How To Build...

Over a span of 260 years, from 630 to 894, Japanese embassies to Tang China (ken-Tō shi) played a vital role in importing Tang governance and culture to Japan, significantly shaping the political and cultural landscape of an emerging Japanese state with codes of law (ritsuryō). However, the seventeenth embassy during the Jōwa period, fraught with turmoil, marked the final mission to Tang China. Alongside disasters and significant loss of life during the voyage, mysteries persist around Vice-ambassador Ono no Takamura's refusal to board the ship, the government's insistence on the mission, and the objectives behind dispatching this mission to China. In this volume, Professor Saeki Arikiyo traces the journey from departure to return, focusing on the individuals involved and the prevailing trends of the era. Drawing upon a rich tapestry of historical sources, including records from Shoku Nihon kōki and the accompanying monk Ennin's Nit-Tō guhō junrei kōki, Arikiyo delves into the arduous

From humble beginnings in Hong Kong, Yuen Kwok-Yung rose to international prominence as an academic, physician, and microbiologist. As an advisor to governments, he and colleagues made discoveries that helped the world cope in often controversial ways with unprecedented threats to public health, including the COVID-19 pandemic. In this compelling memoir, Dr. Yuen weaves personal stories with those from his extraordinary medical careers to take readers on an inspiring journey about perseverance, courage, faith, and the ongoing peril of infectious diseases. threats to public health, including the COVID-19 pandemic. In this compelling memoir, Dr. Yuen weaves personal stories with those from his extraordinary medical careers to take readers on an inspiring journey about perseverance, courage, faith, and the ongoing peril of infectious diseases.

From humble beginnings in Hong Kong, Yuen Kwok-Yung rose to international prominence as an academic, physician, and microbiologist. As an advisor to governments, he and colleagues made discoveries that helped the world cope in often controversial ways with unprecedented threats to public health, including the COVID-19 pandemic. In this compelling memoir, Dr. Yuen weaves personal stories with those from his extraordinary medical careers to take readers on an inspiring journey about perseverance, courage, faith, and the ongoing peril of infectious diseases. threats to public health, including the COVID-19 pandemic. In this compelling memoir, Dr. Yuen weaves personal stories with those from his extraordinary medical careers to take readers on an inspiring journey about perseverance, courage, faith, and the ongoing peril of infectious diseases.

With immense pride, City University of Hong Kong anticipates our approaching milestone anniversary marking 30 years since acquiring university status. This is a momentous occasion that allows us to reflect on our journey, celebrate our achievements, and look forward to an even more exciting future.The Chinese saying “三十而立” translates as "at thirty, one should stand firm," a principle applicable to CityUHK. Over the past 30 years, CityUHK has firmly established itself as a world-leading university which has remained focused on moving forward as its reputation has grown exponentially across the globe.By innovating into the future, CityUHK continues to foster a robust scholarly institution dedicated to nurturing young talent. Our emphasis on innovation enables us to make significant contributions to Hong Kong, the Mainland, and the world by producing groundbreaking research and solutions tackling the most pressing global challenges.With 8 feature stories and 6 enlightening essays from sen

The Placemakers of Hong Kong pays homage to what local development companies, charitable organizations, as well as the government have been able to achieve in contributing to the enhancement of Hong Kong’s evolving urban and rural landscape. Far from being solely profit-driven, developers and urban planners have been vital to the community by creating and designing urban spaces for the public, increasing walkability, and embracing sustainable design—a process called ‘placemaking’. The book also recognizes that just as important are the subsequent placekeeping activities necessary to keep each project site relevant and up-to-date.Featuring five case studies from the past and one that examines the ambitious and far-reaching plans for the Northern Metropolis, this book tells the story of Hong Kong’s miraculous urban development over the past few decades.

For readers interested in China depicted by western travellers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, this set focuses on the theme "The Silk Road" and features five books written by explorers from various walks of life, including:Through Hidden Shensiby Francis H. Nichols, 1902In Forbidden China: The D'Ollone Mission 1906–1909;China—Tibet—Mongoliaby Vicomte d'Ollone, 1911Across China on Foot: Life in the Interior andthe Reform Movementby Edwin J. Dingle, 1911Among the Celestials: A Narrative of Travelsin Manchuria, Across the Gobi Desert,Through the Himalayas to Indiaby Francis Younghusband, 1898In the Footsteps of Marco Polo: Being the Accountof a Journey Overland from Simla to Pekinby Clarence Dalrymple Bruce, 1907Each volume of the collection aims to reignite interest and also to allow readers to explore how these books relate to the region today.

