[ { "id": 206415, "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-1971", "page_number": 232, "title": "RAS-1971", "content_text": "206\n\nNOTES AND QUERIES\n\nto the top of the inscribed bamboos. The inscriptions seemed to be in pairs, three pieces with different writing on the right and again three on the left, similarly written.\n\nAfter this was done, wine was poured in three cups and tea poured in the other three, the candles lit, and the geomancer took up his position at the head of the table and started his incantation.\n\nAfter about five minutes of prayer he seized the young live cockerel by the head in his left hand, and taking hold of the nail from the rice bowl, plunged it into the cockerel's eye. On the impact the young cockerel almost struggled free, fighting so hard that the geomancer had to tighten his grip and to push the nail in its eye once more. With a crunching noise he pierced the nail right through the cockerel's head and out of the other eye. Thereupon the cockerel ceased struggling and lay limp, as if dead.\n\nStill holding the cockerel with the nail through its head in his left hand, he ordered the Village Representative and his assistant to place the bamboos in the two pots with sand, three in each pot with a cup of tea. He sprinkled some of the blood from the cockerel's eyes on the bamboos and then nailed the cockerel on to a tree, suspended by this nail through its eyes. Joss paper was then burnt under the tree, wine was poured on the ground in front of the tree, and crackers were fired.\n\nThe geomancer then took the cockerel off the tree and more crackers were fired. Holding it in his left hand, he pulled the nail out with his right, and put some water from the rice bowl in the cockerel's blinded eyes with his finger. Crackers were set off again. The limp cockerel was placed on the ground and the geomancer then filled his mouth with water from the rice bowl and blew on the cockerel twice, hitting it on the rump at the same time. Surprisingly enough, the cockerel got up and started staggering about, not knowing where to go, as it was still dazed and couldn't see.\n\nOne of the pots with the three bamboos was then taken up by the Village Representative on the geomancer's instructions. They brought it to the end of the village and placed it under a tree chosen by the geomancer. The assistant then went with a pick and started digging into the hillside behind the village at intervals of about ten feet. Then the other pot with the other three bamboos...", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1971.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/z029vt43g", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 206510, "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-1972", "page_number": 58, "title": "RAS-1972", "content_text": "52 \n\nJ. L. CRANMER-BYNG \n\ngeneral and governors to send monthly to the Tsungli Yamen foreign newspapers, both those printed in Chinese and in foreign languages, so that we can have at our finger-tips knowledge of the situation between China and foreign countries, and so that we can become more fully acquainted with the way to reform abuses and put right our failings. \n\nA memorial from Prince Hui and others in reply was received at the travelling headquarters on 20 January 1861, and an edict was issued on the same day. As no English version of this edict appears to have been made, a translation of it follows.17 \n\nToday we have received a memorial from Prince Hui and others to the effect that they have deliberated on the memorial of I-hsin Prince Kung, and others on restoring normal conditions and on regulations for trade. According to what they said all the items recommended by Prince Kung and others have a close bearing on the circumstances and that this really is the situation. They request that we should act according to the original proposals. \n\nWe have already issued an edict appointing Prince Kung, Grand Secretary Kuei-liang, and Senior Vice-President of the Board of Revenue Wen-hsiang to be in general charge of trade with the various countries. We have also appointed Ch'ung-hou to be superintendent of trade for the three ports [Tientsin; Newchang; Chefoo]. Let Hsueh Huan continue to control trading arrangements at the five old ports as well as at the newly added ones. In their memorandum Prince Kung and others recommend that Canton and Shanghai should each send two men who understand spoken and written foreign languages to come to the capital on official service. Also that the superintendents of trade as well as the Manchu garrison commanders, the governors-general and governors, and the prefect of Peking ought to report monthly on native and foreign trade conditions at those ports and send the foreign newspapers of the various countries and should communicate [this information and newspapers] to the Board of Rites which will transmit it to the Tsungli Yamen. Let the princes and ministers instruct the Board of Rites to this effect and let the Board communicate these instructions. We also authorize young men to be selected from the Eight Banners to study foreign spoken and written languages; instruct the Russian language school's to draw up appropriate regulations and zealously supervise their lessons. Whenever anyone is able to", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1972.