[ { "id": 204593, "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-1963", "page_number": 74, "title": "RAS-1963", "content_text": "BRITISH LEGATION AT PEKING\n\n63\n\nThese extracts give the official Chinese version of how the British came to occupy their first Legation quarters, and agree closely with Lord Elgin's own account contained in a despatch to Lord John Russell, the Foreign Secretary, dated Tientsin, 13th November 1860:\n\nOn the 7th instant Mr. Bruce reached Peking, having hastened up from Shanghae in compliance with my request. His arrival was most opportune, as it was very important that before my departure from the capital I should be able to confer with him on various matters, and more especially on the subject of the place of residence for the future of Her Majesty's Representative in China. Mr. Bruce informed me that he was perfectly willing to take up his abode in Peking at once. On consultation with Baron Gros and General Ignatieff, however, I found that the latter was about to leave Peking for the winter, and that the former was of opinion that it would not be advisable that M. de Bourboulon should establish himself in the capital until the spring. I considered it, therefore, to be my duty to advise Mr. Bruce to return with me for the present to Tien-tsin, and to remain there until a suitable residence should be provided for him in the capital. In order, however, that there might be no misapprehension on the part of the Chinese Government in reference to this point, we selected a house which we thought might be adapted to the purpose, and which was procurable on easy terms, and we accepted the services of Mr. Adkins, one of the Student Interpreters, a very promising young man, who volunteered to remain at Peking, and to superintend the arrangements necessary for putting it in order.\n\nHarry Parkes, who was Lord Elgin's interpreter at this time, writing to his wife on November 17th 1860 gave a few more details:\n\nPeking is in a wretched state of dilapidation and ruin, and scarcely one of their palatial buildings is not falling into decay. We have obtained one of the best, and yet it is quite\n\n* Elgin to Russell, 13 November 1860. Parliamentary Papers, “Correspondence Respecting Affairs in China 1859-60\", 2754 of 1861, No. 119, p. 254. See also ibid. p. 259 for a note from T. Adkins to Frederick Bruce dated Peking, 12 November 1860, reporting that the capital was returning to normal and that he had found no opposition to his residence there.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1963.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/4m90m091v", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209599, "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-1982", "page_number": 256, "title": "RAS-1982", "content_text": "CARL T. SMITH\n\nCoward was followed, in 1923, with a science-fiction drama, \"R.U.R.\" or \"Rossum's Universal Robots\". It was written by Karel Capek, a Czechoslovakian. The reviewer linked some political events with the theme of the play: \"Saturday night brought us definite news of the elections at Home indicating how the workers of the country, dissatisfied with their lot, turned upon the Government and rose in support of the red flag of Labour. It was a coincidence that on the same night the Hong Kong A.D.C. introduced to the Colony a race of soulless, voteless men-machines, made by man in his own image to do the work of the world while the rest of us recline leisurely in our armchairs; told us they developed discontent and turned and rent their human tyrants\".\n\nWalter Sinclair left Hong Kong in 1925. He continued his directing career in Toronto, Canada and the United States.\n\nAfter his departure, the A.D.C. largely reverted to comedy. It would be unfair, however, to suggest that all their productions fell into the category of the title of a 1925 piece of the A.D.C., \"A Little Bit of Fluff\". In the years immediately preceding the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, plays were presented by such respectable authors as Emlyn Williams, Terrance Rattigan and Somerset Maugham.\n\nTHE LOCAL SCENE\n\nOpportunities were seized to inject local allusions in productions. As an example we give excerpts from the burlesque \"Fra Diavolo\" given by the Rifle Brigade. The author J. H. Thresher used the original by Byron only as a skeleton on which to lay topical references. His efforts were described as having a decided Gilbertian vein.\n\nAs befitting a production of the garrison some of the local allusions were military, as for instance the following references to the barracks at Kowloon. During an altercation between Lord and Lady Allcash, the Lord says to the Lady:\n\nMadam, drive me not,\n\nFor if you do, I'll show you soon what's what; I'll make things fly, just like the late typhoon", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1982.