On October 5, NJU held the first seminar of Freshman Lunch Seminar Series at its Gulou campus. 30 attendees held intensive academic conversations on the subject of “Reading and Thinking Academically” with Professor Zhang Fengyang from the School of Government. Professors Xu Xingwu and Hu Yiqing presented certificates to the keynote speaker Professor Zhang Fengyang, and the host Dr. Song Yiwei.

Prof. Xu Xingwu briefly introduced the primary purpose of the "Freshman Luncheon" series, and expressed his gratitude and welcome to the guests and students who attended the first event. He said that the Seminar Series aims to create relaxed dialogues, academic democracy and interdisciplinary communication in the form of informal conversation.

Professor Zhang shared his 40-year-experience of study and academic research at NJU and emphasized the importance of “reading and thinking academically” for NJU students. Citing Max Weber’s famous speech “Making Academics the Business” and combining his own understanding of universities and academics, he summarized three key phrases: community of scholars, intrinsic persuasiveness and intellectual progressiveness. According to Zhang, a university is a community of scholars, a community with a common conceptual ambition, where people gather to seek knowledge and explore truth, which is universal and transcendent. The scientific research conducted by the university is based on its internal logic, that is, it is inherently persuasive. Whether it is research in natural science or the humanities and social science, reliable data, informative information, rigorous reasoning, and self-consistent logic are the basic requirements. Driven by this intrinsic persuasiveness, teachers and students can engage in an equal exchange of knowledge.

In the subsequent discussion session, Zhang Fengyang answered the questions raised by the students about the development history of the academic community, and exchanged views with them on how to find a suitable direction for their professional research and to master the method of academic research.

The Seminar series is designed to provide NJU Freshmen with an opportunity to explore academic inspirations through informal dialogues with instructors and fellow students across disciplines.

Translator: Song Xinze

Editors: Chen Xing, He Yao