[ { "id": 204600, "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": 81, "title": "RAS-1963", "content_text": "70\n\nJ. L. CRANMER-BYNG\n\nThe life of a young attaché is described by Freeman-Mitford in all its facets; fun and boredom together. By mid-June the temperature in the Legation was between 95° and 107° Fahrenheit, so the majority of its members moved out to the Western Hills and took up residence in part of the Pi-Yün Ssu, the Temple of the Azure Clouds, the most beautiful of all the temples in the Western Hills. But even then he had to ride to the Legation (a distance of about 12 miles) from time to time to 'copy despatches'. Even while in the Western Hills it was not all sightseeing, as his teacher went with him, and Mitford had to press on with his Chinese studies. However, he contrived to ride out to the Great Wall and to visit the Ming Tombs and the Summer Palace (the I-Ho Yüan) among other places. Not all was heat and perspiration. By the end of October he was writing: \"Outside, the rain is falling fitfully and the wind blowing a hurricane; it moans and howls dismally through the courts and cranky buildings of the Legation, piercing its way into all sorts of odd nooks, and routing out old bells that jangle in a harsh and discordant way from the quaint eaves, as if they were angry at being disturbed in their dusty dens. Doors are creaking and timbers groaning in every direction, and the windows threaten to burst in, but the stout Corean paper holds good, though it gets stretched and flaps unpleasantly like loose sails in a calm, and on the whole I confess I prefer glass. Every now and then, as the storm abates for a while, I hear the tap, tap, tap, of the watchman's bamboo as he goes his rounds.\n\nIn short, we are working gradually into winter.\"13\n\nThe rest of his letters are principally concerned with snow and ice, and on 25th November he mentions that they are sending off the mail that day \"in the hopes that it will yet be able to leave Tientsin for Shanghai before we are finally shut out by the frost from all communication with the outer world.\" However, in winter there were compensations. A skating rink was fixed up inside the Legation; food was more enjoyable because there was now plenty of game—hares, pheasants, wild duck, and venison; and also by now pears and grapes were available. In February\n\n13 Ibid., 163-4.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1963.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/4m90m091v", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 206087, "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-1970", "page_number": 167, "title": "RAS-1970", "content_text": "162 \n\nS. F. BALFOUR \n\nbefore it reached the coast line the Tang clan acquired considerable influence all over the semi-independent regions of South-east Kwangtung. They became feudal overlords of the populations and, as long as they could, helped to govern the territories they controlled for the Sung Emperors. When the Sungs were finally overcome and the Tartars reached the coast, their rôle became more that of farmers concerned in opening new areas to cultivation. They were pressed more closely into our region, and their political influence declined, although their cultural influence, absorbing as it did all the aboriginal elements and changing them into the Chinese mould, was potent and lasting.\n\nThe only source of the accounts of the Tang migration is in the family genealogy which was compiled in the Ming dynasty. It is based on authentic family records and although it contradicts itself in certain particulars, especially in dates, it must be regarded as an exact account. According to this genealogy the first ancestor of the local branch was Tang Han Fei who held an official post under the Sung dynasty in Kiangsi province. A preface to the genealogy says that he visited Kwangtung province but admits that it is not clear whether he reached this region or not. His great grandson Tang Fu Hsieh is considered the founder of the local branch. This man was a scholar who passed the public examination either in A.D. 1069 or 985 according to different versions. He, too, held an official post in Kiangsi and on retirement settled at Kam T'in, a fertile area north of the T'un Mun Valley. He brought from Kiangsi the bones of his forefathers which were buried in selected sites. The graves still exist and are particularly venerated by the Tangs.