On July 16th, the “Inheritance-Innovation-Growth” Forum for Young Teachers’ Development of the School of Chinese Literatures and Languages, Lanzhou University, was held in Hongyuan Building in the Yuzhong Campus. The forum was attended by young teachers who have stayed with the school in the past three years, postdoctoral researchers, mentors for the career development of young teachers, as well as members of the school’s leadership, academic committee, and teaching steering committee. The forum was hosted by Professor Li Lifang, the dean of the school.

Li Lifang led the participating teachers in revisiting the essential spirit of the important speech delivered by President Xi Jinping during a symposium with teachers and student representatives from Beijing Normal University. She urged the young teachers to thoroughly study and implement President Xi’s important expositions on the ethics and conduct of teachers, striving to become “Four-Have” teachers—teachers who possess ideals and beliefs, moral sentiments, solid knowledge, and a loving heart.

Young teachers Chen Baitong, Huang Yicun, Qiao Xue, Qi Fei, and Shi Qian presented their work and achievements since joining the school, covering theoretical study, education and teaching, scientific research, and public service, and shared their future plans. Mentors for career development, Professors Liu Wenjiang, Min Chunfang, and Wang Daqiao, acknowledged the young teachers’ accomplishments in various aspects and set higher expectations for them. They hoped that the young teachers would continue to exhibit their individuality and intelligence, keep up with academic trends, accelerate their professional growth, enhance their capabilities in scientific research, teaching, social service, and international cooperation and exchange, strengthen their sense of historical mission, and prepare themselves to shoulder greater responsibilities.

Postdoctoral researchers Zhang Siyang and Zhang Kai reported on their research work and future plans since joining the postdoctoral station. Their cooperative mentors, Professors Wang Daqiao and Min Chunfang, fully recognized the research status of the two postdoctoral researchers and urged them to make good career plans, cherish time, achieve more and better research results, and become capable, courageous, and responsible young scholars.

Representatives of middle-aged teachers, He Yunxia and Zhang Chunyan, shared their valuable experiences in education and teaching with the young teachers. He Yunxia encouraged the young teachers to adhere to the principles of teaching, stay committed to the classroom, maintain focus and passion, leverage their personal strengths, and show humanistic care. She advised them to teach students according to their aptitudes, provide positive feedback, open up to students, and maintain close contact with them. She also emphasized the importance of loving their job, breaking through self-imposed limits, overcoming bottlenecks and burnout, and maintaining patience in their roles as class advisors, while strengthening communication and exchange. Zhang Chunyan noted that the profession of teaching is “extensive yet meticulous”, and suggested that young teachers develop their own teaching styles, prepare lessons diligently, and attract students with their uniqueness. She also advised them to take a holistic approach, refine a particular section of a course to understand the whole, and then establish connections between that course and others. She emphasized the importance of mutual promotion between teaching and research, recording inspiration during the teaching process, consciously accumulating teaching materials, and refining teaching achievements.

Yang Xubo, a member of the Party Committee, introduced the main content of the “Regulations on the Evaluation and Appointment of Teaching and Research Staff for Professional Titles in the School of Liberal Arts (Revised in 2022)” and answered questions from young teachers.

Li Lifang expressed that in recent years, the young teachers in the school have grown rapidly, and the school’s endeavors have been continuously passed down, maintaining a good momentum of sustainable development. She urged the young teachers to closely integrate their personal growth with the development of the school, identify unique advantages in the transformation of traditional disciplines, grasp geographical characteristics, actively integrate into national and school development strategies, and shoulder historical missions and responsibilities. We should possess a sense of crisis and holistic awareness, continuously explore and innovate, strengthen academic exchanges, step out of the school and even the country’s borders, enhance the school’s reputation, strive to achieve landmark achievements, and contribute Lanzhou University’s wisdom to the construction of an independent knowledge system in Chinese disciplines.

In his concluding remarks, Han Jie, the secretary of the Party Committee, congratulated the young teachers on their growth in various aspects on behalf of the school’s Party Committee. He stated that this forum was a concrete measure taken by the school’s Party Committee to implement President Xi Jinping’s important exposition on talent work, achieving the goals of summarizing achievements, enhancing exchanges, and promoting development. He required the young teachers to keep in mind the initial mission of cultivating talents for the Party and the country, embrace the “great causes of the country”, vigorously promote the spirit of educators, inherit advantages, uphold tradition while seeking innovation, promote the school’s development through personal growth, and let the school’s development drive personal growth. They should strive to become “Four-Have” teachers of the new era who have ideals, responsibilities, and achievements.