The Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS) just launched the very first research repository focusing on Guangdong literati and gentry, namely the Digital Repository of Rare Books, Calligraphy, and Paintings of Guangdong Literati and Gentry from the Ming Dynasty to the Republican Era. This Repository collects and showcases valuable collections of Guangdong cultural legacies in the Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and the CUHK library. It also compiles and presents the profiles of 100 significant personalities by encapsulating studies of a wide range of textual and visual materials. Through digitization and visualization of collected data, the Repository introduces a new perspective to the study of Guangdong literati and gentry from the Ming to the Republican times, serving as an incentive for interdisciplinary research and an important educational platform for promoting the culture of Guangdong to the global audience. To celebrate such remarkable milestone of Chinese studies, ICS hosted the three-day international conference on Lingnan Culture and the World in hybrid mode on 23–25 November, 2023.

In the new academic year, ICS is pleased to welcome 7 visiting scholars: Prof. Edward L. Shaughnessy from University of Chicago, supported by Jao Tsung-I Visiting Professor Scheme; Prof. Elena Valussi from Loyola University Chicago and Prof. Sabrina Rastelli from Ca’ Foscari University, both supported by Visiting Fellowship Programme; Prof. Deng Yanhua from Nanjing University, supported by Visiting Scholar Scheme in Modern China Studies; and Prof. Matthew Chin from University of Virginia, Prof. Adam Liu from National University of Singapore, and Prof. Wang Shengyu from Soochow University, all supported by Asia-Pacific Centre for Chinese

Studies’ Young Scholars Visiting Scheme.

To provide an opportunity for them to meet and interact with members of the Faculty of Arts, a Welcoming Reception was organized on 4 October 2023. Having been blessed with good weather, about 30 faculty members from various departments, including Fine Arts, History, Chinese Language and Literature, and the Centre of China Studies, joined the reception at the ICS courtyard.

Prof. Edward L. Shaughnessy – To Be Read as Written: Transcription Principles in the Treatment of Unearthed Documents

Prof. Edward Shaughnessy, Visiting Professor of “The Chinese University of Hong Kong Jao Tsung-I Visiting Professorship Scheme,” delivered his second public lecture titled “To Be Read as Written: Transcription Principles in the Treatment of Unearthed Documents” on 12 October 2023 at the User Education Room of University Library. The lecture was conducted in Putonghua and attracted over 80 participants. In the lecture, Prof. Shaughnessy pointed out that modern Chinese paleographers and textual critics tend to use methods such as “ancient-and-modern characters,” “loan characters,” “graphic mistakes,” etc., to transcribe excavated documents into

standard modern Chinese characters. He then provided ample examples to prove that those methods are not always proper. He suggested that it would be better to adopt a “practical and realistic” approach for the treatment of unearthed documents and “read the character as written.”

“Let the ruler be a ruler; the minister, a minister; the father, a father; the son, a son” is a proper description of the traditional Chinese social order, which means everyone performs his specific duties. However, in imperial families, where the emperor is both father and ruler and his children are also his subjects and ministers, family inheritance inevitably intertwines with the country's fate and thus raises complex issues. ICS was honoured to invite Mr. Ian Huen to deliver a series of five lectures on “The Politics of Emperors in Imperial China” every Friday evening from 3 November to 1 December 2023 at the User Education Room of University Library. Throughout the lectures, Mr. Huen drew on ideas from The Art of War to analyse four representative historical cases of imperial succession and explore how Chinese traditional wisdom inspires modern family inheritance. The lecture series attracted around 80 participants.

Co-organized by the Research Centre for Contemporary Chinese Culture of the Institute of Chinese Studies at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and Hok Hoi Library, with the support from Bei Shan Tang Foundation, the “Hok Hoi Library and Chinese Studies in Hong Kong” Seminar was successfully held on 13 October 2023 at Cho Yiu Hall, CUHK. The Seminar invited 13 scholars from leading institutions in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Singapore to discuss the inheritance of Chinese culture in Hong Kong and to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Hok Hoi Library.

 

“The Second Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao Postgraduate Forum on Chinese Studies: Theoretical Forefront and Practical Explorations in Chinese Linguistics” was held on 17–18 November 2023 at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). The event was organized by the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at CUHK and co-organized by the School of Chinese Language and Literature at Beijing Normal University (BNU), the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at University of Macau (UM), and T. T. Ng Chinese Language Research Centre, Institute of Chinese Studies at CUHK. It was also part of the 60th Anniversary celebration of the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at CUHK. A total of 12 postgraduate students from the three universities gave presentations (including Luo Qinqin, Wong Kam Pang, Zeng Xiuwei, and Zheng Zixin from CUHK; Liu Xinyao, Tian Haiding, Wang Bo, and Zhu Guangxin from BNU; and Cong Guanliang, Dai Yuyin, Dong Wenqi, and Lin Nuoyi from UM), with 5 professors serving as moderators (including Prof. Deng Dun, Prof. Kwok Bit Chee, and Prof. Sun Yenan from CUHK; Prof. Zhang Weijia from BNU; and Prof. Zhang Jingwei from UM) and providing on-site comments.

Prof. Franco Yuen, a maestro in Cantonese Opera, became a disciple of renowned Cantonese Opera performer Mr. Mak Bing- Wing at the age of seven. Prof. Yuen is also an expert in Naamyam, a type of Cantonese narrative singing, as well as one of the few opera artists who can perform in different fields. ICS is honoured to invite Prof. Yuen to deliver a series of ten weekly lectures on “The Inheritance of Naamyam” from 25 January to 28 March 2024 at Room 304 of HYS, CUHK. Throughout the lectures, participants will gain exposure to the fundamental knowledge of Naamyam, enjoy singing demonstrations, and learn various singing techniques.

The “CUHK-UChicago Workshop on Syntax and Semantics” organized by the T.T. Ng Chinese Language Research Centre of ICS and co-organized by the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at CUHK will be held on 4–5 March 2024 at CUHK. For the details of the Workshop, please visit https://www.cuhk.edu.hk/ics/clrc/.