\n\nIt was Tang Fu Hsieh who carved the inscription which commemorates Han Yü on the summit of Mount Tun Mun and he also founded a school and a library at Kam T'in. His sons and his grandsons, however, did not stay there. They migrated further north into Tung Kun district where they founded houses which exist to this day. Owing to the presence of the family tombs, Kam T'in remained the property of the family and was probably visited every year, although they did not actually reside there. Three generations after Tang Fu Hsieh, five of his descendants, known as the \"five Yuans\" from their first names, made a division of the whole family properties which by then extended all over", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1970.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ww72j0241", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 206269, "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": 86, "title": "RAS-1971", "content_text": "80\n\nCARL T. SMITH\n\nto the preservation of the national integrity; uneasy under the restraint of law and unscrupulous of the means by which they live, they abandon without hesitation their hearths and household gods, their birthright and their father's tombs, to wander, unrespected, whither gain may call them. The unsettled state of the Colony, and the vast amount of crime during its infancy afford abundant proof of the demoralizing effects of their presence... (More recently) Hong Kong has been invested by numbers of the Triad Society, the members of which under shelter of a political maxim ‘overturn the Tsing... and restore the Ming' perpetuate the grossest enormities. I have satisfied myself that most of the burglaries have been planned and attempted by members of this dangerous association.3\n\nFearon mentions in his report a person named Aqui as the most influential and wealthy of the native residents. He had rapidly risen from the lowly status of a bum-boatman. William Tarrant, an early historian of Hong Kong who was well acquainted with the early days, writing in 1861 comments that\n\n— there were some curious fish among the earlier native settlers; the leader of them is still living in Victoria, Loo Aqui, alias See Mun King. If all reports be true, Aqui was monarch of all he surveyed on the water about Hong Kong prior to our taking possession — that is to say, he was the Sea King who took toll from all that passed his squadron. This is of course rumour only; and we but mention it to say that the presence of Aqui on the island had much to do in keeping people of better character from settling, or even visiting the place.+\n\nGeorge Smith, the future Bishop of Victoria, visited Hong Kong in 1844 and gives an equally critical description of Aqui's activities.\n\nHe possesses about fifty houses in the bazaar, and lives on the rent, in a style much above the generality of the Chinese settlers, who are commonly composed of the refuse of the neighbouring mainland. During the war, Aqui acted as purveyor of provisions to the British armament and acquired some wealth. After the peace, he was at first afraid to return to the mainland, lest he", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1971.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/z029vt43g", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 206853, "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-1973", "page_number": 130, "title": "RAS-1973", "content_text": "124 \n\nSUNG HOK-P’ANG \n\n1. Red raw rice cooked and shining scale fish, \n\n2. Farmers' simple good fare delicious and lasting. \n\nThe grave has two names Sz Tsz Kwan K’au ($*$*£*), Lion playing ball; and Ts'o Mei Shui Chue (44), long grass hanging down pearl. When Lai Paak Shiu was having the grave built he put a brass tablet behind the stone one, with the following words on it. \"Three hundred years hence, an ignorant young man named So (#), who knows nothing about \"fung shui”, will want to alter the way this grave faces. If he is allowed to alter it, not only will the Tang family have trouble, but So himself will have bad luck”. The existence of the tablet was unknown until the prophecy on it came true. Three hundred years later when the Tangs were having a period of bad luck and unsuccess, they decided that something was wrong with the \"fung shui\" of the princess' grave. They consulted a young man named So, and at his instigation started to alter the position of the grave. When the stone tablet was removed, the brass one was revealed and in terror So advised them to leave the grave alone. \n\nIn the 50th year of Hong Hei (R) of Ts'ing dynasty, A.D. 1711, the Tang family were repairing the grave when they discovered several sham tombs underneath the ground. This was the custom in ancient China when burying royalty, as by this means it was hoped to prevent their enemies from desecrating the real tomb. The oldest stone tablet that we can find to-day, was put up in the 19th year of Shing Fa (A) of Ming dynasty, A.D. 1483, which gave the dates