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RESEARCH

of pH and salinity values in fresh-water fish culture; settlement patterns and population changes in Hakka villages; rice soil classification with special reference to hydraulic conductivity and salinity factors; and the analysis of conditions controlling the economic geography of China. Work also continued on the petrology of the igneous rocks of Hong Kong; the eutectic fusion points of local clay mixtures; structural fracturing and faulting of the Kowloon Peninsula; and a preliminary investigation of ground water resources. The University archaeological team continued throughout the year their studies of local sites.

Projects in the Department of History included work in the fields of Chinese, Japanese and south-east Asian history. The main subjects of research were the history of Chinese relations with Yunnan during the Tang period and the ethnic problems connected with the State of Nanchao; Chinese and Indian in- fluences on early south-east Asian government systems; British policy -in Borneo in the late nineteenth century; documentary sources illustrating China's external relations in the late Ching period; British policy in China between 1894 and 1902; the role of the dominions in Anglo-Japanese relations; the early history of the Communist movement in China; modern Sino-Japanese relations; and aspects of south-east Asian history since 1870.

The Department of Modern Languages carried out research and published books and articles in two main fields: dialectology and 'creolization' in Asia; and the modern French novel, with special reference to novels with an Asian setting.

In the Department of Philosophy research continued on the foundations of the social sciences and on problems of bilingualism. Studies on the sociology of the cinema and on the foundations of psychology were conducted, as were comparative studies in the psychology of personality.

The Institute of Modern Asian Studies, established in April 1960 to serve as a focus and centre of information for all work in the University in this field undertook research during the year in China's economic development with particular emphasis on the role of Soviet aid and such basic industries as steel, power and petroleum. In addition, the Institute brings out an annual publication, Con- temporary China, which contains, in part, research findings of its staff members.