[
    {
        "id": 208899,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1980",
        "page_number": 61,
        "title": "RAS-1980",
        "content_text": "CHINESE MONASTERIES, TEMPLES, SHRINES, ALTARS\n\n33\n\n14 Because of the exorbitant rents for such accommodation, temples in shop houses and flats in Hong Kong are few and far between. In Singapore and Malaysia, temples in shop houses are very common indeed, though they are becoming less so as the years pass and rents in urban areas rapidly rise.\n\n15 Occasionally such a temple may be a converted private house, as in the many examples in Lo Wai village, Tsuen Wan, but more often it is a purpose-built but inexpensive hut.\n\n18 Temples containing images of the Buddhist deities Di Zang Wang, Milofu, and Guan Yin are not necessarily specifically Buddhist, as all three of these deities nowadays are also extremely popular deities in folk religion temples.\n\n17 Mahayana is Northern Buddhism and Theravada or Hinayana is Southern Buddhism.\n\n18 \"Illegal\" is a Hong Kong term for buildings which have been built on Crown Land often by squatters without Government land control or planning permission, but which have been permitted to remain standing under sufferance. In practice, they are temporary structures put up without permission, occasionally ramshackle though more often they are well-built timber, weather-board, and corrugated iron buildings, clean and well-proportioned. (Illustration 17). Some have stood for such a length of time as to have been gradually converted to concrete and brick. All are labelled on the side in rough daubs of paint with the bureaucratic abbreviations and digits prefixed by \"TEM\" (= temporary) affixed by squatter control staff of the Housing Department.\n\n19 Demons are well known to Chinese to be unable to go around corners and must travel in straight lines, hence these inner doors to prevent the demons from entering the temple. The inner doors originally were opened exclusively for influential people.\n\n20 See also James Hayes' information at JHKBRAS 6 (1966): 129-130.\n\n21 In overseas Chinese areas, this kind of large street shrine is still very common and, in Singapore alone, some four to five hundred exist in all kinds of nooks and crannies. For a Hong Kong example, see JHKBRAS 14 (1974): 203.\n\n22 Chu is one of the 28 Constellations (= xiu).\n\n** See pp. 111-113 of the Hong Kong Government's publication Rural Architecture in Hong Kong (1979) for this pagoda.\n\n24 In Imperial times, such masts were always to be seen outside the local magistrate's yamen.\n\n25 Chinese bells have no internal tongue clapper, being tolled by an external blow with a wooden mallet.\n\n26 For the Evacuation of the Coast, see Lo Hsiang-lin and others, Hong Kong and its External Communications before 1842 (Hong Kong, 1963) Chapter VI.\n\n27 For background, see Jen Yu-wen's article \"The Southern Sung stone-engraving at North Fu-t'ang\" in JHKBRAS 5 (1965): 65-68.\n\n28 Government action is through the Chinese Temples Committee, serviced by the Trust Funds Section of the Home Affairs Department.\n\n29 Temples according to this Ordinance include Miao (廟), Si (寺), Buddhist and Daoist monasteries, Guan (觀) and Dao Yuan (道院), and nunneries An (庵).",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1980.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207",
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    },
    {
        "id": 211297,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1988",
        "page_number": 13,
        "title": "RAS-1988",
        "content_text": "Luk and I have discussed this question also. She tells me that other Societies with private collections on long loan also wish their members to have fuller access to their books, but this will not be possible until under a different arrangement more space in new premises enables the collections to be placed on free access in a reference library. In the meantime, Mrs. Luk wishes to facilitate our members' use of the RAS Collection. She is considering issuing updated catalogues and arranging for books to be requisitioned at, and be collected from and returned to, certain public libraries on this side of the harbour. The will to assist is obvious, and we shall be very grateful for improved borrowing arrangements meantime.\n\nThe Council and its Helpers\n\nMembers of the Council have worked hard during the year, in their various capacities. If I may say so, they are talented and competent, and make a good team: which is why (I suppose) you have not made any other nominations this year! They are also friendly and supportive, and it has been a pleasure to work with them.\n\nThe same is true of our helpers who, under our new arrangements, are assisting on the various committees. They, too, deserve a word of thanks. Those serving on the Activities Committee have certainly made it possible to do more than the Councillors could do unaided. Insufficient hands was one of the constraints impeding the growth of the Society, and it is very gratifying to be able to report the success of this particular outcome of the 1987 symposium. Those concerned are Rosemary Lee, Dan Waters and Geoffrey Roper on the Activities Committee, Betty Wei on the Editorial Board, Michael Kirkbride and, again, Rosemary Lee on the External Links Committee, and Helena Hung, David Yung and Choi Chi-cheung on the Ad Hoc Committee on Chinese Membership. Other members, some of them here tonight, have offered to help. Never fear! It is still \"early days\" with the newer committees, and we shall be co-opting you and other members once they get into their stride. The new arrangements enable us to be as flexible as is required.\n\nAt this point, I must also repeat what I said last year about the excellent support given by Mrs. Sharon Bruce, our tireless Assistant Secretary, helped on the side by the Acting, Unpaid Assistant Secretary, husband\n\nxii\n\n:\n\n!\n\n!",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1988.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ft84gb83q",
