inclusive and energetic nature of Macao, this series of activities gave the college students a deeper understanding of the development of Macao over the centuries from the perspectives of history, culture and art. While deepening their understanding of history, the students also enriched their knowledge and understanding of Macao, as they experience the charm and cultural heritage of Macao while studying here.
The series of activities provided a wonderful audio-visual feast for the students, which not only showcased the glory of culture and history, but also the sentiment of fostering the arts and humanities in the Residential College’s education.
Text: Wang Xiaosai