[ { "id": 204295, "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-1961", "page_number": 63, "title": "RAS-1961", "content_text": "Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch\n\nRASHKB and author\n\nVol 1 (1961)\n\nISSN 1991-7295\n\n59\n\nIn the appendix to Robert Ainslie's book of religious essays lacking a title page, but published about 1820 under the title Reasons of the hope that is in us, there appears \"A Short Account of Lee Boo and Sackhouse, two Youths, brought at different periods from distant regions of the earth, still the rudest states of human society\" and we may read the following curious story:\n\nLee Boo was born in one of the Pelew Islands. The Antelope East India packet was, in 1783, wrecked on its shore.\n\nLee Boo was the son of the rupack, or king... and was brought to Britain for his improvement at the desire of his father. He was sent to an academy, and instructed in reading; being not a little proud of his acquirements. He was of a most affectionate temper. But why, amid all the cares of his friends of this amiable young man, did they not innoculate him? Exposed to the infection of the smallpox, he was seized with the fatal malady, and, at the age of twenty, died of it on 27th July, 1784, to the great sorrow and regret of all who knew him. The East India Company handsomely erected a neat monument over his grave in Rotherhithe churchyard, with an inscription, expressive of their gratitude for the humane and kind treatment afforded by his father to the crew of their ship the Antelope, when wrecked upon his island\".\n\nSackhouse was an Esquimaux, born in 1797, who in 1816 stowed away on a Scottish whaling ship and went with it to Scotland at his own request. He too learnt English, danced well, and played the flute; and those accomplishments, with his good-natured honest face, and obliging manners, rendered him a favourite and welcome guest wherever he went. He also died an early death in 1819 “most sincerely regretted”.\n\nThe appendix continues:\n\nHow unfortunate was it that those two excellent youths met such untimely fates! Had they lived they might have been the means, under Providence, of facilitating the introduction of Christianity into the most remote regions; and contributed to the happiness of millions,\n\nMr. Ainslie's two books of religious essays which he published remain deservedly obscure, but he himself has a claim to fame as a friend and correspondent of Robert Burns.\n\nBefore turning to Morrison's own contributions to Chinese studies and those of his contemporaries, mention must be made of his collection of Bibles in nearly thirty different languages, from Breton to Irish, from Hawaiian to Esquimaux, and Amharic to Catalan, more than a hundred of which are still in the Library,", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1961.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/vd6724704", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 205458, "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-1967", "page_number": 220, "title": "RAS-1967", "content_text": "宋官富行官遺址全圖\n\nTHE TRAVELLING PALACE OF SOUTHERN SUNG\n\nIN KOWLOON KUAN FU\n\nWITH\n\nL COMELLAN LIMETESTY\n\n(10)\n\nREFERENCES\n\nPERWER SEA\n\nPREDO SIA\n\nDECLAMER LÁNG\n\nFORMER VILLAGE\n\n$ CALE\n\nKECI\n\nPROPET NA JHOM\n\nPLAY GROUND\n\nLUNC\n\nTO KWA WAN VILLAGE\n\nLANDING MACE\n\nSACRED HILL\n\nSUNG WONG TOI ROCK\n\nXIAO Fur\n\nSHEK\n\nTAM KUNG VEH\n\nMA HILL\n\nKAM FOU VAN GRAVE\n\nTAU EHEME VILLAGE\n\nMA TAU KOM VILLAGE\n\nYI WONG TIEN VILLAGE\n\nYE WONG TIEN HILL\n\nKUAN MOUNTAIN\n\nMA TAU WEL VILLAGE\n\nSHANG-TI ANCIENT DEMONS\n\nWONG TEMPLE\n\nKOWLOON TSAL WALL CHT\n\nPAK HER SHANIYU SIN NGANJ\n\nHAU\n\nTI TARDEN\n\nIN COURTEST AN A NEW KING GOVERNMENT\n\n啟德機懾\n\nPLENARI JAD JA TAR\n\nAIKKA\n\nLOW.ALINAN FLARE FICU\n\nPlate 12. Map to illustrate Mr Jen Yu-wen's article \"The Travelling Palace of Southern Sung in Kowloon\" between pp. 21 & 38\n\n\"Romand Road\" to the immediate right of the number 12 above is taken from a Chinese-English map, and should read \"Lomond Road\"", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1967.