From Mahnoor Makhdoom
BEIJING: Prof. Tang Mengsheng and Prof. Kong Julan conferred upon with Sitara-i- Imtiaz On behalf of the President of Pakistan, Ambassador Moin ul Haque conferred Pakistan’s civil award ‘Sitara-i-Imtiaz’ upon Prof. Tang Mengsheng and Prof.Kong Julan in a special investiture ceremony held today at the Embassy of Pakistan,
Beijing. The event was attended by the senior officials, professors and students of Peking University, representatives of media organizations and officers of Pakistan Embassy.
Speaking at the occasion, Ambassador Moin ul Haque paid a rich tribute to Prof. Tang Mengsheng and Prof. Kong Julan for their valuable contributions in strengthening China-Pakistan friendly ties especially in the realm of culture, education and people-to-people exchanges. He also praised the close association of the two scholars with Pakistan over the past 50 years, especially for promoting Urdu language and literature in China.
In their remarks, Prof. Kong Julan and Prof. Tang Meng Sheng expressed their gratitude to the government and people of Pakistan for the conferment of civil award. They both hoped to continue with their efforts and support to deepen people-to-people exchanges between Pakistan and China.
Prof. Tang Mengsheng is currently the Director of Pakistan Studies Centre at the prestigious Peking University of China. He conducted research on history, politics and culture of Pakistan. He also, served as the senior visiting scholar at National University of Modern Languages (NUML) and Punjab University. He is ardent supporter of deepening Pakistan-China cultural and educational linkages. In his capacity as the Director of Pakistan Study Centre, he has played a key role in inspiring younger Chinese generation to learn Urdu and undertake research on several facets of Pakistan’s society and culture.
Prof. Kong Julan is one of the China’s top tier academicians of Urdu literature, engaged with notable Chinese Universities, all across the country. She teaches Urdu literature at the School of Foreign Languages, Peking University.
Her research work includes a vast array of topics ranging from folk stories of Urdu, ethnic diversity in modern Pakistan and Suffism. In recent years, her crowning achievement and enduring service to Urdu language is to publish the Urdu Chinese Dictionary.
