[ { "id": 205192, "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": 148, "title": "RAS-1966", "content_text": "142\n\nBOOK REVIEWS\n\nIn matters of mutual understanding, as in every real dialogue, mutual respect is essential. In the search for self-understanding, whether for Europeans or Asians, a certain self-respect is primary also. That requires a degree of self-acceptance, the acceptance of one's own past history and present limitations. This would, it seems, qualify the demand for \"parity of esteem.\" (Cf. Joseph Levenson's bold thesis on modern Chinese response to the West and evaluation of Chinese tradition.) Although it is clear, as one gathers from this book, the time of Western arrogance and Asian \"colonial or semi-colonial mentality\" is past, it is not clear that the time of Western dominance is in fact over, at least for the immediate future. An Asian can certainly agree with Joseph Needham in his essay on \"The Dialogue between Asia and Europe\" when he warns the man of the West that \"before it is too late, let him take one at least of the essential steps towards self-knowledge, that is to say, knowledge of others. Let him study the words of their saints and sages as well as those of his own. Let him experience his own humanity in the image of theirs\" (p.289). This is, however, a moral demand. To be fair, it should be made equally of the man of the East. Comparatively little is suggested in this direction by this book, outside of Robert L. Slater's essay on \"Living Religions and World Community.\"\n\n\"Western science and technology, Eastern religion and ethics\" — this idea has been developed in the response to Western predominance and self-esteem on the part of many Asians. This is expressed in the 'i-yung formula of the Chinese: Chinese learning for substance, Western for function. It in fact constitutes a dominant pattern in the Glass Curtain itself. And one finds this pattern present also in the book, in a variety of ways. The Englishman who, in presenting his view on the uniqueness of Asia, idealizes the East and deprecates the West partly for its science and technology represents a curious inversion of the more typical Western arrogance. One wonders whether anyone who seems to be so lacking in sympathy for his own tradition is really capable of appreciating others'. Then, in another essay, the uniqueness of Europe is identified by a Malaysian Chinese to be science — the spirit of science, to be sure, but quite distinct from religion meaning the spirit of dogmatism. The highly autobiographical nature of this essay (the shortest of the twenty con-", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1966.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/bz60k0811", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 205193, "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": 149, "title": "RAS-1966", "content_text": "BOOK REVIEWS\n\n143\n\ntributed) makes it the most interesting of all and appealing to this reader.\n\nMax Scheler's statement is quoted more than once, with approval, about the coming of \"the hour that harbours in its breast the future of humanity, the hour when Asia and Europe will enter upon a discussion of the principles of their religious and metaphysical life\" (p.313). The book does not present directly such a discussion except in a few spots, notably the essay on the uniqueness of Europe by a Frenchman. Is it because religious and metaphysical principles are the things that ultimately divide as well as unite? Slater's essay should provide a step toward Scheler's prophesy. This should be coupled with Needham's proposition that it is the common knowledge (and use) of nature, which is what he means by science, that is the real basis of dialogue, if not indeed of the unity of mankind. What is the place of normative values in the study of science and in intercultural confrontations? Should we, as the important footnote on pp.317-318 suggests, confine ourselves to \"thoughtful and accurate description\" (such as provided by the historical essays in the book) for the time being, avoiding value judgments and therefore the temptation of \"cultural egotism?\" This is the kind of significant question the book raises but does not answer.\n\nThe essays collected in this symposium are generally short (about 15 pages) and readable. Some are better documented than others. The material in the upper half of p.318, for example, is too important not to be acknowledged as to its source. The long Bibliography at the end of the book would be more useful if classified or annotated. It should be otherwise more selective. Karl Wittfogel's work, Oriental Despotism, apparently important because it is mentioned twice in the book, is strangely left out of the Bibliography. Wang Gungwu's family name is Wang, not Gungwu, as arranged in the \"Notes on Contributors\" on p.355 and stated on p.316—a minor case of East-West misunderstanding! It may be noteworthy that eight out of the twenty contributors (most of them historians) were at one time or another associated with St. Anthony's College, Oxford, making the book to this extent a joint product of that scholarly community. The book, finally, includes as its most important appendix \"A Dialogue on the Glass Curtain between Arnold Toynbee and Raghavan", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1966.