潘淑華
香港中文大學歷史系

“‘The West’ in the Eyes and in the Mind of a Magistrate of Guangdong’s County in the Late Qing”

Speaker: Prof. Qiu Jie

China and European Philosophers in 17th &18th Centuries: China’s Role in the Formation of Modern European Disenchanted World-view

Speaker: Prof. Lau Kwok Ying

The Opening Ceremony of "The Bei Shan Tang Legacy: Chinese Painting" was held on 20 September 2019. The officiating guests included Dr. Chien LEE (Chairman of the Bei Shan Tang Foundation), Prof. Rocky S. TUAN (Vice-Chancellor and President, CUHK), Prof. Harold MOK (Emeritus Professor, Department of Fine Arts, CUHK), Mr. Christopher MOK (Chairman of the Advisory Committee of the Art Museum, CUHK), Prof. LAI Chi Tim (Acting Director of the Institute of Chinese Studies, CUHK), Prof. YIU Chun Chong Josh (Director of the Art Museum, CUHK) and Dr. HO Ka Yi (Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Fine Arts, CUHK, and curator of the exhibition).

The symposium, divided into a morning and an afternoon sessions, was held on 16 October at L1, Institute of Chinese Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Ten topics were presented by nine speakers, namely (in the order of presentation sequence): LEE Wun Sze Sylvia (Assistant Professor, Department of Chinese and History, CityU), NG Sau Wah Sarah (Research Assistant Professor, Academy of Visual Arts, HKBU), HO Ka Yi (Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Fine Arts, CUHK), JIANG Fangting (Postdoctoral Fellow, Art Museum, CUHK), CHAN Kwun Nam Phil (Research-Assistant Curator (Painting & Calligraphy), Art Museum, CUHK), MOK Kar Leung Harold (Emeritus Professor, Department of Fine Arts, CUHK), CHEN Fong Fong (Senior Officer (Special Collections),  Lee Shau Kee Library, UST), CHUI Lisa L. S. (Senior Tutor, Department of Chinese and History, CityU) and CHEUNG Ngai Yee (Director, Bei Shan Tang Foundation). The morning session attracted an attendance of 79 and the afternoon session attracted an attendance of 86.

The guided tour and the public lecture, both held on 16 August (Friday), took place at Gallery IV, Art Museum, and at Activities Room, 2/F, East Wing, Art Museum, respectively. They were delivered and led by Mr. Daniel Chan, an expert of antique Chinese furniture. Examples of eighteenth- to twentieth-century Chinese furniture with Western design elements were introduced through the talk and the tour, which were attended by a total of 82 participants.

The August lecture series was held on 16 August (Friday) at L1, Institute of Chinese Studies, in two parts. The first lecture, titled “Figure Paintings of Ren Bonian”, was delivered by ZHOU Jin (Associate Professor, Department of Fine Arts, CUHK). The second lecture, titled “Xu Beihong’s Portrait of Ren Bonian”, was delivered by Chan Fong Fong (PhD, Department of Fine Arts, CUHK). A total of 74 participants attended the first talk and 61 participants joined the second.

“Learn.Play.Fun” workshops were held by the Art Museum on Saturdays from June to August at Gallery II & III, as well as Foyer and Activities Room at the East Wing of the Art Museum. By means of guided tours, handicraft and games, the workshops aim at deepening the participants’ understanding of the Shanghai school master, Ren Bonian, whose works were featured in the exhibition, “Strokes of Wonder: Figure Painting by Ren Bonian from the National Art Museum of China”. The two public sessions on 29 June (Saturday) and 6 July (Saturday) had attracted 57 participants in total; while the 7 sessions by group reservation boasted a total attendance of 167.

Two bite-size “Art Hit” guided tours were led by Prof. Josh Yiu, Director of the Art Museum, at Gallery II & III, Art Museum on 5 July (Friday) and 16 August (Friday). They attracted 43 participants in total. During one of the tours, one participant presented her paintings which imitate Ren Bonaian’s art pieces. Her enthusiasm for Chinese painting is remarkable.

Chinese ancient chains made of precious metals are beautifully produced, but researches on their techniques are rare. “Ancient Chinese Gold Techniques” is a collaborative research project of the Art Museum of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Master Studio of Chow Tai Fook and other institutions. This pioneering multidisciplinary approach has helped recover several major ancient techniques.

The workshop, which was one of the deliverables of the research project, was divided into two sections. It began with a brief lecture by Dr. Sam Tong, Postdoctoral Fellow of the Art Museum, on the techniques of precious metal chain making in ancient China and how they reflect China’s cultural exchanges with other Eurasian regions. It was followed by a demonstration by Mr. Andy Tsang, an expert of jewelry production at Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Co., Ltd. Participants made silver bracelets using the recovered ancient method under the instruction of Mr. Tsang. With the 20 quotas filled in no time upon release, the two workshops were held on 14 July and 20 July at LOUPE, PMQ.