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/gm80qf99h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210788, "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-1986", "page_number": 139, "title": "RAS-1986", "content_text": "122\n\nD.L. MICHALK\n\naverted had the Cantonese management consented to employ non-Cantonese workers for tapping and harvesting. However, as experiences with the new crops accumulated, a large number of successful plantations were planted by local businessmen to diversify their interests.\n\nAlthough some of the mineral resources of Hainan were known to the medieval Chinese, the richest deposits were located in the central mountains where mining was prevented by the contumacious Li tribesmen. However, as relationships with the Li people improved and exploration exposed the precise locale of the precious minerals, mines were opened up in the once forbidden interior, but with varying success. At Shi Lu Shan (literally stone-green mountain), for example, an extensive mining operation was commenced with the prospect of exporting the rich copper ore to Europe. Unfortunately, this plan was thwarted by the government who granted sanction to the Chinese company to mine the ore, but denied foreign steamers the use of port facilities for loading the mineral (Swinhoe, 1872a). Misfortune struck again when due to poor management, a cave-in claimed the lives of a hundred workers (Henry, 1886). This effectively closed the mine which also led to the abandonment of searching for silver, lead and iron in the same group of hills. Smaller mines extracting tin, gold and silver were also plagued by cave-ins, particularly in the wet season, although it was the superstitions of the owners of the land or people living nearby who forcibly stopped the diggings for fear that the earth would take revenge for the removal of the precious deposits (Henry, 1886).\n\nLumbering in the Five Finger mountains by the aborigines under the direction of Hakkas proved to be more rewarding than plantations or mining, possibly because the exploitative harvest continued as it had for ten centuries, but on a much larger scale to meet the growing demand for the highly valued Hainan timbers in the mainland. Since Hainan's forests also yielded rattan, incense wood, wild teas and herbal medicines, Hakka traders nurtured a subsidiary commerce with their Li workmen. Migrating to Hainan in the 1750's (Fusson, 1929), the Hakkas had by patient industry and thrift become fairly prosperous, and by befriending both the Han Chinese and the Li, they provided the vital link between the", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1986.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/jq08c7063", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210791, "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-1986", "page_number": 142, "title": "RAS-1986", "content_text": "125\n\nBetween 1917 and 1923, membership doubled owing mainly to acceptance of the Protestant faith among the Miao tribesmen (La-Tourette, 1929).\n\nIn addition to attracting businessmen, diplomats and missionaries, the unknown interior also coaxed several academics to make pilgrimages to the \"Shore of Pearls\". The most important of these for the natural sciences was undertaken by F.A. McClure, an American botanist teaching at Lingnan Agricultural College, who was commissioned to explore the land resources of Hainan, and if possible, conquer the summit of the rugged Five Finger Range: a feat which had eluded earlier European attempts (McClure, 1922). His first assault on the summit failed, but on April 20, 1922, his second push brought him through the dense undergrowth to the ceiling of the island (McClure, 1922). The important discoveries he made on these and subsequent expeditions to Hainan (1927, 1928, 1929, 1932) form the basis of a great collection of rare plants housed in Guangzhou (Fenzel, 1933), the New York Botanical Gardens, and for some specimens, the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University (Merrill and Medcalf, 1937).\n\nA zoological expedition, led by Clifford Pope of the American Museum of Natural History, went to Hainan in 1922 (Pope, 1924), while in 1928 the French missionary and ethnographer, M. Savina, studied in detail the language of the Li clans for the first time (Savina, 1929). The German, Gottlieb Fenzel, who journeyed through the interior in 1929 made a significant contribution to the geology and geography of Hainan (Fenzel, 1933), and his fellow countryman, H. Stubel, provided further information on the ethnology of Hainan's aboriginals from his visits in 1931 and 1932 (Stubel and Li, 1933; Stubel and Meriggi, 1937). These published reports by foreign academics provide the bulk of the information on Hainan readily accessible to the western bloc.\n\nCivil War and Japanese occupation\n\nIn 1912, the Manchu dynasty came to an end with the abdication of the young Emperor, Hsuan-t’ung, and the New Republic was declared the constitutional form of state. However, efforts by the weak central government to create unity were sabotaged", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1986.