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Last month saw a significant and exciting event in Chinese cultural circles here which attracted 1,200 participants. I am referring to the public forum entitled “A Tale of Four Cities” organised by Lianhe Zaobao to mark its 80th anniversary. Four prominent speakers, namely, Mr Tao Jie, columnist and assistant professor in journalism at the Chinese University of Hong Kong; Mr Zhu Xueqin, a history professor at Shanghai University; Ms Lung Ying-tai, a famed writer from Taiwan; and Mr Liu Thai Ker, architect and chairman of the National Arts Council in Singapore, were invited to speak from the cultural, architectural, historical and political perspectives on the city each comes from. Drawing from their expertise and vast experience, they also presented their views on the differences and similarities, uniqueness, character and future of these four Asian cities. Apart from Shanghai, professor Zhu also spoke on the Chinese capital Beijing. In addition, the speakers, of whom Mr Tao and Ms Lung are particularly well-known for their quick wit and eloquence, also exchanged views in a lively dialogue towards the end of the forum to make sure it ends on a high note. The response to this high-quality forum was overwhelming and there has been no shortage of views and reactions published in Lianhe Zaobao long after it was over. What is also noteworthy is that though admission was not free, the forum attracted a huge turnout and the participants remained enthusiastic throughout the full-day event. The encouraging response is evidence that in spite of the declining standards of Chinese language here - a trend which seems irreversible - there are still many people who are willing to attend a high-level exchange of views and opinions conducted in Mandarin. This seems at odd with our prevailing impression. The success of the forum also proves the existence of a community that “engages in in-depth thinking in Mandarin”. Indeed, a culture that has endured thousands of years must have many different depths to it. For instance, the co-existence of popular culture and high culture as well as highbrow and popular literature or art. In other words, for a culture to flourish, to continue to attract the young to learn and practise it, the different levels within it must all be developed. In terms of the use of language, without the foundation of colloquialism or slang, the finer aspects of a culture “will be cut off from the rest of the world”. On the other hand, if the language is devoid of the development of extensive and profound knowledge as its objective, it will eventually be reduced to a “low-level language”. In Singapore, the problem is that the organisations and authorities charged with promoting the Chinese language and Mandarin have always been under great pressure to lower the standard, to reduce the burden and to make learning easier. To get more people to accept and learn Chinese which is perceived as “difficult”, the most effective means is to lower its standard. This has become the prevalent thinking. From the point of view of efficiency and commercial interests, to keep the standard of the Chinese language at a relatively low level to entice more people to pick it up may indeed produce short-term results. However, if there are too few educational and cultural institutions that encourage the use of Mandarin as a tool to engage in intellectual and stimulating conversation, even if Chinese is easy to learn, it will probably not have a promising future. Sometimes, the more profound and intellectual something is, the more people will be drawn to it. The public forum is one such example. I hope its success will spur more people to ponder the language issue from more angles and in greater depth. ·The writer is a senior reporter of Lianhe Zaobao. Translated by Yap Gee Poh.
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新加坡华文文教界最近有一个高水平的盛会，吸引了1200名公众参加。为了庆祝创刊80周年纪念，《联合早报》邀请来自香港、上海、新加坡和台北的陶杰、朱学勤、刘太格和龙应台，进行了一场“名城论坛”公开讲演会。 这四名专家和学者，根据他们的专长，从文化、建筑、历史与政治的角度，谈论亚洲五个著名的城市：香港、上海、北京、新加坡和台北－－它们的异同、独特历史、特性、人文精神和前景展望。 陶杰与龙应台的敏捷才思与口才是有名的；朱学勤是中国中年一辈学者中的佼佼者，刘太格作为规划新加坡城市面貌的建筑师／管理人员，他和上述三人在交流时所可能碰撞出的火花，都是“名城论坛”水平的保障。 这是场高质量的讲座，不仅反响热烈，而且影响深远。公众对讲座内容的回响，在讲座后仍不时见诸本地报章的交流版与专栏。值得注意的是，这次论坛是收费的，而且从早上开始至黄昏结束，现场观众的热情始终不减。 这个令人鼓舞的成绩说明什么呢？它说明了尽管本地华文水平低落是一个现实，甚至是大势所趋，本地还是有不少人愿意参与以华语进行高层次思想冲击。这个现象，和我们的一贯印象似乎有所出入。 这次论坛的成功，证实“用华语做深度思考”这个群体是存在的。 其实，一种流传数千年而不衰的文化，其内在必然存有多种不同层次，有俗文化和高雅文化的层次，既能阳春白雪，也能下里巴人。同样的，一种文化倘若要蓬勃发展，要不断吸引后人学习、钻研和使用，其内部的各个层次也都需要得到一定发展。 就语言的应用来说，如果没有广大俚俗用语为基础，一个文化的高雅部分将“与世隔绝”，而如果没有精深思想为深远目的，这种语言也只能沦为“低级”语言。 问题是，在新加坡，推广华文华语的单位和机构，长期以来都面对往低、易、减发展的压力。被视为“难学”的华文要让更多人接受，吸引更多人学习，最有效的方法就是降低华文用语的程度，这似乎已经成为一种普遍的思想定势。 从追求效率和商业利益的角度说，把华文水平压在一个相对低的水平上以鼓励人们学习，可能是一个短期内见到效用的方法。然而，如果在这个国家，鼓励以华语进行深入对话的教育和文化机构太少的话，那么华文即使易学，也不会有太大前途。 有时候，越精深的事物，人们越趋之若鹜。 这一次的“名城论坛”，就是这么一个例子。希望这次“名城论坛”的成功，让人们从更多不同角度思考华文问题。 ·作者为《联合早报》高级记者
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