RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1963
https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/4m90m091v
NAVIGATION ON THE YANGTSE

111

cities, which together constitute Wuhan, as 8,000,000—almost certainly a great exaggeration.3 Lord Elgin, some fifteen years later during the Taiping Rebellion, thought it to be about 1,000,000, and that it would have been about 2,000,000 before the rebellion. It must, therefore, have been a more important city than either Canton or Shanghai at that time. Like those cities, it was the centre of a network of waterways which connected it with a great area of the surrounding country. In the first few years after the opening of the river Hankow resembled a boom town in the American West. Fortunes were made and lost in a few months, and passages from Shanghai were at a premium, up to £100 being paid for the trip. This initial boom was followed by the inevitable collapse, in this case intensified by the depression in the cotton market when the American Civil War came to an end, and a fall in tea prices which came at the same time.

Trade on the river had been damned up for years by the Taipings, so that a boom following the opening of the river was only natural. By 1862 there were twenty steamers running regularly on the river, and there was such a demand for steamers that, as one writer described it, “everything which could burn coal was employed at high freights". The freight on light goods from Shanghai to Hankow was as high as £6 per ton for a voyage lasting only three or four days. The first European ships on the river were small schooners, shallow draft paddle steamers, and lorchas.* The pioneer river steamer, as distinguished from warships and ocean-going steamers, was the American Firedart, which had been designed originally for the Canton River. She was soon followed by others specially designed for the Yangtse, and within a short time after the opening of the river, there were regular services between Shanghai and Hankow,

The early years of foreign trade on the Yangtse coincided with the last years of near American supremacy in shipping and shipbuilding, and the first British steamers to run on the river were built in America. Although the majority of foreign trading firms in the treaty ports at that time were British, the Americans were very serious competitors in the field of shipping. The

* According to recent census figures the population of Wuhan is now 2,200,000.

• A sailing ship with a European hull but Chinese type of rig.
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RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1975
https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/j0995146d
EMPLOYMENT OF FOREIGN MILITARY TALENT

Concluding Remarks

131

It is difficult to know to what extent the vision and vocabulary of the Chinese world order affected the perceptions and policies of Chinese officials in the late Ch'ing period. Obviously, the compelling rhetoric of the Chinese world order lasted longer than the Sinocentric system it described. This is quite understandable, for one could hardly expect the Ch'ing emperor to willingly abandon his claim to rule "all under Heaven" (t'ien-hsia). At the same time, it is clear that among the few informed "Confucian patriots" who had extensive contact with foreigners in treaty port areas, a new world view was rapidly evolving. Not surprisingly, this is clearer in their private writings and conversations than in their official communications and pronouncements.

My point, in any case, is not that "traditional" attitudes were breaking down faster than the official record would seem to indicate—although this was certainly true and deserves further study. Rather, I am suggesting that certain aspects of Chinese tradition were not, as is commonly supposed, necessarily inimical to modernization. Although the lingering perception of a hierarchical, Sinocentric world order unquestionably retarded China's modern development in some areas—notably her entrance into the so-called "family of nations"—this was less true in military affairs, where China's long tradition of borrowing foreign military talent was more of an asset than a liability. Recourse to foreign military assistance did not, after all, imply the inferiority of China's inherited culture, with its predominantly civil ethos, nor was it an affront to the dignity of the Chinese state (t'i-chih).

China's failure to use foreign military assistance effectively in the late nineteenth century was less a function of traditional attitudes toward the employment of barbarians, than of late Ch'ing administrative practice. Stripped of its world order rhetoric, much of Chinese policy toward the use of foreigners in late Ch'ing times seems to compare favorably with that of other nations in similar periods. A glance at Civil War America, for example, indicates that China was not alone in her concern over the linguistic and cultural integration of foreign officers, their fidelity, or the potential for interference on the part of their respective governments. Like the Chinese, both the Confederacy and the Union liberally rewarded foreign service, yet significantly, both also tended to reserve the highest ranks and greatest honors to individuals who
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RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1976
https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/hq382988q
A HAWAIIAN KING VISITS HONG KONG, 1881

93

successful in negotiating a Reciprocity Treaty effective in 1876. This gave Hawaii and the United States duty-free trade with each other. For Hawaii, it meant that sugar and rice, the principal agricultural products exported to America in that period, brought about an era of prosperity to the islands.

Hawaii, since its chance discovery by the English explorer, Capt. James Cook, in 1778 in his search for a Northwest passage from the Pacific to the Atlantic, advanced rapidly from a primitive, feudal state into a stable monarchy under Anglo-American tutelage. Beginning with King Kamehameha I in 1795, King Kalakaua was the seventh ruler of this tiny kingdom in the central Pacific Ocean, which is over 2,000 miles from San Francisco and 5,000 miles from Hong Kong. By 1898, Hawaii was annexed as a United States territory until 1959 when Hawaii became the fiftieth state of the American Union.

Early relations between China and Hawaii started soon after Capt. Cook's discovery in 1778. American and European trading vessels passed by Hawaii on their way to the Pearl River estuary. The sandalwood trade from Hawaii to China flourished from 1790-1840. To the Chinese in the Canton-Macao area, the Hawaiian Islands became known as Tan Heung Shan #2 or Sandalwood Mountains.