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/jq08c7063", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210793, "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-1986", "page_number": 144, "title": "RAS-1986", "content_text": "127\n\ncontinued the guerilla war from bases in the nearby Nanlin Hills (Paul, 1982). As a revolutionary base was established, workers' and peasants' democratic governments were formed at the county level throughout Hainan, the first being set up in Lingshui County amongst the Li community (Gao, 1981).\n\nThreatened by the possible emergence of a unified China, Japan, which already had a firm foothold in northern China, landed troops in Shanghai in 1928 in order to weaken Chiang Kai-shek's power and prolong the onset of the inevitable Sino-Japanese war. Taking advantage of the rift between the KMT and Communists, Japan strengthened her influence, first by invading Manchuria in 1931, and finally, by means of a number of orchestrated landings in 1937, secured the whole of the coast of China, effectively severing all major supply arteries to the country: China was no longer a dangerous adversary (Eberhard, 1969). As part of this offensive, Hainan was first attacked in August, 1937 (Clark, 1938), and Japanese forces quickly occupied the coastal fringe. By February, 1939, Hainan, like the mainland, was subdued (Wigmore, 1957).\n\nRemnants of the old Red Guard units, hardened by 12 years of battle with the KMT, took up positions around the island immediately behind the Japanese and used their guerilla tactics to harass the intruders, while the KMT held defensive positions in the central mountains (Fairtex-Cholmeley, 1963). It appears that a non-interference agreement was quickly ratified between the Japanese and the KMT, leaving the Communist guerillas to pose the chief threat to the invading Japanese (Paul, 1982). Although Mao Tse-tung committed the Communist Party to collaborate with the KMT, conflict continued between the two factions even in Hainan where in 1943, the Li leaders, Wang Guo-xing* and Wang Yu-jin, led 20,000 tribesmen in an armed foray against KMT troops entrenched in the Five Finger Mountains (Gao, 1981). In spite of these \"domestic\" conflicts, the combined Chinese forces tied up two Japanese divisions in Hainan (MacCrae, personal communication).\n\nDue to its strategic location, Hainan became a training and staging area for the Japanese southward thrust, with components of the XXV Japanese Army being exercised on the island during", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1986.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/jq08c7063", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212582, "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": 136, "title": "RAS-1991", "content_text": "116\n\nThe stylised format remains similar to the 5th century edition. Traditionally, preparing this almanac was the responsibility of the Board of Astronomy.\n\nThe funeral service in this study involved five Taoist (sometimes Buddhists are engaged) monks who, as is customary, chanted mantras. They were accompanied by an orchestra. 'Wooden fish' (*), namely sound boxes, bells and small brass singing bowls were struck. A high-pitched flageolet, a musical instrument with six or eight finger holes, played what some would describe as discordant music. As the coffin was wheeled into the hall, head first on a bier, relatives crouched and mourners born in the Year of the Monkey were instructed over a microphone not to look at the casket. If they did it could bring bad luck. With the head of the corpse towards the altar (in a Christian church feet usually face east towards the altar) the 'body was shown to the gods'.\n\n26\n\nWith patrilineal kinship ties, if there are sons or grandsons in the family a ceremony of 'buying water' (A) takes place. With a traditional funeral in Hong Kong's New Territories this still consists of the eldest son, the chief mourner, being escorted to the nearest stream or well, dropping three cash (old copper coins) in and bringing back a bowl of water. The ritual can vary from bathing the corpse to a symbolic dab on the dead parent's forehead. This, in Confucian tradition, signifies filial piety. It also helps to ensure the lineage continues. 'I have no sons to buy water!' is a not uncommon lament by some husbands, which, in the old days, meant taking a concubine because the first spouse did not give birth to an heir. As there were no sons in this study the three daughters kowtowed three times and walked around the open coffin three times. Other mourners then bowed.\n\nThe public 'lying in state' continued until the 'last glance', towards the end of the ceremony. With the upper portion of the body visible through a clear, plastic 'window' family mourners, followed by the congregation, filed around the coffin. There was weeping. Some children were held up to look at the corpse. (By contrast, I have heard it said a mourner should not get too close for fear of being 'possessed'.) The lid was then secured.\n\nAfter the service the dead person's spirit was 'led' to Chung Yam Fat Ser (Pine Shade Buddhist Association). This hall is situated in multi-", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1991.