Peking University, Apr. 1, 2011: “The prime directive of the mandates through the scientific outlook on rule of law and principle is to improve people’s lives and the minimum end-goal of the system is to create and distribute the people’s joy and happiness,” said visiting PKU Honorary Trustee Leo KoGuan.

Leo, chairman of the Leo KoGuan Foundation, delivered a speech titled “Tianming Ren and the Doctrine of Creation and Distribution of Everything” at PKU on March 23.

Before his speech, a short video featuring Leo KoGuan’s donation to China’s higher education cause was showed. “Dr. Leo KoGuan has cared a lot about China and mankind’s future and has a unique perspective in Chinese culture, being brought up in Western countries but deeply immersed in traditional culture,” Professor Min Weifang, Chairman of PKU Council noted in the welcoming speech. Professor Min recalled Leo’s lasting support for PKU’s development of teaching and research since 2005, especially in promoting its academic subjects of humanities and social sciences to international standards.

Leo KoGuan then delivered the speech based on his unique understanding of social and natural sciences. “Tianming ren is a citizen of the universe, embodying heaven and earth in his head and endowed with the essence of the Yellow Emperor’s five mandates (tianming), based on the principle of ‘giving first and taking later,’ in his body and spirit. The five mandates are humanity, righteousness, the six freedoms ‘do re mi fa sol la,’ the unity of rights and duties, and a regulated but free and open market system to create and distribute spiritual and material things of desire,” said Leo on “tianming ren.”

Honorary Trustee Leo KoGuan at his speech

“I have worked on the system of tianming days and nights at Starbucks around the world, with a hope that the idea and this principle that I developed can be helpful and useful to China, Chinese people, and mankind, and I am pleased to share this idea with you today.”

“Tianming ren has mastered the art of cultivating his illustrious self as a man of humanity, ren , and righteousness, yi ,” Leo mentioned two traditional Chinese values. “His hands uphold humanity and justice or righteousness at the same time, embracing, merging, and immersing the six freedoms in his mind and body.”

“We shall all have bright futures and I believe after people learn and practice being tianming ren, persons endowed with the five mandates who are skillful in applying the nine 'as you wishes' quantum steps and the five laws of the doctrine of creation and distribution of everything, the future of mankind will literally become without limit. Each one of us is the ruler and master of our universe. However, this can only be achieved within the framework of a powerful anti-entropic government under the leadership of a powerful anti-entropic political party and anti-entropic for-profit as well as not-for-profit organizations,” added Leo.

“The scientific outlook on Chinese rule of law and principle is the way to realize our common hope and dream since life begins to enjoy heaven on earth here and now. We all shall become tianming ren, divine creators endowed with the mandate of heaven to rule the universe as the universe is our domain,” Leo concluded his speech.

The culmination came when Leo KoGuan read his poem at the end: “...Endowed with the Mandate of Heaven, we reign as the universe is our domain, Yellow Emperors of our world.”

Leo KoGuan also interacted with the attendants. Students raised questions ranging from the relationship between law and Tao to how to balance obedience and innovation. Leo’s responses elicited heavy applause.

Professor Wu Zhipan, executive vice president of PKU, presided over the event. An audience of over 600 students, faculty and staff members attended the speech, including Deng Ya, assistant president and secretary-general of the Education Foundation, and Ma Huaxiang, assistant president and director of the Office of Student Affairs.

Following the speech, PKU Council Chairman Min Weifang presented Leo with a copy of a famous painting “Shaoyuan Garden Repaired” by Mi Wanzhong (1570-1628), a Ming dynasty (1368-1644) painter and then proprietor of today’s Shaoyuan on campus.

Professor Min Weifang presenting gift to Honorary Trustee Leo KoGuan

Background info:
Dr. Leo KoGuan, with a JD from the New York Law School, is the chairman of the Leo KoGuan Foundation and the founder and chairman of Software House International, a global procurement outsourcing company and leading business to business solution provider. In 2006, Software House International was ranked by Forbes as the 167th largest private company in the United States with annual revenue of over US$2 billion. Dr. Leo is devoted to philanthropy as sponsor of various events and institutions such as the World Economic Forum, the US Asia Society, and the 2005 Hainan Conference of the Bo'ao Forum for Asia. The Leo KoGuan Foundation has contributed multi-million yuan donations to the development of the Law School, the School of Government, and interdisciplinary teaching and research at PKU.

Extended Reading:

Tianming Ren and the Doctrine of Creation and Distribution of Everything (Professor Leo Koguan)

Translated by: Liu Yineng

Edited by: Jacques

Source: PKU News (Chinese)