of the birth and death of the princess. In this tablet was also found the statement that the grave was first made in the 6th year of Shun Yau (*) of Sung dynasty, A.D. 1246, but there is no record of the first stone tablet nor any of the tablets erected before A.D. 1483. After the general repairing of the grave in A.D. 1712 a new stone was erected, but as the dates on the previous one were not considered to be correct, none were written on the stone. \n\nThe princess' husband Tang Tsz Ming was received with honour by the Emperor and had the title of Shui Yuen Kwan Ma (✯✯ #) bestowed on him. It was the custom in China to give the title Kwan Ma to the husband of a prince's daughter. Tang Tsz Ming's grave was made on a little hill called Fat Au Leng ( ##₪) # ). It can easily be seen to this day almost opposite the Au Tau Police Station on the other side of the road to Sheung Shui. It has recently", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1973.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8910rj06r", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208282, "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-1978", "page_number": 6, "title": "RAS-1978", "content_text": "185\n\nthey were knocking on every door in the village to force villagers to act as their porters. Mr. Chung had little choice but to obey. For the next week, he and quite a few of his fellow villagers were taken away from the village. He remembered having to march up Fei Ngo Shan, down to Ma Yau Tong, and then to Lei Yu Mun, until he successfully escaped.66\n\nIt was probably on December 11 that Mr. Chau T'in Shang in Sai Kung Market saw the Japanese cavalry pass. The Japanese did not enter the market. There was no disturbance or fighting. The police had been withdrawn before the Japanese arrived, and people just stayed indoors.67\n\nQuite a few villagers from Sai Kung and nearby villages were in the city when the War broke out. Mr. Wan Ts'eung of Tai Po Tsai was living in Kowloon City at the time. He must have learnt of the beginning of the War when he saw Kai Tak Airport bombed. But he recalled that one morning, he was in the street, and was shocked by machine-gun fire behind him. He hid behind some stone pillars, and then saw Fifth Columnists, known as the \"victory fellows\" (shing lei yau) who proclaimed that they were members of the Asia Prosperity Institution (Hing A Kei Kwan). Mr. Cheung Wing of Wo Mei was in Shaukiwan when he heard of the outbreak of war. He immediately went with several people back to the village, and feared all the way that they might be spotted and shot at by the Japanese. He arrived in the village before the Japanese came down from Keng Hing Shek. Mr. Tse Koon K'au of Tan Ka Wan spent the night of December 7 in the Nathan Hotel in Kowloon. This hotel was frequented by New Territories villagers when they went into the city. The next morning, he heard the aeroplanes and the bombs, and went out to ask what the matter was. When he saw that people in Shamshuipo were wounded, he realized that it was not a practice exercise, and started immediately to return to Sai Kung. A Mr. Chan Shing of Tai Po had a petrol station on Waterloo Road, and Mr. Chan drove Mr. Tse and five other people towards Sha Tin. They were stopped at a roadblock and were not allowed to drive into the New Territories. He left the car, with some difficulty bypassed the roadblock, spent some time with a friend in Chap Wai Kon (Sha Tin), and spent the night at Wu Kai Sha. He arrived in Sai Kung the next day, before the Japanese appeared", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1978.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8g84t8593", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209725, "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": 382, "title": "RAS-1982", "content_text": "360\n\nBOOK REVIEWS\n\nwith someone, preferably Chinese, who knows the places well and can argue and interpret for him, it could well prove a dangerous as well as an incomplete vade-mecum.\n\nP. H. HASE\n\nThe Imperial Ming Tombs, Ann Paludan, Hong Kong University Press.\n\nIn many ways 'The Imperial Ming Tombs' by Ann Paludan is an excellent book, devoid of jargon, it opts for simplicity in its presentation to guide readers not only in detail to the history, architecture and sculptures of the monuments but also to the entire environment of this splendid mausolea complex where thirteen of the sixteen emperors of the Ming dynasty lie buried.