Upon the 105th anniversary of Tsinghua University, a symposium gathering a host of Tsinghua alumni was held in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures to mark the 90th anniversary of the Department.

A Scene of Alumni Symposium (斜体字为文中图片说明，下同)

Xie Weihe, vice director of the Tsinghua University Council, addressed the symposium. He recalled the remarkable achievements made by DFLL in its initial stages, and mentioned its ever-increasing role in the process of conducting humanities researches and building up strong disciplines. He also stressed the importance of training qualified students for the country. He appreciated the sustained supports from the alumni of DFLL. Xie closed his speech by calling upon all the faculty and staff of DFLL to live up to the expectations President Xi Jinping conveyed in his congratulatory letter for the 105th anniversary of Tsinghua University, and to push forward the process of building up a better department and a better university as a whole.

Famous translator, Professor Xu Yuanchong (middle) on campus

Famous translator, Professor Wen Jieruo (middle) with faculty of DFLL

Professor Yan Haiping, dean of DFLL, delivered a warm-hearted welcome speech to all alumni at the symposium. She started with a brief review of the DFLL history in its past 90 years, and then expressed the resolution to inherit the legacy of the DFLL, i.e., "connecting the East and the West, bridging the past and the present, and integrating the humanities and the sciences,” and live up to President Xi Jinping’s expectations. Professor Yan introduced to the alumni the Institute for World Literatures and Cultures (IWLC), Tsinghua University, which was established at the end of 2014. The establishment of IWLC provides an important platform for DFLL's further development. DFLL will uphold its excellent tradition and cultivate young talents who possess humanistic abilities, international vision, and cross-language, interdisciplinary, cross-cultural potentials, and encourage them to become "the salt of the earth" and "light of the world" for human civilization.

Famous translator, Professor Jiang Feng (left) on Tsinghua campus

Eminent scholars and translators Xu Yuanchong, Wen Jieruo, Jiang Feng, and other senior alumni each delivered speeches at the symposium. Professor Hu Zhuanglin from Peking University and other senior alumni recollected their memorable years at Tsinghua University and extended their heartfelt wishes for the younger generations to inherit the great legacy from the forerunners and win greater glories for Tsinghua humanities and the nation in the new era. Some distinguished younger alumni such as Prof. Gu Chaoyang from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Zhu Wenli, General Manager of Intel China Enterprise Affairs Department, and table tennis world champion Deng Yaping also made speeches at the symposium. All of them expressed their gratitude to DFLL for helping them to possess a cross-cultural vision, multi-language skills and professional abilities. The symposium wound up with a chorus of Tsinghua University Anthem.

Deng Yaping, table tennis world champion, made speech.

 Present at the symposium were some 80 distinguished alumni from the circles of education, industry and culture at home and abroad, and former leaders of DFLL, representatives of DFLL teachers and students.

Group photo of attendants at the Symposium

On the same day, a series of seminars were held in DFLL. Teachers from the newly established eight specialty-oriented divisions participated in the seminars and held in-depth discussions with the alumni on inheriting academic legacies.