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chau community in Tsuen Wan; another on Tsuen Wan's political structure; an exceedingly painstaking and careful study of the Ta Chiu in Kam Tin in 1975; an enlightening analysis of the societal roles of women based on a study in Ha Tsuen; two complementary studies of land tenure before and after the arrival of the British, and, hopefully before too long, my own work on the so-called Tanka communities in and around the eastern side of the Territories.
But all that is only a small part of the published record. A really very large number of articles and papers has appeared in many different places. Some of them, in particular Marjorie Topley's brilliant work on aspects of the economics of rice and vegetable farming, Maurice Freedman's seminal papers on kinship, clan organisation, ancestor worship, and fung shui, and perhaps one or two of my own, are and will be of lasting importance for theoretical as well as descriptive reasons.
That point brings me to the third matter I want to make clear to you tonight, which is that it is not widely enough known that a great deal of the anthropological work that has been done in the New Territories is immensely valuable not only because of its unique contribution to the descriptive record of this local area but also for the light it has helped to throw on Chinese society in general in the so-called traditional and transitional periods and, even more widely, for its contribution to the growing pool of understanding about human social life (and that means all human life) in general. That is a proud claim, but I can assure you that it can be made with complete confidence. The social anthropological work that has been done in the New Territories and in Taiwan since 1950 is some of the most important that has been done anywhere, and I am not alone in thinking that its importance will increase and be increasingly recognised in the future.
——
This is not the place to discuss social science theory, but it is (I think) relevant to mention here as my fourth point of significance - some of the more practical reasons why the work done in the New Territories has been, is, and will be so significant. They are these:
Before about 1920, studies of Chinese society (like the studies of most other societies) were mainly concerned with the elite -- the so-called gentry or literati - or as some anthropologists have named it the Great Tradition of the society as a whole. Neither
SOCIAL & CULTURAL HERITAGE IN N.T.
119
chau community in Tsuen Wan; another on Tsuen Wan's political structure; an exceedingly painstaking and careful of the Ta Chiu in Kam Tin in 1975; an enlightening analysis of the societal roles of women based on a study in Ha Tsuen; two complementary studies of land tenure before and after the arrival of the Bri'ish, and, hope- fully before too long, my own work on the so-called Tanka com- munities in and around the eastern side of the Territiries.
But all that is only a small part of the published record. A really very large number of articles and papers has appeared in many different places. Some if them in particular Marjorie
Topley's brilliant work on aspects of the economics of rice and vegetable farming, Maurice Freedman's seminal papers on kinship. clan organisation, ancestor worship, and fung shui, and perhaps one or two of my own-are and will be of lasting importance for theoretical as well as descriptive reasons.
That point brings me to the third matter I want to make clear to you 10-night, which is that it is not widely enough known that a great deal of the anthropological work that has been done in the New Territories is immensely valuable not only because of its unique contribution to the descriptive record of this local area but also for the light it has helped to throw on Chinese society in general in the so-called traditional and transitional periods and, even more widely, for its contribution to the growing pcol of under- standing about human social life (and that means all human life) in general. That is a proud claim, but I can assure you that it can be made with complete confidence. The social anthropological work that has been done in the New Territories and in Taiwan since 1950 is some of the most important that has been done anywhere, and I am not alone in thinking that its importance will increase and be increasingly recognised in the future.
——
This is not the the place to discuss social science theory, but it is (I think) relevant to men'ion here as my fourth point of signi- ficance - some of the more practical reasons why the work done in the New Territories has been, is, and will be so significant. They are these:
Before about 1920, studies of Chinese society (like the studies of most other societies) were mainly concerned with the elite -- the so-called gentry or literati - or as some anthropologists have named it the Great Tradition of the society as a whole. Neither
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