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/0c488p70g", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 207855, "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-1976", "page_number": 243, "title": "RAS-1976", "content_text": "228 \n\nMAURICE FREEDMAN \n\na stretch of water (the sea). The Green Dragon is satisfactory, but the White Tiger is imperfect; there is a break in the line of the hills through which too much wind can pass; so that the whole configuration, while being good, falls short of being a perfect embrace. For that reason Sun enjoyed power but not for long. A stream runs obliquely across the valley robbing the grave of its virtue in respect of money; Sun was poor. In the sea below there are several small islands which are to be taken as warships, some of them sailing out into the open sea, showing Sun's desertion by his armed forces. Finally, there appears in the distance just over the line of the White Tiger, the peak of another hill; such a feature means robbery-Sun was kidnapped. The site explains Sun's career (or some version of it) and justifies the geomancer who predicted that Mrs. Sun's son would be a king. \n\nThis simple case illustrates two systems of analysis being employed together; the system of metaphysical forces composing a site, and the system of resemblances, the latter being invoked to interpret the islands. But the chief interest of the case lies in the example it offers of retrospective interpretation. Geomancy is a self-reinforcing system of ideas. What is predicted must always come true, because what is foretold is vague, or inevitable, or subject to frustrations which deny a part of the system or the competence of a particular practitioner without damaging the system as a whole. Retrospectively it can be demonstrated to be valid because the material can be read in a number of different ways to justify any collection of events. Moreover, the existence of prosperity by itself presupposes that it has been produced by fung shui, and failure to detect the precise reasons why the fung shui has operated so well leaves it in the realm of knowledge which in principle can be obtained but for the moment, because of lack of expertise, remains inaccessible. (One geomancer told me that Mr. Mao Tse-tung's mother is buried in a good fung shui. And he added, perhaps for political symmetry, that General Chiang Kai-shek also enjoys geomantic benefits, the fall in his fortunes being due to the operation of the cycle which governs all affairs. Retrospective fung shui is illustrated also in the traditions of the Tang clan. When the Sung princess who married a Tang in the twelfth century became old a famous geomancer chose a fung shui for her which resembled a lion, asking her whether she preferred to be buried in the lion's head or tail. 'She asked what difference it would make, and she was told that if", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1976.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/hq382988q", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208340, "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": 64, "title": "RAS-1978", "content_text": "48\n\nKEITH STEVENS\n\ndecorated with a large dragon across her bosom, and the \"bird\" hat with its representation of a small bird, wings outstretched, lying on top. She holds a raised fly switch in her right hand and her girdle is grasped in her left hand (the latter pose is usually reserved for male images). She is seated on a dragon throne.\n\nPerhaps readers can offer their views on the use of impersonal images on family altars and further examples of the practice in other parts of China?*\n\nNOTES\n\n1 Lao Tzu—the philosopher generally believed to have founded Taoist philosophy.\n\n2 Erh Lang (#) often identified with Yang Chien (##) the nephew of the Jade Emperor, the supreme Taoist deity.\n\n3 The Five Thunder Magic () is used in Taoist folk religion as the ultimate threat; a magic of destruction brought about by Taoists against those who broke the rules or opposed the Taoists.\n\n4 Lei Kung (2) the God of Thunder.\n\n5 usually read Wei, is read Yu in this surname.