RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1969 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/9g553n20d 12 T. C. CHENG uneventful one, and he was noted for his co-operative attitude towards Government policies. This at least had the merit of demonstrating that no hazard was likely to result from having a Chinese representative permanently on the Legislative Council. When his six-year term was up in 1890, he asked not to be re-appointed, and a very prominent "local boy", Dr. Ho Kai (later Sir Kai Ho Kai) succeeded him. Dr. Ho Kai, born in Hong Kong in 1859, was the fourth son of the Rev. Ho Tsun-shin (alias Ho Fuk-tong) of the London Missionary Society. Having studied Chinese for several years, he was admitted to Class 4 of the Central School in 1870 at the age of 12. He was an extremely clever and hardworking boy for, according to the school record, he was already in Class 1, the top form, in September 1871. He completed his studies at the Central School the following year, and proceeded to Palmer House School, Margate, England. From there he entered St. Thomas' Medical and Surgical College and received the degrees of Bachelor of Medicine and Master of Surgery from the University of Aberdeen in 1879. In the same year, he was admitted as a member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England by examination. He then turned to the study of law and was admitted to Lincoln's Inn in May 1879. He was Senior Equity Scholar, Lincoln's Inn, in 1881 in which year he passed the finals with flying colours and also married a charming English girl, Alice, the eldest daughter of the late John Walkden of Blackheath. On his return to Hong Kong in 1882 with his newly-wedded wife, he first practised medicine but was unsuccessful, because the Chinese at that time were not prepared to avail themselves of western medical treatment unless it was offered free. He then turned to the Bar and since 1882 had practised as a barrister in Hong Kong. Until his death in 1914, Dr. Ho Kai rendered his services freely and ungrudgingly to the Hong Kong community. For many years he was a valuable member of many important committees, including the Standing Law Committee, the Public Works Committee, the Examination Board, the Medical Board, the Sanitary Board, the Po Leung Kuk Committee, the Tung Wah Hospital Advisory Committee, the District Watch Force Committee, the Architects' Advisory Board and the Advisory Committee of the Hong Kong Technical Institute. For 26 years he was a Justice of the Peace and for 25 years he represented the Chinese community on the ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1972 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/gm80qf99h 144 LINDA F. SULLIVAN must build a shelter from the natural world. Yet as he builds, he is always careful to consider the way in which nature will affect his life and is careful to bring a little bit of it into his home. Finally, there is a persistent desire to maintain the privacy of his family, and of his inner thoughts. NOTES 1 George B. Cressey, China's Geographic Foundations, A Survey of the Land and Its People, (New York: McGraw-Hill Co., Inc., 1934), p. 12. 2 T. R. Tregear, A Geography of China, (London: University of London Press, 1965), p. 31. 3 Ibid., p. 211. 4 The reasons for vertical cleavage in the loess region are as yet only hypotheses. Tregear (p. 212.) states that the most probable theory is that originally the region was covered with steppe grass which was successively buried by the loess dust storms from the Northwest and then fresh grass would grow. The decayed grass left minute vertical hollow tubes in the soil along which cleavages were formed. 5 Ibid., p. 61. 6 Liu Tun-chen, A General Discussion of Chinese Houses, (People's Republic of China: Architectural Engineering Publishing Company, 1957), plate No. 1-8, p. 11-16. 7 Bulletin of the Society for Research in Chinese Architecture, (V, 1). * Liu, Op. cit., plate No. 56, p. 29. 9 Ibid., plate No. 93, p. 42. 10 Ibid., plate No. 73, p. 36. 11 Ibid., plate No. 45, p. 25. 12 Ibid., plate No. 44, p. 25. 13 Ibid., plate No. 69, p. 35. 14 Ibid., plate No. 71, p. 36. 15 Colin Penn, "Chinese Vernacular Architecture," Royal Institute of British Architects, October, 1965. 16 Ibid. 17 Hsieh T'ing-yu and Kuo Ch'ang-ch'eng, The Hakka Chinese Origin and Folk Songs, (San Francisco: Jade Mountain Press, 1969). Their 18 Chinese Architecture: A Simple History, Volume 1, The Old Architecture of China: A Simple History, (China Industrial Publishing Company, 1963). 19 Ibid., plate No. 105, p. 45. 