University Archives, CUHK: 1月 2020

獻給父親的禮物—方樹泉樓

一九八零年一月中文大學方樹泉樓正式開幕，大樓座落大學火車站對面，樓高三層，建築費一百五十萬由方樹福堂暨屬下機構捐贈。自大樓落成至今，雅禮中國語文研習所（昔日之新雅中國語文研習所）一直札根於此。

方樹泉樓於一九七八年九月廿八日舉行奠基典禮，當日由方樹泉先生之長子方潤華先生致辭，以下為講辭節錄：「在幾個月前，當馬臨教授談及中大增建語言中心大樓一事，本人心裏認為相當有價值，也引起很大的興趣。及後與家父磋商，今年剛好是他八十歲大壽，最有意義的禮物是甚麼，他很高興表示，由於他和我都沒有機會進入大學，認為最好是捐款來作育英才，以促進各國民族的交誼為目標。」大樓是方潤華及家人獻給父親方樹泉的生日禮物，也是他們贈予中大各人研習中國語文的厚意。

大樓落成後，方樹福堂基金於一九九零年再度捐資興建方潤華堂，以擴展中國語文研習所的教學設施及活動場地。

今年迎來方樹泉樓落成四十周年，研習所仍然不懈地為國際學生提供中國語文訓練，秉承方潤華先生在開幕禮之寄語：以語言中心為橋樑，改善語言隔膜，達到文化交流，促進各民族與國家間的情誼。

A Gift for Dad – 40^th Anniversary of Fong Shu Chuen Building

The Opening Ceremony of Fong Shu Chuen Building was held on 24th January, 1980. This three-storey Building, located opposite to the University MTR Station, was donated by the Fong Shu Fook Tong Foundation and Group of Companies. Since its opening, the building has been the home of The Yale-China Chinese Language Centre (former New Asia Yale-in-China Chinese Language Centre) till now.

Mr. Fong Yun Wah, son of Mr. Fong Shu Chuen delivered a speech at the Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony in 1978. Here was an excerpt:

“A few months ago, I was very interested to learn from Professor Ma Lin that The Chinese University of Hong Kong would like to have a building for its Language Centre, whose activities would expand. To me, this is a very worthwhile endeavor. When I discussed this with my father, he too shared my enthusiasm for such a project. In another two days, my family will be celebrating my father’s 80th birthday. We have been looking around for a suitable gift for him to mark this happy occasion. And my father indicated that a contribution towards the construction of the Language Centre Building would be most appropriate. Since neither he nor I had had the chance to study in a university, he thought that a donation to help the University to educate our young people would be very meaningful.”

After the opening of the Building, the Fong Shu Fook Tong Foundation made another donation in 1990 to build the Fong Yun Wah Hall,an extension to the Fong Shu Chuen Building, in order to enhance the teaching facilities and capacity for the Language Centre.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Fong Shu Chuen Building. The Chinese Language Centre continues to provide language training for international students as before and aims to reduce communication barriers and promote cultural exchanges to response to the aspiration of Mr. Fong.