[ { "id": 204587, "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": 68, "title": "RAS-1963", "content_text": "CHANGES IN CHINESE LANGUAGE\n\n57\n\nA new term, Kuo-yü #, meaning national language, came into use soon after the founding of the republic in 1911. A phonetic system based on kuan-hua had been devised in 1909 but then discarded because it proved inadequate as a means of mass communication. The term Kuo-yü rapidly won acceptance, replacing kuan-hua first in official circles and then gradually, in other circles as well.\n\nThe promotion of Kuo-yü, already nation-wide, received new impetus when some prominent scholars, notably Ch'ien Hsüan-tung 錢玄同, Li Chin-hsi 黎錦熙 and Chao Yuan-jen 趙元任, backed by the government, announced that the term Kuo-yü should be used in a broader sense than \"current standard language of the nation\". They held that it should mean \"unification of the national language, study of dialects and preparation of a phonetic script\". They also suggested that because of Peking's geographical and historical position, the Peking dialect should be chosen as the standard national language.\n\nFor almost fifty years such efforts to create a national language have constituted the main current of Chinese language reform. This is not the place to give a full account of the successes and failure of these efforts. We shall merely summarise their most important results. Their first result was the adoption in 1913 of the chu-yin tzu-mu ✯✯$ or National Phonetic Alphabet for use in dictionaries and text books. This alphabet rendered the sound of each character much more accurately than the traditionally fan-ch'ieh, which had been cumbersome and difficult to learn. Another important accomplishment of the Kuo-yü movement was the introduction of the so-called Gwoyeu Romatzyh # or National Romanization, formally adopted under the name of Kuo-yin tzu-mu ti-erh shih #\"second form of national alphabet\". This system represented the first attempt by Chinese linguists to replace the traditional characters by a romanized script based on the Latin alphabet. Although it never gained popular acceptance, it helped greatly to establish Kuo-yü as the national language; and the promotion of it for this purpose was in fact one of the important turning points in the course of recent changes in the Chinese language.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1963.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/4m90m091v", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 206980, "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-1974", "page_number": 51, "title": "RAS-1974", "content_text": "ADVENTURERS IN HONG KONG\n\n45\n\nthe Sedangs, a warrior chant. Mayréna was in full dress uniform, complete with multiform decorations. He was saluted by the other European passengers, who inclined their bodies, and he responded with a military salute. Present were the ennobled and happy industrialist and several rich young men from the Brussels haute-bourgeoisie. The chaplain was a former curé, who had been unfrocked for immorality. And so Mayréna left Europe for the last time.\n\nThe voyage out was mostly uneventful, though Mayréna drank far too much and was often indiscreet enough to talk about his past with his courtiers. Court etiquette was strictly enforced aboard ship --- Buckingham Palace rules at table - except when brief forays were made ashore at Port Said, Aden and Colombo; then the King assumed his incognito as the Comte de Drey. On 18 April 1890 the Sachsen anchored in Singapore harbour.\n\nWhen Mayréna stepped ashore he was at once stopped by a courier from the French Consulate and told that the Consul wished to see him urgently. At the Consulate he was greeted politely but informed that the French Government now claimed rights over the territory of the Sedangs, that he was therefore no longer King, and would be arrested if he set foot in Indo-China. Mayréna, after much argument, returned to Ralph's Hotel, where his officials and courtiers had lodged temporarily, and informed the party that the Sedangs had revolted and that it was impossible to proceed to his kingdom. The group, it appears, were not surprised by the turn of events. They had enjoyed a splendid ocean vacation at the expense of the rich industrialist, Mayréna's backer, but had no desire to seek martyrdom among the savages of the Moï country. At the end of the week the party - court chamberlain, chaplain, other officials and passengers - all returned to Antwerp by the Sachsen. Mayréna stayed on in Singapore. There was little else he could do.\n\nMayréna's sojourn in Singapore is not well documented, though Soulié claims Mayréna met in that city a European he had known formerly at Haiphong, a companion of Miss Dahlberg's brother, who was now domiciled on the island of Tioman and making a living by collecting birds' nests, those of the sea swallow, for the Chinese market. Mayréna decided to accompany this trader back to Tioman, because the island was under the jurisdiction of the Malay State of Pahang, and once settled there he felt he could not be extradited to either France or Indo-China, where he would have had to face trial assuredly for treason.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1974.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/x633mp077", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 207520, "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-1975", "page_number": 288, "title": "RAS-1975", "content_text": "280\n\nDONALD C. BOWIE\n\nhostilities and in captivity was of the highest order and had an enormous effect in inspiring patients and male staff. I have recorded earlier the gloom that descended on Bowen Road when the army and navy nurses and all the women volunteers who backed them up were removed to civil internment in Stanley in August 1942; it was three years before we saw them again. Miss Dyson became deputy head of the Army Nursing Service in later years. Miss Franklin became head of the Naval Nursing Service and others reached high positions in the National Health Service. Others still assumed family responsibilities, so that the splendid qualities which showed so clearly in Hong Kong had not been extinguished by their dreadful experiences. I publish their names in an appendix but as I have no records I trust that any whose names are not included will forgive me.