On September 21, 2025, the academic seminar “Review and Inheritance: 40th Anniversary of the Philippine Studies Program at Peking University” was successfully held at the School of Foreign Languages. The event was organized around three main themes: reviewing the development history, inheriting the discipline’s legacy, and looking forward to the future.

The opening ceremony was hosted by HUANG Yi, faculty of the Philippine Studies Program. She extended a warm welcome and sincere thanks to the alumni, experts, scholars, and faculty members who had traveled from afar, as well as to those who have long supported the development of the Philippine Studies Program. LI Shujing, Party Secretary of the School of Foreign Languages, delivered a speech in which she fully acknowledged the efforts and contributions made by the faculty and students of the Philippine Studies Program in the process of its professional development. She also expressed high hopes and confidence for the program’s future growth. Former Party Secretary of the School of Foreign Languages, WU Xinying, former Vice Dean of the School of Foreign Languages, LIU Shuxiong; and former Director of the Department of Oriental Studies, LIANG Minhe, together reviewed the program’s founding and early development. They expressed their hopes for the Philippine Studies Program to explore even more diverse development opportunities in the future.

SHI Yang, chair of the Southeast Asian Studies Department, provided an overview of the teaching, research, and talent cultivation efforts of the Filipino Language Teaching and Research Section over the past 40 years. He emphasized that after four decades of exploration and accumulation, Peking University’s Philippine Studies Program has gradually formed a systematic and mature teaching framework. Summarizing the 40-year journey of development with the phrase “Inheriting the legacy, forging ahead; reflecting on our original aspirations, looking forward to the future”, he expressed his earnest expectations for the future construction of the program. Alumni from various graduating classes, including ZHUANG Guanghua (Class of 1985), Xian Jie (Class of 1992), LUO Xiaoyan (Class of 1998), WANG Huayu (Class of 2002), WANG Dongdong (Class of 2006), WANG Yu (Class of 2010), XU Yang (Class of 2014), YE Qingtong (Class of 2017), and XU Yizhen (Class of 2020), reminisced about their enriching and joyful experiences as students. They also shared how they have contributed to cultural exchange and communication between China and the Philippines after graduation. During the open-discussion session, undergraduate student JI Hailu (Class of 2024) and graduate student SHI Weiyang (Class of 2025) expressed their determination to inherit the fine traditions of the Philippine Studies Program and continue contributing to the program’s development and societal service. In his closing remarks, WU Jiewei, Vice Dean of the School of Foreign Languages, expressed his heartfelt wishes for the continued growth and success of the program, hoping that it would achieve even greater accomplishments and usher in a brighter future.

Through discussions and communications, the faculty and students of the Philippine Studies Program jointly reviewed the 40-year journey of development and looked forward to creating an even brighter future together.

Text: ZHANG Shiyun

Photos: JI Hailu, ZHU Siying

Translated by ZHAO Lihua