Postgraduate Student Life @ CUHK

For Benjamin Birkenstock, a Canadian PhD candidate in Philosophy at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), the choice of institution was never really a difficult one. His research focuses on Chinese thought, and for that, CUHK has few rivals anywhere in the world.

“Since my research is focused on Chinese thought and philosophy, CUHK has a really, really strong programme, probably one of the best in the world for Chinese philosophy,” he explains. The University's legacy runs deep, rooted in the founding vision of New Asia College and the work of scholars like Qian Mu, Tang Junyi, and Mou Zongsan.

“My supervisor is also one of the few experts in the English-speaking world in Neo-Daoism,” Benjamin notes. “CUHK is really special; even in Hong Kong, I think there's no other university that has as many specialists in the field.”

The Fellowship That Changed Everything

As a recipient of the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship (HKPFS), Benjamin has experienced firsthand how transformative the right funding can be. The fellowship has fundamentally expanded the scope of what his PhD can be.

“It's enabled me to focus on my research and even expand my language ability in classical Chinese language, things that I wouldn't have had the time or the finances to do if I was in a traditional package,” he says.

During his master's studies, balancing part-time work with research meant constant compromise. The HKPFS has removed that constraint entirely, freeing him to travel, engage with global experts, and pursue the deep linguistic preparation that serious scholarship in classical Chinese philosophy demands.

Rethinking Nature in an Urban Environment

Benjamin arrived in Hong Kong accustomed to nature-rich surroundings, and the city's density initially seemed at odds with the contemplative space his work requires. Then his research offered him a new lens. His work on the Neo-Daoist concept of ziran (naturalness) prompted a quiet reframing of everything around him.

“I thought, you know, maybe I can learn to see these huge buildings outside of my window as a literal concrete jungle that grew up from the ground,” he shares. “Even though humans made it grow, in its own way, it's also organic. Now, I spend a lot of time walking through Hong Kong, not just through the jungles, but even just walking through the city and appreciating it as a sort of organic environment.”

It is the kind of insight that only emerges when a philosopher is genuinely living inside their own research questions.

A Department That Challenges Without Belittling

The culture of the CUHK Department of Philosophy has been central to Benjamin's growth. What he describes is an environment that takes intellectual challenge seriously without making it a performance of dominance. “The professors here, they always challenge their students, but it's never just belittling,” he observes. “They are never offended when the student challenges them; it's always sincere and helpful.”

That spirit extends to the connections he has built beyond CUHK. Through the fellowship's support for conference attendance, Benjamin has begun assembling a network he expects to last well beyond the PhD. “I feel like I've already made a few lifelong friends overseas through the support of the HKPFS,” he says.

Where Daoism Meets the Modern Mind

Benjamin's research sits at an unusual intersection: classical Daoist philosophy and contemporary psychology. His work engages directly with the pressures of modern life: performance anxiety, the compulsion toward constant self-monitoring, the difficulty of genuine release. 

“One thing that I'm working on is to say that letting go is not necessarily the opposite of self-control or reason,” he explains. “You can actually deliberately train yourself in a way to let go, to be irrational, or to just have moments where you can release your emotions.” It is scholarship with immediate human relevance, and it reflects a broader ambition to make classical Chinese thought legible and useful to contemporary audiences.

Three Reasons CUHK Stands Apart

When Benjamin reflects on what makes CUHK exceptional, he keeps returning to three things. The first is mentorship: “There are many good teachers here who care about their students. It's not just about their career, their ranking, or their own money; my own supervisor and a few other professors have become mentors and friends to me.”

The second is the campus: “I love having a campus that's basically on a mountain, I've spent hours just walking around, exploring different places and the views.” The third is opportunity: “There are so many different opportunities at CUHK for research, for professional development, and for resources. It's a huge school, and there's just so many different resources available.”

For a philosopher who has built his research around the idea that letting go and living fully are not opposites, it sounds very much like the right place: a PhD experience defined, in his own words, by “doing work that matters and having friendships that matter.”