Lectures & Other Activities

The Sino-Humanitas Distinguished Scholar Lecture Series, organized by the The Mr. Simon Suen and Mrs. Mary Suen Sino-Humanitas Institute, has been held for over ten years. The series has invited more than twenty distinguished scholars in Chinese humanities from both within the region and abroad to deliver lectures at Hong Kong Baptist University. This time, we are honoured to invite Professor Zhangcan CHENG from Nanjing University to present a lecture themed “The Tongcheng Literary Tradition in the Mountains: An Examination of Stone Inscriptions at the Dragon God Temple, Linggu Temple, Zhongshan, Nanjing.” Event details are as follows.

Sino-Humanitas Distinguished Scholar Lecture: The Tongcheng Literary Tradition in the Mountains: An Examination of Stone Inscriptions at the Dragon God Temple, Linggu Temple, Zhongshan, Nanjing

Organiser: Mr. Simon Suen and Mrs. Mary Suen Sino-Humanitas Institute
Date: 2 March 2026, Monday
Time: 4:00 – 5:30 pm
Venue: Room CEC801, 8/F, Christian Education Centre, Ho Sin Hang Campus, Hong Kong Baptist University
Speaker: Professor Zhangcan CHENG (Zhicheng Distinguished Professor and Director of Institute of Chinese Classics, Nanjing University)
Language: Mandarin

Abstract (in Chinese only):

南京東郊鍾山風景區文物遺存深富，文化意蘊豐厚。靈谷寺龍神廟（今嵌八功德水池側墻上）存有四塊碑石，其中三塊與桐城文脈在南京之綿延密切相關。第一塊為上元伍光瑜《禱雨紀異碑》，伍氏為時任鍾山書院山長的姚鼐弟子，師弟關係密切。《禱雨紀異碑》考證靈谷寺禱雨歷史，銘記神靈普濟之德，將考據、義理與詞章相結合，明顯受到桐城文章筆法之影響。另兩塊碑石為曾國藩撰書《靈谷龍神廟碑記》。此文僅四百餘字，但曾國藩對其高度重視，先命其幕僚吳汝綸草擬初稿，繼命其幕府文人討論，主張改稱「西天阿耨八功德水龍神」為「靈谷龍神」，再費時數夜，修改潤色，最後親自書碑。曾文對吳文考據上有用有舍，詞章上刪削簡潔，義理上立意高遠。對讀吳汝綸與曾國藩兩篇碑文，可以體會桐城文脈之傳承。曾國藩《靈谷龍神廟碑記》被黎庶昌選入《續古文辭類纂》，走上了經典化的道路。

About the speaker (in Chinese only):

程章燦，1963年生，北京大學歷史學學士（1983），南京大學文學博士（1989），2008年受聘教育部「長江學者」特聘教授。曾任南京大學圖書館館長、南京大學學位委員會委員、校務委員會委員，現任南京大學古典文獻研究所所長，文學院教授、博士生導師，南京大學學術委員會委員。兼任中宣部全國古籍整理出版規劃領導小組成員，教育部全國高校古籍整理研究工作委員會副主任、江蘇省文史館館員。主要研究興趣為中國古代文學、古典文獻學、江蘇與南京地方文化，主編《江蘇文庫文獻編》，出版「南京三書」。