In order to encourage more interaction between College Fellows and students, “CKYC Conversations” are held as a monthly dinner activity. This activity enables students to know more about professors outside the classroom, and also acts as a platform for them to communicate to facilitate a collision of inspiring ideas. Students can think more deeply about their study beyond the scope of the classroom, in addition to improve themselves by learning from the experience of learned predecessors, which encapsulates the advantages of Residential Colleges’ education. Professor Li Defeng, Associate Dean of Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Director of the Center for Studies of Translation, Interpreting and Cognition (CSTIC), attended the second “CKYC Conversations” on 23 November as the guest Fellow.
While enjoying exquisite Portuguese cuisine, Professor Li shared interesting stories from his early school experiences, as well as introduced his current work in language studies briefly. He also introduced the beauty of translation with a short poem You Say. Through different translations of the same English poem, different meanings and aesthetic feelings can be given to the poem. In his opinion, translation is an important bridge between two countries’ literature, so good translation works have a vital influence on the dissemination of literature in other countries.
Throughout the dinner, students eagerly asked questions based on their thinking about their studies and life. The students were especially concerned about how to improve their ability of translation. Professor Li gave professional advice, then he urged the students to read more literary masterpieces as well as constantly improve their literary cultivation. In addition, he also shared his experience on how he become a translator and start the study of language. At that moment, he told students that opportunities are serendipitous. Therefore, what they should do before the opportunity appears is to improve their knowledge and ability, which means trying their best to prepare for any challenges they may encounter. At the end of the evening, he encouraged students to study hard to enrich their knowledge. At the same time, he also encouraged more students to participate in his research and hoped to have a deeper cooperation with them.
Text: Liu Mengwei