By the time of King Kalakaua's reign, the Pearl River delta area furnished the principal labor supply for Hawaii's agricultural development and Hong Kong had become the principal port of departure. In 1864, the Hawaiian government started to take an active part by establishing a Bureau of Immigration. The ending of the American Civil War (1861-1865) affected the sugar market favorably for Hawaii. Dr William Hillebrand, newly appointed Commissioner of Immigration, went to Hong Kong and other areas in the Far East in 1865 in search for labor suitable to Hawaii's burgeoning sugar plantations. With the help of the Reverend Wilhelm Lobscheid and the Chinese emigration agency, Wo Hang *, Hillebrand carefully selected 521 Chinese laborers, including ninety-five women and thirteen children,

They left Hong Kong in two single-deck ships, the Alberto and Roscote, arriving in Honolulu on September 23 and October 12, 1865.2 Chinese labor, both under contract or as free immigrants, contributed greatly to the agricultural economy of Hawaii.
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RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1989
https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h
215

Programme:

C.M. Von WEBER: "Der Freischütz", overture; by Messrs Essex and Ewing, piano. Sir Henry BISHOP: "Foresters sound the cheerful horn“ (glee). Heinrich PROCH (1809-1878): "Within the grove's deep shadow", a song by Mr. J.P. Tate, W.A. MOZART: String quartet No 7 by Messrs Tate and Howell (violin). Ewing (viola) and Essex (cello). William HORSLEY (1774-1858); "By Celia's Arbour" (glee), F. MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY: "Andante, presto and allegro vivace" (from?) by Messrs Essex and Howell. Ibidem: “Andante and finale" (from?), by Messrs Essex and Howell, Sir Henry BISHOP: "Sleep gentle lady" (glee), William Vincent WALLACE (1813-1865); **The Bellringer", a song by Mr. Essex, F. von FLOTOW: “Allessandro Stradella", fantasia, by Messrs Essex and Howell, William HORSLEY: "See the chariot at hand", song, L. van BEETHOVEN: "Egmont", overture, played on two pianos by Messrs Essex and Ewing.

Th: Theatre Royal (G)

R: This was the first occasion on which the names of the amateur musicians who entertained the public were mentioned. Some can be traced in the **Shanghai Almanac for 1862”. others belonged to the military forces. Thus the names have come to us of the following gentlemen: H. Cope and E.C. Essex (both of Geo. Barnett & Co). D.A.C.G. Ewing. F.R. Gantwell (Silk broker), A.A. Hayes Jr (of Olyphant & Co), Howell, Inglis, J.M. Nixon (of Blain, Tate & Co). J. Priestley Tate (of Blain, Tate & Co; Municipal Council member 1861-1862) and J. Wheatly (of Reiss & Co). In general the Herald was very satisfied: "It was pleasing to see the gentlemen who volunteered to throw aside for the nonce the cares of business and entertain con amore their less gifted fellow residents with a charming chamber concert. Everything was conducted in a quiet gentlemanly manner so that we imagined ourselves in a drawing room more than a theatre. There was no attempt at grandeur of display or extraordinary performance on special instruments which characterize too much the quasi-musical taste of the day where the composition of the author is sacrificed frequently to the execution of the performer and the audience is led to think more of the latter than the former". These were rather stringent remarks for someone living in an area where very few opportunities arose to compare musical qualities of instrumentalists. Yet the argument of faithfulness to the author's or composer's intentions crops up from time to time and that was obviously regarded as important by the Herald. Unfortunately the acoustics of the theatre were not of the very best so that "Mr. TATE's delicate tenor voice (in the song by Proch) could not fill the house sufficiently for all to hear the diminuendo passages of his beautiful voice". (NCH 18.4.1863). The Lancashire Relief Fund had been established in order to help those in Britain who had become a victim of the stoppage of cotton imports from the Southern states of America (due to the Civil War), with the result that numerous labourers in the mills were laid off.

29.4.1863 (Wedn)

Performances by the amateurs of the Royal Artillery.

No titles of plays were recorded.

Th: Theatre Royal (G)

R: In consequence of the "great success" a "Second Fashionable Night” would be given on May 4th (NCH 2.5.1863).

4.5.1863 (Thur)

As on 29.4.1863.

1.8.1863 (Sat)

The last of a series of performances by Mr. Smythe's company. Soloists: Miss Amelia Bailey (singing) and Martin Simonsen (violin) Th. N.N. (H)

Page 240

Page 241
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RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1990
https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299
By the 1970s, it was no longer such a competitive and profitable organisation and its operations were scaled down. A purpose-built factory was completed on Tsing Yi island in 1991.

Although the Swire Group over five generations has always had its head office in England, it has interests throughout Asia and the South Pacific, as well as in North America and Australia. Its China Navigation Company began operations on the Yangtze River in 1872. In World War II, more than half of Swire's ships were lost. A dockyard (of which more later) was established in Hong Kong at the turn of the century.