\n\nEarlier studies on the Ming Tombs by other scholars concentrated on the first tomb, Ch'ang-ling. Ann Paludan attempts to consider the cemetery as a whole and reveals to us systematically one by one all the thirteen tombs. To complete the account, she includes Hsiao-ling in Nanking, tomb of the first Ming emperor Chu Yuan-chang, and Western Hills, tomb of Chu Chi-yu. Her account is different from that of earlier authors (Jan Jakob Maria De Groot, Georges Bouillard, Vandescal etc.) also because this was written after the restorations which began in the 1950s, and during the time when there was an expansion of the adjacent village and agricultural activities.\n\nThere is a remarkable difference in the way in which individual tombs are being preserved, some are gradually being incorporated into the life of the local village and even stones are being used for contemporary buildings. The book not only gives a description of the architectural and sculptural details of each tomb, but also a picture of the current state of the buildings and the village activities that grow around each mausoleum. The account of each tomb is further supplemented by descriptions of the drainage system and birds and flora observed in the precinct. A brief history of the life of the emperor buried there is also included to give the readers a better understanding of the choice of site of the mausoleum.\n\nFor\n\nA lot of attention is paid to detailed description in the book in order to establish the theory and concept of the tombs. example, the use of colour and materials, the origins of motifs,", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1982.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/mk61z420p", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209726, "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": 383, "title": "RAS-1982", "content_text": "BOOK REVIEWS\n\n361\n\nsymbolism and certain architectural elements such as the stele to commemorate the dead are explained in detail with an appendix containing a further explanation of the symbolism and characteristics of the four intelligent creatures which are depicted in all the tomb architecture in the valley. The principles of Chinese architecture in general and tomb architecture in particular are established to enable the readers to understand the layout of the different mausolea; however, the comparison of domestic architecture, city planning and tomb architecture requires further exploration. Throughout the book, Ann Paludan emphasizes the tenacity of classical Chinese tradition apparent in the architecture of the Ming valley. All elements (basic forms, general pattern, layout, ground plan, style etc.) except for the drainage system can be dated back to an earlier time as in Han or T'ang.\n\nIt is certainly a difficult task to describe thirteen similar tombs without boring the readers, and so the author tries to tease out peculiarities observed in individual tombs, e.g. the ceramic frieze of the stele tower in Ch'ing-ling, the stone basins before the altar of Yu-ling and the sophisticated drainage systems in Yung-ling and Chao-ling. She also shows that later tombs often incorporate ideas from different earlier tombs which together with a few innovations fit into a traditional framework. The book should be commended for the clear graphics especially in the diagrammatic illustration of the tomb layouts and comparison of the thirteen tombs together. Photos could have been better if more of a sequence had been produced to tie in with the plans. At the end, Ann Paludan gives an account of the traditional administration of the Imperial cemetery and sacrificial rites performed at the tombs. This, together with her list of birds she observed during her many visits to the tombs, indicates the care and effort she has given to this beautiful piece of work.\n\nPATRICK LAU\n\nBritain in the Far East, Peter Lowe, Longmans, London and New York, 1981, n.p.\n\nProfessor Lowe's book is subtitled “A Survey from 1819 to the Present\" and that precisely defines the scope and treatment of the subject. As the author says, \"The aim of this work is", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1982.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/mk61z420p", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210315, "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-1984", "page_number": 286, "title": "RAS-1984", "content_text": "265\n\nfields or tombs\n\nsome sites are only a few hundred yards from\n\nthe village but others a mile or more away.\n\nTea is first picked in the second ten-day period of the third lunar month: this is often close to the Ching Ming tomb worship-ping festival when villagers will in any case be visiting their tombs. If the tea is ready, worshipping can conveniently be combined with tea picking in a single one-day trip. The middle of the third lunar month is the time when the new young tender leaves are at their full size but have not yet thickened and coarsened — the best possible time for picking them. Traditionally, this period coincid-ed conveniently with a slack time in the rice-fields, after the first rice crop was transplanted out (end of first lunar month), and before the major cleaning of the crop from weed (end of third lunar month).