From the other side of the sea to this side of the mountain - Huang Baihan, a Taiwanese teacher at Wuyi College

At Zhuzi Academy of Wuyi University, Huang Baihan (third from left) supervises students in course learning. Photo by Fujian Daily reporter Liu Shenkui

Southeast Net reported on April 18 (Fujian Daily reporter Liu Shenkui, Li Lie, correspondent Li Qian)

"Half an acre of square pond is opened, and the sky and clouds and shadows wander together; In Taiwan, a young man who has been reciting Zhu Xi's ancient poems since he was a child never thought that one day he would cross the Taiwan Strait and go to the "source" of Zhuzi culture to pursue his dreams and realize his dreams.

Cross-sea "chasing stars"

Legend has it that more than 800 years ago, Zhu Xi built a room on the bank of Mayang River in Jianyang, "50 years of piano books", students from all over the world came to study and learn, forming a far-reaching "Kaoting School", and Zhu Zixue gradually spread from northern Fujian to all directions.

More than 10 years ago, Huang Baihan followed Zhu Zi's footsteps to the foot of Wuyi Mountain, also to learn and learn, the young man who studied hard in the past has now become a Taiwan distinguished expert of Wuyi University and a researcher of Zhu Zixue Research Center.

From the other side of the sea to the other side of the mountain, from the pursuit of learning to preaching and teaching. His identity has changed several times, but what remains unchanged is the original intention of chasing dreams.

"Today, the main culture of Taiwan is the Zhuzi culture, which originated in Fujian and then introduced to Taiwan. Nanping is the cultural holy place where Zhuzi science sprouts and develops, and it is also the area with the highest concentration of Zhuzi cultural relics in Fujian Province. Speaking of the relationship with Wuyi Mountain, Huang Baihan feels that it is a fateful fate, and it is also a kind of ideological root-seeking.

In 2012, Huang Baihan followed the "Zhuzi Road" workshop to Wuyi Mountain in Bishui Danshan for the first time. At that time, he was the secretary general of the Taiwan Zhuzi Studies Association. As the organizer of the event, he took young students from Taiwan to find "Zhu", and walked all the way through the place where Zhu Xi was born, grew up, studied, lectured and died, "That was the closest I got to Zhu Zi, and I was both shocked and excited at that time."

The Eastern Zhou Dynasty produced Kongqiu, the Southern Song Dynasty had Zhu Xi, and the ancient Chinese culture, Mount Tai and Wuyi. In Huang Baihan's memory, Taiwan is still a society dominated by Confucian traditions, and when he was in middle school, the school offered Confucian classics courses, and he was deeply impressed by Zhu Xi's "Notes on the Four Books" and other ancient classics, and since then he has been fascinated by Zhu Xi, and the seeds of love for traditional Chinese culture have been planted in his heart.

A trip to northern Fujian made this seed germinate. "The world in the book used to come alive all of a sudden. Huang Baihan, who was deeply moved, decided to stay in Nanping and study Zhu Zixue in depth. That year, in response to the needs of discipline development, Wuyi College extended an olive branch to Huang Baihan, and the two sides hit it off, and Huang Baihan successfully took over the teaching whip and joined the Zhu Zixue Research Center. "In today's fashionable parlance, I was here to 'chase stars'. It's just that my idol is the great Confucian Zhu Xi. Huang Baihan said.

Treasure Teacher

"Shengri is looking for Fangsi waterfront, and the boundless scenery is new. "The half-acre pond of Tanxi, the pebbles of Zhuzi Lane, the moss of Xingxian Academy, the lights of Ziyang Building, and the song of Jiuqu Creek used to be the place where Zhu Xi gave lectures and taught apprentices...... Huang Baihan, who came to Fujian to coach, has been in Wuyi Mountain for more than ten years, and now these places have become places where he often wanders.

"In addition to studying Zhu Zixue, I can also pass on the excellent Chinese culture to the next generation as a teacher, just like Zhu Zi. "The strong academic atmosphere and convenient research conditions of Wuyi University have given Huang Baihan a good stage to display his talents.

