December 30, 2011

Another year comes to an end. It is the time of year to look back on the past and make plans for the future. For both the Centre as an organisation as well as the individuals within, major changes continue to take place in terms of teaching programmes and staffing as part of the curriculum reform in Hong Kong.

Gradually, the existing CCIV courses on Chinese Civilisation are phasing out, while new students have started taking the new GE Core Course ‘Chinese Civilisation—History and Philosophy’. Besides this core course which is compulsory for all new incoming undergraduates, the Centre has also designed nine other GE Courses on a wide range of subjects related to Chinese Civilisation.

The courses ‘Chinese Cultural Heritage in Modern Perspective’, ‘Chinese Cultural Canons and their Modern Application’, ‘Chinese Music Appreciation’, ‘Chinese Art Appreciation’, ‘The City in Chinese History and Culture’, ‘The Silk Road: A Pathway of Interactive Culture from the Ancient to the Modern World’ and ‘Women’s Lives in Chinese History’ have already been successfully launched.

Another two new courses will be offered starting from Semester B 2011/12: ‘Diseases, Culture and History: Hong Kong, China and the World’ and ‘Chan Culture and Contemporary Society.’

Besides the posts of Assisting Professors added not so long ago, the Centre has also newly appointed two Visiting Assistant Professors this year and if you look under ‘Current Openings’ on the Human Resources Office page of the City University of Hong Kong, you will notice that the Centre is seeking candidates for ‘Chair Professor/ Professor’.

While more changes are hanging in the air, the Centre can look back on a busy and successful year with many activities, including seminars, exhibitions, performances, operas and symposiums. One of the major highlights this year was the international conference on ceramics in May which many renowned experts from all over the world attended.

A vote of thanks is in place to our readers and contributors: your support is greatly appreciated. Enjoy the festive season and all the best for 2012!

NB: The next issue of our newsletter Nanfeng is due to come out soon and remember to pick up your copy of the new CCIV activities brochure (Sem B 2011/12) next month.

Written by: Audrey

December 20, 2011

Talking about tigers, there is another publication which carries the name of this ferocious animal in the title. The book Tiger Trap: America’s Secret Spy War with China by David Wise was published in June. I read about it via MCLC which posted the article ‘China’s Spies Are Catching Up’ by the same author, originally published in the New York Times [Source: NYT 12/10/11].

 The article starts with the paragraph: ‘In 1995, a middle-aged Chinese man walked into a CIA station in Southeast Asia and offered up a trove of secret Chinese documents. Among them was a file containing the top-secret design of the American W-88 nuclear warhead that sits atop the missiles carried by Trident submarines. He told the story to the CIA that was so bizarre it might just be true.’  

It is a type of introduction that makes you want to read on. What happened to the documents? What happened to the man? And why did he go to the CIA? But following up on last week’s post, it is the word ‘tiger’ that intrigued me and that I want to focus on here. Because why did Wise use ‘Tiger’ in the title?

There is an interview with the author on the internet where he explains that it comes from really two things: the code name of a case in his book about how the Chinese got the neutron bomb and secondly, it is the symbol of China. But if it is true that tiger stands for China then the term tiger cubs in the book last week seems to imply that all those young asians are descendants from China.

Written by: Audrey

December 12, 2011

In The Standard of 8 December 2011, Siu Sai-wo gives a review of the book Through the Eyes of Tiger Cubs: Views of Asia’s Next Generation in his daily column entitled ‘Fame and Fortune’. The book which was edited by Mark L. Clifford and Janet Pau of the Asia Business Council and published in November 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, contains excerpts of essays from the Asia’s Challenge 2020 essay contest. The essays written by young Asians offer analyses of topical issues such as education, inequality, population, environment, government administrations, geographical politics and the identity of being an Asian. 

Siu explains in his review: ‘The book refers to young Asians as tiger cubs, as they are brought up in a period when the Asian economy is undergoing an unprecedented boom. They are protected by their competitive parents, but are set to face the challenges of a modern-day jungle.’ This term ‘tiger cubs’ made me think of the offspring of those tiger moms but it could also derive from the ‘Four Asian Tigers’ which represents Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea, or better known as the ‘Four Asian Dragons’.

Siu thinks the book gives a good reflection of the values of Asian young elites and he recommends this book because it raises key social issues and proposes solutions from the perspective of the younger generation. In his opinion the leaders of Hong Kong should all read it because aren’t they forever stressing the importance of good communication with young people?

Written by: Audrey

December 8, 2011

In the new edition of Artmap there is an announcement of ‘Beauty & Entirety: Ceramics of the Song Dynasty from the Palace Museum’ with an image of a lovely bluish purple ceramic plate. This special exhibition is held at the Macao Museum of Art, or MAM. On the MAM website, there is more information about this collection. The introduction starts with ‘The Song Dynasty (960 – 1279) marks the most prosperous period of the Chinese culture, arts and technology, and thus sees the heyday of the Chinese ceramic industry and ceramic art.’

This goes on with specific details and characteristics of the collection, and there are also images of ceramic wares which you can click on for an enlarged version and a brief description. One of the most beautiful among the items is a white glazed bowl with Chinese characters. It says that ‘this bowl has a flared mouth, reduced in size from the mouth to the base. The bowl is supported by a ring foot and has been repeatedly fired. The mouth and foot are surrounded by gold-gilt banding. The exterior of the bowl is inscribed with a poem by Emperor Qianlong, from right to left.’

Assuming that this bowl is also Song porcelain, Qianlong must have added his poem centuries later, for he reigned from 1735 till 1796. Anyhow, the combination ‘Qianlong and poetry’ reminds me of old travel writing by the Dutch sinologist Henri Borel who visited the Summer Palace in the autumn of 1909. In his description of the ox of bronze, he writes: ‘Then I saw at the back an inscription in delicate Chinese characters, Imperial stanzas by the inspired Artist-Emperor Qianlong. And once more I thought how great an artist was Qianlong. With a god-like gesture he bestowed supreme art on splendid Peking. Reverentially I read the stanzas.’ It just says all.

Written by: Audrey

December 1, 2011

A new publication of Chinese literature in English translation is out. It is an English edition of People’s Literature and called Pathlight which intends ‘to cater to overseas readers with an interest in the latest trends and rising stars in China’s literary circle,’ says Li Jingze, editor-in-chief of People’s Literature and Pathlight.

But a magazine that is edited and published in China does make you wonder about the contents. According to the announcement on Xinhuanet.com  ‘Pathlight includes speeches and writings by five winners of this year’s Mao Dun Literature Prize, a prestigious Chinese literary award.’

These would include Zhang Wei, Liu Xinglong, Bi Feiyu, Mo Yan and Liu Zhenyu. But from the announcement on Paper Republic it is not clear which of them appear in this first issue of Pathlight, it only says that it features excerpts from longer works, short stories from avant-garde writers like Xiang Zuotie, and more traditional storytellers like the female novelist Di An. And there is also a story by Qi Ge.

If this makes you curious, you can contact Alice Xin Liu at alicexinliu@gmail.com, or directly order an issue from Amazon.cn.

Written by: Audrey