[ { "id": 205212, "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-1966", "page_number": 168, "title": "RAS-1966", "content_text": "162 \n\nNOTES AND QUERIES \n\nwith a Mexican name, was also brought to the Old World by the Spaniards. All of these plants crossed the Atlantic in Spanish bottoms and were then carried round the coasts of Africa and Asia to South China by the Portuguese. In the same way the sugar-cane, the banana and the yam were established in Brazil by the Portuguese and the cassava was introduced into West Africa where it has become the source of one of the staple foods of several countries.\n\nThe sweet potato, of course, presents special problems since there is reason to believe that it may have reached Polynesia in early times as an importation from the Americas. Nevertheless, it is not a native of the vast expanse of islands dotting the Pacific and it is much less likely that it came to China by that route than from the West,\n\nThe \"kind of melon\" of which the author speaks is known today in the Macanese dialect of the Hong Kong Portuguese as bobra Guiné (Guinea pumpkin). This word appears in Chinese characters (romanised as mó-pá-lá kin-ní by Mr. Luis Gomes in his Portuguese translation) in the Ao Men Chi Lüeh,? published towards the middle of the eighteenth century. The Chinese gloss has faan-kwa. It is likely then that this plant was introduced into China from West Africa or Guinea, to use the old name, and that the prefix faan cannot link this plant in any way with the Pacific area.\n\nThe rambutan (nephelium lappaceum), related to the lychee, is a Malayan tree and has a Malay name derived from rambut (hair), because of the hairy coat with which it is covered. This coat is of a reddish hue which no doubt explains the first element of its Malayan Cantonese name hung-mo-tán. The other elements are obviously phonetic renderings of the Malay word. This tree and its fruit were probably introduced to China by the Portuguese.\n\nAs a last comment on the element faan, are the faan-kwai not more often Westerners than people from the Pacific?\n\nOn the peanut, which, as Mr. Barnett says, bears no indication of foreign origin in its name, it appears to me that this plant may have been introduced to South-East Asia by the Portuguese. The botanists seem to agree that it is a native of Brazil and the Spanish chroniclers of the Indies describe it as a food-crop in Hispaniola", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1966.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/bz60k0811", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 205213, "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-1966", "page_number": 169, "title": "RAS-1966", "content_text": "NOTES AND QUERIES \n\n163 \n\nunder the name mani. Its cultivation in West Africa began early and it is not surprising that it spread quickly to the Arab countries of the Middle East. Some plant-geographers believe that it was introduced to India and Ceylon from China but there is as great a likelihood that it reached these three areas in Portuguese ships at more or less the same time. \n\nThe Arabic al-luimûn, adapted from Persian limu(n), is the source of such modern European forms of English as lemon, Spanish limón and Portuguese limão. The Cantonese ningmung may be derived from a Portuguese metropolitan or dialectal form. The modern Macanese form, used at the present in Hong Kong, is limang which appears in the Ao Men Chỉ Lüeh as lei-máng, according to Mr. Gomes's romanisation, \n\nThat the Cantonese form ends in mung and the Macanese in mang is not an unsurmountable obstacle, since, if the sixteenth century Cantonese borrowed the word from European Portuguese speaking the standard dialect of those times, they would have had some difficulty in pronouncing the syllable mão which probably sounded like mao uttered with the nostrils pinched. Such a sound could be represented equally well (or inaccurately) by the Cantonese sounds Mung and mang in all possible tones and reduced to writing by any convenient character chosen ad lib. \n\nThe authors of the Ao Mun Chi Lüeh had obviously some difficulty in representing this Portuguese suffix in their glossary of Cantonese terms. For example, cumarão (prawn) appears as kám-pá-long (cf. Hong Kong Macanese cambrang), tufão (typhoon) is recorded as tou-fóng (cf. Hong Kong Macanese tufang), jambolão (a kind of fruit) is iâm-po-long (cf. Hong Kong Macanese jambolang). In other places -ão appears as -eng as in si-tát-teng for cidadão (citizen) and a-ueng for afião (opium). More like the modern Macanese dialectal resolution are fu-káng (store) which is the Portuguese fogão, pronounced fogang in Hong Kong Macanese; ka-lá-sâng (trousers) from Portuguese calcão, carsang in Macanese. \n\nIn short, if the Cantonese name had been derived from the dialectal form we should have expected something like ningmang but if the borrowing was early and from a \"standard\" Portuguese pronunciation of limão the final syllable could have been heard", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1966.