\n\n6 The image of Kuan Ti, the God of Loyalty and one of the most popular of deities throughout China also contained a slip which noted that it had been dedicated in the autumn of 1789 in the same area in Wo Kang as the images in illustration 2 and 4. The slip tells us that Devotee Pan Mu-shih, together with his wife, two sons and two daughters-in-law offered sacrifices to the deities in the City God shrine in the local temple, reporting that he and his whole family had had the image of Kuan Ti carved by a scholar. This they respectfully presented to have its eyes opened before the Gods so that it would be able to rid their dwelling of evil spirits and bring them blessings. The latter part of the text on the slip says that, \"Your Honour Kuan Ti is the cleverest, most faithful and righteous in the world both past and present. You are a true spirit, a wonderful inspiration and have the ability to suppress demons. To show you our sincere respect we shall now dress you up, worship you every morning and evening with incense and further, offer you Spring and Autumn sacrifices each year....\n\n7 The provenance of three further images in the shipment, in better condition, is unclear though possibly they came from one of the areas in Hunan or Kiangsi from which the others originated. Of these three, two are versions of Yao Wang (1) the King of Doctors, who is easily recognisable by his tiger and dragon, one below and the other above him, and the small red pearl he holds aloft between his fingers. The third image is Yao Wang's aide, a middle-aged man standing carrying a herbalist's case slung over his shoulder and a furled umbrella in his hand.\n\n* Mr. Stevens has made a further discovery in the matter of ancestral images: see the Notes and Queries section at p. 206.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1978.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8g84t8593", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209899, "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": 158, "title": "RAS-1983", "content_text": "136\n\nSources on population are given in Marjorie Topley and James Hayes, \"Notes on Temples and Shrines of Tai Ping Shan Street Area\" in Topley (ed), op cit, pp. 123-141, at p. 124.\n\n20 Topley, op cit, p. 139.\n\nThese and other details are given in Topley, op cit, pp. 123-125 and 136-139.\n\n* See note 5 above. Whilst the Kung sor is still in existence a school building (R) on the other side of the temple has been pulled down. See the photograph p. 72, 58 in the Urban Council's 1982 publication, The Hong Kong Album.\n\nFor a historical account of this area see Revd. Carl T. Smith's note on \"The Five Terraces\" with Li Po Lung Path, in \"Programme Notes for Visits to Older Parts of Hong Kong Island (Urban Areas),\" in JHKBRAS 14(1974) pp. 197-199.\n\n+\n\n+\n\nThere is a possible confusion here. If the three powers of nature are intended it would be, without A. If truly 三聖公 it could refer to Yao, Shun and Yû or Yü, Chou Kung and Confucius (W.F. Mayers, The Chinese Reader's Manual, (Shanghai, American Presbyterian Mission Press, 1874) pp. 301-302.)\n\nI am grateful to liaison staff of the City District Office, Western, who obtained the information on this shrine for me in 1974.\n\nThe 1841 estimate comes from the first Hong Kong census of May 1841. The remaining figures, taken from later census returns and other sources, can conveniently be found in Hayes 1983, p. 253 note 21.\n\n10 Tung Tai Kai and its eastern adjunct Ah Kung Ngam together had four temples. There were large Tin Hau and Tam Kung temples in the Street. To its front, built on rocks in the sea and therefore known as the Hoi Sum Temple (or temple in the sea), was another smaller, older Tin Hau temple which for long has been completely hemmed in by squatter boats. On the east was the fourth of these temples, dedicated to Yuk Kung (Jade King). Tablets and other dated material inside the temples, together with other information, show that they date as far back as the 1860s, 1905, the 1890s and the 1840s respectively, at the least. See my note \"Visit to Old Shau Kei Wan --- 24th May 1969\" in JHKBRAS 10(1970), pp. 183-88.\n\n* Sessional Papers 1901, No. 39/1901, p. 18, Table XII. Like most of the Shau Kei Wan villages, the residents were mainly stonecutters. For the quarries see JHKBRAS 10(1970) p. 186 in the Note cited above (note 36).\n\n* Information from Mr. Walter Schofield, Hong Kong Civil Service 1911-38.\n\n* Sessional Papers 1901, No. 39/1901, p. 18, Table XII.