\n\nCONCLUSION\n\nThe future does come \"one day at a time\". I hope that the method I have chosen to present this story, involving the recording of much detail will allow readers to form for themselves a picture of the uncertainties and conflicting influences which constantly beset us. The story is not a smooth one, nor were the events it describes but the patients and staff in the British Military Hospital, Hong Kong, bore what happened to them in a manner in which their corps, services and the Colony can take pride.\n\nACKNOWLEDGEMENTS\n\nI have read widely in the history of the Second World War and in the personal stories by many who had experience in the Far East. I have had discussions with Sir Selwyn Selwyn-Clarke and Miss Gwendolene Colthorpe who was, till recently matron of St. Stephen's Hospital, Chelsea. The Misses Elaine and Helen Ho have been good enough to read the section dealing with the efforts of our friends in Hong Kong to help us. While none of those named has any responsibility for any of the opinions I express I am extremely grateful to them for their help. My wife typed the earlier drafts and without the spur that she applied and without her industry the story would never have been completed. I gladly acknowledge a deep debt to her. I am indebted to Miss Beryl Brown for much valuable advice and help on the production of this account, and to Miss Lorraine Robinson for the final typescript.\n\nLondon, W.8. March 1975.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1975.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/j0995146d", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209767, "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-1983", "page_number": 26, "title": "RAS-1983", "content_text": "4\n\nalong the mountainside, bullets started whizzing by us. We all dropped flat on the ground, except the two Carmelite Sisters who apparently didn't know what live bullets were. One of the Sisters was standing by me, and I reached up, grabbed her arm and pulled her down. She later was the Mother Superior, and whenever I wanted anything, I was careful to remind her that she owed her life to me. The allied soldiers manning the road block finally, after much shouting back and forth, were convinced that we were not Japanese and let us through.\n\nThe house was in the middle of the last battle for Hong Kong which was fought on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 1941. On Christmas Eve occasional bullets were slamming into the North side of the house, so several temporary altars were set up on the south side of the house for Christmas Masses. The masses were staggered, so I put up my hand for a late mass.\n\nThat night another priest moved his mattress from the north side of the house into my room on the south side on the third floor. All night we were awake watching the tracers and explosions and the shouts and cries of the soldiers. We finally went to sleep about four in the morning and slept soundly. We got up about ten o'clock, and were petrified to note that there was not a sound in the house. It was all quiet, in contrast to the usual noise of a house full of people. We looked out the door, and the place was empty with much debris already scattered down the corridor. Then we looked down the stairwell, and we could see the Japanese soldiers in battle array on the ground floor. Needless to say, this was a bit of a shock. We thought the other residents must have got word during the night to evacuate, and they overlooked us.\n\nSo we two got dressed slowly, and started making our way down to the ground floor. On the second floor landing, a Japanese soldier came charging out of one of the rooms with his bayonet. The two of us backed up against the wall with our hands up and the soldier made like he was going to run us through. Not so! Just wanted to scare us, which he did. Then he pushed us down the stairs, and we found the rest of the household sitting on the floor in the front room under guard. In the afternoon, we asked the Japanese if we could get something to eat. They allowed us to take from our storeroom things that were ready", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1983.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/j9607p61v", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211497, "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": 213, "title": "RAS-1988", "content_text": "189\n\nA great many books are missing; a circumstance which has been duly recorded by the Council, and against the occurrence of which such measures have been taken as will prevent in future any further similar loss.13\n\nApparently Haas' efforts to tighten up went too far because his successor, F. Hirth reported in 1879 that \"the Library is too sparingly used by the members of the Society”, and even that was \"somewhat disorderly, not to say, unconscientious\". He went on to state that an honorary librarian could not be expected to oversee the operation at all public hours, nor during those times when the Chinese servants were cleaning it. He proposed that the Shanghai Library, which was leasing space in the society's building, take over its operation and run it as a non-circulating reference collection. The society would continue to seek donations and exchanges, and its members would continue to have borrowing privileges. In 1881 this transfer took place and this arrangement continued for the next two decades until the Shanghai Library became a true public library and moved to other facilities.\n\n15\n\nThese were slow years in the development of the library, and the annual reports complained of few donations and included such statements as “it is remarkable and no less a matter of regret, that our excellent library is so little used”. In 1887 the society issued its first catalogue of Chinese language publications, a two-page list of sets which totalled 1,497 volumes. In 1894 a third edition of the printed catalogue of Western language books was issued, which showed 1,324 titles, up only about thirty percent in a quarter of a century.\n\n17\n\nBy the beginning of the twentieth century the library was embarking on its second growth cycle. There were now exchanges with \"about 60 learned societies and journals”, from such diverse places as Hong Kong, Holland, Portugal and French Indo-China, as well as the United States, Great Britain, and Germany. There was an assistant librarian, a Miss Backet, who was compiling indexes of articles on Asia appearing in European journals.\n\n19\n\nAnother recataloguing of the collection took place in 1907, this time according to the Dewey Decimal System, \"upon the recommendation...", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1988.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ft84gb83q", "rank": 0 } ]