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/mk61z420p", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211327, "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": 43, "title": "RAS-1988", "content_text": "19\n\nAgreement reached, Po-Kuei was formally installed on the ninth of January 1858. Unfortunately, he arrived a bit late for the ceremony having been somewhat tardily released from the allied stockade. For the allied commanders, the real goal now was to ensure that the new allied commission they had planned would be able to supervise Po-Kuei's administration of the city.\n\n \n\n12\n\nHaving decided, despite reservations, to rely on the local mandarins to administer Canton, the military commanders, Sir Charles van Straubenzee and M. D'Abouville, the French commander, decided to appoint a mixed commission of military and consular officials to supervise the city's Chinese administration. The proposed commission was to have three members, two of whom would be military. They were to be assisted by an English language secretary and another proficient in Chinese. Additionally, the French commissioner was expected to be aided as well by at least one, perhaps two, French language secretaries. Provisions were made to hire a treasurer as well as various coolies, cooks, and jailers. They also hoped to hire three Chinese translators, though it would actually be some months before competent linguists, men like Robert Hart, later known for his leadership of the Chinese Customs, arrived to help. Salaries were set by the occupation council made up of the military commanders as well as the expedition's political leadership, Lord Elgin and Baron Gros. Moving to implement their plans, they went on to name three individuals to serve as commissioners. For the British, Harry Parkes, of the consular service, and Colonel Holloway were selected, while Captain Martineau de Chesnez was selected by the French. Parkes, although ostensibly equal in official duties, was the only one of the commissioners who actually spoke Chinese and thus had a clear advantage over his colleagues. The French, concerned as well that Captain de Chesnez's relatively low rank vis-à-vis his colleagues could be a problem, soon moved to have him promoted. The commission, as the next months would reveal, was to serve primarily as an intermediary between the local Chinese leadership and the allied military commanders who held the real power over the occupied city.\n\n \n\n15\n\nIt should not be assumed, however, as some writers have, that the Chinese served as mere puppets under the foreigners. It is obvious from", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1988.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ft84gb83q", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211807, "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-1989", "page_number": 222, "title": "RAS-1989", "content_text": "197\n\nfrom Shanghai on the 20th. Despite that, the \"soirée\" was \"kept up to a late hour with great spirit\". The programme consisted of tunes by Dabney, de Costa and Tripp: one of them was called \"Japanese make yourselves ready\" (NCH 26.5.1855).\n\n23.1.1856 (Wedn)\n\nE. MAYHEW: \"Make your Wills” (1836)\n\nT: Farce (1 act)\n\nW. BROUGH: \"No 1 Round the Corner\" (1854)\n\nT: Farce (1 act)\n\nJ.M. MORTON: \"Whitebait at Greenwich\" (1853)\n\nT: Farce (1 act)\n\nC: Amateurs\n\nF: Music\n\nTh: D\n\nN: Once more politics crept into the theatre since, due to the Anglo-French campaigns in the Crimean War, \"the proscenium was very tastefully emblazoned with the arms and ciphers of the Allies”. The drop scene now represented the \"Lake of Geneva with the far famed Castle of Chillon” (far famed because of Lord Byron's poem \"The Prisoner of Chillon\"). For a change the Herald allowed itself some criticism of the amateurs, but about the costumes only: \"We are perfectly aware of the great difficulties which beset the wardrobe department of the Theatre here, but still we think that two or three alterations might be made with advantage. It must be remembered that the assumption of a part on the stage requires the submergence of the individual into his assumed character. Proteus must not be more unlike his last shape than the actor must be unlike his mere self and the difficulty of effecting this is enormously increased by an appearance in every-day costume. In melodramatic pieces some decided change is absolutely necessary because success depends on the power of exciting the sympathies of the audience for the various situations of the actors and it is quite impossible that the desponding accents of one young gentleman or the grasping villainy of another (both of whom we know to be very good fellows and far from desponding or hypocritical characters) in the garb of 1856 can excite these sympathies. In Farce it is less important because the effect depends upon a successful appeal to our sense of the ludicrous and this may be done by situations which are quite within the range of every-day