\n\n* See Endacott's History of Hong Kong. p. 293 and Edward Szczepanik The Economic Growth of Hong Kong (London, Oxford University Press, 1958) p. 114.\n\nIt will be obvious that this article could not have been written without the assistance of many people. I gratefully acknowledge their assistance here. I also wish to thank Dr. Patrick Hase, editor of this Journal, for much encouragement and good advice in its presentation.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1983.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/j9607p61v", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210188, "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": 159, "title": "RAS-1984", "content_text": "138\n\nJAMES HAYES\n\n37\n\nCO 129/99, Despatch No. 115 of 28 July 1864.\n\n38 Ibid. The report, by Lieutenant Adams, R.N., dated ‘Woodcock’, Hong Kong, 28 June 1864, is at pp. 37-45.\n\n39 Reports on the Past and Present State of Her Majesty's Colonial Possessions (hereafter Blue Book) 1845, No. 38 Hong Kong, p. 149.\n\n40 Blue Book for 1847, No. 36 Hong Kong, p. 308.\n\n41\n\ne.g. W.F. Mayers, N.B. Dennys and C. King, The Treaty Ports of China and Japan. (London, Trubner and Co., 1867), p. 108, for two very bad piracies there.\n\n42 Harbour Master's Report for 1887 in Sessional Papers (Papers laid before the Legislative Council of Hong Kong) September 1887-December 1888, p. 258.\n\n43 Blue Book for 1845, No. 38 Hong Kong, p. 151.\n\n44\n\n**科大蘭,陳鴻基,吳倫霓霞, 合品 香港碑銘彙編 p. 98 (D. Faure, B. Luk, A. Ng The Historical Inscriptions of Hong Kong (Hong Kong Urban Council 1986) p. 98-101, 75-78.\n\n45 Public Record Office, London: CO129/12/9757, para 12.\n\n46 E.J. Eitel Europe in China op. cit. p. 132.\n\n47 J.W. Hayes The Hong Kong Region op. cit. p.62, (and see also p. 27, n. 11).\n\n48\n\nUnpublished Temple Directory, The Temples Unit, Home Affairs Dept. H.K. Government, 1980, p. 17.\n\n49 Mayers, Dennys and King, op cit, p. 2. Sin Ngan (#) variously romanized herein as San-on, Sun-on and Hsin-an was the county to which Hong Kong Island belonged in 1841. Tungkwan ( ) otherwise Tung-Kwun was the older, larger county from which it was created in 1573. For Hsin-an see Peter Y.L. Ng, prepared for press and with additional material by Hugh D.R. Baker, New Peace County, A Chinese Gazetteer of the Hong Kong Region (Hong Kong, Hong Kong University Press, 1983).\n\n50 Mayers, Dennys and King, op. cit. p.3\n\n51\n\n52\n\n53\n\nFriend of China, 24 July 1858 (courtesy of Revd. Carl T. Smith),\n\nIbid.\n\nSee J.W. Hayes The Hong Kong Region op. cit. pp. 46-53. See also J.W. Hayes, The Rural Communities of Hong Kong, Studies and Themes (Hong Kong, Oxford University Press, 1983) pp 9-10.\n\n54 Petition dated 8th day of 4th lunar month, Tao Kuang, 21st year, i.e. 28th May 1841, to the District Magistrate of Hsin-an. This and other quoted papers belong to the Tang family of Kam Tin, New Territories. I am grateful to the District Officer, Yuen Long and Mr. J.T. Kamm for the translations that appear here. They have been checked against the originals by my friend Dr. Anthony K.K. Siu. Kwan Tai Lo was a village near the foot of the present Leighton Hill.\n\n55 Copy of an undated instruction to a presumably subordinate office following the above.\n\n56 Petition dated 28th day of 5th lunar month, Tao Kuang 23rd year i.e. 25th June 1843.\n\n57 Undated reply to the petitioners, presumably from the District Magistrate, following receipt of the foregoing petition.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1984.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/5h73wh572", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211842, "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": 257, "title": "RAS-1989", "content_text": "232\n\nnot heard before and of which the best that can be said is that they are decidedly original. They seemed an imitation of the noise of braying of donkeys, but still they elicited great applause from the gallery [which was generally not regarded as very complimentary JH] perhaps from a certain feeling of sympathy. An amateur played Weber's \"Aufforderung zum Tanz\" with a \"perfect feeling\". To conclude the evening Mme SIMONSEN sung the \"Valse de concert\" (composer unmentioned) in which \"she displayed her powers more than in any other piece she has sung\" (SCR 22.5.1865).