The first thing I want to say is to warn you not to rush things. In the era of globalization of market economy, the logic of capital creates a kind of progressive compulsion, which puts almost everyone into the track of constant competition. It's a hard reality, almost impossible to escape. But since we are graduates of a university with a deep spiritual tradition, we can always impose a freer relation to this outward progress. We have been here before, and we have come to understand that the essential condition for the progress of learning is precisely the freedom of the heart, and the persistent effort that results from that freedom of the heart. The second point I want to make is that we should not be afraid of the ordinary. Of course, every Fudan graduate always aims high and pursues excellence. But our aspirations are not directly directed towards the possession of material wealth or the attainment of higher positions.

The excellence we seek is not some external brilliance. The knowledge we acquire through graduate school is not directly related to any external success. We develop talent, learning, knowledge and morality, but the vision of the mind and the power of the soul. In my opinion, this is the true meaning of the degree we receive. Master's or doctor's degree are not signs of a future success. The amount of money we hold, the rank of office we hold, are not enough to measure the success of our life. We may still be ordinary, but as long as the work we do in our ordinary social roles is actually accumulating a bright future for our nation, our hearts are great. We may not become the elite of the society, but we should become the backbone of the nation. True greatness belongs to the mind. Today, some may see this as the comfort of a weak man, but in truth, it is the power of faith. Of wealth, status and faith, the really rare, and the really important, is faith. Only faith can always give us a full heart and a detached attitude towards the ups and downs of life. It is the normal state of life. Our emotions are often up and down, but this is not a good state of life. A better life is one based on faith, in which we are not happy with things and not sad for ourselves. The third point I want to make is that we should dare to create. Only creation is the real place of youth, creation is one of the most needed qualities of our nation today. We live in a time of great challenge and opportunity, but also a time of great difficulty. The biggest difficulties arise from the disintegration of traditional values and the absence of new ones. In such a state, it is hard for the mind to find a home. A mind without a home is not creative. So philosophy today is everybody's business. The theme of philosophy today can be graphically summed up in this sentence: "Looking for home with homesickness." Nostalgia is the memory of our hometown, and it is with this memory that we can keep the perception of truth and the imagination and planning of the future in the modern situation. Although the memory of our old home is not enough to open the way for us to go forward, it provides us with a guidepost, let us always remember those simple truths, the truth of the earth, from which we form the true ideal and power, and with our own life to strive for them to bear new fruit today. This is my understanding of the relationship between tradition and innovation. We have a real sense of time that cannot be described by the even ticking of a clock. This feeling has other roots, involving our ultimate concern. Ultimate concern begins with our awareness of the fundamental limitation and insignificance of individual existence. As a result of ultimate concern, we naturally focus on and reflect on The Times in which we live -- an age in which we will almost all spend our limited lives. So today we're going to talk about the state of culture in our time. Such a big topic, it is not easy to explain the state of contemporary culture clearly. In addition, we will talk about "the life of Chinese culture", which is a big topic. I have ventured a few words in an attempt only to get to the heart of the subject.

The first thing I want to say is to warn you not to rush things. In the era of globalization of market economy, the logic of capital creates a kind of progressive compulsion, which puts almost everyone into the track of constant competition. It's a hard reality, almost impossible to escape. But since we are graduates of a university with a deep spiritual tradition, we can always impose a freer relation to this outward progress. We have been here before, and we have come to understand that the essential condition for the progress of learning is precisely the freedom of the heart, and the persistent effort that results from that freedom of the heart. The second point I want to make is that we should not be afraid of the ordinary. Of course, every Fudan graduate always aims high and pursues excellence. But our aspirations are not directly directed towards the possession of material wealth or the attainment of higher positions.

The excellence we seek is not some external brilliance. The knowledge we acquire through graduate school is not directly related to any external success. We develop talent, learning, knowledge and morality, but the vision of the mind and the power of the soul. In my opinion, this is the true meaning of the degree we receive. Master's or doctor's degree are not signs of a future success. The amount of money we hold, the rank of office we hold, are not enough to measure the success of our life. We may still be ordinary, but as long as the work we do in our ordinary social roles is actually accumulating a bright future for our nation, our hearts are great. We may not become the elite of the society, but we should become the backbone of the nation. True greatness belongs to the mind. Today, some may see this as the comfort of a weak man, but in truth, it is the power of faith. Of wealth, status and faith, the really rare, and the really important, is faith. Only faith can always give us a full heart and a detached attitude towards the ups and downs of life. It is the normal state of life. Our emotions are often up and down, but this is not a good state of life. A better life is one based on faith, in which we are not happy with things and not sad for ourselves. The third point I want to make is that we should dare to create. Only creation is the real place of youth, creation is one of the most needed qualities of our nation today. We live in a time of great challenge and opportunity, but also a time of great difficulty. The biggest difficulties arise from the disintegration of traditional values and the absence of new ones. In such a state, it is hard for the mind to find a home. A mind without a home is not creative. So philosophy today is everybody's business. The theme of philosophy today can be graphically summed up in this sentence: "Looking for home with homesickness." Nostalgia is the memory of our hometown, and it is with this memory that we can keep the perception of truth and the imagination and planning of the future in the modern situation. Although the memory of our old home is not enough to open the way for us to go forward, it provides us with a guidepost, let us always remember those simple truths, the truth of the earth, from which we form the true ideal and power, and with our own life to strive for them to bear new fruit today. This is my understanding of the relationship between tradition and innovation. We have a real sense of time that cannot be described by the even ticking of a clock. This feeling has other roots, involving our ultimate concern. Ultimate concern begins with our awareness of the fundamental limitation and insignificance of individual existence. As a result of ultimate concern, we naturally focus on and reflect on The Times in which we live -- an age in which we will almost all spend our limited lives. So today we're going to talk about the state of culture in our time. Such a big topic, it is not easy to explain the state of contemporary culture clearly. In addition, we will talk about "the life of Chinese culture", which is a big topic. I have ventured a few words in an attempt only to get to the heart of the subject.