life. (...) It also struck us that a little more attention to the chronology of dress would be attended with increased effect; there were two or three anachronisms: for instance the mob cap of Mrs. Foreright (a most admirable 'make-up' by the way) hardly accorded with the modern elegance of Clara; or the venerable beard of the implacable Mr. Ireton with the modern costume of his disinherited son. It is astonishing how greatly unity in these matters adds to the effect of such performances and in spite of the difficulties of such performances and in spite of the difficulties of securing dresses we think a consultation between the Manager and the performers might produce a harmony which would be attended with the best effect”. The music too was thought to be \"ineffective\", but for the remainder it was, as usual, amusing, with Whitebait at Greenwich as the hit of the evening. The character of Buzzard — by no means a graceful one — was played with great effect and we heartily congratulate Mr. SLOWCOME upon the power he displayed\". In Make your Wills the reviewer could not \"forbear mentioning the excellent impersonation of Joseph Bragg by Mr CLAY\" (NCH 26.1.1856).\n\n21.2.1856 (Thur)\n\n—\n\nJ.S. COYNE: \"The Infanticidal Farce\" (1846)\n\nT: Farce (1 act)\n\nMrs. C.G.F. GORE: \"A Good Night's Rest\" (1839)\n\nT: Farce (1 act)\n\nJ.M. MORTON: \"Slasher and Crasher\" (1848)", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1989.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211855, "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-1989", "page_number": 270, "title": "RAS-1989", "content_text": "# BIBLIOGRAPHY\n\n245\n\n1. Archives:\n\n\"London Missionary Society\": Incoming Letters, Central China.\n\n2. Newspapers and Periodicals:\n\n**Boletim do Governo de Macao**, Macao, 1855-1865.\n\n\"China Mail\", Hong Kong, 1845-1860.\n\n\"North China Herald\", Shanghai, 1850-1867.\n\n\"Puck, or the Shanghai Charivari\", Shanghai, 1871-1873.\n\n*Shanghai Commercial Record*, Shanghai, 1865.\n\n3. Books and Articles:\n\nAdams, W. Davenport: \"A Dictionary of the Drama. A Guide to the Plays, Playwrights, Players and Playhouses of the United Kingdom and America from the earliest times to the present\", Vol. I (A-G) (no more published). Philadelphia, 1904.\n\nAppleton, William W.: \"Madame Vestris and the London Stage\", New York - London, 1974.\n\nBarr, Pat: \"The Deer Cry Pavillion. A Story of Westerners in Japan 1868-1905\", London, 1968.\n\nBlack, J.R.: \"Young Japan. Yokohama and Yedo. A Narrative of the Settlement and the city from the signing of the treaties in 1858 to the close of the year 1879\", Tokyo-London, 1968 (reprint of 1880-1881 edition).\n\nBoase, Frederic: \"Modern English Biography\", London, 1965 (reprint of the 1891-1921 edition).\n\nBooth, Michael (Ed): \"English Plays of the 19th century\", Volumes I and IV, Oxford, 1969-1973.\n\nBritish Museum General Catalogue of Books.\n\nBrown, T. Allston: \"A History of the New York Stage from the first performance in 1732 to 1901, 3 vols.; New York 1964 (reprint of 1903 ed.).\n\nBuckley, C.B.: \"An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore 1819-1867, Singapore, 1902.\n\nCarse, A.: \"The Life of Jullien\", Cambridge, 1951.\n\nChesterfield, Lord: \"Advice to his son on Men & Manners in which the principles of politeness and the art of acquiring a knowledge of the world are laid down in an easy and familiar manner\", Chiswick, 1826.\n\nConolly, L.W. and J.P. Wearing: \"English Drama and Theatre 1800-1900. A Guide to information sources\", Detroit, 1978.\n\nCordier, Henri: \"Bibliotheca Sinica\", second edition; 5 vols.; Paris 1904ff.\n\nDavis, Jim (Ed.): \"Plays of H.J. Byron\", Cambridge, 1984.\n\n'Dictionary of National Biography\".\n\nDyce, C.M.: \"Personal Reminiscences of Thirty Years' Residence in the Model Settlement. Shanghai 1870-1900\", London, 1906.\n\nEngle, Gary D.: \"This Grotesque Essence. Plays from the American Minstrel Stage\". Baton Rouge, 1978.\n\nFétis, F.J.: \"Biographic Universelle de Musiciens\", Paris, 1864; Supplement by Arthur Pougin, 1880.\n\nFitzgerald, Percy: \"Principles of Comedy and Dramatic Effect\", London, 1870.\n\n\"The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians\", London, 1980.\n\nHaan, J.H.: \"Origin and Development of the Political System in the Shanghai International Settlement\" in: \"Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of Royal Asiatic Society\", Vol. 22 (1982), p. 31-64.\n\nHaan, J.H.: \"The Shanghai Library: A history of the first foreign library in Shanghai\" in: \"Journal of the Hong Kong Library Association\", 1987.\n\nHartnoll, Phyllis: \"The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre\", London, 1972.\n\nHoward, Diana: \"London Theatres and Music Halls, 1850-1950\", London, 1970.\n\nPage 270\n\nPage 271", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1989.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h", "rank": 0 } ]