[ { "id": 211614, "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": 29, "title": "RAS-1989", "content_text": "Kong to be so), and it had a beautiful mosaic ceiling in the banking hall which was designed by Podgoursky, a Russian.\" The building was ahead of its time.\n\nIn 1954 a business associate, the late Harold Palmer, a surveyor and auctioneer in England, said to the author, \"When you get to Hong Kong see if the architectural practice started by my grandfather is still in existence\". In fact, Palmer and Turner designed the Hong Kong Bank building which was completed in 1935. However Clement Palmer, an early partner, worked with the firm in Hong Kong from about 1882 to 1909. He was responsible for such buildings as the Hong Kong Club (demolished and replaced in the 1980s) which was completed in 1897,9 Victoria Hospital (1903), and Rosary Church (1905), Chatham Road. According to Harold Palmer, his grandfather used to go from his home to his office everyday by boat (he lived in Kowloon perhaps?), and he retired to England in his later forties a rich man. He made his money by land sales rather than as an architect and he was in his nineties when he died.\n\nAfter the People's Republic came to power, in 1949, it gained in prestige locally when the new 17-storey Bank of China, completed in 1950, slightly overtopped the Hong Kong Bank. The Hong Kong Bank then erected a flagpole which gave it the necessary extra few feet!21 In 1959, however, the newly completed Chartered Bank rose about three metres above the Bank of China.\n\nNow, in the 1990s, history has partly repeated itself. The 40-storey Standard Chartered Bank looks down once again on the Hong Kong Bank, although the new 70-floor Bank of China is the tallest structure in Southeast Asia. Perhaps, with China taking over Hong Kong in 1997, this dominance is fitting.\n\nNevertheless the new, 52-storey Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Headquarters, with its striking prefabricated tubular design and its \"aeronautic\" technology, has made a major contribution to the skyline, and it has been described as the most innovative bank building in the world. It graced a recent Hong Kong postage stamp.\n\nWhile most of Hong Kong consists of standard, nondescript, concrete-framed buildings, occasionally you come across the unusual, such as the large external concrete trusses from which the roof of the State", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1989.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212324, "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-1990", "page_number": 266, "title": "RAS-1990", "content_text": "243\n\nand persons of Portuguese descent.\n\nTo a degree banks symbolise power, and the People's Republic gained in prestige when its 17-storey Bank of China slightly overtopped the Hong Kong Bank in 1950. The latter then erected a flagpole, so it is said, which gave it a few extra feet. In 1959, however, the then new Chartered Bank rose about three metres above the old Bank of China. With the new 42-storey standard Chartered Bank, completed in 1990, looking down on the Hong Kong Bank claimed to be the most cost-efficient bank building in the world it seems that, to some degree, history is repeating itself. Nevertheless, this is well short of the 70-floor new Bank of China (also completed in 1990) which, for a few years, was the tallest building in Asia.\n\nHong Kong Bank\n\n▬\n\nUnlike the Chartered Bank which is essentially British, the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, which is today the largest bank headquartered in Asia outside Japan, has always prided itself on being international. Nevertheless, the original prospectus of the 'Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Company Limited' stated the aim was: \"for an institution to be operated on sound Scottish banking principles.\"\n\nMost of its senior staff have, from the outset, thus been British.\n\nThe Hong Kong Bank was founded in 1864, on co-operative lines. Business commenced in 1865 (by which time six banks were already established in Hong Kong), and nearly all the principal firms in the Colony were represented. The purpose of Wayfoong (?) (meaning 'Abundance of Remittances' which first appeared, in Chinese, on bank notes in 1881) was to serve the needs of merchants of the China coast and to finance the growing trade between China, Europe and North America. The traders of old felt their needs would be served better if they had a bank (in Hong Kong it is often spoken of as The Bank) which was owned, managed and operated locally.\n\nAlthough the provisional committee was chaired by the British firm Dent and Company its members were far from being exclusively British. They included Americans, Germans, Scandinavians and", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1990.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212336, "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-1990", "page_number": 278, "title": "RAS-1990", "content_text": "255\n\nThe Hong Kong Guide 1893 (republished 1982)\n\nHughes, Richard, Borrowed Place Borrowed Time, Hong Kong and its Many Faces\n\n(London 1968, reprinted 1976)\n\nHunter, W.C., The \"Fan Kwac\" at Canton Before Treaty Days 1825-1844 (republished 1965)\n\nHutcheon, Robin, The Blue Flame, 125 Years of Town Gas in Hong Kong (1987) Hutcheon, Robin, Wharf. The First Hundred Years, 1886-1986 (1986)\n\nIngrams, Harold, Hong Kong (London, 1952)\n\nJardine, Matheson & Company... an historical sketch (undated)\n\nJarrell, Old Hong Kong\n\nJones, Stephanie, Two Centuries of Overseas Trading. The Origins and Growth of the Inchcape Group) (England, 1986)\n\nKing, Frank H.H., The History of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, vols. I to IV\n\nLawrence, Anthony, and Frederick Amentrout, The Taipan Traders\n\nLiu Kwang-ching, Anglo-American Steamship Rivalry in China 1862-1874 (Harvard 1962) Luff, John, Hong Kong Cavalcade (1968)\n\nLuff, John, The Hidden Years, Hong Kong 1947-1945 (1967)\n\nLuff, John, The Hong Kong Story (circa late 1960s) MacMillan, Alistair, Seaports of the Far East (1925)\n\nMorris, Jan, Hong Kong, Xianggang (England, 1988) Murray, Simon, Legionnaire (England, 1980)\n\nPeak Tramway. 