March 22, 2018 Hosted by the Department of Asian Studies, the Hong Kong Studies Initiative (HKSI) at the University of British Columbia is devoted to promoting the teaching and research of this most-improbable metropolis, both as an extraordinary Chinese city and as a spectacular international and transnational hub. |
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Dear Friend of HKSI, Below please find the latest updates from the UBC Hong Kong Studies Initiative. We look forward to seeing you in some (or all!) of our upcoming events. |
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Wednesday, 28 March 2018, 11:30 am–2:00 pm Come and experience everything it takes to put together a Cantonese opera performance. Audience will have the opportunity to observe detailed preparations, including applying the signature Chinese opera makeup, doing the hair, and putting on the costumes. Demonstration of preparation work will be followed by a presentation on character roles, explanation of stage techniques, and a live performance. Presented by the Vancouver Cantonese Opera in partnership with ClubHK, the School of Music, and the Youth Collaborative for Chinatown. Details |
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Wednesday, 28 March 2018, 4 pm In much of its history from the 19th century to the last decade of the 20th, comparative literature remains largely Euro-centered, and the rise of world literature today offers an opportunity to transcend Eurocentrism and introduce many of the yet unknown canonical works from non-Western and “minor” European literatures to a global readership. We need a world literary map to show what the world looks like in terms of literary traditions and their important works, and therefore a world history of literature is the necessary first step towards a better understanding of what is world literature. Zhang Longxi is Chair Professor of Comparative Literature and Translation at the City University of Hong Kong. He has published more than twenty books, in English as well as in Chinese, on East-West comparative studies. Among his major English publications are The Tao and the Logos: Literary Hermeneutics, East and West (1992); Mighty Opposites: From Dichotomies to Differences in the Comparative Study of China (1998); Allegoresis: Reading Canonical Literature East and West (2005); Unexpected Affinities: Reading across Cultures (2007); and, most recently, From Comparison to World Literature (2015). This lecture is organized by the Centre for Chinese Research. Register |
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Wednesday, 4 April 2018, 7:00 pm Hong Kong came into being by an act of invention. In 1842, the city was founded by the British on the steep and nearly landless northern coast of a barely inhabited island in southern China. This island had no official name and was not even recorded on the map. By naming it “Hong Kong,” the city was created from scratch. History began as fiction and with fiction we reinvent the sites of history. All narratives about Hong Kong inevitably cross the line between fact and myth, reality and imagination. Born in Hong Kong in 1967, Dung Kai-cheung is no doubt one of the most highly-regarded Chinese-language fiction writers of our time. Recipient of a number of prestigious awards, including the Jury Prize of the Dream of Red Chamber Award (2006 and 2008), the Award for Best Artist (Literary Arts) by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council (2008), and the Author of the Year of the Hong Kong Book Fair (2014), Dung is the author of more than two dozens full-length novels and collections of short stories, among them: Atlas: The Archeology of an Imaginary City (Columbia University Press) and Cantonese Love Stories (Penguin). This lecture is organized by the Hong Kong Studies Initiative and co-sponsored by the Department of Asian Studies, the Modern Chinese Culture Seminar, the Centre for Chinese Research, the Department of History, the Department of English, the Asian Library, St. John’s College, the UBC Partnership Recognition Fund, and the Vancouver Hong Kong Forum Society. Register |
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Thursday, 5 April 2018, 7:30 pm There is no need to justify the existence of Hong Kong literature. Yet, what kind of literature do we have? Why do we need literature in Hong Kong? Or why do we need a “Hong Kong” literature? How does local awareness arise in Hong Kong literature? Where is this awareness leading our literature? These are questions worth serious pondering. Born in Hong Kong in 1967, Dung Kai-cheung is no doubt one of the most highly-regarded Chinese-language fiction writers of our time. Recipient of a number of prestigious awards, including the Jury Prize of the Dream of Red Chamber Award (2006 and 2008), the Award for Best Artist (Literary Arts) by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council (2008), and the Author of the Year of the Hong Kong Book Fair (2014), Dung is the author of more than two dozens full-length novels and collections of short stories, among them: Atlas: The Archeology of an Imaginary City (Columbia University Press) and Cantonese Love Stories (Penguin). This community conversation is organized by the Hong Kong Studies Initiative and co-sponsored by the Department of Asian Studies, the Modern Chinese Culture Seminar, the Centre for Chinese Research, the UBC Partnership Recognition Fund, the Vancouver Hong Kong Forum Society, the Chinese Canadian Writers’ Association, and the Richmond Public Library. Register |
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Friday, 6 April 2018, 4–6 pm Come celebrate the end of an exhilarating academic year for the Hong Kong Studies Initiative and the Cantonese Language Program with food, drinks, student presentations, and—most important of all—general camaraderie. Organized by the Hong Kong Studies Initiative and the Cantonese Language Program; co-sponsored by the Department of Asian Studies, the Department of History, and the Centre for Chinese Research. Register |
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Sunday, 15 April 2018, 1 pm Hong Kong in the 1920s was a city of contradictions. It was a city of abundant opportunities, but it was also a city of crimes and grievances. It was then the only Chinese city (apart from Macau) that was formally colonized, but it was also a city where, in the words of Governor Cecil Clementi (1925–30), “Chinese studies should be instituted . . . for no other reason than promulgating the glory of Chinese culture.” Such contradictions, of course, cannot be resolved in an accidental lecture, but they certainly deserve to be further reflected on. Leo K. Shin is Associate Professor of History and Asian Studies as well as Convenor of the Hong Kong Studies Initiative at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. A former reporter for The Hong Kong Standard, he now regularly teaches a course on the history of Hong Kong. This community talk is co-presented by the Hong Kong Studies Initiative and Gateway Theatre in conjunction with the staging of Nine Dragons (tickets for the Sunday matinée show are sold separately). **Discount for Nine Dragons available for friends of HKSI** |
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In case you missed the February events below, please follow the links for photos and/or webcasts. |
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It is with immense sadness that we write to report the passing of Mr. Yim Tse 謝琰 (1936–2018), calligrapher, bibliophile, and scholar-gentleman par excellence, without whose encouragement, kindness, and generosity the UBC Hong Kong Studies Initiative might never have taken off. |
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Thank you, as always, for your support of the Hong Kong Studies Initiative. Sincerely, |
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