The group, which adopts a relatively low profile, has about 28,000 employees in 1988, and is the second largest employer in Hong Kong after the Government. Its complement included, up to 1990, 78-year old Madame Ho Sau-King who had worked at Taikoo Sugar Limited since 1928.

In 1981 John Bremridge (later Sir John), Taipan of Swire's, became Government Financial Secretary for a term of five years. This was an unprecedented appointment as previous 'FSs' had been promoted through the ranks of the civil service. Like the son of the founder of Swire's, Sir John Bremridge writes and speaks to the point”.

The conglomeration of interests of this (still largely) family firm and private limited company includes an elite collection of Hong Kong enterprises. Swire's has a controlling interest in Cathay Pacific Airways, founded in 1948, as well as in HAECO aircraft maintenance company. Property is also big business and about 45 per cent of the group's net asset value is in bricks and mortar. Other interests include container terminals, technology, engineering, air catering, investment banking, travel and general trading. Sir Adrian and Sir John Swire have a family fortune estimated at HK$6.3 billion, and in 1989 Sir John was quoted by the Sunday Times Magazine as being Britain's 12th richest person, a position he held jointly with his brother.

Dodwell's

W.R. Adamson and Company (later, Adamson Bell and Company), the forerunner of Dodwell's, was founded as a result of the efforts of a group of Cheshire weavers who needed to increase supplies of
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RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1991
https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/k356gt84j
69

In the period 1949-1972, the political environment in China was similar. The communists felt the United States was their number one antagonist by its insistence on supporting the KMT regime in the civil war of China and its involvement in the Korean civil war. During the Korean War, the image of America as the most aggressive imperialist country became more widespread and this image lasted until late into the 1970s. The hostility between the two countries in the fifties and early sixties left little room for China to develop a flexible policy. As a result, China adopted a domestic policy close to orthodox Stalinism and a foreign policy in harmony with the Soviet Union. As the United States carried out a rather consistent China policy, the Sino-Soviet split did not immediately bring about in China a policy change favourable to the United States, nor its cultural presence in China.

On the other hand, the arts in China have always been politically dominated. Accordingly, any presentation of foreign culture would carry political significance. Naturally, in their efforts for reconciliations, both governments employed cultural exchanges as a means to that end. The Philadelphia Orchestra's visit to China in 1973 was intended to be more a celebration of the reconciliation than a cultural event.

Since 1979, the politicalization of Sino-American arts exchanges has found a new expression: the conscious creation of an American cultural imagery in China, which was made possible by the drastic increase of exchanges in 1979 and the substantial American cultural events touring China in the following years.

In at least one respect, the United States government has been double-faced. While denouncing the introduction of politics into art, the United States government has also long been involved in supplying foreign nationals with American cultural products it selected. The United States Information Agency (USIA), is explicit in this by announcing that among its tasks, is “to promote and administer ... cultural exchange programs in the national interest", i.e. rather than for merely the enrichment of culture.

Stimulus

A prelude to the new era

In the period between 1949 and 1972, China and the United States were isolated from each other. While the governments nurtured a strong negative image of the other country among its own citizens by repeated
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RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1998
https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794
Laurel and Hardy, who first teamed up in 1927 and made over 100 films together which came out 'fresh' every time, are other examples of comedians whose humour travelled well. Hong Kong's own martial arts expert and stunt man, Jackie Chan, sometimes dubbed 'Hong Kong's favourite son,' has become successful, both in the Far East and Hollywood, by combining Chinese kung fu and bits of slapstick.

Another good example is Mr Bean who, because he doesn't say anything, has no difficulty in getting his humour ‘across the Great Wall' and into countries in Asia. It is interesting that, to most British audiences, Bean is funny, foolish and unenviable in every way. He is the last person they would wish to work with or be associated with (Cairnes, 1998). The Japanese and many Asians, however, see him rather differently. They see Bean as a pathetic, lonely figure who deserves pity and would be fun to have around. Yet even he does not appear funny to everyone.

Visual, universal humour, such as the puppy licking the baby's ice-cream, has a much better chance of crossing frontiers, although the television series, America's funniest home movies, does not always receive the same reaction in countries outside the United States, and indeed not even by all Americans. As a group of Chinese and Britons discussing humour agreed: 'If you've seen one showing of America's funniest home movies you're seen them all.' In fact the reaction to these movies seems to be mixed. An American woman living in Hong Kong told the author that the humour was not subtle enough for her but her two children enjoyed these films. Other Americans, however, said they found them 'funny and relaxing'.

According to American Brent Ambacher, who was raised in Hong Kong and works as a part-time comedian, more and more Westerners today expect more sophisticated, 'highbrow' (sometimes termed 'three-dimensional') humour. This more profound variety should, as it were, embrace a ‘moral lesson.' This may depend on the cultural background and the awareness and intentions of the artiste. It may, for example, concentrate on slamming pomposity, condemning underhanded politics or corruption, or some other topical subject. Today's audiences often expect a comedian who is more 'civic minded,' who will deliver his act in a philosophical way and will give them something of substance to evoke deep afterthought. All this as opposed to the shallow
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