New Asia College: \"Sincerity and Intelligence,\" Fallen Blossoms, and the Torch of Neo-Confucianism

# New Asia College: "Sincerity and Intelligence," Fallen Blossoms, and the Torch of Neo-Confucianism

In 1949, on Kweilin Street in Sham Shui Po, a handful of rented classrooms stood two storeys tall, without even a library. On the platform was Ch'ien Mu, freshly arrived from mainland China, so destitute he slept on the schoolroom floor. In the seats were displaced youths, many from refugee camps, who could not pay tuition. A "university"—one that would one day be co-founded into The Chinese University of Hong Kong—opened its doors in just such a space. This article surveys New Asia College's origins, ethos, landmarks, and figures: it is one of CUHK's three founding colleges, a bastion of contemporary Neo-Confucianism and Chinese cultural studies, whose motto is "Sincerity and Intelligence" (誠明), and whose college song proclaiming "Our hands are empty, we possess nothing" is no mere rhetoric but a statement of fact.

This article is an integrated profile of New Asia College and is substantially more detailed than the New Asia section in the college overview. The 1976 governance restructuring struggle, in its full University-system context, is treated separately in a dedicated article in the University Governance module; this piece provides only a summary and a cross-reference.

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# 1. Basic Facts

According to the New Asia College official page^※, New Asia College was founded in 1949 by a group of scholars from mainland China, led by Dr Ch'ien Mu. Its founding mission was "to preserve and carry forward traditional Chinese culture, and to integrate it with modern academic learning." Among CUHK's nine colleges, New Asia carries a distinctive cultural weight through its profound connection to Neo-Confucianism and Chinese humanities research, and through its founding narrative of building a school from nothing, of "fallen blossoms drifting in the wind" (花果飄零) yet taking root anew (靈根自植).

The name "New Asia" (新亞) signifies a "new Asia," embodying the founders' hope for a revival of Chinese culture in a new era, acting as a bridge between East and West to promote human peace. Officially, the college's educational aim is described as "tracing back to the spirit of the Song and Ming academy lectures, and borrowing from the tutorial system of Western European universities"—drawing upon the lecturing traditions of Song-Ming Confucians like Zhu Xi of White Deer Grotto and Wang Yangming, while also adapting the tutorial systems of Oxford and Cambridge, in an attempt to forge a synthesis of Chinese and Western approaches.

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# 2. Founding History: From Kweilin Street to Sha Tin

# 1949: The Asia College of Arts and Commerce Amid Displacement

According to the official history of New Asia College^※, in October 1949, Ch'ien Mu and a group of scholars who had travelled south from mainland China founded the "Asia College of Arts and Commerce" (亞洲文商學院) as an evening school. That year, the political situation on the mainland shifted dramatically; a great number of intellectuals moved south to Hong Kong. Most of the teachers and students were exiles, in dire financial straits—"Our hands are empty, we possess nothing" was not a rhetorical flourish but a stark reality. According to CUHK University Gallery "Master Profiles: Mr Ch'ien Mu"^※, the mission these scholars set for themselves was to keep alive a lifeline for Chinese culture in a world torn apart, and to offer displaced youths a chance to continue their studies. They were not simply running an ordinary school; they were acting as custodians of a cultural ideal in chaotic times.

# 1950: Move to Kweilin Street and Renaming to New Asia

According to the official history, in 1950, the college was reorganised and renamed "New Asia College" (新亞書院), moving into its Kweilin Street campus in Sham Shui Po, Kowloon. The "Kweilin Street era" thus became the wellspring of the New Asia spirit—alumni and faculty later reminiscing about the hardships of the founding era would invariably invoke Kweilin Street as its symbol. Ch'ien Mu became the president, Tang Chun-i the dean of studies, and Chang Pi-chieh the chief administrator. The three founders each managed a division, held multiple roles simultaneously, in a classic pattern of pioneering improvisation.