\n\nBoth men and women pick the tea. First, any creepers or weeds which have grown up around the tea trees since the previous year are cut away. Then the new leaves are stripped off the tree. Most of the leaves are picked, but a proportion must be left to preserve the health of the tree. Later, new leaves will sprout to replace those stripped off: these were traditionally left for a few weeks and then picked. The trees would be stripped up to four times a year. At present, however, the villagers only pick for their own use, and only strip the trees once: the other strippings were to provide leaf for sale in the market towns. The first picking was by far the best; the later pickings producing a coarser tea with a poorer taste.\n\nPreviously, in preparation for the tea picking, the women of the village cut firewood on the hills and stack it near the houses to dry. Each house has a brick-built stove with a brick chimney which has on it an alcove for the Kitchen God shrine. The stoves are con-structed in the form of a hollow brick box with a circular hole on the top into which a wok just fits, and an opening on the side to allow the fire lit inside the stove to be tended.\n\nWhen the fresh tea leaves are carried back to the houses they have a slight fragrance and taste, but neither the fragrance nor the taste is at all similar to that of the prepared tea. To achieve the desired tea taste and fragrance it is necessary to rid the tea leaves of", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1984.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/5h73wh572", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210543, "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-1985", "page_number": 150, "title": "RAS-1985", "content_text": "131 \n\n* \n\nof the underworld are thrown open, and the spirits of the dead are free to wander at will. Everyone is obligated to propitiate their own ancestors at this time, but especial care is taken to appease the hungry ghosts, the kinless and neglected who are most likely to seek vengeance against the living. In Taiwan, the ancestral offerings are set up inside the house, those to the ghosts outside. The latter can be elaborate: throughout the island, it is customary to offer a meal of fully prepared food, and sometimes beer and cigarettes in addition.* \n\nThe Roman lemuria occurs somewhat earlier in the year. The ninth, eleventh, and thirteenth of May were regarded as among the unluckiest days on the Roman calendar, for this was the season when their wandering spirits, equally tormented by neglect, were thought to be most active. It was on these dates that the sacred threshold of the Roman home was thought most susceptible to violation, and it was with the aim of warding off the ghosts that the Romans practised the obscure and ancient rites of the lemuria. These are described in great detail by the poet Ovid in his Fasti (5.419-444): the worshipper arose at midnight, made a magical sign with his thumb to protect himself from any ghosts that might be present, and washed his hands in pure spring water. He then took nine black beans and, with face averted, cast them aside, chanting each time the words “these I cast; with these beans I redeem me and mine.\" The ghosts followed behind, gathering up and consuming the beans, and after they had been pacified in this manner, they were urged to depart the house by a loud clash of bronze and a second incantation, again repeated nine times: \"spirits of our fore-fathers, go forth.\" \n\nThe principal festival of Chinese ancestral worship per se is the Ch'ing Ming, now celebrated each year on the fifth of April. It has been richly detailed by F.L.K. Hsu, who accompanied a West Town family to a graveyard in 1942. The tombs housing the remains of the parents of the head of the family were first decked with flowers, then offered wine and a variety of cooked dishes; thereafter, each member of the family offered incense and more wine, and mock paper money was burnt while they kowtowed before the graves. When the ritual was concluded, the \n\n: \n\n||| \n\nPage 150\n\nPage 151", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1985.