When it comes to developing skills needed for innovation and technology, Hong Kong often falls back on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics), a Western model of education. But why not try to develop some innovative technology education based on Chinese culture? For example, the board game Go can provide a good education in innovative technology. We all know that the highest forms of artificial intelligence are put to the test when a Go match is played between AI and humans, and there are documentaries explaining how AI has been able to beat world-class Go masters through machine learning from big data.
Hong Kong has favorable conditions for promoting an interest in Go. Hong Kong has made outstanding achievements in mathematics, and there are many mathematical geniuses in elementary school and secondary schools, as well as numerous students with great potential. Unfortunately, in many cases, these students’ talents are not well utilized in Hong Kong. The cost of promoting education in Go is much cheaper and simpler than the STEAM model, which involves buying lots of instruments and tools. Playing Go only requires a board and some stones (the playing pieces), and what students really need is to use their brains to learn to outwit their opponents, instead of spending more and more money on new gadgets.
Especially in elementary school, too much focus on learning computer skills has proved to be the wrong approach for children’s development. In elementary school, students should avoid excessive use of computers or electronic gadgets. They should focus on developing logical and critical thinking skills, which would enhance their brain function in problem-solving as efficiently as possible, with hands-on experience to boot. They need to learn things that help them create, calculate and visualize solutions. That is why our ancestors developed an elementary education system based on the four arts — music (expression), the game of Go (strategy), calligraphy and painting (communication). Of course, there are many levels in learning Go, the simplest being Reversi (also known as Othello), and Capture Go, which can be good brain training for elementary school students.
Mathematics is at the root of all innovation and technology. If students are not good at mathematics — if they cannot memorize the multiplication table, if they do not know the basics of mathematics, if they rely on devices or calculators to get answers, and if they cannot do basic calculations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division — this is a failure of the Hong Kong education system. So, to promote innovation and technology, Hong Kong must develop its education structure based on Chinese culture. It is not that the STEAM model of the West is unimportant; it is just that the STEAM education has become about buying a lot of equipment and writing apps (computer programs), instead of about teaching based on the core of STEAM. For example, what is the best way to teach mathematics? Can STEAM disciplines be taught without using computers? This is an interesting challenge to say the least.
The board game of Go is a good training tool. The late master of fiction in ancient settings, Louis Cha Leung-yung (1924-2018), better known by his pen name Jin Yong, used to promote the development of playing Go in Hong Kong, and there were some Go organizations in Hong Kong. Since it is defined as a sport, it gets limited support from the government. Whether for the education system or for the whole cultural landscape in Hong Kong, it would generate a lot of benefit if we could focus our resources on promoting the board game some more.
Not surprisingly Go is big in Japan and Korea. And now more than ever it is making its greatest revival on the Chinese mainland. So why can’t Hong Kong do more to promote Go as a sport that is good for developing intellectual, physical and mental fortitude? In fact, both Go and Chinese chess Xiangqi equip players with Chinese basic training in thinking and engaging in challenges that train our brain. And the thinking process required to play Go is very close to that applied in the digital culture.
The Book of Changes is another important channel of wisdom. It offers a great system for understanding and learning Chinese culture that also applies in another domain of the digital universe — artificial intelligence.
The author is a member of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies and artistic director of Zuni Icosahedron.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.