The material conditions of the Kweilin Street period seem almost unimaginable today. Synthesising official CUHK historical materials^※ and other relevant public accounts:

• Campus: The initial campus consisted merely of a few rented classrooms on Kweilin Street (several units, two storeys high, approximately four classrooms), so basic it lacked even a library.
• Students: The students were almost all young arrivals from the south, many from refugee camps. Many could not afford tuition and had nowhere to stay; accounts describe students sleeping on the school rooftop and in stairwells. At the time, the entire college had fewer than one hundred students and staff combined.
• Finances: Tuition fees accounted for only a very small portion of the college's income (roughly 20 per cent). The college operated at a persistent loss, with reported monthly deficits running into thousands of Hong Kong dollars—a financial gap sufficient, in the early 1950s, to sink a small college.
• Hardship of the Founders: Ch'ien Mu lived in extreme austerity. It is recorded that he initially slept on the schoolroom floor, later finding lodgings in tenement districts and remote villages, commuting daily by public transport to teach.

In its pioneering days, New Asia had no substantial endowment, no proper campus; it had only a group of scholars willing to endure poverty, and a band of young people with no place to go but yearning to learn. Faculty and students sustained each other through hardship—this was the primal substratum of what later came to be called the "New Asia spirit." "Our hands are empty, we possess nothing" was not a lament of self-pity but a spiritual declaration: materially destitute, yet spiritually holding the mission to transmit the entirety of Chinese culture.

# 1953: Founding of the New Asia Institute of Advanced Chinese Studies

According to the official history of New Asia College^※, in 1953, the college established its research institute, the Institute of Advanced Chinese Studies (新亞研究所), on Prince Edward Road, dedicated to advanced research and postgraduate training in Chinese literature, history, and philosophy. It later became a significant institution for Neo-Confucian and Chinese academic studies. When New Asia College moved to Sha Tin in 1973, the Institute remained at the old Farm Road site, institutionally separating from the CUHK-incorporated New Asia College—a distinction often confused by later generations and worth clarifying.

# 1954: The Yale-China Association and American Foundations

According to the official history of New Asia College^※, in 1954, the Yale-China Association of the United States began its collaboration with New Asia College. During the same period, the college received funding from the Asia Foundation, the Harvard-Yenching Institute, the Rockefeller Foundation, and others. The Yale-China Association (linked to Yale University) sent recent graduates annually to teach English and other subjects at New Asia, and funded campus construction and teacher development. The collaboration between Yale-China and New Asia was a classic Cold War-era case of American foundation support for Hong Kong higher education, laying a material foundation for the college's later growth.

# 1956: Move to Farm Road

According to official and English-language Wikipedia sources, New Asia moved in the mid-1950s to a permanent campus on Farm Road (農圃道) in To Kwa Wan, Kowloon, donated by an American foundation. The "Round Pavilion" (圓亭) on the Farm Road campus is later considered a precursor to the "Amphitheater" (圓形廣場) and "Pavilion of Harmony" (合一亭) imagery on the Sha Tin campus.

# 1963 and 1973: Co-founding CUHK and Moving to Sha Tin

According to New Asia College (English Wikipedia)^※, in 1963, New Asia, Chung Chi, and United jointly constituted The Chinese University of Hong Kong. In 1973, New Asia College moved to CUHK's Ma Liu Shui campus in Sha Tin. After New Asia vacated the Farm Road site, the New Asia Educational and Cultural Foundation opened New Asia Middle School there, and the New Asia Institute of Advanced Chinese Studies also continued its operations at Farm Road. From that point, the name "New Asia" was distributed across three sites: New Asia College incorporated within CUHK (Sha Tin), and the independent New Asia Institute and New Asia Middle School (Farm Road).

