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EASTER, 1997 IN SHANGHAI: NOTES ON THE RAS HK VISIT
GEOFFREY ROPER
There are close parallels between the histories of the RAS Branches formed in the two China coastal ports of Hong Kong and Shanghai. Both were formed in the 19th Century and originally under different names. That in Hong Kong was first formed in 1847 as The Philosophical Society of China, but in the same year became the China Branch of the RAS, later again to become the Hong Kong Branch. The Branch in Shanghai was first formed in 1857 as the Shanghai Literary and Scientific Society, but soon became known as the North China Branch of the RAS.1 Both Branches underwent temporary periods of closure.
The North China Branch finally closed in 1949. It had been a very active cultural organisation, with a renowned Library, totalling some 14,000 volumes in 1948, located on the second floor of the Branch's own building. Since 1949 little had been heard outside China of the fortunes of that Library, although in recent years it had become known that it was housed in the Shanghai Municipal Library.
News in 1996 that Shanghai Municipal Library was to be rehoused in new premises rekindled interest in the RAS Library, whilst at the same time much was heard of another feature of Shanghai's cultural renaissance, the new premises of the Shanghai Museum. So there was good support amongst members and friends when the Hong Kong Branch decided to organise a visit to Shanghai for Easter, 1997.
After a considerable amount of prior liaison and preparation by the Activities Committee, a thirty-seven strong party flew off from Hong Kong on the morning of Good Friday, the 28th March, reaching Shanghai in time for an afternoon visit to the new Shanghai Museum at 201 People's Avenue. For many years the old Museum in Henan Road had been famous not only for the high quality of the objects on display but also for the high number of items in storage, for the size of the premises permitted an age of what was available.
As our party, led by President Dan Waters and Vice President