1888–1988\n\nPresent Day Impressions of the Far East and Prominent and Progressive Chinese at Home and Abroad, Managing Director W.H. Morton-Cameron, Editor-in Chief W. Feldwick (1917)\n\nRoyal Asiatic Society, Hong Kong Branch, journals, various\n\nThe Thistle and the Jade. A Celebration of 150 Years of Jardine. Matheson & Co. Editor Maggie Keswick (London, 1982)\n\nTwentieth Century Impressions of Hong Kong. Shanghai, and Other Treaty Ports of China, Editor in Chief Arnold Wright (1908)\n\nWong Siu-lun, Emigrant Entrepreneurs: Shanghai Industrialists In Hong Kong (1988)\n\nUNPUBLISHED BOOKS\n\nBook 1, The Canton Dispensary 1828-1838 Book II, The Hong Kong Dispensary 1841-1862 Book III, A.S. Watson and Company 1862-1886\n\nCOMPANY BROCHURES, LEAFLETS AND MAGAZINES\n\nA.S. Watson & Co., Limited\n\nBrief History: The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation\n\nChina Light and Power Co. Ltd. (annual reports)\n\nDeacon's\n\nThe Elements of Power, China Light & Power\n\nHistory of Hong Kong & China Gas Co. Ltd\n\nHong Kong Bank Group Magazines\n\nHong Kong Land 1889/1989\n\nHong Kong's Noonday Gun (Jardine)\n\nHutchison Whampoa Limited (annual reports)\n\nInchcape: The International Services and Marketing Group A Pictorial History of Hong Kong Electric Standard Chartered News", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1990.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212337, "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-1990", "page_number": 279, "title": "RAS-1990", "content_text": "256\n\nThe Swire Group\n\nSwire News (various)\n\nUnion Corner, (booklet of Union Insurance Society of Canton Ltd.) Watson's Calendar 1897\n\nREPORTS, PAPERS AND FACT SHEETS\n\nBard, S.M., Foreign Trade and Traders in Early British Hong Kong (1988) Hong Kong: The Facts (various Government fact sheets)\n\nLeeds, P.F., The Development of Public Transport in Hong Kong\n\nReview (November 1974)\n\nNEWSPAPERS, SUPPLEMENTS AND PERIODICALS\n\nAn Historical\n\nArt catalogue, excerpts mentioning the Watson family (undated, details unknown) The Asia Magazine\n\nAsian Finance\n\nBuilding Journal\n\nHong Kong, Ire (no. 2 Feb. 1990)\n\nHong Kong Standard (various)\n\n*A New Era for Swire Travel, Hong Kong Standard Special Publication (31 October 1974)\n\n'New Lane Crawford House', Souvenir Magazine to Commemorate the Opening of New Lane Crawford House, Hong Kong Standard/Sing Tao Jih Pao (June 1977) Newspaper clippings, Hong Kong Public Records (various)\n\nSouth China Morning Post (various)\n\nSouth China Morning Post 75 Years (1978)\n\n'139 Years of Temptation', South China Morning Post Supplement (15 March 1989)\n\nLETTERS TO THE AUTHOR\n\nFrom: Mr Rupert S.C. Li (Swindon Book Company)\n\nThe Royal Society, London\n\nStandard Chartered Bank", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1990.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 213264, "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-1994", "page_number": 86, "title": "RAS-1994", "content_text": "66\n\nBanks, Hongs and Government House\n\nMany old established western hongs have long come to terms with the 'breath of the dragon'. As one senior Standard Chartered Bank staff member phrased it (partly with tongue in cheek perhaps?): 'Some Europeans are more concerned about fung shui than the Chinese. Besides, paying attention to it is good for business.'\n\nThe British Standard Chartered is the oldest foreign bank in Hong Kong (its forerunner, the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China, was established in Hong Kong in 1859). Management was advised that for its new building, completed in 1990, one main door was not enough to 'catch all the good fortune and allow money to flow in'. An additional entrance, facing northeast, was included in the plan, 'to capture \"luck\" from Central District and from the harbour and business from the Hong Kong Banking Corporation next door'. The main entrance is very important. It is subjected to more foot traffic than any other part of a building. Its door should be well-hinged, upright and in scale with the building as a whole.\n\nSimilarly, the decor of Chartered Bank's interior includes a number of features synonymous with prosperity in Chinese culture. The stained-glass windows in the entrance hall portray a bus with registration number 28 (homonyms in Cantonese also meaning 'easy to prosper'). A red (a lucky colour) tram car has the number 88 (signifying 'doubly prosperous') and steps have been constructed in flights of eight. Lucky numbers are popular in Chinese communities around the world.\n\nSimilarly it is good if one's grave, or niche in a columbarium where one's ashes are deposited, has a fortuitous number. In Europe numbers carry different meanings. Seven (among Chinese, this number is often associated with how many dishes mourners partake of at a funeral wake) is sometimes considered lucky, while 13 is deemed unlucky. Consequently, a 13th floor is sometimes omitted in a building.\n\nAs is common in many commercial premises in Hong Kong, running water is good because water signifies money. While having a water feature may not mean much in a bank in York or New York, such beliefs do imply a great deal to many customers in Hong Kong. Yet, surprisingly, few appeared to have been too upset when the fountain at the 'Landmark', in Central District, was done away with.