From May 9th to 11th, the 9th “Centenary Flame, Talking Nankai” Drama Festival, hosted by the School of Finance at Nankai University, took place grandly at the Datong Student Center. This year’s festival showcased three spectacular plays of different styles, ingeniously combining historical echoes with contemporary reflections, presenting the entire university community with an immersive cultural feast. The festival was attended by Gao Shan, Vice Party Secretary and Associate Dean of the School of Finance, counselors, and over 400 student spectators. The event also collaborated with the “Haitang Happiness College” street-school project at Haitang Street, inviting more than 40 student parents from Nankai School to enjoy the performances.

“Zhang Boliing” used a flashback technique to reconstruct the historical journey of Zhang Boliing, the founding father of Nankai University, focusing on his decision to abandon military pursuits for education, the challenges of founding the school, and his resilience amidst war. The play revisited his famous “Three Questions of Patriotism,” deeply highlighting the spirit of “public service and capability, ever-changing progress.” Since its debut in 2019, the play has been performed 9 times and has received guidance from Zhang Boliing’s descendants and professional theater groups, offering a more dimensional perspective on his educational contributions to national salvation.

Meng Fanjing and Kang Zeying, members of the “Three Questions of Patriotism” lecture team, shared the historical connection between Nankai and drama, as well as the creative processes behind the two plays, further deepening the educational significance of the event.

As a signature event held by the School of Finance for the past nine years, the Drama Festival has always focused on modernizing classic plays and encouraging students to express their youthful thoughts through original works. From the early poetic adaptation of “Secret Love in Peach Blossom Spring” to recent productions like “Autumn Equinox We What”, “Confused Drama Troupe”, and “Curious People in the World”, the Drama Festival has become a key platform for Finance students to showcase their creativity and convey values. This year’s event introduced a dual-track format with both classic and original works, attracting over a hundred faculty and students, with online live stream views surpassing 100,000, setting a new record for its reach.

“The Drama Festival is not just a performance, but a spiritual inheritance,” said the event organizer. This year’s plays remained deeply rooted in the identity of the “Nankai people,” aiming to guide students in understanding the “Gongneng Spirit” through the juxtaposition of history and reality in drama. Moving forward, the School of Finance will continue to use cultural immersion as a means to create more thought-provoking and artistically rich events, allowing the legacy of the university’s history to thrive through the performances of today’s youth.