Tamkang University - The Symbol of Tamkang Culture

The Symbol of Tamkang Culture

An organizational culture is usually represented by words, language, poetry, colors, music, architecture, sculpture, arts or symbolic constructs. Architecturally, Tamkang university emphasizes two special features: "a combination of the East and the West" as well as "the classical combined with the modern."

• The University Motto

Such words as "Simplicity, Truthfulness, Firmness, and Perseverance" appearing in the university anthem are also the university motto. "Simplicity" means "unassuming plainness, sincerity and honesty"; "Truthfulness" represents "vigorous implementation, law abiding and thoroughness"; "Firmness" symbolizes "the blending of toughness, with uprightness and impartiality and gentleness"; and "Perseverance" signifies "courageous determination, with virtue and liberality of mind." The motto is Tamkangians’ life objective, their fountain of life, and the fountainhead of their living water, flowing eternally.

• The University Emblem

A school emblem represents the school. The Tamkang University emblem was designed by a well-known artist named Lan Yin-ting. It is in the form of a giant bell, which contemporaries used to call a clock. The two Chinese characters 「鐘鈴」"Chung Ling," which literally means "clock and bell," are the same as「鐘鈴」, the child name of Clement C.P. Chang late father Chang Ming alias Ching-sheng. Tamkang use a bell (鐘鈴) as university emblem, on the one hand, to commemorate his father and, on the other hand, to follow the ancient tradition of using a big bell for the purpose of education (see "Pa Yu" in Lun Yu). And according to the record, people in former times regarded Confucius as a master (木鐸) . On top of the bell are two wings, symbolizing the spirit of "spreading the wings and flying high; soaring instantly and progressing swiftly." Engraved on the bell are two Chinese characters "Tam Kang."

• Overcoming Difficulty Slope

The Overcoming Difficulty Slope is a steep slope made up of 132 stone steps built in 1953. Symbolizing "difficulties and hardships," the slope was also the only path leading to Tamkang Campus in its initiation period, not only representing the school's founding spirit of developing the mountain and the forest, but also testing whether students could overcome difficulties; carry out "Simplicity, Truthfulness, Firmness, and Perseverance"; and testify to the fact that only with vigorous and strong body can we strive upward.

• The Chinese Palace-style Classrooms

Built in 1954, the Chinese palace-style classroom buildings are architecturally modeled after Chinese classical palaces with green roof and red walls. They are the starting point of the permanent classroom buildings on the Tamkang Campus.

• Lucky Dolphins Milestone Statue

Situated in the roundabout at the top end of the Lantern Road is the work by a well-known contemporary sculptor Wang Shiu-chi. The dolphins were chosen as an auspicious symbol of Tamkang university as the result of a poll of students from all campuses. Dolphins are the most agile and smartest mammals in the ocean; they are endowed with surprising innate ability to swim across the four seas. Engraved on the pillar-base of the milestone are four lines of phrases that Clement C.P. Chang often quote to encourage Tamkangians: "Let's establish a firm foothold at Tamkang University/ Hold the whole world in view/ Grasp the latest information/ and create a bright future."

• The University Commons

Situated in the center of the vast compound before the Ching-sheng Memorial Hall is the University Commons, built in 1986 and designed by Tamkang alumnus－Architect Lin Kuei-jung. The University Commons are in the form of four tablets of bamboo encircling one another, symbolizing books in ancient times, so they are called tzu chien (竹卷 meaning "books and scrolls"). Seen from above, the University Commons look like the pivot of a motor, turning unceasingly.

• The Bronze Sculpture of the Five Tigers

"The Five-tiger Hill" is the permanent location of Tamsui Campus. The range of Mt. Tatuen wriggles downward up to the Hu-tou Shan (Mt. Tiger's Head), which separates into five ridges. Tamkang university is situated on the fourth ridge. The bronze sculpture depicting five tigers embracing one another is the work by Wang Shiu-chi and stands in front of the Shao-mo Memorial Gymnasium. Representing Tamkangians’ "Hu Hu Shen Fong" (meaning "vitality"), vigorous body, and the spirit of bravery. On the pillar-base of the monument is Clement C.P. Chang essay: "The Five-tiger Hill: A Sketch."

• Tamkang Golden Eagle Award

The Tamkang Golden Eagle Award for the "Tamkang Elites" was initiated in 1987. As the highest honor of the university, the Award is set up to glorify Tamkangians that make a great contribution to the country, render useful services to the society, create welfare for humankind, and give feedback to the alma mater. The Award is in the form of a golden eagle spreading its wings, symbolizing Tamkangians, like the flying eagle in the sky, majestically overlooking the earth below.

• Sculpture of Hsuehshan Tunnel: The Rising Sun Above Hsuehshan Tunnel (Love of Lanyang and Devotion to Tamkang)

The sculpture portraying the Hsuehshan Tunnel of the Taipei-Ilan Expressway was presented to Clement C.P.Chang in 1990 by "The Association for Promoting Taipei-Ilan Rapid Transit System" and was designed by the famous Designer Zerman Hu and Lanyang Master-Sculptor Yu Yu Yang (Yang Ying-feng) under the commission of "The Ilan Association, Taipei Chapter. " The original sculpture was made from gilded stainless steel in the form of an ancient Chinese hieroglyph "山" (shan meaning "mountain"). In this artwork, the Hsuehshan Tunnel is located at the lower corner on the left of the shan, while at the upper corner on the left is the golden sun, just rising from the Pacific Ocean and shining over Lanyang. To celebrate the completion of the Lanyang Campus and the opening for public use of the Taipei-Ilan Expressway, Tamkang entrusted Arthur Yang, the son of Master Yu Yu Yang, with a task to enlarge the original sculpture into a stainless artwork of 241 cm high and 270 cm wide. The giant sculpture is installed on the lawn before the "Clement Chang International Conference Hall" on Lanyang Campus, so that the Lanyang residents, the faculty and the students of Tamkang University, as well as visitors from home or overseas may appreciate the artwork and, at the same time, pay respect to the unsung heroes who sacrificed in the course of building the Expressway. It also symbolizes that Tamkang University which begins at Tamsui is connected in heart with Lanyang through the Hsuehshan Tunnel.