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    },
    {
        "id": 211300,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1988",
        "page_number": 16,
        "title": "RAS-1988",
        "content_text": "Conclusion\n\nLest you might think otherwise, this report is not intended to be that of a mutual admiration society! True, we have succeeded in doing more for our ever-growing number of members, but there is still much to do to make the Society really measure up to the needs of the membership in the context of present-day Hong Kong, and to make more of an impact on the community than we have to date. Ways to do this were spelled out in our Symposium Report, and I shall mention a few of them here.\n\nNow that we are stronger in our organization and backup services, we need to strengthen our links with other local societies. This is the task of the External Links Committee, and they have already begun their work. Greater mutual knowledge and unity will not only increase benefits to members through having more joint functions, it will also protect us and enable us to defend our common interests at need. Such a need was perceived a few months ago, as I have noted above. On a more positive note, the opportunities for supporting the public interest can be better utilized with stronger links with other cultural bodies.\n\nThe need for more Chinese members was also mentioned in the Report. An Ad Hoc Committee has had a preliminary look at this matter. First steps include an updated Brochure which explains the origins, programmes, and aims of the Society in Hong Kong. This has been tabled tonight, and a Chinese version will be available shortly. Media interviews on the Society are being arranged periodically, usually in connection with interesting items in our Programme, and these will include some given in the Chinese language.\n\nHowever, it is thought that the main incentive for English-speaking Chinese to join the Society is through personal contact and outreach by our existing Chinese members. If they are happy with and in the Society, we can be sure of recruiting others. This is very much in the Chinese way. Expatriate members can help by being friendly and outgoing on our local visits. By these means, we will keep our Chinese members and add to their numbers. Already, there are welcome signs that this is happening. It is a better means than running special drives for Chinese members, although this has also been under consideration.\n\nXV",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1988.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ft84gb83q",
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    },
    {
        "id": 212546,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1991",
        "page_number": 100,
        "title": "RAS-1991",
        "content_text": "80\n\nstage, the possibility was raised that the campaign would be expanded to other spheres and made nationwide, which would affect the economic reform and the open-door policy, the campaign was gradually brought to an end in early 1984.24 In the meantime, \"modernism\" in art was discouraged after an intense debate.\n\nFollowing a period of uncertainty, an air of relaxation emerged again and this air developed into a new policy to encourage freedom of artistic and literary creation. At the Fourth Congress of Writers held in early 1985, Hu Qili, a Politburo member and member of the secretariat, addressed the congress on behalf of the party central committee and called on the writers to write freely. In his speech, he claimed that **(artistic and literary) creation must be free.**\n\nThis policy of greater freedom was soon echoed in major literary journals. In 1986, this optimism even blossomed into talks of making strategies for cultural development. In an article in the Red Flag, Shanghai party secretary Rui Xingwen elaborated that socialist modernization should not be interpreted as being merely economic modernization: economic development must be accompanied by development in culture. He also advocated a more liberal approach to international arts exchanges.25 The position of Rui largely conformed with the efforts of artists and writers made before and the publication of this article showed that a new atmosphere of relaxation over cultural activities, started by Hu's speech, was still in place.\n\nAmerican attitudes\n\nI\n\nIn contrast with the situation in China, the government of the United States has much weaker control over political and cultural developments. An administration cannot influence domestic cultural development by direct or political means. Nevertheless, the U.S. government does exercise some control over its external cultural relations, through its handling of bilateral relationships with specific countries and through the USIA, an agency of the executive branch of the U.S. government which shoulders the responsibility for promoting American interests by cultural, educational, and informational exchanges. The government is also able to influence non-government organizations active in cultural exchanges to act along the same lines as the government pursues.\n\nSince 1949, cultural exchanges as a foreign policy instrument in",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1991.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/k356gt84j",
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    }
]