Professor Frank Dikötter Discovers New Insights into the Cultural Revolution and Modern China

Chair Professor of Humanities Frank Dikötter in an interview with the Bulletin discusses his latest book The Cultural Revolution: A People’s History 1962-1976, in which he has drawn on archival work on the period of the Cultural Revolution to pull the roots of modern China into the light.

“The punchline is, the people are as usual far ahead of their own government. The people are the true architects of economic reforms, not Deng Xiaoping.”

See the full article on Bulletin October 2016 (Vol. 18 No. 1) here:
http://www4.hku.hk/pubunit/Bulletin/ebook_2016Oct(18.1)/#25-26

Dr James Fichter Examines the Myth of Tea as a Symbol of Protest in the American Revolution

Dr James Fichter, Associate Professor from the European Studies Programme of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures, has done an interview with The University of Hong Kong Bulletin on his research in the symbolic value of tea in the history of American independence for a book in progress Tea’s Party: The Politics of Tea in the American Revolution, 1773–1776.

“The tea boycott was symbolic but stupid. They were just depriving themselves of the tea that they owned. People moved to more satisfying symbols of protest, but the idea of tea as a symbol has endured.”

See the full article on Bulletin October 2016 (Vol. 18 No. 1) here:
http://www4.hku.hk/pubunit/Bulletin/ebook_2016Oct(18.1)/#49-50

Language Matters: Dr Lisa Lim Investigates the Etymology of ‘Tea’

18 November 2016 (Friday) – online

Dr Lisa Lim, Associate Professor in the School of English, discusses the origins of the various names people use to refer to tea in her fortnightly Post Magazine column: Language Matters.

“Walk into a branch of a global coffee-house chain and order a chai tea. Wait – you’re actually saying ‘tea tea’. The origins of these two words for the same drink reflect diverse trade routes and the transmission of tea-drinking culture.”

Please click on the following link for the complete article:
http://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/2046896/tea-and-etymology-where-your-cuppa-char-came

Source: SCMP

Faculty of Arts in the Media: SCMP Interview with Professor Chan Hing-yan

Professor Chan Hing-yan from the Department of Music was interviewed by the South China Morning Post in relation to his new work for huqin and orchestra – the centrepiece of a Hong Kong Sinfonietta concert in Taiwan – that mixes poetic Chinese themes with Western techniques.

Please click on the following link for the complete article:
http://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2046545/hong-kong-composer-chan-hing-yan-multiple-strings-his-bow

Source: SCMP

Language Matters: Dr Lisa Lim Reveals the True Origin of the Old Word for Maidservant ‘amah’

4 November 2016 (Friday) – online

Dr Lisa Lim, Associate Professor in the School of English, discusses where Hong Kong got ‘amah’, an old word for maidservant, from in her fortnightly Post Magazine column: Language Matters.

The term used to mean a Chinese domestic helper, and the Indian variant, ‘ayah’, entered the English language at the height of the British empire, but their roots lie in another former colonial superpower.

Please click on the following link for the complete article:
http://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/2042648/where-hong-kong-got-amah-old-word-maidservant

Source: SCMP

Language Matters: Dr Lisa Lim Discusses the Common Hong Kong Greeting ‘Have you eaten rice yet?’

23 October 2016 (Sunday) – online

Dr Lisa Lim, Associate Professor in the School of English, explains why ‘have you eaten’ means ‘how are you’ in Hong Kong in her fortnightly Post Magazine column: Language Matters.

“It is not exclusive to Hong Kong Cantonese. Across Asia, where food – in particular, rice – is central to the culture, and where one’s well-being is traditionally contingent on the community’s sustenance, one finds the same traditional “have you eaten (rice) yet/already?” greeting: in Burmese (sa: pi: bi: la:?), Chiuchow (jia bung meh ?), Khmer (nham bay howie nov ?), Korean (bap meogeosseoyo ?), Malay (sudah makan ?), Malayalam (cho¯rrun . t. o¯?), Putonghua (ch I ¯ fàn le ma?), Sinhalese (bath kavatha?), Tagalog (kumain ka na ba?), Taiwanese (jia˘ bà bua¯i?), Thai (thaan khâo láew re¯u yang?), Vietnamese (a˘n co ’ m chu ’ a?).”

Please click on the following link for the complete article:
http://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/2038651/why-have-you-eaten-means-how-are-you-hong-kong

Source: SCMP