20 Ibid., plate No. 118, p. 48ff. 21 Ibid., plate No. 119 & 120, p. 48ff. 22 Maurice Freedman, Chinese Lineage and Society: Fukien and Kwang-tung, (New York: Humanities Press, Inc., 1966), p. 1. Jaco 23 Wong Chung Hong, "Walled and Moated A Hong Kong Village," Arts of Asia, Vol. No. 4, July-August 1971, p. 22. 24 Ibid., p. 26. 25 Ibid. Page 150 Page 151 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1972 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/gm80qf99h TRADITIONAL CHINESE REGIONAL ARCHITECTURE BIBLIOGRAPHY 145 Bulletin of the Society for Research in Chinese Architecture. V, 1. Chinese Architecture: A Simple History. Volume 1: The Old Architecture of China: A Simple History. China Industrial Publishing Company, 1963. Boyd, Andrew. Chinese Architecture and Town Planning (1500 B.C. · A.D. 1911). London, 1962. Cressey, George Babcock. China's Geographic Foundations: A Survey of the Land and Its People, New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1934. Freedman, Maurice. Chinese Lineage and Society: Fukien and Kwangtung. New York: Humanities Press, Inc., 1966. Gutkind, E. A. Revolution of Environment. London: Broadway House, 1946. Hsieh, Ting-yu and Kuo, Ch'ang-ch'eng. The Hakka Chinese-Their Origin and Folk Songs. San Francisco: Jade Mountain Press, 1969. Kulp, Daniel H. Country Life in South China: The Society of Familism. Volume 1: Phenix Village, Kwangtung, China, New York: 1925, Liu Tun-chen. A General Discussion of Chinese Houses. (PAREMM). People's Republic of China: Architectural Engineering Publishing Company, 1957. Penn, Colin. "Chinese Vernacular Architecture." Royal Institute of British Architects. October, 1965. Skinner, William. "Chinese Domestic Architecture." Review of Liu Tun-chen, A Short Study of the Chinese House. Royal Institute of British Architects. November, 1957. Smith, Arthur H. Village Life in China: A Study in Sociology. Fleming H. Revell, Co., 1899. Ta Chen, Emigrant Communities in South China: A Study of Overseas Migration and Its Influence on Standards of Living and Social Change. New York: 1940. Tregear, T. R. A Geography of China. London: University of London Press, 1965. Wong Chung Hong. "Walled and Moated-A Hong Kong Village." Arts of Asia. Vol. I, No. 4, July-August 1971. Wu, Nelson I. Chinese and Indian Architecture. New York: George Braziller, 1967. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1993 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/66833t302 131 diary, Lowson recorded that Dr. Atkinson, who succeeded Dr. Ayres as Colonial Surgeon later, went on leave on that day, leaving him with an address in England. It was because of Atkinson's absence that Lowson found himself in Atkinson's position as second-in-command in the early phase of the Epidemic. It is not known until recently that Dr. Lowson had kept a diary. To tell you how the diary was brought to light, I have to take you up to Caine Lane which is below Caine Road on the mid-level of Hong Kong Island. There stands an old building of typical neo-classical design which was built in 1905. Used by the Department of Health as a storage depot in recent years, it was formerly the Government Pathological Institute. Having decided to declare it as a historic building for preservation in 1990, the Government further agreed to turn it over to the Hong Kong College of Pathologists to convert it into the Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences. By this transformation, to quote from the Introduction in a brochure prepared by the architects, the idea that 'matching history with the appropriateness of building function lends relevance and a sense of continuity,' is realised. To launch an appeal for donations, Professor Faith Ho of the Department of Pathology, University of Hong Kong and President of the Hong Kong College of Pathologists, gave an interview to the South China Morning Post. The article, which appeared on February 13th, 1993, came to the notice of Mrs. Frances Ashburner, a grand-daughter of Dr. Lowson, now living in Australia. She then had the diary photographed in microfiche and sent it to Professor Ho, who kindly gave me a copy. I have to thank both Professor Ho and Mrs. Ashburner for permission to present and publish this paper. Before we open the diary, we should take a look at the book itself which is also of historic interest. It was printed and published by Kelly and Walsh, the oldest bookshop in Hong Kong, now still in business in Prince's Building. The title on the cover reads: "The Imperial English and Chinese Almanac for 1894, being the 57th and 58th year of the Reign of H.M. Queen Victoria and the 20th and 21st years of the Kuang-Hsu Reign. No. 1, Price One Dollar, Interleaved with Blotting Paper." The first thing