The Chinese University of Hong Kong — Motto, Emblem, Anthem, and Colours

A line from the Analects, a regardant phoenix, a 1967 grant of arms from London, and a melody borrowed from Cornell University — CUHK has inscribed its origins into its motto, emblem, and anthem. This article traces the provenance and adoption of these symbols: the core insignia were largely settled around 1964 by the University's Emblem and Gown Design Committee, the coat of arms was formally granted by the College of Arms in London in 1967, and the lyrics of the anthem were written even earlier, in 1952, by Chung Chi College lecturer N. Z. Zia. For the 2022 brand refresh episode half a century later, this article records only the bare factual skeleton (launch – withdrawal – reversion – audited cost); in keeping with this archive's editorial framework, the full panoply of online discussion and controversy is not unfolded within the 00 module. For other major events in recent years, see Historical Overview.

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# I. Motto: 博文約禮

According to CUHK Newsletter: ‘Proposal Letter for the University Motto’^※, in late 1963 the committee invited the Chinese departments of the three founding colleges each to submit a motto proposal. ‘博文約禮’, drafted by Pan Chung-kwei, head of New Asia’s Chinese Department, was chosen on the grounds that it is ‘parallel in structure and harmonious in tone’ and best embodies the University’s educational ideal of laying equal emphasis on intellectual and moral cultivation.

# Provenance: the Analects

The motto is taken from Confucius. CUHK’s official page^※ cites Analects, Book VI (Yong Ye):

「子曰:君子博學於文,約之以禮,亦可以弗畔矣夫。」

The English rendering follows the traditional translation by James Legge in his Four Books:

"The superior man, extensively studying all learning, and keeping himself under the restraint of the rules of propriety, may thus likewise not overstep what is right."

# Meaning

• 博文: to study all learning extensively — to acquire knowledge that is both broad and deep.
• 約禮: to restrain oneself with the rules of propriety — to practise self-discipline through ritual and moral norms.
• According to the CUHK website^※, the motto signifies ‘laying equal emphasis on the intellectual and moral aspects of education’.

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# II. The Emblem: A Regardant Phoenix and a Grant from the College of Arms

According to CUHK Newsletter: ‘CUHK's Coat of Arms’^※, the Letters Patent issued in 1967 — signed jointly by the three senior Officers of Arms (the Garter, Clarenceux, and Norroy & Ulster Kings of Arms) — prescribe a ‘feng reguardant counterchanged’ in the tinctures ‘or and purpure’ (gold and purple). The full achievement of arms also features two ch'i-lin (麒麟) as supporters, rendered in a deliberately chinoiserie style, though these are seldom displayed today. The roundel within the Letters Patent — a purple ground charged with a gold phoenix — is the very device that has served as the University emblem since its foundation.

# 2.1 The Grant in Context: Heraldry and Hong Kong

According to a study devoted to the heraldry of Hong Kong institutions, the CUHK Council formally petitioned the College of Arms in London for a grant of arms shortly after the University’s establishment^※. The College of Arms designed the achievement around a ‘Chinese-character’ brief: the phoenix and the ch’i-lin are both auspicious creatures drawn from traditional Chinese mythology. The College slotted these purely Chinese cultural referents into the rigorous format and nomenclature (blazon) of English heraldry, producing a visual design that might be described as ‘Chinese learning for the essence, Western learning for practical use’ (中體西用).

The same source notes that in Hong Kong, only two tertiary institutions have formally received a grant of arms from the College of Arms: CUHK and the University of Hong Kong^※. This means that possessing a proper grant from the College of Arms is itself a relatively uncommon ‘credential’ among Hong Kong universities — CUHK and HKU are the only local universities with this formal certification from the English heraldic tradition. The original 1967 Letters Patent, according to the public record, are held in the CUHK University Gallery and may be consulted by interested visitors.

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# III. University Colours: Purple and Gold

According to the CUHK website’s Motto & Emblem page^※, the University colours are purple and gold:

These two colours are consistent with the ‘purpure and or’ of the coat of arms (see above) and together form CUHK’s most recognisable visual signature.

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# IV. The Anthem: A Borrowed Melody, a Christian College Inheritance

CUHK’s anthem is unusual. It is not a piece composed from scratch for a newly established comprehensive university but was inherited directly from the college anthem of Chung Chi College, one of the three founding colleges — a living trace of the Christian missionary-education strand in the University’s federal-college origins.

# 4.1 The Lyrics: 1952, by N. Z. Zia

According to collated public sources, the lyrics of the CUHK anthem were written in 1952 — a full eleven years before the University itself was founded in 1963 — because they began life as the Chung Chi College anthem. The author was N. Z. Zia (謝扶雅, 1892–1991), a former lecturer at Chung Chi. Zia was a noted Christian thinker and translator who taught for many years in the College’s Department of Religion and Philosophy. The text urges students to pursue their studies with diligence in a Christian spirit, echoing the motto ‘through learning and temperance to virtue’, blending Chinese and Western scholarly traditions, and embracing the mission of nurturing talent and serving the world.