\n\n24.5.1865 (Wedn)\n\nH. MAYHEW: \"The Wandering Minstrel“ (1834)\n\nT: Farce (1 act)\n\nJ.P. PLANCHE: \"The Knights of the Round Table” (1854)\n\nT: Drama (5 acts)\n\nC: Amateurs of the Shanghai Mounted Rangers\n\nF: Music by the Band of the 67th Regiment; prologue read by Capt. Markham\n\nTh: Lyceum Theatre (1)\n\n―\n\nR: In lieu of the old time favourites, Messrs Brushwood, Pickwick, Newcome and Mrs. Nesbit had come new faces. Most foreigners had not yet made Shanghai their permanent place of residence, so turnover in the theatre too was rather high. Tonight could be admired Mr. SMALLWEED who, in the Knights of the Round Table, as \"the blameless king shewed a keen appreciation of his part and while he delivered the burlesque passages with much humour, proved by the taste with which he pronounced the prophetic eulogium on the Queen of England that he need not necessarily confine himself to broad burlesque in order to gain well-merited applause\"; Mr. Edmund (also a member of the Amateur Burlesque Company) won golden opinions as Launcelot, whereas Mr. PEEKT as Merlin \"displayed much cleverness in personating feeble old men\". In The Wandering Minstrel \"Mr. R.T. Larff, better known to the theatrical world as Mr. Wynnge (did this mean that he had two stage names? JH) sustained the reputation he has already gained as a low comedian and makes us the less deplore the absence of the well known and inimitable Brushwood” (last recorded performance 10.5.1860). Of course the female roles were taken by men, which led, as it always does, to some ridiculous scenes: \"The company possesses great strength in the important particular of lady performers. The only drawback which, however, is immaterial in burlesque, lies in the great height and muscular development of the fair ones\". Yet Miss Mary MIDDLESEX \"bore away the palm for natural feminine get-up\" and \"nothing could excel the dash which Kate COVENTRY threw into the part of the vivandière\", (NCH 27.5.1865). That not all patrons were equally pleased became evident from the Shanghai Commercial Record (5.6.1865) when it wrote: \"an allusion which was considered too personal led to a corresponding in our columns\" (i.e. the \"Shanghai Recorder\" which to the great regret of all historians treating the history of foreign Shanghai can no longer be found). At the end of the evening a number of toasts were proposed, among others to \"Alabaster, to whose exertions much of the success of the company was due\". This was a reference to Chaloner Alabaster (1831-1890), the British vice-consul who was also active in the North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. In conclusion the Herald reported that \"the arrangements were excellent and notwithstanding the warmth of the evening and the crowded state of the theatre, the air within the walls did not become oppressively hot. Punkahs were slung over the front seats and during the temporary pauses kept up a current of air\",\n\n27.5.1865 (Sat)\n\nPerformance by Mr. Benjamin Seare. Programme unknown (reading, etc)\n\nTh: Lyceum Theatre (1)\n\nR: Both the Herald and the Record agreed that Mr. SEARE \"is possessed of great talent\"", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1989.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211900, "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": 315, "title": "RAS-1989", "content_text": "290\n\nalthough I knew he was fond of spirits and wines. He called me at last and begged me to help him and take care of him. So I treated him as a child, and took away about a quart of gin, and stowed it in my room. I sat up with him all night, and by trying hard I managed to keep him quiet, although he became delirious. The next day I persuaded him to take a drive in the country, and the fresh air soon restored him to his former self. He was very much ashamed, and if I had not been there he would have been robbed upside down. So much for drink. But he won't leave it off, and since, drinks his grog as usual.