About Us

2026/27 School of Chinese Research Student Seminar

 
Date: November 20 & 23, 2026 (Fri & Mon)
Time: 17:30-18:45 (HKT)
Venue: CRT-7.30, 7/F, Run Run Shaw Tower, Centennial Campus, HKU
Language: English
 
Mode of Delivery: Face-to-face

Topic #1:
Correcting Names in the Xunzi: What Is It, and Is It Possible?
「正名」是甚麼？「正名」可能嗎？——論《荀子》中的「正名」
 
Speaker:  Mr. LEUNG Pak Lin 梁柏練 (MPhil) 
 
Date: November 20, 2026 (Fri)

Abstract:

Central to the Xunzi’s philosophy of language is the doctrine of correcting names which the text presents as indispensable for achieving the paramount ethical and political value of social order. Although the ethical and political significance of correcting names has received considerable scholarly attention, the precise nature of the practice remains contested. I argue that correcting names targets neither concepts nor intensions, but ways of distinguishing things into kinds associated with names. Clarifying the nature of correcting names bears on whether it is feasible. On one reading, correcting names faces a challenge of uncontrollability: if correcting names requires fixing the semantic referents of names, its success is nearly impossible because reference-fixing facts are uncontrollable. I propose an alternative interpretation that avoids this challenge. Finally, I argue that although correcting names is possible in principle, it remains exceedingly difficult in practice—yet this difficulty should not deter one from engaging in it. 

《荀子》語言哲學的核心是「正名」。《荀子》視「正名」為實現「治」不可或缺的條件。儘管「正名」的倫理與政治意義已受到學界廣泛關注，但「正名」的確切性質仍存爭議。我主張「正名」針對的目標既非概念 (concepts)，亦非內涵 (intensions)，而是與「名」相聯繫、將事物「辨」為不同「類」的方式。釐清「正名」的性質也關乎「正名」是否可行。根據一種詮釋，「正名」面臨不可控性的挑戰：如果「正名」要求確定「名」的語義指稱 (semantic referents)，那麼由於決定指稱的事實並非人所能控制，「正名」幾乎不可能成功。我提出另一種能夠避開這一挑戰的「正名」詮釋。最後，我論證「正名」雖然在原則上可能，在實踐中卻仍極為困難；然而，這種困難不應使人卻步。 

Topic #2:
Ambiguity in Cantopop: The Case of Three Lyrics by Lin Xi
粵語流行歌詞之複義——以三首林夕詞為例
 
Speaker:  Mr. YU Shing Yuk 余城旭 (MPhil) 
 
Date: November 23, 2026 (Mon)

Abstract:

Ambiguity, usually a flaw in everyday communication, is often a virtue in literature, where the room it leaves for interpretation enriches a text. Partly owing to the morpheme-sign-syllable nature of Chinese characters, Chinese literature is no stranger to ambiguity, especially in the centuries when its leading poetic forms were typically confined to fewer than a hundred characters. Cantopop lyrics are further bound by tone-melody correspondence: the tones of the words must follow the contour of the melody. Working within this constraint, lyricists show their ingenuity in navigating between words and melody.

Lin Xi—one of the most significant Cantopop lyricists—has displayed a wide range of techniques and themes since his debut. Renowned for hybridizing classical Chinese literature with pop culture, he has imbued some of his biggest hits with layers of meaning beyond the literal. This study examines how Lin Xi deliberately builds ambiguity into three of his lyrics, as an example of how Cantopop lyricists can play with it.

日常生活中，複義未必朦朧，卻不時含混；但就文學而論，複義創造詮釋空間，使意義更見豐富。由於漢字兼具形、音、義之本質，中國文學早與複義結緣。粵語流行歌詞講求「啱音」，填詞必須叶音。詞人各顯神通，於字音聲調與旋律之間游走，因而常與複義為伴。

林夕自出道以來，游刃於眾多題材、風格、寫法之間，其中為人熟知者之一，即為將古典文學要素融入粵語流行歌詞；此舉不單塑造風格，亦製造複義。是次研究將以三首林夕詞為例，考究林夕如何刻意營造複義，管窺粵語流行歌詞以複義作修辭之況。

ALL are welcome*
*NO Pre-registration is requested.