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/k356gt84j", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 213126, "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-1993", "page_number": 194, "title": "RAS-1993", "content_text": "176\n\n'From Fanling also, there runs a narrow gauge line down the other coast at Sha Tau Kok. Sha Tau Kok itself is a fishing town, walled, and of a type, with two loopholed buildings [the gun towers] sticking up out of it. These serve as watch-towers and are common to all Chinese towns. Usually they are the pawnshops or safe deposits. Doubtless they were necessary and useful enough in unsettled times, before modern rifles and artillery were added to China's domestic problems. Narrow dirty streets shorten the foreigner's stay in Sha Tau Kok, and he is content to leave the place to its poi-bellied pigs and contented citizens.' \n\n67\n\nSocial and Economic Life\n\nThere are three tablets which include lists of shops in Sha Tau Kok: the 1894 tablet recording donations to the rebuilding of the temple at Shan Tsui; the 1906 tablet recording donations to the building of a bridge at Bride's Pool, and the 1920 wooden tablet recording donations to the repairs of the monastery at Cheung Shan Kwu Tsz. 68 Of these, the last is the fullest and most significant, listing 39 shops specifically as being from Sha Tau Kok. These lists have been discussed with elders of surrounding villages, and, as a result, some 84 shops or workshops have been recorded as operating in the market before 1925. Some of these 84 are somewhat doubtful. At the same time, the elders say that there were more shops than they can now remember anything of - numbers of very small shops, selling sweets and such like, existed which the elders cannot now remember in any detail. It seems likely that there were about 90-100 shops in operation in the market during this period. In addition to these 90-100 shops, there were 18 functioning saltworks, between 10 and 12 prostitutes, and a number of full-time hawkers working both in the market, and from the market through the surrounding district. Many of the shops employed one or two people as well as family of the owner. The market may have been responsible for providing work for 400-500 people.\n\nOf the shops remembered by the elders, five were general household stores. Two rattan dealers made and dealt in sieves and baskets. A silversmith provided for the finger-rings, ear-rings, and bracelets so important in Hakka culture. Eight were general groceries, some of which were, in addition, grain wholesalers, pig slaughterers, or winemakers. There were nine fishmongers - five were fish wholesalers only, while four had a retail business as well. Other food dealers included three bakers,\n\n* See Appendix 2", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1993.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/66833t302", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 215476, "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-2001", "page_number": 253, "title": "RAS-2001", "content_text": "202\n\nof acquiring for himself some of these wonderful and effective garments should avoid the very extensive Men's Underwear Department on the ground floor of the Queen's Road Central branch; they can only be found in the Ladies' Underwear Department on the second floor.)\n\nThe fourth day (only the fourth ??) did indeed start early and we managed to leave the hotel on time at 7:00 a.m. Our briefing notes told us that there were 'splendid views' to be had from the hotel. And that may well have been the case - there were even little balconies attached to each room from which one could have enjoyed the panorama, from the comfort of a garden chair. But we arrived after dark and left fifteen minutes before the sun breached the high tops of the valley wall. When daylight once again returned, we appreciated that 'sub-tropical' was not an unfair description. The season seemed to be more advanced here. The paddy fields were green. The early morning mist was hanging low. In a word, it was beautiful. My camera trigger finger was itching, but I would have felt very uncomfortable asking for a photo stop only five minutes into the journey. So I had to sit and admire.\n\nI have never been on a specific photography holiday, but perhaps I should try some day. As it was, I was left reflecting on whether we should simply observe and enjoy, or worry about the best viewpoint from which to preserve the scene for .... Well, for what?\n\nBetter late than never\n\nWhilst still reflecting I found that we had arrived at Wangdiphodrang, a delightful little roadside village where all the buildings seemed to be half the normal size. The sun was coming up, the shops were open, and smiling faces were everywhere. Set back from the main row of buildings was an important-looking office - the Flood Warning Station. Not much of a problem up here, I thought to myself, as we had climbed a good 1,000 feet up the valley from Punakha. But of course, the whole point of a warning station is to warn people, and in the case of flooding the people who would most appreciate being warned would be those 1,000 feet further down the hill where the river is. In fact, there was a bridge down there at the bottom of the climb. This one was built in 1962, to replace its predecessor which had been built, so we were told, 1,277 years earlier but which had been destroyed in a flood. At a guess, I would say the warning station had first been", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2001.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/zg651950g", "rank": 0 } ]