The Art Museum and Deyin Qin Society co-organised the “Autumn Guqin Concert” on 4 October (Friday) at Gallery I, attracting an audience of over 100. The ground floor and the stairs leading to the 1/F of the gallery were filled with members of audience. Everyone enjoyed the concert very much. Before the concert, a special guided tour was led by Dr. Ho Ka Yi, curator of the “The Bei Shan Tang Legacy: Chinese Painting” exhibition, offering visitors a deeper look into the art and the historical background of Chinese painting.

At the orientation held on 15 October (Tuesday) at Activities Room, 2/F, East Wing, Art Museum, twenty-five university students selected as the new Art Museum Ambassadors were warmly welcomed by Prof. Josh Yiu, Director of the Art Museum. The students engaged in a lively and enthusiastic conversation with Prof. Yiu about the future development of the Art Museum and exchanged their ideas on the Art Museum Ambassador Scheme.

The “Learn.Play.Fun (Chinese Painting)” workshop was developed alongside the exhibition “The Bei Shan Tang Legacy: Chinese Painting” to educate the public about Chinese paintings through tours, games and handicraft work. The series of workshops are running from October to December, with two public sessions and five for group reservation held so far, serving 36 and 166 participants respectively. A total of 202 people from different walks of life participated in the workshops as of October 2019.

The Research Programme for Chinese Archaeology and Art of the Art Museum invited  Prof. Yao Zhihui (School of History, Zhengzhou University) to offer a public lecture titled “Fire Gilding and Gold Inlay in Bronze Age”. The lecture was held on 11 October (Friday) at L1, Institute of Chinese Studies of CUHK attracting an audience of 60.

The Research Programme for Chinese Archaeology and Art of the Art Museum organised a public lecture titled “China and the Wider World: Art and Material Culture of the Qin and Han Dynasties” delivered by Dr. Sun Zhixin, Jason, Brooke Russell Astor Curator of Chinese Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The lecture was held on 28 October 14 (Monday) at LT2, Esther Lee Building, with an audience of around 40.

Special Mention:

CUI Wendong (Department of Chinese and History, City University of Hong Kong)

“Translation, Nation, and Gender: Cultural Adaptations in Short Stories Translated by the Late-Qing Writer Tang Hongfu”, Bulletin of the Institute of Chinese Literature and Philosophy, No. 50 (March 2017, published in March 2018), pp. 1–35.

There are no winners for the standard awards.

Between July and October 2019, the Universities Service Centre for China Studies (USC) organised 7 luncheon seminars on topics of minorities, health care reform, urbanization, rural development, cross-strait relations, and labour rights, etc. The seminars attracted almost 200 participants, including local, Mainland and overseas undergraduates and postgraduates, scholars from various academic institutions, journalists, staff of non-governmental organizations, and members of the general public. Many insightful comments and questions were raised during the discussion sessions.

On 31 October, the centre and the Department of Government and Public Administration jointly organised a public lecture entitled “The Alienation of Enlightenment: The May 4th Centennial Festival”, which was delivered by the renowned scholar, Professor Qin Hui.

Since the reform and opening up, China’s economy has boomed along with social progress, achievements which have drawn the world’s attention. However, the transformation of the economy and social structure has created all kinds of conflicts and problems. Since 2013, the Chinese government has repeatedly stressed the will to eradicate poverty, to improve people’s livelihood, and to gradually achieve common prosperity. This involves the implementation of related policies to promote social development. China’s decision-making policy is a collaborative effort among government, academia, think tanks, and the target group, in which academics and think tanks play an essential and irreplaceable role.

To promote academic exchanges and policy researches, the Universities Service Centre for China Studies of the Chinese University of Hong Kong has organized a series of seminars on Chinese Society and Policy. The theme of the fifth meeting is “Retrospective and Prospective of China’s Education System”, which was held on 23 July 2019. We invited eight speakers from Mainland China and overseas, as well as Hong Kong–based scholars, who brought a more global and comparative dimension to discuss the current situation and future of Chinese society. They engaged in a dialogues with experts and general public on how to improve China’s education system and policy with respect to the coverage of vulnerable groups, such as rural students, etc.

USC has been organising the documentary screening series “Reminiscence” since January 2016. The series aims at promoting documentaries on contemporary China, with a focus on folk history and real personages. On 20 September 2019, USC held a film screening event, China Gate, under Reminiscence Documentary Screening Series. Around 70 viewers joined this event.

Since October 2019, USC and the Hong Kong-America Center co-organised a film screening series, Assignment China, which was produced by the U.S.-China Institute at the University of Southern California on the history of American correspondents in China from 1945 to the present day. Written and narrated by former CNN Beijing Bureau Chief and Senior Asia Correspondent Mike Chinoy, Assignment China is a vivid introduction to 70 years of political, economic and social changes through the eyes of the reporters who covered the country.

The first screening, China Watching, was held on 23 October and the second screening, The Week That Changed the World, was held on 6 November. The event also included a very productive dialogue with director Mike Chinoy.

• Journal of Chinese Studies, no.69
• Twenty-First Century Bimonthly (Issue 174, August 2019)
• Twenty-First Century Bimonthly (Issue 175, October 2019)
• Lee Iu Cheong: A Gardener of Hong Kong
• The Bei Shan Tang Legacy: Chinese Painting

Editor : Lai Chi-tim
Member : Heung Ting-ting