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# 3. The Founders and Neo-Confucianism

The reason New Asia holds a special place within CUHK and the wider Chinese academic world lies critically in its status as a key hub of contemporary Neo-Confucianism (當代新儒家). The three primary founders—Ch'ien Mu, Tang Chun-i, and Chang Pi-chieh—together with other scholars who later congregated at New Asia College or its research institute, such as Hsu Fu-kuan, Mou Tsung-san, and Carsun Chang (Chang Chun-mai), formed an intellectual community dedicated to the mission of "ensuring the continuity of teachings lost to posterity" (為往聖繼絕學).

• Ch'ien Mu (錢穆, 1895–1990): Courtesy name Pin-ssu (賓四), born in Wuxi, Jiangsu. A renowned modern Chinese historian, thinker, and educator, counted among the "Four Great Historians" alongside Lü Simian, Chen Yuan, and Chen Yinke. Author of works such as A General History of China (國史大綱) and Chronological Studies of the Pre-Qin Philosophers (先秦諸子系年). Founded New Asia in 1949 and served as its president until 1965. Personally wrote the lyrics for the New Asia college song and authored the New Asia Regulations for Study (新亞學規), whose educational ideal of "the unity of scholarship and personal conduct" (為學與做人合一) constitutes the core text of the New Asia spirit. According to English Wikipedia, after Ch'ien Mu stepped down in 1965, the college's leadership evolved from "President" (1949–1977) to "College Head" (1977–present).
• Tang Chun-i (唐君毅, 1909–1978): Born in Yibin, Sichuan. A leading figure of contemporary Neo-Confucianism, New Asia's first Dean of Studies and Chair of the Department of Philosophy. In 1958, Tang drafted and co-signed with Carsun Chang, Mou Tsung-san, and Hsu Fu-kuan the Declaration to the World on Behalf of Chinese Culture (為中國文化敬告世界人士宣言), commonly known as the "Contemporary Neo-Confucian Manifesto," a landmark document in 20th-century Confucian history. Tang Chun-i's metaphors of "fallen blossoms drifting" (花果飄零) and "spiritual roots taking hold anew" (靈根自植) to describe the condition and responsibility of exiled intellectuals became almost another formulation of the New Asia spirit.
• Chang Pi-chieh (張丕介, 1905–1970): Born in Guantao, Shandong. Earned a doctorate in economics in Germany. Served as New Asia's first Chief Administrator and Chair of the Department of Economics, sustaining the college's general operations during its early phase. He was the first of the three founders to pass away.

Scholars who gathered at New Asia College or its research institute also included Hsu Fu-kuan, Carsun Chang, Mou Tsung-san, Lao Sze-kwang, and others. This constellation of names makes the two characters "New Asia" (新亞) a cultural signifier that transcends the institution of a single college.

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# 4. The Motto "Sincerity and Intelligence," College Song, and Regulations for Study

# Motto: 誠明 (Sincerity and Intelligence)

According to official sources, the college motto is "誠明" (chéng míng, "sincerity and intelligence / perfect sincerity leading to enlightenment"), derived from the Doctrine of the Mean (中庸): 「自誠明,謂之性;自明誠,謂之教。誠則明矣,明則誠矣。」 ("From sincerity to enlightenment is called nature; from enlightenment to sincerity is called instruction. If one is sincere, one will be enlightened; if one is enlightened, one will be sincere.") "Sincerity" (誠) refers to the path of authentic, undeluded being; "Intelligence/Enlightenment" (明) refers to the wisdom and insight born of that sincerity. The two characters together encapsulate New Asia's ideal of unifying "scholarship" and "personal conduct."

# College Song: "Our Hands Are Empty, We Possess Nothing"

According to Wikipedia: New Asia College^※, the New Asia college song's lyrics were written by founding president Ch'ien Mu, with music by the celebrated composer Huang Youdi (黃友棣). The most celebrated lines are those that plainly express the hardship of building a college from nothing: 「手空空，無一物，路遙遙，無止境。亂離中，流浪裏，餓我體膚勞我精。艱險我奮進，睏乏我多情。」 ("Our hands are empty, we possess nothing; the road stretches far, without end. Amid the chaos and displacement, in our wandering, our bodies hunger, our spirits toil. Through hardship and danger we press forward; in privation, our affection deepens.") "Our hands are empty, we possess nothing" is both a concrete depiction of the founding conditions and, sublimated, a declaration of commitment to building a college on spiritual foundations. To this day, the song is sung collectively at New Asia's orientation, graduation, and anniversary events.