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/bz60k0811", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211439, "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": 155, "title": "RAS-1988", "content_text": "131\n\nMost of the itinerant workers were from where my father originated and spoke the Nam Long subdialect. Uncle housed them in a bedroom attached to the large barn facing the concrete area used for threshing and drying the grain. After dinner these men would lie on wooden, mat-covered beds, conversing with each other while heating beads of opium over a small lamp before puffing through a long pipe the bubbling brown drug. To this day I can recognize the sweet odour of opium.\n\nWhenever Uncle went to Honolulu, he would always stop by to bring us vegetables from the farm and have his lunch, usually large buns filled with black bean paste and large, flat cakes, made largely of flour and sugar. He usually left around two o'clock in order to reach home by sundown. The journey was difficult, especially in bad weather, because the horses would sometimes balk and refuse to proceed when they approached the Pali. Uncle believed that the horses were sensitive to the presence of ghosts, so that whenever they became stubborn and refused to proceed, he would let them turn back towards Honolulu until they reached the drinking trough of spring water near the entrance to Dr. Morgan's estate. Uncle would wait until the horses were willing to start for Kaneohe again.\n\nBefore the Pali Road, started in 1898, was completed, travel was by horseback from Luluku to the half-way house at the foot of the mountain pass and up the steep slopes to the Pali. A two-seater buggy, which supplanted the horse, was most intriguing in that the passenger seat swung out before one could get in. Once we got to ride in it when Mother allowed Ruth and me to visit our cousins without her. The visit was exciting and enjoyable, as we crowded together on the matted beds, enclosed by thick mosquito netting. Soon we thought that it was more fun to be outside on the porch. As we ran back and forth carrying each other piggy-back, Uncle suddenly appeared and ordered us back to bed. I was told later that I had become so homesick that Uncle had to take us home much sooner than planned.\n\nMother looked forward to a yearly visit to Uncle's and we would go there by coach, owned by Look Buck of Kaneohe. We often grew anxious as the automobile raced down the steep, narrow and winding road. Once Mother jumped out of the coach with Helen in her arms when it began to slide backwards while manoeuvring a hairpin curve. For several years", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1988.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ft84gb83q", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 213660, "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-1996", "page_number": 13, "title": "RAS-1996", "content_text": "Numbers are in fact creeping up, albeit slowly. Today, about 19 per cent of our membership, judging by names, are ethnic Chinese. With cross-cultural marriages however, this percentage is probably not entirely accurate.\n\nYour Council also feels a continuing effort should be made to recruit more student members, especially promising young scholars.\n\nPublications\n\nProgress has been made with the publishing of journals. Volumes 31 and 32 came off the presses in 1996, volume 33 was published in early 1997 and volume 34 should be out in two or three weeks' time. Our journals have long been held in high regard both by teaching and research institutions around the world and also by a more discerning reading public. We are now trying to improve our marketing techniques so we can sell more copies.\n\nAfter the successful publication of Beyond the Metropolis: Villages in Hong Kong, in early 1996 we have started to press ahead with a companion volume about Yau Ma Tei called, In the Heart of the Metropolis. This is being prepared by our Branch together with the Cathay Camera Club, a number of whose members are also Royal Asiatic Society members. It is important that a society like ours engages in scholarly projects and we are extremely grateful to Dr Patrick Hase who readily accepted the job of editor and chief project organiser. In the latter capacity he has been ably assisted by Brian Pearce, and now that Brian has left Hong Kong, by Charles Slater.