[
    {
        "id": 211721,
        "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": 136,
        "title": "RAS-1989",
        "content_text": "111\n\nhsiang have one coat of incense powder only. The joss sticks produced do not necessarily have to be dried under the sun. They can either be blown dry or put under the sun for 5-6 hours. The joss sticks produced by this method vary in lengths from 6 ts'un 8 fên to 1 ch'ih 6 ts'un. The shorter ones may have their handles dyed red, but it is more common for them to be wrapped in silvery paper.\n\nMoulding Method\n\nJoss sticks of still greater lengths and widths are produced by moulding. By this method, joss sticks of 1 ch'ih 5 ts'un, 2 ch'ih, 3 ch'ih 6 ts'un, 4 ch'ih 8 ts'un and up to 6 ch'ih are manufactured. The corresponding diameters are 5 fên, 6 fên, 2 ts'un, 5 ts'un and 7 ts'un. To support such a thick coat of incense, a stick bamboo, rather than a bamboo sliver, is used as the core material. The manufacturing process is done entirely with bare hands. Incense paste is moistened with water to such a consistency that it is easily stretchable. It is then put on top of a bamboo cane and moulded in a downward direction by squeezing and working with the hands until the bamboo is evenly covered with incense paste. The excess paste is then removed. The outer coat of the joss stick is put on by means of rolling on a pile of coloured fragrance and then a wooden slab is used to smooth the surface of the stick. Finally the sticks are hung in a sheltered but well ventilated place. Drying under direct sunlight is strictly avoided as the high speed of evaporation will result in cracks on the surface.\n\nWinding Method\n\n36\n\nThe last method is for the production of incense coils by winding. Incense paste squeezed into the shape of strings is wound around a metal ring, the width of the string determining the duration of burning. Incense coils are then classified into half-day coils, full-day coils, 7 day coils, 14 day coils and 30 day coils. Winding must be done on a flat surface in order that the strings can be coiled neatly. Then they have to be unfolded onto a rattan rack to allow free circulation of air. The unfolding is done dextrously by two incense coil workers.\n\nIn the early days, squeezing was done with a wooden press (mu t'ou cha). Though this wooden press is no longer in use, Osgood, writing in the mid-seventies, provides a detailed description,",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1989.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "id": 212393,
        "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": 335,
        "title": "RAS-1990",
        "content_text": "312\n\nof degree holders, indicating social rank, there is also a wealth of swept ridges and stylised, 'teapot-handle', gables among the roofs of the common folk.\n\nLike Hong Kong, granite was readily available, and a good, dense, red face brick, some of which is quite narrow, is manufactured locally. The brickwork has an attractive, diaper pattern, with dark kiln marks on the face. Unlike Hong Kong, arches with keystones and pediments are in evidence. Much of the architecture resembles that of Taiwan, and, not unusual in many parts of China, there is a marvellous variety of murals and stone carving, including stylised motifs. Small figurines ride lions or other mythical beasts on roof ridges, which, together with eight-diagram (ba gua) and knife and sword charms ward off evil spirits. Similarly, 'wind lions' have stood on guard at entrances since the days of Koxinga.\n\nAnother scenic spot for architectural gems is the 1.71 square kilometer Gulangyu Island, where at least one member of every family is said to play a musical instrument. This Island has two beautiful white egrets as its emblem and is situated a five-minute ferry ride from Xiamen proper. Part of the beauty is, however, marred by large, ugly, cigarette signs which generate high rents. No vehicular traffic is permitted in this hilly haven. It was a cold day, and RAS Party Members kept themselves warm by exploring. This included climbing to the Lotus Flower Monastery and beyond up the 90-metre high, crowded, precipitous 'Sunlight Rock'. Koxinga chose this as his bastion because it reminded him of Japan.\n\nGulangyu Island is full of architectural 'relics' from the old International Settlement, with patchworks of yellow, terracotta and pink walls blending with oranges and greens. The forlorn, dilapidated building which once served as the British Consulate, is still there. Before World War II, 13 other governments also had consulates on the Island. They, together with tea merchants and financers, could afford to pay for, and insisted on, the best quality building materials.\n\nMuch of the architecture of this 'garden island' is European, but there are examples of eclectic styles with Chinese columns and western capitals, and Chinese friezes and western brickwork. All these contrast with rows of old, Chinese type, shops with colonnades in Xiamen, with upper floors projecting over pavements; or with",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1990.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "id": 212837,
        "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-1992",
        "page_number": 146,
        "title": "RAS-1992",
        "content_text": "131\n\nwith him.\n\nThe marriage customs are many and curious. We happened to be passing a village on the day of a wedding and were invited to see the communal dancing; the ceremony included inspecting the bride and groom in bed by the fitful light of torches. It seems that immediately after the feast the lucky couple retire to bed and are there visited by all and sundry to an accompaniment of the sort of joking which does not appear in print. The custom of men seizing their brides in mock raiding attacks, staged for the purpose, is also common. During one such attack, until we discovered what it was about, we thought that we were being sniped at by the Japanese.\n\nNancha is high up the mountain, some 6,000 feet, overlooking the Salween, which here flows at 1,000 feet above sea level. The river itself was out of sight in the bottom of the valley where it ran between steeply-sloping banks. Across the valley on the mountain on the far side a mile away we could see in the bright sunlight the villages occupied by the Japanese. Their system of garrisoning was not continuous; they had one or two central posts, and from these they would man one or other of the lesser posts. Through my glasses I could see the posts; trenches with grass huts screened in the jungle nearby, and the ubiquitous Japanese flag. They were sited where the path entered the village high above the river: a mile away as the crow flies, to reach Nancha from one of those villages would take the best part of a day.\n\nFrom Nancha, Jack left to reconnoitre the Salween ferries, while I moved on more slowly as I wished to study the country and make friends with the people; we took three days to reach the Lihsaw village of Hsintang. Despite the small size of our party our progress was triumphal: the young women were shy and kept out of the way; the men were still cowed and not sure of their position; but the old women everywhere came out to greet us. They met us with gifts of bananas, brought up from the hot valleys below, chickens and eggs, neatly done up in long tubes of plaited rice-straw; and being of Chinese blood they prepared tea for our refreshment and invited us indoors to drink it. They said, \"We have not seen you Englishmen for a long time. Where have you been for the last two years? We have waited for you a long time, and now conditions are so bad that they are no longer to be borne. But you have at last returned and set our minds at ease.\" This blind confidence was very touching: may Britain long prove worthy of it.",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1992.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/qf85tx75x",
        "rank": 0
    }
]