A world-leading expert on Myanmar assesses the ongoing popular uprising against the military junta that deposed Aung San Suu Kyi.Myanmar’s generals didn’t expect the nation to rise up against the coup they staged in February 2021. But after decades of stifling, direct military rule, the Burmese people had become used to another way of life during the relative openness of 2011–21. The army has been unable to suppress anti-coup protests as it did in 1962 and 1988; and, three years after sending tanks into Yangon, Naypyitaw and other cities, the army has yet to establish a functioning administration.For the first time since the 1970s, armed resistance is not confined to traditionally strife-torn frontier areas, where ethnic insurgents like the Karen National Union and Kachin Independence Army have been active for decades—it has spread to the majority-Burmese heartland, in the shape of the People’s Defence Forces. But the anti-junta forces are insufficiently well-equipped to defeat the muc

The Hong Kong Cemetery in Happy Valley is home to over 470 graves connected to the city’s Japanese population. Most of these graves belong to individuals who died during the Meiji era (1868–1912), a remarkable period of modernisation and opening up of Japan that saw thousands of its inhabitants travel to other parts of the world to study, work, and settle. Who were these people? What were they doing in Hong Kong? And why were unbaptised Japanese buried in what was called at one time the ‘Protestant Cemetery’?Hong Kong’s Meiji-era Japanese community was one of two halves. Company executives sat atop the social ladder and karayuki-san, or prostitutes, occupied the lower echelons, with tradespeople and professionals somewhere in between. By revealing the personal journeys of these mostly forgotten Japanese, the authors aim to add to transnational perspectives on Hong Kong and Japan during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as well as increase recognition of this fragmented

Fascinated by her grandfather’s seafaring life on a freighter and triggered by her own turbulent arrival to Iceland one winter, Crystal Kwan ends up buying a one-way ticket to Paris where her outbound life unfolds. Under the influence of great artists, architects and writers who travelled far both physically and creatively, she is tempted to do the same: to record serendipitous, at times overwhelming moments through writing, sketching and photography. Four themes of “souvenirs”, each a result of a particular type of travel, portray different ways of seeing as she comes face to face with the world. Be it creative or contemplative, memorable or regrettable, the greatest souvenir harnessed throughout all journeys is the transformative power of travel.

In Rosie Young: A Lifetime of Selfless Service, Moira Chan-Yeung presents a brief history of Professor Young’s remarkable career in medical education and administration at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and her wide-ranging public service to the community over many decades. As the first female dean of HKU’s Faculty of Medicine, her career was deeply intertwined with the socio-economic development of Hong Kong. After her retirement from HKU, she continued to serve HKU and the community up to the present. This book illustrates her many contributions to the development of medical education in Hong Kong and to the university administration at HKU. Professor Young’s extensive public service in the field of medicine also helped improve primary care, hospital care, and public health in Hong Kong. In short, this book provides a valuable record of a female giant in Hong Kong’s medical history and documents her selfless and enduring service to the HKU community and Hong Kong society.

In an epic historical story that talks directly to our times, Cross and Dragon dramatizes the life of one of the most famous Western figures in China: Italian Jesuit Matteo Ricci. Sent by the Pope in the late 16th century to convert the Chinese Emperor, Ricci was faced with a “mission impossible” as China in the Ming Dynasty did not allow foreigners to enter the country.

Some people say that entrepreneurship is a lonelyroad, but new startups do not need to travel it alone.Hong Kongʼs mature startup ecosystem providesmany lessons to be learned for startup founders inthe city and around the world. As long as they arewell prepared and understand the ecosystem, theycan create a path to success! This book features exclusive interviews withstakeholders involved in various aspects of HongKongʼs startup ecosystem, providing answers toquestions about entrepreneurship. It allows readersto connect with the startup ecosystem, learn aboutthemselves and their competitors, and subsequentlyachieve twice the results with half the effort. A must-read for startups, the book also includes lists of usefulinformation to help entrepreneurs put theirinnovative ideas into practice.