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/bz60k0811", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 206898, "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": 175, "title": "RAS-1973", "content_text": "BOOK REVIEWS\n\nYING-YAI SHENG-LAN \"THE OVERALL SURVEY OF THE OCEAN'S SHORES' [1433] Translated from the Chinese text; with introduction, notes and appendices by J. V. G. Mills. The Hakluyt Society, Extra Series, No. 42, pp. xix, 391. Cambridge University Press, 1970. £11.50 U.K.\n\nWhen the Emperor Yung-lo died in 1424, the Ming dynasty had reached the height of its power. Chinese fleets commanded the eastern seas, and foreign potentates as far west as Egypt acknowledged the suzerainty of the Emperor. Between 1405 and 1433 a remarkable eunuch, Cheng Ho, as outstanding a seaman adventurer as any produced by Elizabethan England, commanded seven overseas expeditions, and visited over thirty countries. Chinese naval, and consequently trading, hegemony extended from Japan to the east coast of Africa.\n\nThe expeditions usually extended over two years. Setting out from the neighbourhood of Nanking in the autumn, powerful fleets, including sixty or more 'treasure-ships', and twenty-eight to thirty thousand men, moved down the Yangtze to the mouth of Liu creek (near Shanghai), where organisation was completed; thence to an anchorage near the mouth of the Min river in Fukien province where the ships waited for the favourable north-east monsoon. Java, Palembang, Malacca, Ceylon, Calicut, and Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, were regularly visited. On some occasions, detachments from the main force called at Arabian and at East African ports, sailing southward as far as Malindi. On the fourth expedition (1413-15), Cheng Ho was accompanied by a young Chinese interpreter Ma Huan who, on the basis of observations in the course of succeeding voyages with the 'grand eunuch', contributed perhaps the most important record of life and manners in south Asia by any traveller before the arrival of the Portuguese.\n\nYing-yai Sheng-lan, introduced in two parts, the first describing the expeditions under Cheng Ho, and the second discussing Ma Huan and his book, may have been first published in 1451. Its author died about ten years later, scarcely better known than his book which never acquired a wide circulation. Ma Huan claimed", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1973.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8910rj06r", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208660, "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-1979", "page_number": 117, "title": "RAS-1979", "content_text": "90 \n\nREVS. J. SMITH AND WM. DOWNS \n\ncomes from we do not know, unless it be from the American club stores). To meet such an emergency as this, Father Meyer, with his usual resourcefulness, had been saving bits of leftover rice and browning it, so while we have had no rice from the Community kitchen, we fell back on Father Meyer's providence. Meeting of the American community at 2 p.m., at which we are promised better food for the future. \n\n28-Father Tackney ill-fainted at night; stomach trouble and low blood pressure. He has found it pretty hard to eat the rice rations. Father Hessler may have dysentery. No rice from the community kitchen yet. Two baking powder biscuits and soup for tiffin. Some rice at night and a very small piece of poor bread. \n\n29-Palm Sunday. Father Tackney better. Fathers Moore and Gaiero back from the Hospital. Songfest. \n\n30-Father Siebert likewise returns from the Hospital, cured. Rain and cold. Shoes and clothing of internees showing signs of wear. Seen about the Camp: food being served in large erstwhile garbage cans and wash basins. Meat and vegetables transported in wheelbarrows. \n\nAPRIL \n\n1- There is a mystery in the air. Last night, a meeting took place on \"The Hill\" with the heads of the various Camp communities, at the request of the Japanese authorities. Today, the results were announced: all the American Consular officials and staff, the government officials, Red Cross, and newspaper men interned at Stanley are to be in Shanghai by the 20th of the month, whence they will be repatriated, via Mozambique, Portuguese East Africa. Some days ago, some of the American Consular officials made signs to us from their room, holding up their fingers and counting eleven. Immediately, all sorts of guesses were in the air. We were to be repatriated on the eleventh, or we were to be freed on that date, or any number of other possibilities were mooted. But today, we note that eleven of our Americans are to go to Shanghai. These eleven are two government officials, three Red Cross, and six newspaper men, the latter group including one lady, a Miss Dew. His Excellency, Bishop O'Gara, has also made representations to the Japanese authorities on behalf of the many sick in the Camp and also present-", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1979.