Studying the Humanities at Yale
My two weeks of study and life at Yale are over, so I'm writing this to keep a record. My earliest memory of Yale is a book by a Chinese girl about her studies in America, something like Harvard Girl Liu Yiting. I don't even remember whether she ended up getting into Yale, but her journey — from naivety about society, to curiosity about the world, to growing into a soul bold enough to explore — inspired the clueless me just as much. The girl in the book first encountered philosophy in high school, at a summer camp at Yale. There they pondered eye-opening questions, such as:
How do people become aware of their own existence?
Does a person's sense of freedom come from being looked at by others? If a human were alone on a desert island with only monkeys around, could they realise what a self is, and what makes them different?
Does "the circle" really exist? Or are there only round objects in the world, and no "circle"? Before that, I had never thought about questions like these; after that, they never left me.
So when the chance came to study at Yale, the answer could only be Yes. One autumn, I came to Yale. On the first day I copied this passage into my diary, to push myself to make the most of every minute there:
...from Pericles, Bismarck and Disraeli all the way to Jefferson, Madison, Lincoln, Wilson, Roosevelt, Churchill and Mandela. Their careers are an education in reality, teaching us how to negotiate all manner of affairs in moments of crisis. Once you have read these books, and only after you have read them, can you say you have fulfilled the highest duty of a Yale student — the words carved on the Memorial Gate of Branford College: "For God, for Country, and for Yale." Impressions of Yale
A Young Cambridge
Like Cambridge, the whole city is made up of Yale's various colleges, and every street feels like part of the campus. Especially the Graduate Hotel in New Haven where we stayed — it really felt like living in an old student dorm. The hotel kindly opens its doors to students studying, so reading in the lobby at night felt very much like my student days. Step outside and there are bookshops and libraries; walk one more block and you reach the undergraduate residential colleges.
A Friendly, Gentle Community The people in the area where we spent our time were very, very, very friendly. On morning runs, people always smiled and said good morning. When we were carrying a drunk friend back to the hotel, people kept coming over to help. The professors were also very friendly and did their best to meet any request we had, almost to the point of granting every wish. It doesn't have Harvard's sharpness and efficiency, but over time it gives you a different kind of calm and gentleness.
A Simple Life The food here is as unpretentious as the people — to the point that only one Chinese restaurant has private rooms, and the bustling life of New York and Boston is almost nonexistent.
The Courses This programme covered listening, US-China relations, technological change, a brief history of creativity, stem cell research, artificial intelligence, the impact of industrial revival policy on companies and nations, the leadership mind, acting, how the human brain learns, geology, social network interventions, understanding the American presidency, the systematic study of creativity, and more. Getting to meet Professor Amy Chua, JD Vance's mentor, was another big highlight. Life Outside Class The Peabody Museum is right across from the School of Management where we had class, so at lunch or during breaks we'd dash over to look around. Listening to President Ma Weihua tell his stories was practically a history of China's banking industry. With the Yale instructors and Xu Zheng, we experienced the flow of emotion that acting brings. Getting up past 6 a.m. to run — finishing a 10K was sore and exhilarating at once~ At the museum, I saw great works of art up close with no glass cases, including my beloved Van Gogh. Enjoying peaceful reading time in the city library
As for my reading notes, I hope I'll find time to sort them all out this time. Special thanks: many of the photos in this article are by my Yale classmate, Brother Gu.