\n\nMany members read our Newsletter avidly and naturally with advancing information technology it is nicely produced. A considerable amount of planning and effort go into each issue and it always manages to meet the deadline. For this significant achievement we have to thank Claire Hockaday and Geoffrey Roper.\n\nActivities\n\nIt has been said 'Good lecturers are a gift from heaven' and certainly\n\nxii", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1996.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/3n209j641", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 213945, "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-1997", "page_number": 15, "title": "RAS-1997", "content_text": "Publications\n\nOver the year Peter Halliday, our Honorary Editor, has continued to make progress. During 1997-8, volumes 34 (1994) and 35 (1995) of our Journals have been published. It means if two more Journals can be published over the coming year we have caught up with what was a sizeable backlog. In addition, after special software was prepared by staff at the City Hall Library, Dr Lauren Pfister and his assistants, at the Baptist University, have started work preparing a comprehensive index for all our journals. We are grateful to all of them.\n\nMeanwhile, Dr Patrick Hase has put in considerable time and effort editing chapters submitted by a small number of RAS members complemented by photographs taken by members of the Cathay Camera Club. After Brian Pierce left Hong Kong the leadership of the photographic team for our project was taken over by Charles Slater. The role has now been filled by Ian Masterton. Again we thank everyone for all they have done. Our new book, about Yau Ma Tei which should come out in mid 1998 will form a companion volume to Beyond the Metropolis: Villages in Hong Kong which we published in late 1995.\n\nOur Branch has a large collection of photographs and we are grateful to Tim Ko for working his way through these with the possibility of publishing a selection of them at some stage in the future.\n\nEfforts were made during the year to increase sales of our publications. We have already started targeting academic institutions in North America and community and school libraries in Hong Kong.\n\nOur Newsletter continues to be an important link between the Council and Branch members. We have to thank Claire Hockaday, Sarah Parnell and Geoffrey Roper for preparing this Newsletter, over the past year, which is gradually increasing in size. Our Branch has a number of members among its ranks who are authors and this year, again, some of them have published. Details of these publications have appeared in our Newsletter. We are now prepared to accept advertisements in our Newsletter from outsiders and a schedule of charges has been drawn up.\n\nxiv\n\nPage 15\n\nPage 16", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1997.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/wp98g7579", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214133, "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-1997", "page_number": 201, "title": "RAS-1997", "content_text": "172\n\nin the Colony), it could also be seen at Sha Tau Kok and at San Hui in Castle Peak Bay.7\n\nIn certain places along the route on our way to Huizhou, where there was apparently good fung shui, there were concentrations of graves and funerary urns, the latter, in Chinese, known as 'golden pagodas'. These contain human bones, placed in anatomical order, in the shape of a foetus, ready to 'return to the womb' for rebirth at reincarnation. Often, as one sometimes sees in Hong Kong's New Territories, small clusters of these urns were placed in tiny shelters. In some places however, along the road to Huizhou, these small structures were painted in garish colours.\n\nOften one would pass in China brick and tile kilns very similar to those simple kilns which one could find in the Castle Peak district of Hong Kong in the 1950s. A few years later these small firms were put out of business by less expensive clay, building-products which were imported into Hong Kong from Guangdong.\n\nThe author contrasts this visit to Huizhou, in beautiful short-sleeve-shirt weather, with a visit led by RAS Member Phillip Bruce, also undertaken in November, about a decade earlier. The previous visit took place on one of the coldest November days on record with temperatures down to freezing. The author wore a deerstalker hat with ear-flaps to protect him from the biting wind! At the time, limited development had taken place in Huizhou. It is surprising how things have changed.\n\nAcknowledgements\n\nThe RASHKB is grateful to Geoffrey Roper and his Activities Committee members, and especially to Dr Joseph Ting and Peter Rull, for organising this visit. The author is also grateful to RAS Member Charles Slater for the three photographs which illustrate this article.