This concise and authoritative work offers the latest guidance on journalism ethics for students and media professionals and will help empower news consumers to make informed decisions about the trustworthiness of their sources of information. It offers advice on all aspects of journalism ethics including accuracy and seeking the truth, representation of women, LGBTQ coverage, climate change, mental health, use of images, conflict reporting, elections, and how to use artificial intelligence. The author brings a unique perspective and depth of knowledge to the complex challenges facing journalists and news consumers in this era of fake news, disinformation, and artificial intelligence.

2011年，作者出版了個人第一本首飾設計書《雅繪》，為人生帶出快樂的色彩。2024年再接再厲，編輯和出版《炫繪》，希望與大家分享更多靈感和創意。In 2011, Monita Choi published her first jewellery design book, Stroke of Grace to bring happiness that coloured her life.As the next stop, She edited and published Dazzling of Grace in 2024, in order to share more inspiration and creativity to everyone.

During the nineteenth century, the transpacific world underwent profound transformation, due to the transition from sail to steam navigation that was accompanied by a concomitant reconfiguration of power. This book explores the ways in which diverse Mexican, British, Chinese, and Japanese interests participated, particularly during Porfirio Díaz’s presidency at the peak of Mexico’s participation in the steam network: from its 1860s outset through a time of many revolutionary changes ending with the World War, the Mexican Revolution, the opening of the Panama Canal, and the introduction of a new maritime technology based on vessels run by oil. These transoceanic exchanges, generated within these new geographies of power, contributed not only to the formation of a transpacific region but also to refashioning the Mexican national imaginary. With transnationalism, global and migration studies as its main framework, this study draws upon a dazzling array of primary sources to center Mexico’

The COVID-19 pandemic was a global crisis that affected millions of lives and brought mental health challenges to the forefront. In Hong Kong, the situation was worsened by uniquely strict COVID-19 regulations, quarantine measures, and travel restrictions. The mental health issues associated with the pandemic did not end with the lifting of the mask mandate. On the contrary, the repercussions are only just beginning to surface and their impact will be felt for years to come.This eye-opening book tells the stories of ordinary Hongkongers who faced extraordinary challenges during the pandemic. Through a blend of first-person accounts, psychological insights, and hard data, it offers a compelling and accessible exploration of the toll that the COVID-19 pandemic has taken on mental health in Hong Kong.However, this book is not only a chronicle of suffering; it is also a guide to healing and hope. It offers practical advice on how to overcome the mental health issues caused by the pandemic,

Escaping the End of Times is a book where history meets psychology. It invites readers to explore the intricate relationships between dreams, politics, and the Chinese writing system in early modern China.Thoroughly researched and written in an accessible manner, this book presents a series of historical encounters that reveal how Ming scholars countered instability by compiling and editing dream texts. Readers learn how these scholars translated their dreams into action, used the past to bolster their status, reaffirmed their preferred societal order, merged myth and history, and interpreted their dreams and the dreams of others through creative techniques grounded in scholarly tradition.By combining detailed research with captivating storytelling, this book not only brings the world of late Ming dream analysis to life but also demonstrates the relevance of the past to the stories we tell now about ourselves and our own dreams.

In the 1970s, as Hong Kong’s economy began to soar, the public started to place greater emphasis on cultural and artistic pursuits. The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) became a professional ensemble in 1974, providing high-quality musical entertainment for the public while also promoting classical music and nurturing the next generation of young musicians.Upon obtaining his master’s degree in the late 1980s, author Jimmy Shiu joined the orchestra as audience development manager from 1988 to 1994, working alongside the ensemble to cultivate Hong Kong’s musical landscape. On the orchestra’s golden jubilee, Shiu offers a warm narrative that reflects on 50 significant moments both on and off stage.The HK Phil is celebrated as one of Asia’s premier classical orchestras. During its 44-week season, the orchestra performs over 150 concerts in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, and other international cities, reaching more than 200,000 audience members. In 2019, the HK Phil became the

Although the arts have been firmly planted in the Hong Kong school system since the 1950s, they are often sacrificed in place of core subjects and preparation for examinations. Drawing on over fourteen years of exploration and experience, Yau makes the case that arts are critical to cultivating creative mindsets, which are our best resource for innovating and responding to challenges in this complex world of sudden changes. Through case studies and conversations with practising artists and educators, this book demonstrates why arts and education, two normally discrete disciplines, should be broadly integrated into the local Hong Kong curriculum, and how this can be – and has been – achieved.This book is intended for policymakers, educators, arts heads, and artists. The volume will also appeal to readers curious about how and why the arts should be foundational to education and capacity building in the twenty-first century.