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/gt54s866x", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212670, "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": 224, "title": "RAS-1991", "content_text": "BOOK REVIEWS \n\n205 \n\nAnn Paludan. Chinese Tomb Figurines, Hong Kong: Oxford University Press Images of Asia series, 1994, 66 pages. Illustrations. Chronology. Bibliography. Index. HK$95 \n\nIt is always a joy to behold a book by Ann Paludan, whether as a scholarly study or for general reading. Her smaller work, The Ming Tombs (Images of Asia 1991), possesses the same high quality of meticulous attention to scholarship as The Imperial Ming Tombs (Yale 1981), an academic publication. The book under consideration here, Chinese Tomb Figurines, is a smaller rendition of her The Chinese Spirit Road: The Classical Tradition of Stone Tomb Statuary (Yale 1991). \n\nThere is no need to have a trained eye or any knowledge of Chinese aesthetics to appreciate tomb figurines as they are shown by Paludan. She describes two types of figurines found in ancient tombs from the pre-Han era to the end of the Tang dynasty in chronological order - those made of clay and those made of stone. Despite their ‘ambivalent' attitude towards objects specifically made for tomb use, the Chinese 'dead were provided with replicas of worldly goods or talismans to help them' in their life in the nether world. Among the figurines reproduced in the book are mounted horsemen; acrobats and musicians; jesters and storytellers; houses for humans and a sty for pigs; and, above all, the ubiquitous 'fat lady' of the Tang dynasty. \n\nIt is wondrous indeed to wander into the countryside of ancient China through the figurines, not unlike perusing Egyptian relics at the Metropolitan Museum for the first time. Readers will encounter colour, pageantry, glorious ceremonies and mundane everyday happenings; and, above all, 'there are no representations of death, illness, mutilation, or violence.' There is, on the other hand, a great deal of humour for readers to savour. \n\nWEI PEH TI", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1991.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/k356gt84j", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214896, "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-1999", "page_number": 311, "title": "RAS-1999", "content_text": "285\n\nProbably it was worth it with someone fanning you the whole time. We all had a good laugh...........\n\nOn the third day, after breakfast, we took a sampan ride along the serene Perfume River and visited the Minh Mang Tomb, built between 1840 and 1843. The zenith of the Nguyen Dynasty was reached during the reign of Emperor Minh Manh. The tomb consists of about 40 monuments of various dimensions. All lie within a wall, oval in shape and 2,000 metres across. The main entrances to the monumental complex opens to varied scenes offering visitors pleasant sights. Most of the monuments mirror themselves in man-made lakes. The planning of the tombs reflects the strict social organization in Minh Mang times, the centralism and the monarch's Confucian inclinations.\n\nAnother place we visited was the Khai Dinh Tomb. Emperor Khai Dinh (1885-1925) ruled the country for nine years, from 1916 to 1925. His tomb, however, was built within a period of 11 years, from 1920 to 1931. Under Khai Dinh, western culture vigorously infiltrated Vietnam. As a result, in his tomb, several elements of western architecture blend with Vietnamese traditional art, particularly in the use of concrete in place of wood, ardoise slates for roofing, iron gates, lightning rods and electric lamps. Mountains, hills and rivulets around the tomb are exploited to fulfil the geomantic requirements thus offering the tomb a majestic environment. In the Thien Dinh Palace, inside the tomb, its interior decoration features colourful mosaics made up of millions of ceramic chips. The Khai Dinh Tomb has been classified as a work of \"neo-classicism.\"\n\nThe last monument we visited was the Thien Mu Pagoda. It was built by Lord Nguyen Hoang, in 1601, and named \"Pagoda of the Heavenly Lady\". The pagoda area can be divided into two sectors separated by a triple gate. The front sector comprises monuments and memorials such as the seven-story Phuoc Duyen Tower, the Big Bell, weighing two tons, a Stele on the back of a Tortoise, and the Stele \"Bell of the Pagoda of the Heavenly Lady\". The rear sector of the Pagoda is set aside for the practise of Buddhism and monks' activities. Also preserved there are some precious antiquities such as the bronze gong, cast in 1677, and the 1715 timber gilded board with Lord Nguyen Phuc Chu's inscription. With landscape and monuments in perfect harmony, the monuments mirror themselves in the peaceful Perfume River.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1999.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s178b887x", "rank": 0 } ]