# New Asia Regulations for Study

Ch'ien Mu personally drafted the New Asia Regulations for Study (新亞學規, comprising over twenty articles) as a guide for students' personal and academic development, later included in New Asia Reminiscences (新亞遺鐸). The opening article immediately states its fundamental purpose: 「求學與做人，貴能齊頭並進，更貴能融通合一。」 ("In the pursuit of learning and the cultivation of personal conduct, it is crucial that they advance concurrently, and even more crucial that they be integrated into a harmonious whole.") Its core is a rejection of any separation between the "pursuit of learning" and the "cultivation of the self."

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# 5. Iconic Buildings and Landmarks

New Asia College is situated in the northern, relatively elevated part of the CUHK campus, commanding views over Tolo Harbour and Ma On Shan. Several of the college's landmarks are closely intertwined with cultural motifs such as "the unity of heaven and humanity" and "sincerity and intelligence."

# The Water Tower and Amphitheater

According to New Asia College (English Wikipedia)^※, New Asia's facilities include the Ch'ien Mu Library, Pavilion of Harmony, Clock Tower, Water Tower, and Amphitheater (圓形廣場). The Water Tower is the college's most conspicuous landmark, standing tall beside the Amphitheater and visible from a distance. During college anniversaries, a vertical banner reading "Sincerity and Intelligence — New Asia College Anniversary" (誠明 新亞書院校慶) is hung from the tower. The Amphitheater, modelled on an ancient theatre, has good acoustics and serves as the centre for anniversary celebrations like the "Thousand-Person Feast" and "Dai Pai Dong," as well as daily staff-student gatherings.

# Pavilion of Harmony (合一亭)

According to Wikipedia: Pavilion of Harmony^※, the Pavilion of Harmony was completed in December 2003, funded by a donation from Ms Ng Tsung-lin (伍宗琳), to commemorate the founder Ch'ien Mu and his essay On the Unity of Heaven and Humanity (天人合一論). In front of the pavilion lies a crescent-shaped shallow pool; the water of the pool aligns almost seamlessly with the scenery of Tolo Harbour and Ma On Shan, creating a visual effect where water and sky merge into a single colour. It has become one of the most famous "Instagram spots" and wedding photography locations at CUHK and across Hong Kong. The full text of Ch'ien Mu's On the Unity of Heaven and Humanity, in the calligraphy of former Fine Arts professor Lee Yun-woon (李潤桓), is engraved on the pavilion's outer wall. The seal reading "天人合一" (Unity of Heaven and Humanity) is the work of Fine Arts professor Tong Kam-tang (唐錦騰) in seal script. The former CUHK Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ambrose King Yeo-chi (金耀基), is said to have praised the Pavilion of Harmony as "Hong Kong's second-best scenic view."

# Cheng Ming Building, Humanities Building, and Ch'ien Mu Library

• Cheng Ming Building (誠明館): The administration and teaching building, housing a college history gallery, the Yale-China Association's representative office in China, the Dean of Students' Office, and CUHK's Department of Fine Arts.
• Humanities Building (人文館): A teaching building that echoes New Asia's humanistic tradition.
• Ch'ien Mu Library (錢穆圖書館): The college library, named after the founding head, with rich collections in Chinese literature, history, and philosophy.

A bronze statue of the founder, Mr Tang Chun-i, stands in the college grounds. Many campus building names (Cheng Ming, Humanities, Zhi Xing, Xue Si, Le Qun) derive their meaning from Confucian classics and the New Asia Regulations for Study, demonstrating an intention to embody culture through architecture.

