Newton, Darwin, Hawking, Jin Yong, Xu Zhimo and Li Ka-shing – these are all familiar names we’ve heard many times for they are trailblazers in their respective fields. But if you want to ask what these masters have in common, that is, they are all outstanding Cambridge alumnus. As the second oldest university in English-speaking countries, Cambridge University, founded in 1209, boasts profound cultural heritages as its hallmark. Students here are extraordinarily enthusiastic and intrigued about cultural exploration.

On November 11, 2017 London time, Yue Lei, Global Executive Vice-President of Sanpower Group, delivered a keynote speech at Cambridge University. As the first speaker at the “Celebrity Forum” of the University of Cambridge in 2017, Yue Lei talked about traditional Chinese culture and cultural exchange between China and Britain on the theme of "One China Tower and the Fate with Britain in Three Generations", which received rave reviews from the teachers and students of Cambridge, and they all cheered for him.

Yue Lei talked about the ancient and modern societies and fused China and western countries from three levels, including the origins of tower, the Nanjing Porcelain Tower and London Kee Park pagoda. He then shared the story behind "Sino-British Twin Towers".

The tower originated in ancient India, but was inherited in China. In China's traditional architecture pattern, there are pavilion, gazebo, building, tower, windowed veranda, pavilion, hall and boat. However, the tower is exotic, which entered our country accompanied by Buddhism. From the historical materials of Buddhism, China's first pagoda was built in the "Luoyang White Horse Temple", the first Han temple in China. This not only means the Buddhist temple tower was firstly built in Luoyang, but also symbolizes that Buddhism including "Buddha, Dharma, Monk"，was formally introduced into China.

 

 

 

The one known in the whole world in history, which was called “the seventh biggest wonder of the middle ages in the world” is the glazed pagoda of Nanjing Porcelain Tower. The Great Porcelain Tower was built in 1412 and completed in 1428 with the power of the whole nation. From Ming Yongle to Ming Xuanzong, with three generations of emperors, the construction lasted for 17 years.It was destroyed by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom war in 1856. It was the highest single-unit building in China for as long as 400 years from rise to destruction.

The reason why it caused a craze for Chinese culture and the pagoda in western countries is a best-selling book in Europe -Niehoff Travels.In 1654, the Board of Directors of the Dutch East India Company decided to send a delegation to visit China and asked the accompanying sketch painters to portray the scenery and bizarre buildings they might see along the way. At that time, it was Johnny Niehoff who described the PorcelainTemple and glazed pagoda according to what he saw. The unique style and unparalleled beauty of the glazed pagoda were rendered using words and prints in the "Niehoff Travels", which aroused the craze of the European nobility and quickly made the Porcelain Temple the most desirable Chinese building for Europeans. The British and French royal families imitated the construction one after another.

 

 

 

Yue Lei presented The Glazed Tower in the Glazed World written by Ji Wen to Cambridge’s student representative

The Kew Gardens Pagoda is the "product" of the British royal family worshiping the Porcelain Temple. It was built in 1762 by William Chambers, a British royal architect for King George III, in one year. It was the tallest building in Britain at that time and is one of the most historic and iconic Chinese buildings in Britain now. Unfortunately, the Kew Gardens Pagoda was closed for nearly half a century because of disrepair for many years. The Sanpower Group is ready to join hands with its British department store House of Fraser and the Royal Palace of History in the United Kingdom to repair and restore it. It plans to re-open and welcome tourists from the whole world in the summer of 2018.

Yue Lei said that the story behind the "Twin Towers" has not been finished yet. It will continue to move forward with the friendship and cultural exchanges between the two countries. It is not only an "important legacy" of mutual cultural experiences between two countries, but more importantly, is the "golden result" of the Golden Age.

 

 

 

Yue Lei took photos with some teachers and students