Lin Jianhua, President of Peking University, has apologized for mispronouncing a word during his speech to students at the 120th anniversary of the establishment of the prestigious¹ college, reports Beijing Youth Daily.

 

《北京青年报》报道，北京大学校长林建华在北大建校120周年庆典致辞中读错一个音，为此他发了一封致歉信。
 

 

During the speech to hundreds of students, staff, alumni, and government officials on May 4, Lin Jianhua stumbled over the words of the ancient inspirational motto "li honghu zhi" – "have noble aspirations² like swans" - when he mispronounced "honghu" as "honghao".

 

In a letter posted on the university's internal message service, Lin apologized for his mistake, saying "I'm really unfamiliar³ with its pronunciation, and I've learned this the hard way." He laid the blame for his mistake at the feet of the turbulent era that surrounded his school years.

 

Lin stressed that although he is the president of one of China's most prestigious colleges, he is also a regular person, and not a perfect one. He went on to say that what disappointed him the most was that the mistake drew attention away from the message he wished to convey.

 

Lin Jianhua was a professor of chemistry and molecular⁴ engineering before being appointed President of Peking University in April 2001.

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