December 30, 2010

On the front cover of the latest newsletter (no. 1 of 2011) of the Hong Kong Museum of Art there is an image of a hand holding Aphrodite against the background of the Louvre. This represents the exhibition ‘Touching Art: Louvre’s Sculptures in Movement’. The museum invites visitors to come and touch the sculptures to ‘have a tactile encounter with art and to feel the shape, composition and texture of these sculptures by touching with your hands and feeling with your heart.’

It is hard to believe that you can actually touch these relics. You can because they are not the real ones. As the description tells us ’18 pieces of replicas of famous sculpture and relief dated from 2nd century BC to the 19th century AD from the Louvre Museum, made through 3D laser readings and then made of resin or plaster and are finished to look like either marble or bronze, including the ancient Greek Goddess ‘Venus de Milo’ and ‘The Rebel Slave’ by Michelangelo will be featured.’

Even though the sculptures are not authentic, it sounds like a good experience to go and touch them as museums usually create a distance between visitors and art. The exhibition is on until 20 February 2011. For more information on this exhibition and other events, you may get the brochure (there are some copies available at the CCIV) or visit the website here [http://hk.art.museum].

Written by: Audrey

December 21, 2010

Today and tomorrow ‘The First International Symposium on Intellectual Thought and Scholarship in East Asia: Zhang Taiyan and Late Qing Chinese Scholarschip’ is held at the City University of Hong Kong. Speakers at the symposium will share their views on intellectual thought and scholarship in late imperial China, with a focus on Zhang Taiyan and his works in particular. Perhaps better known as Zhang Binglin (1868-1936), Zhang was a Chinese philologist, linguist, philosopher and anti-Manchu revolutionary.

As explained on the website (see link below), the discussion at the symposium will include issues such as how Chinese scholars encountered Western civilisation in the late Qing, the role of Japan in the East-West encounter in China, the influence of the May Fourth Movement on modernizing scholarship in China, and other relevant historical events. In this context, Zhang Binglin played an important role as ‘his works constitute a kind of comprehensive conglomeration of learning both modern and traditional, from East and West, encompassing both Late Qing China and Meiji-era Japan.’

The symposium is organized by the Department of Chinese, Translation and Linguistics, City University of Hong Kong, and co-organizer is UTCP, The University of Tokyo Centre for Philosophy. More information about the speakers and the schedule can be found on the website (http://zhangtaiyan.ctl.cityu.edu.hk/ZTY_index.html).

Written by: Audrey

December 17, 2010

A few days ago the City Section of the South China Morning Post carried an article about an unopened pottery museum in Wun Yiu Village, Tai Po. According to the article the museum was completed in 2007 but it has not yet opened its doors to the public. The reason given by the Antiquities and Monuments Office is that villagers demanded improvement of roads leading to the museum and construction of parking spaces and toilets.

Villager Ma Ka-shun who was involved in the exacavation of relics there in the 1990s, however, puts the blame on the delay in small-house applications which villagers had submitted. He said: ‘The government does not give the site proper interpretation, nor does it want people to build houses on it. But there is no other space for them.’ The problem is that part of the area was declared ‘a monument’ and a conservation plan included change of land use and compensation for loss.

Whatever the case, it is too bad that something that is ready lies idle while visitors to the Fan Sin Temple and nearby sites walk past it without having access to it. It has important historical value, as the article explains: ‘The Man and Tse clans started porcelain production with wood-fired kilns in Wun Yiu in the 1430s during the Ming dynasty, employing hundreds of workers and exporting products, mostly domestic utensils, to Southeast Asia. The Ma clan later took over the five-hectare site, and the industry thrived until the 1930s.’

It seems that all those involved accuse each other and at the end of the day nothing is done. Of course, ancient heritage in Wun Yiu is not high on the priority list, therefore this may drag on indefinitely.

Written by: Audrey

December 10, 2010

The announcement for the Sixth City Literary Awards has been published. This year the theme is: Hong Kong Cityscape Embraced in Mountains and Seas, encouraging participants to reflect on their life in the city surrounded by mountains and seas. The competition is open to young residents of Hong Kong and Macao and the deadline for submission of poems, short stories, essays and critical writing is 28 January 2011.

As usual the winners will be selected by a panel of renowned literary figures and they will be announced at the literary festival to be held in April 2011. The event is hosted by the CSC, CCIV and CTL of City University, in collaboration with the HKADC and Macao Foundation. For more details, you may visit the website of City Literary Festival (in Chinese).

Written by: Audrey

December 3, 2010

Earlier this week the International Conference on Globalized Knowledge: World Literature and World Civilisation was held at CityU. It was organized by the Department of Chinese, Translation & Linguistics and sponsored by the Drs Richard Charles & Esther Yewpick Lee Charitable Foundation.

Questions central to the conference were ‘How do we study the various literary traditions of the world? How many regions can we divide the globalized knowledge we propose to study? How much of each of the traditions can be realistically included in a manageable form of presentation or curriculum? What are the points of convergence or divergence and how do we connect them in the globalized framework?’

One of the papers I found interesting was the one by Dr Linder on ‘Applied World Literature: Goethe’s East-West Divan, the Tradition of Nachdichtung, and Inter-cultural Studies.’ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) introduced the term Weltliteratur and he made use of foreign cultures in his own work, among which the collection West-oesterlichen Divan is the most prominent.

The Divan is a collection of lyrical poems inspired by the fourteenth-century Persian poet Hafiz. This work is significant because it is not a strictly linguistic translation but it is close enough to Hafiz to call it ‘Nachdichtung’. It is a clear case of so-called ‘cultural transfer.’ At the same time it is an exchange and Goethe brought together the Orient and Occident.

By sharing her findings Dr Linder has further connected Goethe and Hafiz in the globalized framework which will enhance the knowledge of the various literary traditions of the world and help us reflect on the impact of cultural transfer.

Written by: Audrey