April 27, 2010

Yesterday the colourful brochure on the ‘Chinese Opera Festival’ caught my eye. A series of opera events include opera performances, lectures, seminars, exhibitions, symposium etc, spread over the 48 days of the Festival. Just recently I introduced the play The Peony Pavilion by sixteenth-century playwright Tang Xianzu, as part of the GE Course on Chinese Cultural Canons and their Modern Application, and we talked about the scenes which are still performed on stage today by professional Kunqu opera groups. For those interested, forthcoming performances of this romantic comedy are scheduled for 22 and 23 June 2010, at the Concert Hall, Hong Kong City Hall.

The Chinese Opera Festival is organized and sponsored by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, see programme details on LCSD website.

Written by: Audrey

April 19, 2010

While preparing my essay for ‘In the Backyard’, the last page of CCIV’s Newsletter Nanfeng, I got distracted by the meaning of this word ‘backyard’. For the newsletter it is of course an expression that refers to matters or people ‘within the Centre’. But literally or originally a backyard refers to the ‘area at the back of a house’. Although for Hong Kong people, it may not be common to have a backyard, but if you do have one, it may be surprising to find some interesting things there, e.g. in our backyard some old porcelain shards can be found in between the shrubs and bamboo trees. 

Wun Yiu is claimed to be the only place in Hong Kong where you can find remnants of a kiln that produced qinghua porcelain from the fourteenth till early twentieth century. If you manage your way through the bushes (minding the snakes) behind the house up the hill, there is this small temple: Fan Sin Kung 樊仙宮. Declared a monument by the Antiquities Authority in 1999, the temple is said to have been built by the Ma clan to worship Fan Tai Sin Sze, the patron saint of potters. The temple, which was partly destroyed and restored several times, dates back to the gengxu year of the reign of Emperor Qianlong, i.e. 1790, according to the wooden plaque above the entrance.

Have you ever checked out your own backyard? If you look beyond Hong Kong’s sky scrapers and the many malls, you will discover more Chinese culture than you would expect and it is worth to go out and explore…

Written by: Audrey

April 12, 2010

The two young scholars from the Mainland who came here on the Centre’s invitation have just completed three months of research in Hong Kong. It is part of a programme to enhance scholarly exchange and to give young scholars access to the wealth of material available in Hong Kong. Upon arrival the scholars have to share their plans and ideas and before returning home they have to report on their progress and gains. Although I am a layman when it comes to the aspects of Buddhism which the scholars were analysing, the questions and discussions that followed did give guidance more in general about doing research, e.g. narrow down your subject, give some clear definitions from the start. These things seem very basic but essential to pay attention to. One of the scholars”” remarks that struck me was that during the months here he had finally had time to reflect on the research he was doing and what direction he was going. That is a good reminder when you are busy.

Written by: Audrey