\n\nNOTES\n\nPeter Rull and Joseph Ting, Outline Programme for RAS Huizhou Visit 15 and 16 November 1997, handout\n\nGeoffrey Roper, An Introduction to the Tan Gong (Tam Kung) Temple below the Julung", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1997.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/wp98g7579", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214601, "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": 16, "title": "RAS-1999", "content_text": "members of the Cathay Camera Club. A special vote of thanks must go to Iain Masterton and Charles Slater, who as both RAS and Cathay members also served, during different periods, as photographic co-ordinator. This book has made a contribution to local literature and will be read and referred to for many years to come. It is available in all good bookstores.\n\nFaced with the task of making sure a large membership keeps in touch, our lively Newsletter comes hot off the press every two months. Although a few of us feed in information its preparation is done almost entirely by our energetic Assistant Secretary, Sarah Parnell.\n\nWe also congratulate our many members who have published books, papers or articles during the past year on their own account. A special mention, however, must be made of Dr Patrick Hase's splendid paper entitled, 'The Royal Asiatic Society (Hong Kong Branch) and its Journal'. This article came out in The Journal of Resources for Hong Kong Studies which was produced by the University of Hong Kong Libraries, volume no.9.\n\nActivities\n\nIt has not infrequently been said that the backbone of our Branch is the activities we provide and many join because, during a brief stay in Hong Kong, they wish to learn something about local history, customs and culture. It has jokingly been said, however, that you cannot do this, and learn to speak the language, on a diet of western food. The answer to this must be that, during the course of the year, members do have the opportunity to share a few meals together.\n\nDuring the past year 12 lectures, eight Hong Kong visits and two excursions to the China Mainland were conducted. This is an impressive number. A wide range of topics was covered as can be seen from Appendices A and B of this report. A large number of speakers are named on these lists and I take this opportunity to thank them all, together with the leaders and organisers of tours and anyone else who assisted us with our activities in any way. We are pleased that many of you have been able to accept our invitations and have joined us for dinner this evening.\n\nXV", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1999.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s178b887x", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214918, "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-2000", "page_number": 14, "title": "RAS-2000", "content_text": "Charles and Diana Slater are active members of HKBRAS.\n\nKeith Stevens, B.A., served with the British Army and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office before his retirement in 1991. He is an authority on Chinese temples and deities, and Chinese history generally, and has written prolifically on these subjects (keith.stevens@chgods.freeserve.co.uk).\n\nDan Waters, M.Phil., Ph.D., is a retired Assistant Director of Education of the Hong Kong Government. He is a long-time council member of HKBRAS and has been President since 1997. He has written prolifically on the history and culture of the HKSAR (benefit@netvigator.com).\n\nJennifer Welch, M.A., now lives with her husband in East Yorkshire having spent a number of years in Hong Kong, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Nigeria and Australia. Her interests are varied and include French culture and language, China and the Chinese, porcelain and history.\n\nxiii", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2000.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/nk328168n", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 215176, "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-2000", "page_number": 272, "title": "RAS-2000", "content_text": "234\n\nPHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE TRIP BY DIANA AND CHARLES SLATER\n\nEmperor Dan Waters and Empress Pru Mitchell at dinner at imperial dinner, Morin Hotel, Hue", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2000.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/nk328168n", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 215496, "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-2001", "page_number": 273, "title": "RAS-2001", "content_text": "222\n\nAPPENDIX - THE LAST-NIGHT PARTY IN PARO\n\nProgramme:\n\n1. Introduction and limericks - Robert Nield\n\n2. Extract from 'HMS Pinafore' - Jenny Wu and Rupert McCowan\n\n3. Some Welsh songs - Ian and Jean Wilson\n\n4. Amazing conjuring tricks - Charles Slater\n\n5. Extract from 'The Yeomen of the Guard' - Jenny Wu and Robert Nield\n\n6. Some songs from Old Jamaica - Ian Wilson\n\n7. 