“进士”是中国古代科举制度中的一种荣誉功名。在客家宗族文化中，进士匾额常被供奉于祠堂之中，作为家族荣耀的象征；其名称本身也带有“不断向前”的寓意。然而对于今日的客家社群而言，这种承诺似乎已显得遥远，取而代之的是撤退与衰落的现实。

一块蒙着尘灰的进士匾至今仍悬挂在宗祠之中，静静守望着一座座空置的房屋。在它的静默之中，它依然坚持存在，而人们却不断离去，离开村庄，四散他方，去寻找另一种“前行”的可能。

Jinshi (进士) was an honorary degree in the imperial examinations of ancient China. Within Hakka clan culture, a Jinshi title was often preserved in the ancestral hall as a symbol of family honour, its name meaning “one moves forward.” For Hakka communities today, that promise feels distant, shaped instead by retreat and decline. A dust-veiled Jinshi plaque still hangs in the clan hall, keeping vigil over empty homes. In its stillness, it perseveres as people drift away, leaving the village behind, scattering in search of a different way forward.

Jinshi is an experimental video work. It draws on personal visits to ruins and experiences of funerals to explore the features of Hakka architecture. The work begins with the last time I accompanied my grandfather back to the remote village for a funeral, and ends with the most recent return for his funeral. Through this journey, the sense of unity within a clan slowly falls apart from the inside.