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2801w5938", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208671, "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-1979", "page_number": 128, "title": "RAS-1979", "content_text": "THE MARYKNOLL MISSION, HONG KONG 1941-46\n\n101\n\ncouple of tiny cookies for breakfast. Our coffee, too, is getting weak, for in order to conserve our supply we are using the grounds again and again. Bamboo Wireless has it that Bishop Paschang is in touch with Maryknoll, and that Bishop Ford is receiving funds from Maryknoll.\n\n3-Sunday. Services are as usual, with Father Norris as preacher. Coffee and a bun this morning from our own kitchen. However, Father Meyer now promises us bread three times a day, that is, at least a bun, out of his five-ounce allotment.\n\n4--Our present A-1 Block representative, Mr. Malone, seems to be in disfavor in the minds of many of that block, and finally today at a meeting in the garage, grievances were aired and as a result we have a new representative in the person of Mr. Steiner, a Protestant minister, formerly in charge of the Foreign Auxiliary in Hong Kong. He promises to be efficient, as he is a very conscientious man. Rain interfered with the outdoor May Devotions and they were held in the tiny Maryknoll Sisters' Chapel with the congregation overflowing into the tiny corridors. The Sisters have typed copies of the more popular hymns, and the people join in the singing.\n\n5- Chess tournament begins with Fathers Vincent Walsh and Norris, from our ranks, participating. Father Bauer not so well these days. Tonight we again have “seconds\" on food. Some of us sent 10-word telegrams today, as allowed by authorities. We wonder if they and our previous post cards will ever reach their destination.\n\n6-Father Toomey resigns as Treasurer of the American communal council.\n\nFather Hessler called to \"The Hill\" in regard to his letter requesting release from the Camp as a third national, Bishop Valtorta vouching for him. No decision reached, however. Corregidor falls and with it many of our hopes! As we gaze out to sea and see Japanese ships enter and leave the harbor, we feel very isolated and farther and farther than ever from America. However, there is a little cheer in the air today as we are informed that all Americans are to be repatriated within a month on a ship from Tokyo to Lourenço Marques, Portuguese East Africa. Some may be permitted to go to Shanghai if they choose. Father Bauer improved.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1979.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2801w5938", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 213550, "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-1995", "page_number": 146, "title": "RAS-1995", "content_text": "115\n\nIn the early seventeenth century, according to Dr Batalha, Portuguese had attained the status of a lingua-franca around the coasts of Africa and southern Asia, including Malacca. The resident population of Macau in 1563, according to Montalto de Jesus, comprised some 900 Portuguese, excluding children, with some thousands of Malays, Indians and Africans mostly domestic slaves. A creole dialect was already established among these groups, based on pre-renaissance Portuguese. This dialect was spoken by the Portuguese residents of Macau in addition to native \"metropolitan\" Portuguese.\n\nIn the period from 1550 to 1650, xenophobia among Chinese officialdom was very gradually overcome by a desire to import foreign goods and to exploit the market for Chinese silk, spices, porcelain and decorative articles. In the early days of Macau, Chinese who wished to work or carry on business there had to enter in the morning and leave the enclave through the border gate before sun-down. (Whether this requirement was laid down by the Chinese or the Portuguese is not clear.)\n\nDuring this period of Portuguese-Chinese trade, we speculate that the existence of an Indo-Portuguese creole spoken among a population, many of whom would have had long contact with Chinese settlers in south-east Asia, would have allowed ample opportunities for translation between Chinese and Portuguese traders. Demands on the Chinese traders to learn Portuguese would have been minimal.\n\nThe Honourable East India Company was founded in 1600, and the Dutch East India Company in 1602. In the 1650s, the first vessels of the United East India Company were coming to Canton to do trade. These fundamentally English-speaking traders were faced with a different order of problems.\n\nTheir exposure to the Far East at that time had not been long enough to permit the establishment of a lingua-franca. The low volume of trade between China and the North European traders up until the early eighteenth century was no doubt supported by translation services by Malays who had had exposure to the Chinese language.\n\nHowever, in the early seventeen hundreds, the demand for China trade rose dramatically, and this laid the ground for the development", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1995.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/95941j25g", "rank": 0 } ]