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# 6. College Traditions

• Anniversary Season: Dai Pai Dong and the Thousand-Person Feast: The New Asia anniversary is the first major college event of the new academic year. The Dai Pai Dong (大笪地, named after the traditional Hong Kong open-air fair) resembles a Lunar New Year market, with students setting up stalls to sell food and crafts. The Thousand-Person Feast (千人宴) is held in the Amphitheater, gathering over a thousand students, staff, and alumni—the college's annual marquee event.
• The Ch'ien Mu Lecture in Chinese Culture and Scholarship: New Asia's most academically significant endowed lecture series, annually inviting a world-renowned scholar to the college to lecture on and advance Chinese culture. In 1978, Ch'ien Mu himself, aged over eighty and in ill health, travelled from across the sea to deliver the inaugural lecture, creating one of the most moving chapters in the college's history. Successive lecturers have been a constellation of luminaries.
• Orientation Camp, New Singing Contest, and New Asia Night: The orientation camp helps new students integrate into the community and learn the college song. New Sing (新唱) is a singing competition, and New Asia Night (新亞夜) is a college variety evening.

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# 7. The 1976 Restructuring and the Resignation of Nine Council Members (Overview)

This section is only an overview. For the full context of the university system restructuring, the background to the Fulton Report, and the governance struggle, see the dedicated article in the University Governance module. This article confines itself to matters directly concerning New Asia College.

According to Wikipedia: New Asia College^※, CUHK, upon its establishment in 1963, adopted a "federal" system, under which member colleges like New Asia retained considerable educational autonomy. In the 1970s, the Hong Kong government pushed for a restructuring of CUHK, proposing to centralise academic teaching under the University's central administration, with the colleges becoming responsible solely for student welfare and general education—a shift from a "federal" to a "unitary" system. The restructuring bill was passed after three readings in the Legislative Council in 1976, transferring teaching authority from the colleges to the central University.

As the restructuring bill was passed, nine members of the New Asia College Council—reportedly, according to Wikipedia, Tang Chun-i, Li Cho-fah (李祖法), Ch'ien Mu, Shen I-chen (沈亦珍), Wu Chun-sheng (吳俊升), Hsu Chi-liang (徐季良), Lau Hon-tung (劉漢棟), Yam Kwok-wing (任國榮), and Kwok Ching-tat (郭正達)—issued a joint statement, declaring that the restructuring "seriously impairs the sovereignty of the University and the educational merits of the colleges" and contravened the original intent of CUHK's federal character. They collectively resigned in protest. The bill passed its third reading nonetheless; the nine members' resignation could not prevent the outcome. This upheaval is widely regarded as a moment when the "New Asia spirit" suffered a major institutional setback. Following the restructuring, New Asia's role within CUHK shifted from being a "university within a university," possessing a complete academic apparatus, toward that of a member college focused primarily on general education, student welfare, and cultural transmission.

The divergence in positions on the restructuring between founding President Ch'ien Mu and his protégé, Yu Ying-shih (餘英時), who was then chairing the restructuring working group, has long been a matter of varied public speculation involving personal assessments. This article does not elaborate or adjudicate; the relevant juxtaposed accounts can be found in the dedicated article in the University Governance module.

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# 8. Notable Alumni

• Yu Ying-shih (餘英時, 1930–2021): According to New Asia College (English Wikipedia)^※, a historian, and a graduate of New Asia's first class (1952). He taught at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, and was a recipient of the Kluge Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Study of Humanity and the Tang Prize. He also served as CUHK's Pro-Vice-Chancellor and as Head of New Asia College. He is one of the iconic figures in 20th-century Chinese historiography.
• Liu Shu-hsien (劉述先, 1934–2016): A philosopher, one of the representative figures of the third generation of contemporary Neo-Confucianism, who taught for many years in CUHK's Department of Philosophy.
• Sun Kuo-tung (孫國棟, 1922–2013): A historian and former Dean of Arts at New Asia College and Director of the New Asia Institute of Advanced Chinese Studies, specialising in Tang and Song history.
• Samuel Sun Sai-ming (辛世文): A plant molecular biologist, New Asia alumnus, who later became the Founding Master of S.H. Ho College (see S.H. Ho College page).

