On February 3, academic Zhang Longxi became the first person living in Hong Kong to be admitted to an international literary hall of fame. He joined a prestigious club whose previous members have included Voltaire, the French writer whose works influenced important thinkers of the American and French revolutions.
Professor Zhang, chair professor of comparative literature and translation at City University, became a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities, an accolade given in recognition of his literary contribution in promoting east-west cross-cultural studies.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, which dates to 1753, has 40 foreign members. Professor Zhang and Japanese scholar Minoru Hara are the only two foreign members from Asian. 'A foreign membership does not carry with it any privileges or obligations, but is a recognition of my work.'
Professor Zhang is the third Chinese to receive the honour, following in the footsteps of the late poet Feng Zhi and the late archaeologist Xia Nai.
Born in Chengdu, Sichuan, Professor Zhang received his doctorate in comparative literature from Harvard University in 1983, and he held a teaching position as adjunct professor of comparative literature at the University of California, Riverside, before coming to Hong Kong in 1998.
He preferred doing academic work in Hong Kong than in the United States or on the mainland. 'Hong Kong is a very open society. It is very Chinese and yet an international city at the same time. The practice of the rule of law, freedom of speech and expression are the city's main advantages.'
He views local students' ability to use English as giving them a key competitive edge over their mainland counterparts, and says this is something the city should work to preserve. He does not support the 'mother tongue' policy as a medium of teaching in secondary schools.