Standing on the three-foot podium, Huang Baihan is a treasure teacher in the eyes of students. He pays attention to the interactive teaching mode, and the classroom atmosphere of Zhuzi culture is always very active, which is very popular with students. For example, when it comes to Zhu Zi's etiquette thoughts, he will take his students to wear Hanfu and experience the ancient charm of the country.

Huang Baihan's office is located in the quaint Zhuzi Academy. In 2022, Zhuzi Academy of Wuyi University was officially inaugurated, committed to building a comprehensive platform for Zhuzi culture integrating academic research, foreign exchanges, decision-making consultation, talent training and cultural display. "The mainland attaches great importance to the research work of our Taiwanese teachers, and many policies are also related to this, such as research in the fields of Zhuzi culture and ethnic history, which encourage us to apply for projects. ”

Showing his skills on the broad stage, Huang Baihan's vision has been broadened, and his academic research has more sources of living water. "You can only see a small corner in Taiwan, but in the mainland you can see the whole world. Huang Baihan told reporters that Wuyi University is not only an important research center for Zhuzi Studies, but also the Song and Ming Science Research Center jointly established by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Fujian.

After 10 years of painstaking research, Huang Baihan has gained a lot. In recent years, he has presided over or participated in more than 10 national and provincial projects and published more than 20 academic papers. In 2020, his project "Research on Confucianism in Post-war Taiwan (1945-2000)" was approved by the National Social Science Foundation.

"The traditional Chinese culture, represented by Confucianism, is the foundation of the history and culture of the two sides of the strait, and it is also the blood link of the compatriots on both sides of the strait. Huang Baihan said that he hopes to systematically construct the development and evolution of Confucianism in Taiwan through this research, which will help enhance the cultural identity of Taiwanese compatriots.

Second home

A rock tea entrance, the fragrance of tea overflows. Living in the hometown of tea, Huang Baihan has already practiced the skills of making tea and tasting tea, "Wuyi Mountain has long become our second hometown, and now my wife is also here to teach."

Between interviews, Huang Baihan excitedly took out a certificate and shared a good news with reporters. He and his wife have already bought a house in Wuyi Mountain and are waiting to move into their new home.

In recent years, in order to facilitate the life of Taiwan compatriots in Fujian, various localities in Fujian have introduced a number of policies and measures to encourage Taiwan compatriots to buy houses in Fujian. At the end of 2021, Nanping City issued the first batch of "Financial Credit Certificates for Taiwan Enterprises and Taiwan Compatriots" to 6 Taiwan compatriots, and Huang Baihan is one of them.

"It is not easy for former desk compatriots to take out loans to buy houses in the mainland, but with this certificate, it is much more convenient to buy a house in the mainland, and we directly applied for a mortgage loan in the bank. Huang Baihan, who has fulfilled his dream of living in peace, thanked the mainland for its support in benefiting Taiwan and benefiting the people.

Due to his obsession with Zhuzi culture, Huang Baihan was also hired as a cultural communication commissioner in Nanping the year before last, telling the story of Zhuzi at home and abroad from the perspective of Taiwan compatriots and spreading Chinese culture.

It doesn't stop there. How to let more young people understand and learn Zhuzi culture is also the direction that Huang Baihan has been paying attention to. In order to make Zhuzi culture "live", he helped to promote the reappearance of the ancient rite of Zhuzi in the school, and the Zhuzi Cultural Festival became a distinctive campus cultural brand. On this basis, Wuyi University's "Zhuzi Culture into Campus" project won the National Excellent Traditional Culture Excellence Award.

In his spare time, Huang Baihan is also enthusiastic about promoting cross-strait exchanges, and is the head of the school's Taiwan doctoral group and the planner of the "Zhuzi Road" study camp...... Behind the series of labels is his original intention of longing for cross-strait exchanges and integration. His hard work and achievements have been widely praised, and in 2019, he was also awarded the title of "May Day Labor Medal" in Nanping City, and his "slash life" has become more and more full.

"The original choice was so right, I was on the mainland stage and my vision was greater, and I also felt an unprecedented sense of accomplishment and gain. "Tracing up the long history of Zhuzi culture, Huang Baihan's life boat is full of starlight.