May 2023 Activities

CHINESE RESEARCH CENTER

2023 Qilin Lecture Series on Chinese Culture Presents Prof. Elizabeth Sinn Yuk Yee

Lecture title：Emigration from/through Hong Kong 1850-1950

Between 1850 and 1950, tens of thousands of Chinese passengers left Hong Kong for different parts of the world to trade, to work as laborers and seamen, and to find gold in Gold Mountain regions such as California, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. Most of them originated from the Pearl River Delta. As importantly, many returned to their home villages through Hong Kong. In the process of these comings and goings, Hong Kong became an entrepôt for people and many aspects of its social and economic developments were deeply affected by these movements. This talk will also highlight Hong Kong’s place in modern China and in the Chinese diaspora.

Date : Wednesday, May 17, 2023

Time : 3:30 — 4:30 p.m.

Venue : Yidan Chinese Cultural Center

Language：English

Registration：Click here

Enquiries：crc@isf.edu.hk

About the Speaker

Prof. Elizabeth Sinn was born and raised in Hong Kong. She has written widely on Hong Kong history. Before her retirement, she was Deputy Director of the Centre of Asian Studies (HKU) and is today an Honorary Professor at the Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences. She is currently an Expert Advisor to the Hong Kong Museum of History and works closely with the Hong Kong Chronicles project. Having served on the Antiquities Advisory Board and the Lord Wilson Heritage Trust, she was awarded the Bronze Bauhinia Star in 2004 for her contribution to heritage conservation. She led the “Hong Kong Memory Project” (2006-2013) to create a multi-media website for materials on Hong Kong’s history, culture, and heritage. Her own favorite book is Pacific Crossing: California Gold, Chinese Migration, and the Making of Hong Kong (2013) and her latest publication, “(Almost) Making Money in South China: Ho Amei and his Silver Mountain Dream”, (Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Volume 62 (2022), pp. 7-35), tells the history of the silver mine in Silver Mine Bay.

2023 Qilin Lecture Series on Chinese Culture

Presents Dr. Irene Lok

Lecture title：The Intersection of Chinese and Western Cultures

Dunhuang ── A remote, mysterious and fascinating place. Dunhuang art is the art of enlightenment. The Dunhuang Grottoes have been constructed for thousands of years, and now there are nearly a thousand caves preserved, so they are also called “Thousand Buddha Caves”. The Dunhuang Grottoes are rare art sites in the world and were listed as a world cultural heritage approved by UNESCO in 1987, which is the first batch of listed projects in China. The speaker will explain the art of Dunhuang Grottoes and walk into this museum on the Silk Road with you, just like being in this thousand-year-old cultural treasure, comprehending the transcendent spiritual power, and feeling the realm of a thousand-year-old dark cave with a light of wisdom and compassion.

Date : Wednesday, May 24, 2023