New Asia alumni have spread across academia, politics, business, and culture, but their most dazzling achievements lie in the field of humanities scholarship—a legacy that flows directly from the college's founding purpose of "ensuring the continuity of teachings lost to posterity."

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# 9. Unofficial Histories and Rumours (Low Reliability)

Reliability Note: The content in this section largely consists of popular anecdotes, campus oral traditions, or internet forum tales. It has not been verified by authoritative historical sources and carries low reliability. It is provided solely for cultural interest and must not be cited as historical fact. This site does not entertain subjective appraisals of living individuals; the following anecdotes do not correspond to any real person.

The Mystery of the Water Tower's "Junzi Ta" Name

The New Asia Water Tower is popularly called "Junzi Ta" (君子塔, "Gentleman's Tower"). Explanations circulating on campus include: one theory holds it comes from the phrase "a gentleman is broad and at his ease" (君子坦蕩蕩), alluding to the tower's simple, upright form; another suggests it is because the tower stands tall, solitary, and outstanding, "preeminent and peerless" (卓爾不羣), like a gentleman. A more playful notion says it is because the tower, being the highest point on campus, "commands a view from above" (居高臨下). All these are informal attributions without any authoritative source; they are best taken with a grain of salt.

The "Taboo" of the Pavilion of Harmony Pool (Campus Ghost Lore)

The Pavilion of Harmony, owing to its merged water-sky panorama and poetic nightscape, has spawned campus ghost stories. Some say late at night, the pool's reflection shows "one extra person"; others speak of hearing the sound of chanting in the pavilion on rainy nights. Such tales are standard urban-legend motifs common to waterscapes at every university, pure fiction and imagination, not corresponding to any real person or event. Reliability is extremely low; they are recorded merely as campus folkloric curiosities.

The Folk Dramas of "Ch'ien Mu and the Restructuring"

Popular (especially online) discussion of Ch'ien Mu and the restructuring is rife with dramatically rendered "inside story" versions—specific scenes of secret meetings and dialogues of master-pupil rupture. The vast majority of these vividly "on-the-spot" details cannot be traced to any reliable source. They are imaginative embellishments by later parties rooted in prior stances, possessing low reliability and meriting no credence. The real attitudes of the various parties involved in the restructuring should be sought in their published writings and serious scholarship.

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# Sources

• New Asia College (CUHK Official - College Page) — Official
• New Asia College History (New Asia College Official) — Official (1949 Asia College of Arts and Commerce, 1950 Kweilin Street, 1953 Institute, 1954 Yale-China, 1973 Sha Tin)
• Master Profiles: Mr Ch'ien Mu — University Gallery (CUHK Official) — Official (Kweilin Street founding hardships: campus, students/staff, finances, Ch'ien Mu's austerity)
• Link between Yale-China and New Asia (New Asia College Official) — Official (Origins of the Yale-China and New Asia link)
• Wikipedia: New Asia College (Simplified Chinese) — Secondary (college song, nine Council members in restructuring, motto)
• New Asia College (English Wikipedia) — Secondary (Ch'ien Mu 1949–1965, 1963 co-founding, landmarks, Yu Ying-shih 1952)
• Wikipedia: Pavilion of Harmony — Secondary (completed 2003, Ng Tsung-lin donation, Lee Yun-woon/Tong Kam-tang, Ambrose King's "Hong Kong's second-best view")

# Cross-references

• The Collegiate System and Nine Member Colleges - Overview
• Chung Chi College · United College — The other two founding colleges