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Song dynasty were said to have set up a travelling palace in the vicinity as they passed through the Hong Kong region fleeing the Mongols.
Another characteristic of this group is that they relied on documentary sources such as dynastic histories, genealogies, local gazetteers and stone inscriptions, but had little use of non-text materials. They did, however, discover an enormous amount of valuable local historical material. In particular, Lo and Lin made important contributions through their systematic collection of genealogies and by expounding on their value in the study of local history. Equally significantly, as renowned mainstream historians, they played an important role in giving Hong Kong history a legitimate place in the wider field of Chinese historiography.
Social Scientists from the West and Japan
Another group of scholars working on Hong Kong, anthropologists and sociologists from the West and Japan, not only came from different parts of the world but very different intellectual traditions. Interested in Chinese society and yet no longer able to carry out in Mainland China the kind of prolonged, detailed and intimate field study they required, these scholars opted for Hong Kong's New Territories where much of traditional China still survived. The pioneer was Barbara Ward, an English social anthropologist trained at the London School of Economics, who arrived in 1950, much earlier than anyone else. Then in 1961 came Jack Potter from Berkeley to study economic developments in the village of Ping Shan. Two years later came Hugh Baker from London University to write his Ph.D. thesis, thus becoming the first of a long line of scholars to conduct extensive field work in Hong Kong addressing the issue of lineage which was seen as a key to understanding Chinese society. To carry out his research, Baker lived in the village of Sheung Shui, learnt the Cantonese dialect and generally immersed himself in the local community. The major outcome of his research is A Chinese Lineage Village: Sheung Shui. (London: Frank Cass & Co., Ltd., 1968).
Others to follow were E.N. Anderson, R.L. Moench, John Brim, and Graham and Elizabeth Johnson from the United States, L.G. Aymer from Sweden, Hiroaki Kani from Japan, Marjorie Topley, H. Nelson and R.G. Groves from the UK. In the 1970s they were joined by James Watson and later, Rubie Watson. Each focused on a particular village or group of people—staking out his or her turf, so to speak. Through their in-depth
149
Song dynasty were said to have set up a travelling palace in the vicinity as they passed through the Hong Kong region fleeing the Mongols.
Another characteristic of this group is that they relied on documentary sources such as dynastic histories, genealogies, focal gazetteers and stone inscriptions, but had little use of non-text materials. They did, however, discover an enormous amount of valuable local historical material. In particular, Lo and Lin made important contributions through their systematic collection of genealogies and by expounding on their value in the study of local history. Equally significantly, as renowned mainstream historians, they played an important role in giving Hong Kong history a legitimate place in the wider field of Chinese histonography
Social Scientists from the West and Japan
Another group of scholars working on Hong Kong, anthropologists and sociologists from the West and Japan, not only came from different parts of the world but very different intellectual traditions. Interested in Chinese society and yet no longer able to carry out in Mainland China the kind of prolonged, detailed and intimate field study they required, these scholars opted for Hong Kong's New Territories where much of traditional China still survived The pioneer was Barbara Ward, an English social anthropologist trained at the London School of Economics, who anived in 1950, much earlier than anyone else Then in 1961 came Jack Potter from Berkeley to study economic developments in the village of Ping Shan, Two years later came Hugh Baker from London University to write his Ph D. thesis, thus becoming the fist of a long line of scholars to conduct extensive field work in Hong Kong addressing the issue of lineage which was seen as a key to understanding Chinese society. To carry out his research, Baker lived in the village of Sheung Shui, learnt the Cantonese dialect and generally immersed himself in the local community. The major outcome of his research is A Chinese Lineage Village Shueng Shu. (London. Frank Cass & Co, Ltd, 1968)
Others to follow were E N. Anderson, R L. Moench, John Brim, and Graham and Elizabeth Johnson from the United States, L G. Aymer from Sweden, Huoakı Kanı from Japan, Marjorie Topley, H. Nelson and R.G. Groves from the UK. In the 1970s they were joined by James Watson and later, Rubie Watson. Each focused on a particular village or group of people - staking out his or her turf, so to speak Through their in-depth
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