Taoism, teaching and The Way
By : Professor Henry Chung Shu-hung, Department of Electronic Engineering
On the webpage of CityU’s Department of Electronic Engineering, I quote some lines from Lao Tsz’s Tao Te Ching for my self-introduction: “It is the way of Heaven to offer where there is a great abundance and to supplement where there is deficiency. This is not so with men’s way. He takes away from those who have not enough to serve the powerful and the rich. Who could use one’s superabundance to help those in need? Only the man in possession of Tao.”
Some may think that scientists seldom read literary works or philosophical books. However, I have studied Taoist philosophy for 30 years and believe that science may not be the key to everything. While most electronic engineering issues can find solutions through mathematical formulas, some phenomena simply cannot be explained by science. That is why the Tao Te Ching says, “The Way that can be spoken of is not the constant Way”.
Scientists introduce their new inventions to the public but seldom explain where they get their inspirations from. I often tell students that the most important concept for electronic engineers is “sense”. For instance, when we develop an electronic circuit, we often have it imagined in our brain first and then use mathematics to explain it. Where do we get this sense? We can obtain it through careful observation of the world around us and through accumulated experience, just like philosophers repeatedly pondering the meaning of life.
“Some phenomena simply cannot be explained by science.”My research team successfully created a smart real-time battery state and health diagnostic system in 2017. It can check a battery’s state of charge and condition of health in three minutes. Compared to 10 hours by conventional devices, our system can save a lot of time and reduce the loss of energy by 90%. What inspired me is the method that we use to detect the state of a person’s heart by external stimulations. I believe the same principle can be applied to examining the state of a battery. With such an idea, we started to work on a mathematical model to develop our new system.
Professor Chung celebrates winning the teaching excellence award. Taoist philosophy not only inspired me in scientific research but also my teaching methods, which helped me to earn CityU’s Teaching Excellence Award in 2018. As the Tao Te Ching says, “(Master) teaches without saying anything”. I have learned that the objectives of teaching can be achieved not simply by words. It is equally important to arouse students’ interest. I recently taught students how to make a remote control and put it on a fish-shaped balloon. To enable their “flying fish” to move smoothly, the students seriously studied and actively worked on their projects.
In addition, I often encourage students to explore actual problems in the industry and try to find ways to solve them. Besides the smart real-time battery state and health diagnostic system, I also developed a smart thermostat for central air-conditioning systems with my students. Both inventions have been granted patents. Since students can apply what they have learned to reality and convert their knowledge and concepts to commercial products, they are able to contribute to society. Hence, they will work hard on their studies and research projects.
Professor Chung (far left) and his team created a smart real-time battery state and health diagnostics system.Students and I often inspire each other through regular discussions. As Tao Te Ching says, “The good man is the teacher the bad learns from, and the bad man is the material the good works on.” It means that a perfect person can be a teacher of the imperfect, while an imperfect person can alert the perfect not to make the same mistakes. What matters is not the discipline you study but a proper learning attitude, because the new technology of today will become obsolete tomorrow. The only thing that does not change is our attitude to learning, which will help us pursue lifelong learning and keep us abreast of new knowledge.
Therefore, I have initiated a peer-tutoring scheme in my department that assigns strongly performing senior students as tutors to assist the learning of junior students so as to benefit both groups. Also, I often arrange internship opportunities for students to let them have hands-on experience to solve actual problems in society. Each student is like an egg about to hatch. If we break the egg from the outside by external force, the chick inside may die. Only the chick that breaks the eggshell itself from inside can grow healthily.