that struck me when I turned the pages of the diary was the handwriting which was bad, uneven and untidy. Some words, written in bold and large letters were undecipherable. The impression I got was that most of the entries were made by Lowson at the end of a long day. Page 150 Page 151 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-2000 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/nk328168n 231 THE HKBRAS VOLUNTEERS DAN WATERS The RAS Volunteers really began in the summer of 1991 when a meeting was held over lunch in a restaurant in Wan Chai. This was attended by Professor David Lung, Chairman of the Antiquities Advisory Board, Mr Alex Yip, then Executive Secretary of the Antiquities and Monuments Office, and Dr Dan Waters, Council member of the HKBRAS. Leading on from there, volunteers were invited from among HKBRAS members and from the membership of the Hong Kong Institute of Architects. The response was reasonably good and some 20 odd members, from both societies, submitted their names. The first get-together and briefing was held in May 1992, in the old Museum of History in Kowloon Park. Those present included historians, architects, surveyors, a civil engineer, lawyers, and others, many with a wealth of local experience. In addition, there were a few members who were interested and just wanted to tag along, help where they could, and learn something in the process. At that first briefing, the Volunteers were split into four or so groups and the intention was for each group to operate independently. Assignments were provided by the Antiquities and Monuments Office and generally consisted of inspecting, surveying, researching, and writing up reports on various buildings, both Chinese and Western. Preparatory work was carried out for consideration by the Antiquities Advisory Board concerning the grading of buildings and the Volunteers made recommendations. The research frequently necessitated visits to the Public Records Office, libraries, and similar institutions. Although a great deal of useful work was undertaken, progress was not entirely satisfactory. With a group consisting of, say, four persons, there was sometimes difficulty in agreeing dates when all participants could meet. Then, on the agreed date, possibly there were some who did not turn up. Because of such factors, enthusiasm and numbers of Volunteers unfortunately gradually dwindled. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-2000 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/nk328168n 232 In 1997 the RAS Volunteers were "reactivated," this time without the help of the Hong Kong Institute of Architects. There were, however, a few RAS Volunteers who were surveyors or architects who were also members of the Institute of Architects. When operating, this second time around, all members stayed together as a single, large group. In this way it was easier to maintain enthusiasm. RAS members Bill Greaves and Bob Horsnell, both of whom are very experienced Chartered Surveyors and local historians, have in the main led the Volunteers, although other experienced members have occasionally assisted. One such person is Tim Ko, a local historian with a wealth of knowledge regarding military history. Our grateful thanks are extended to all our leaders. Buildings inspected, researched and reported upon have been wide and varied. They have included churches and religious buildings, military installations such as old gun emplacements, terraces and odd buildings such as a pawnshop on Johnston Road. A few Volunteers assisted Dr Solomon Bard with the Tai Fu Tai Garden archaeological excavation in the summer of 2001. Your Branch is grateful to all RAS Volunteers, both past and present, who have contributed in any way towards making the work undertaken by the Volunteers a success. Indeed, believing that one volunteer is worth 10 pressed men, it has been described by one or two Council members as one of the most meaningful ventures our Branch has undertaken. We are also grateful to a few non-RAS members who have helped the Volunteers on occasions together with a few members of the Royal Geographical Society who have provided support. Key: JHKBRAS = Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society JHKBRAS, Vol. 31, 1991; and Vol. 32, 1992, both pp. xi. JHKBRAS, Vol. 33, 1993, p. xiii. JHKBRAS, Vol. 34, 1994, p. xi: This was not the first time our Branch had assisted the AMO. A joint photographic exhibition was mounted in 1995/96, see JHKBRAS, Vol. 35, 1995, pp. xiii-xiv. JHKBRAS, Vol. 38, 1998-99, Appendix D, p. xxv. Page 270 Page 271 ================================================================================