'McPherson's Lament' - Chris Coghlan\n\n8. 'The Wild Rover' - Ian Edwards\n\n9. Another extract from 'HMS Pinafore' - Jenny Wu and Rupert McCowan\n\n10. 'Albert and the Lion' - Robert Nield\n\n11. Some North Country culture - Marlene Courbert\n\n12. The Police Song - Russell Harding", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2001.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/zg651950g", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 215554, "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-2001", "page_number": 331, "title": "RAS-2001", "content_text": "281\n\nHONG KONG'S LIGHTHOUSES\n\nAND\n\nTHE MEN WHO MANNED THEM\n\nLOUIS HA and DAN WATERS\n\n[Complementary HKBRAS lectures were delivered by Fr. Louis Ha (Part One) and Dr. Dan Waters (Part Two) on 3rd May 2002. The following day, courtesy the Director, Government Marine Department, 93 HKBRAS members and guests visited Waglan Lighthouse. The above two lectures were based on the following text. All photographs accompanying these complementary papers were taken on the visit by long-time RAS member Charles Slater.]\n\nPART ONE\n\nLighthouses on the coast, \"sentinels of the sea\", are without doubt romantic and interesting to the ordinary person. Their loneliness and isolation, the mental picture of waves dashing vainly at their feet while the light shines overhead, far and wide over darkness and angry waters, the drama of shipwreck and rescue, and of successful passage through storm and stress, combine to give them a special appeal to the hearts and minds of all men.'\n\nThis is one of the beautiful descriptions of lighthouses written by the Deputy Commissioner of Customs of China, T. Roger Banister, in 1932.1\n\nPractical aids\n\nIn reality, lighthouses exist for much more practical purposes; as aids to navigation in avoiding shipwrecks or grounding of ships. Traditional navigation aids include Light Vessels, Light Buoys, Beacons and Fog Signals such as bells, gongs, reed horns and explosives. These aids have been developed out of necessity over the ages.\n\nPharos\n\nOne of the oldest lighthouses was the Pharos at Alexandria, in", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2001.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/zg651950g", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 215580, "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-2001", "page_number": 357, "title": "RAS-2001", "content_text": "307\n\nand Monuments Office and the Government Marine Department and to everyone mentioned in the text. Without their help this paper would not have been written. Special thanks are also due to Yip Kin-sang Superintendent of Aids to Navigation of the Marine Department. Thanks are also due to many other helpful people including Master Mariners Roger Parry and Alan Lack, Dr James Hayes, Simon Lord, Paul Brown, Phillip Bruce, Louis Thomas and S J Chan. This paper would not be complete without photographs and those published here are indeed rather special. For these, a very sincere thank you to Charles Slater.\n\nNOTES\n\nPart One\n\n1. T. Roger Banister (1932). The Coastwise Lights of China, Shanghai: Inspectorate General of Customs, Statistical Department.\n\n2. Lee Krystek - http://unmuseum.mus.pa.us/pharos.htm\n\n3. Trinity House - http://www.trinityhouse.co.uk/\n\n4. A day in history - http://www.sis.gov.eg/calendar/html/cl171196.htm\n\n5. It was named after James Horsburgh (1762-1836), an eminent hydrographer for the East India Company, author of the book Sailing Directions, which became the most widely used nautical directory of Eastern waters during the first half of the 19th century. He was also a Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The lighthouse has a cone-shape tower painted with black and white horizontal bands. http://www.lighthouseclothing.com/database/searchdatabase.cfm.\n\n6. It was rebuilt in 1875 in the form of a white conical cast-iron tower with black trim. The 30-foot high tower with lantern constructed of oyster shells had a light visible for 20.5 nautical miles.\n\n7. T.R. Banister concedes that the claim is good only in its literal sense. '...if we except such primitive lights as the old open beacon at north-east promontory, or the ancient native light on Fisher Island in the Pescadores. The Tungsha Lightship, in the Yangtze Estuary, was established in 1855, and the Taitan Light was apparently first shown by the Chinese priests in 1863. But neither of these were exactly light [houses].'", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2001.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/zg651950g", "rank": 0 } ]