Background
Lingnan Education Organization is a statutory stakeholder of Lingnan University. In 1967, Hong Kong was still a British colony. At the time tertiary learning places were so inadequate that only very few secondary school students could study in local universities. Having seen the need, a group of former Lingnan University students residing in Hong Kong founded Lingnan College to provide tertiary education for Hong Kong students based on its traditional spirit of service. It was an act of giving back to Lingnan education, out of their cherished memory of the former Lingnan University. The Lingnan College has become today’s Lingnan University, a tertiary institution established in Hong Kong that mainly serves Hong Kong students.
Lingnan University
Lingnan University Hong Kong celebrated its golden jubilee in 2017. In fact, its history in Hong Kong is a sequel to that of Lingnan University in Canton (i.e. the present-day Guangzhou), China, which dates from the nineteenth century.
In 1888, The American Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions founded Christian College, in Canton, China, which was the forerunner of Lingnan College. Four years later, it was incorporated with the University of the State of New York, and was given a charter to confer degrees. It was renamed Lingnan College in 1912. In 1926 the College formally registered with the Ministry of Education in China as Lingnan University. Nevertheless, classes stopped in 1952 for the change of government in China in 1949.
The former Lingnan University in Canton was a remarkably successful seat of learning not only in terms of its development and achievements, but also of its esprit de corps known as ‘Lingnan Spirit’, which brought together the people in the Lingnan community. Albeit the close of their alma mater, Lingnanians scattered asunder had never put it behind their mind. On the contrary, they were even more committed to promoting the spirit of Lingnan and re-establishing it in Hong Kong. With the unrelenting effort of Lingnanians and enthusiastic support of the community, their alma mater was finally re-established as Lingnan College in this former British colony. It was officially opened on 9 September 1967, and a glamorous inaugural ceremony was held on 19 November 1967.
In the following five decades, there were several significant landmarks. In 1969, the College merged with the Lingnan Middle School by way of a scheme of arrangement, resulting in the creation of Lingnan Education Organization Limited. It was a stepping stone which enabled the College to put up its own buildings on the site in Stubbs Road. As a further step of development, it was successfully accreditated as a Post-Secondary College in 1978. In 1991, following successful accreditation by the Council of National Academic Awards (CNAA) of the UK and the subsequent successful inclusion under the aegis of the University and Polytechnic Grants Committee (UPGC), the College was eligible to enjoy full grant of subsidies in par with its fellow institutions and to confer degrees. In 1999, the College was formally re-titled as ‘LINGNAN UNIVERSITY’.
For a fuller account of the story of Lingnan University in Hong Kong, please consult Dr Simon Wu’s The Old Spirit in a New Setting: The Hong Kong Story of Lingnan University. Translated by Y.K. Cheung (Hong Kong: Chung Hwa Book, 2018). 168 pp.
If you would like to know more about Lingnan University, please visit www.ln.edu.hk
The Old Spirit in a New Setting:
The Hong Kong Story of Lingnan University
For a fuller account of the story of Lingnan University in Hong Kong, please consult Dr Simon Wu’s The Old Spirit in a New Setting: The Hong Kong Story of Lingnan University. Translated by Y.K. Cheung (Hong Kong: Chung Hwa Book, 2018). 168 pp.
Please click here to access to the e-book.