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1994.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/zk522640g", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 213265, "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-1994", "page_number": 87, "title": "RAS-1994", "content_text": "67\n\nStandard Chartered Bank's big brother, the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (surrounded by the Bank of China, Standard Chartered Bank, the Legislative Council building, and others, which act as 'dragon and tiger' guards), also went to considerable lengths to build 'fung shui considerations' into its award-winning headquarters. It was completed in 1985. Sir Norman Foster, the English architect, brought in fung shui masters at various stages throughout the Bank's design and construction. Although it was described as the 'most innovative bank building in the world', symbolising flexibility with no expense spared, nevertheless 'The Bank' (as it is sometimes known locally) went to great pains to lift its two bronze lions into position simultaneously (Lions Return Home, 1985:19). Work commenced on a propitious day, starting at 5.00 am (Guarding the Bank.., 1985:10) (Chung, 1985:10). Senior British Bank officials attended. On the advice of the fung shui practitioner, the two lions, Stitt and Stephen (named after two past Bank managers), act as guardians. They ward off evil. They are often patted by Chinese to bring them good luck, although the two lions do not directly face each other. Their exact positions are important. Heavy objects such as stones or statues (like two-ton, bronze lions symbolising energy) have the power to stabilise a situation. In everyday life, heavy ornaments and the like can affect the ability of a person to hold down a job or to hang on to a wife.\n\nIn addition to placing two lions in position in front of a bank, turning the first sod, foundation stone laying and topping out ceremonies, and house-warming parties are all important in Western society (Groves, 1991:passim). Also, a Christian priest consecrates a new church. In Chinese culture too, although human sacrifices have long disappeared, special building ceremonies are still sometimes conducted, for example, when starting work on the foundations, erecting the main door, or hoisting the ridgepole of a village house. With the last example, items are hung from the ridge. These include 'lucky' objects, such as a small bag of rice (no-one must ever go hungry). All such ceremonies must be carried out on auspicious days.\n\nOne would imagine the Hong Kong Bank is too concerned with profit and loss accounts to bother about what some describe as superstitions. Yet care was taken, when planning the front entrance on Des Voeux Road, that it is lower than the exit on Queen's Road. This is similar to a humble Chinese college in that the front door should be bigger and lower than the...", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1994.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/zk522640g", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 216096, "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-2002", "page_number": 395, "title": "RAS-2002", "content_text": "329\n\naccount. It was an old colonial style building with paddle fans suspended from ceilings. This structure was replaced by an air-conditioned building in 1959, which was, in turn, replaced by another new Standard Chartered building opened formally in 1990. In the 1950s many buildings were old, roomy, colonial style, low-rise buildings, with colonnades, wide balconies and large windows or French doors in order to allow for \"through draught.\" That was important. Windows usually were fitted with louvres or jalousies.\n\nI was taken to meet the Director of Education whose office was then in the lovely old French Mission Building (now the Court of Final Appeal) at the top of Battery Path. I had to sign the visitor's book at Government House. 'Unless you do this,' I was warned, 'you will not be invited to the garden party on the Queen's birthday.' In spite of what people would often have you believe they were generally proud to receive an invitation from the Governor. Just as today they like to receive an invitation to the reception, in the Convention and Exhibition Centre, on China's National Day. (When a HKBRAS group visited Government House in January 1997, shortly before The Handover, just about every member was keen to sign the book.) There was no doubt, too, that Hong Kong people felt greatly honoured if they were decorated by the Queen just as they feel honoured today if they receive a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region award.\n\nMy Yorkshire colleague, back in early 1955, also introduced me to a reliable comprador. In this sense, I mean a grocer. In fact I still deal with the Asia Company to this day. Compared to the aseptic, soulless supermarkets I have wonderful memories of street-corner comprador shops stocked with goodies, including kam wa hams hanging from ceilings. I am, of course, talking of times when cheung saams were far more common and years before Big Macs and Kentucky Fried Chicken had made their debuts in the Territory. Regarding the latter, one person commented to me, 'We Chinese have a 1,000 ways to cook a chicken. Kentucky will never make it!' But although they failed once they returned to Hong Kong, Kentucky Fried Chicken has been a success story.\n\nWhen I arrived I had to register and obtain an identity card. I was quite embarrassed. On arrival at the North Point office, as I was a European, I was taken by my Chinese colleague straight to the front of", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2002.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/mp4901278", "rank": 0 } ]