\n\nI got Madame Baines to drive me up to the Revd Mr King, of the Free Church. No sooner did I see him than I knew we should soon be friends, and sure enough in a few moments we were like brothers. He is a clever fellow, and a thoroughly good man. After a long conversation I agreed to come up to tea on the following day. His wife is a neat little Scotch woman, or rather lady, for I found afterwards that she is from a high Scotch family, although she married [a] comparatively poor man. She has a well cultivated voice, and sings very much like Anna. In fact it seemed almost as if I were hearing her sing. We spent the evening in conversation, and closed with family worship. It was such a treat to find a man whose ideas were at all like my own. Nobody can imagine it unless they had been shut out from society as I had been. I paid them a second evening visit, which was spent in a similar way. A mutual friendship has arisen between us, and he has agreed to carry on a correspondence with me. She has a brother at Hong Kong, about 19 years of age, who is in a good situation in a merchant's office. She wants me to find him out and exercise a little brotherly superintendence over him. Mr King is a good Dutch scholar, and can preach in Dutch and Malay. At present he officiates in the Church of England by permission, till he gets another church built for himself. He went over the orphan house on Ashley Down about a year ago, and we had a good chat about it.\n\nI returned on board ship on the Saturday afternoon with the captain, whom I met in Batavia. But there it was nothing but swearing, etc, as usual. He worried a man, and annoyed him in such a mean way, that he had to iron him, and then he went mad. On Sunday morning he became quite raving, and therefore since I found out we should not go till Wednesday, I made a start, and hoped to get out in the country by eleven o'clock, in time for Divine service. I had a pleasant row ashore alone with the Malays, and steered the boat, which is a thing I never attempted before. When however I got out to Madame Baines, I found she was\n\nPage 315\n\nPage 316", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1989.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214857, "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": 272, "title": "RAS-1999", "content_text": "240\n\ncommittees. As was common in an earlier age, he addressed many people by their surnames, such as 'Hayes', as James sometimes likes to remind me. Nevertheless J R Jones was not a snob.\n\nHe made old bones and the last trumpet call sounded in January 1976, when he was 88. He was lucky to be buried in the Hong Kong Cemetery (previously called the Colonial Cemetery), in Happy Valley. It was already just about full at the time.\n\nOn his tombstone are two lines of Welsh, which are supposed to mean so I am informed: An affectionate son who loved life (literal translation, 'who loved the world'). I have been informed by a Welsh scholar, however, who teaches at the University of Wales, that there are mistakes in this Welsh inscription. This is a pity but fortunately, hardly anyone notices it. Few people in Hong Kong can read Welsh.\n\nI could, of course, name many other interesting people who have been members of our Branch, many of whom I knew personally. Unfortunately, time will not permit. There was the late John Romer, the 'snake king' (ser wong), who later established the Natural History Society. There was 'big,' in every sense of the word, Ken Barnett who had a splendid command of various Chinese dialects. Governor Sir Samuel Bonham (1848 to 1854) believed that studying Chinese addled the brain. But it did not apply in Ken's case. He had a prodigious intellect. In prison camp, according to Dr Solomon Bard a past RAS member, they used to play mental chess. But no one could keep pace with Ken Barnett.\n\nAims of this conference\n\nWhy are we here?\n\nAs with many of the contributors to our Journal you will find that our speakers here today, while they may not be full-time academics, have lived through or had access to important periods of local history. For instance Mr Tim Ko, who will be speaking this afternoon. His family came to Hong Kong around 1850. The male members worked as stonecutters and masons. They came here because business was brisk. Five generations of Tim's family have lived in Hong Kong. If anyone can describe himself as a true 'Hongkonger' it is Tim Ko.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1999.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s178b887x", "rank": 0 } ]