# 4.2 The Tune: ‘Annie Lisle’, via Cornell University

The provenance of the melody is perhaps the most serendipitous detail in the entire symbolic repertoire. The tune traces back to ‘Annie Lisle’, a popular ballad composed by H. S. Thompson in 1857. This American folk melody, graceful and well-proportioned, became popular on US campuses in the late nineteenth century and was adopted — with new lyrics — by several institutions. The best-known adopter is Cornell University, which set its alma mater, ‘Far Above Cayuga’s Waters’, to this tune in 1870.

Chung Chi College (and later CUHK) adopted the same melody, continuing this ‘borrow-the-tune-write-new-words’ tradition of Western universities. It reached Hong Kong through the networks of Christian colleges (Chung Chi’s own founding was directly connected to the legacy of several Christian universities in mainland China; see history.md). The upshot is this: when the CUHK community sings its anthem, the melody is essentially the same one heard across the Pacific at Cornell. It is the most discreet but also the most intriguing example of East-meets-West fusion within CUHK’s symbolic system. The motto comes from the Analects; the emblem was designed by the English College of Arms around Chinese mythological beasts; the anthem tune is a nineteenth-century American ballad popularised by Cornell. Of the three core symbols, scarcely one is a culturally ‘pure’ product — each is a hybrid.

# 4.3 College Anthems: A Constellation of ‘Sub-Anthems’

Beyond the University anthem, each college has its own motto, emblem, and anthem — a logical expression of the dual ‘University–College’ identity integral to the collegiate system (for a detailed treatment, see Section 3 of ../06-people/alumni-network-and-advancement.md). Based on public records:

• The New Asia College anthem has lyrics by Ch’ien Mu (錢穆) and music by Wong Yau-tai (黃友棣). It opens with the majestic lines ‘The mountains are stern, the seas are deep, / The earth is broad, the heavens high, / Man is honoured, the mind is sentient, / Magnanimity broadens the heart, / Time’s slow work brings forth life’ — a literary projection of New Asia’s founding spirit of starting ‘empty-handed, with nothing’ (for the founding Confucian scholars of New Asia, see ../06-people/new-asia-confucian-masters.md).
• The Shaw College anthem was composed by Ling Shixue (林聲翕), with lyrics by Chan Kai-nai (陳佳鼐) and D. C. Lau (劉殿爵) — the latter a renowned translator of Chinese classics who served as Chair Professor of Chinese at CUHK. Lau’s contribution to the Shaw anthem is a concrete example of how CUHK’s humanities scholars have helped shape the cultural life of its colleges.

For an in-depth archive of each college’s anthem, motto, and emblem, see the Colleges module.

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# V. Ceremonial Regalia and Visual Identity (Summary)

The University Mace, like the coat of arms, dates from the founding era. Carried by the mace-bearer at degree congregations and other formal occasions, it is an indispensable ceremonial symbol in the University’s major rituals. For the 60th anniversary in 2023, an exhibition on ‘The Mace and the Coat of Arms’ was held (CUHK Library 60th Anniversary exhibition page^※).

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# VI. The 2022 Brand Refresh Episode (Bare Factual Skeleton)

In October 2022, in the run-up to the University’s 60th anniversary, CUHK unveiled a brand refresh, which included a simplified, colour-separated phoenix logo. According to public reporting, a new tagline, loosely meaning ‘Gathering Strength, Creating Infinity’ (凝聚・締造無限), was launched at the same time; the University’s stated intention was to express the cohesion among stakeholders and the shared commitment to contributing to society. As recorded in the CUHK Communications and Public Relations Office’s ‘Statement on CUHK Brand Refresh’^※, after criticism from alumni and the wider community, the new logo was withdrawn within a week, and the existing emblem was restored.

• Factual skeleton: Oct 2022 launch (new emblem + tagline) → withdrawn within a week → old emblem restored.
• According to an investigative report^※, the brand refresh cost approximately HK$4 million.

This archive’s editorial framework: only the objective skeleton above is recorded in the 00 module; the online discussion and public commentary surrounding the event are not developed here.

# 6.1 Why a ‘Withdrawn within a Week’ Episode Belongs in this Archive

The reason this episode earns a place in a dossier on motto, emblem, anthem, and colours is not its controversial nature, but the fact that it illustrates, from the reverse angle, the institutional weight of the coat of arms described in Section II. The CUHK emblem is not a piece of ‘brand equity’ that may be casually altered; it is a coat of arms freighted with the concrete historical and legal weight of a 1967 grant from the College of Arms. The attempt in the 2022 version to ‘streamline’ that armorial bearing with a modern design vocabulary, and the pushback it triggered among alumni and the community, to some extent reflects just how little latitude for capricious alteration this visual system — created in the University’s earliest years — commands within CUHK’s sense of identity. That is why this article files the 2022 episode under the symbolic archive rather than treating it solely as a public-relations incident.

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