This morning was our second lecture which dealt with Chinese philosophy and religion. World religions are something that interest me greatly and the lecture today really inspired me to study it further in the future. In the lecture today we covered Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism. It is clear to me that each religion has very strong points, but also various weaknesses. For example, in Confucianism love and respect of superiors is stressed, however this can lead directly to sexism and tyrancy. Daoism connects spiritual life to physical health, but some of its mystical properties have been disproved by modern science. I find it hardest to associate myself with Buddhism which is one of the traditional religions of China. Buddhism teaches that life is a never ending cycle of suffering and that death is the only escape. This seems almost suicidal to me which is strikingly different than what most religions teach. All in all, I greatly enjoyed the lecture.
Our first company visit was this afternoon. The company is Captial Bio which specializes in making biochips. This company is right up my alley as a studying bioengineer. The biochips analyze a patient’s individual blood, saliva, or tissue sample by a scanning computer primarily as a diagnostic tool. A communication barrier made this company a lot less enjoyable than I was hoping for. And I was also disappointed that we were not allowed to view the research labs. Regardless, the work of this company is very interesting. Capital Bio is closely related to Tsinghua Solar which emphasizes the idea of lifelong learning. Students will receive training at the university which will enable them to continue to their research and education working for Capital Bio.
The building itself had some interesting, symbolic Chinese style. The roof was beveled to resemble a tree leaf emphasizing their work in biology. Inside, a pillar symbolized the connection between Earth and Heaven. Earth is displayed as a square on the floor with a message written in four different languages. Cubes of biochips engraved with phoenixes create the link. The phoenix is symbolic of the Tsinghua students who graduate and return to work at Capital Bio. Finally heaven is illustrated as a blue sphere on the ceiling with the Capital Bio logo. Last, but not least, the lobby contained the traditional feng shui of a mountain and a river to ward off evil spirits. All in all, it was a successful first company visit.