Recently, the "Reading and Academic Popularization" lecture was held in the hall of Zhengdong Library, at Peiyang Park Campus, Tianjin University (TJU). As a part of the Reading Festival, the lecture aimed to stimulate students to read, which was always emphasized as a critical feature of quality education by TJU. Zhou Zuitian, the scholar of Tianjin history and culture, was the guest speaker.   

The lecture started with two pieces of news regarding tiger attacks taking place in China, which drew the audience's attention. "From these events, we can conclude some information." Dr. Zhou analyzed the news. "People who are nonplussed about getting closer to those tigers lack understanding about their behavior. In their minds, tigers are not particularly dangerous and easy to handle, because they have learned from books, such as The Water Margin, that a person can beat a tiger by themselves. One of the most important things we should know is that there is an exaggeration in these fictional stories. So it indicates that relative academic popularization is necessary." 

Dr. Zhou then proceeded to primarily talk about the history of cement and the cement industry’s development in Tianjin. During the speech, the contributions by Li Hongzhang and Yuan Shikai on the construction of railways and collieries were highly emphasized, a point which is hardly mentioned in textbooks. "All of us know the vices of Li Hongzhang and Yuan Shikai based on textbooks, while their contributions are totally ignored. They made some mistakes at that time, but they also promoted the development of some fields, which must not be denied. High-quality talents should not just be confined to knowledge from textbooks; they should be expected to read more widely to get the big picture. And that is what you should do." 

At the end of the lecture, Dr. Zhou provided some further advice for the audience. He expected students from TJU to read for interest and try to be discriminating in choosing the books they read. "TJU is an excellent university. Students from this university are all excellent. I hope all of you will not only read but also try to write books. What you are doing is a kind of academic popularization, and it is of importance to  society." 

By: Zhang Xuan 

Editors: Qin Mian and Christopher Peter Clarke