Of course, the students of Beida are very intelligent because they are selected from a large population base. But without the sense of Beids's history and tradition, they would not have this confidence to interact effectively with the American President. In Singapore, it is important that our young people and our intellectuals also have this confidence to stand tall. To have that confidence, we must have a sense of our own history and tradition, a major part of which is Chinese civilization. Science and mathematics are important but, without the humanities, we will not be a strong people.
Literature is about the human society.
It is about the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly. It is about the human condition in all its richness, told and re-told, in a hundred different ways. Before the Second World War, almost all our local Chinese writers came from China or were greatly influenced by Chinese writers. They saw China as their homeland. After the war, Chinese literature in Singapore became more indigenous, reflecting the struggles and hopes of an independent Singapore.