This book features five theme-based units on cross-disciplinary academic English skills, focusing on the needs of first-year undergraduate students. Each unit covers academic writing, reading, and speaking skills. The units progressively take students through the steps needed to complete three common academic assignments: the essay, report, and tutorial discussion. These steps include searching for quality sources, note-taking, establishing a critical stance, formulating evidence-based arguments, synthesizing information from multiple sources, and structuring academic texts. Each unit also provides opportunities for students to analyse texts, apply their critical thinking skills, practise what they have learnt in productive tasks, and reflect upon their progress.This book is aimed at first-time university students. Many of the readings are related to China and a broader Asian context. As such, it appeals to first-year university students in Hong Kong, Mainland China, and Taiwan.

Volume IThe Silk Manuscripts from Zidanku, Changsha (Hunan), are the only pre-Imperial Chinese manuscripts on silk found to-date. Dating to the turn from the 4th to the 3rd centuries BC (Late Warring States period), they contain several texts concerning basic cosmological concepts, including one manuscript (Manuscript 1) with a diagrammatic arrangement and surrounded by pictorial illustrations. As such, they constitute a unique source of information complementing and going beyond what is known from transmitted texts.This is the first in a two-volume monograph on the Zidanku manuscripts, reflecting almost four decades of research by Professor Li Ling of Peking University. While the philological study and translation of the manuscript texts is the subject of Volume Two, this first volume presents the archaeological context andhistory of transmission of the physical manuscripts. It records how they were taken from their original place of interment in the 1940s and taken to the United Stat

Wisdom means learning to live with ambivalence and to embrace uncertaintyHelga Nowotny’s memoir provides a detailed account of her life, highlighting the challenges and triumphs of a woman who defied convention in the male-dominated field of science. From her early days in science and technology studies, where she faced bureaucratic hurdles, to her influential role in shaping the European Research Council, Nowotny offers a candid look at her career. She shares personal stories of navigating the complexities of academia and policy, revealing the uncertainties and contingencies that shaped her life and work. This memoir resonates with anyone who has pursued a path less traveled, and offers a glimpse into the resilience and ambition required to succeed in challenging environments.Future Needs Wisdom is not really a memoir, nor is it an intellectual history, nor is it entirely a personalreflection or a summative philosophy. It is, in fact, all of these things fused together: her life, her

For over 20 years, Basil Pao followed Michael Palin (and his BBC crew) around the world. He documented their journeys from the North to South Pole and around the Pacific Rim. They retraced the footsteps of Hemingway, traversed deep into the Sahara, and trekked up and down across the Himalayas. They crisscrossed post-Iron Curtain Eastern Europe and surveyed Brazil from the Amazon to Iguazu Falls. Their collaborations resulted in 11 bestselling illustrated books. In between the Palin journeys, Pao travelled extensively for a variety of clients that took him to remote and exotic locations across the globe, including an epic journey through every province across the length and breadth of China to create the classic China Revealed.OM2—Ordinary Moments+ is the distilled essence of all the miles travelled and the tens of thousands of pictures captured. This anthology of 140 photographs illuminates the purity of Pao’s vision and contains some of the maestro’s personal favourite repor

In Gentle Voices, Bold Strides, Professor Fanny Cheung shares her inspiring journey as a psychologist, academic leader, and champion of gender equality. Growing up in a traditional Hong Kong family, she recognized early injustices against women and dedicated her life to change.Pioneering gender studies in Asia and leading the Equal Opportunities Commission, she fought discrimination, domestic violence, and gender bias in policy and research. Her leadership reshaped academia and public policy through consensus-building and quiet determination, leaving a legacy of empowerment.By blending personal narratives with social history, this memoir serves as a testament to the power of advocacy and the quiet strength of those who strive to make a difference.

This book offers a glimpse into the wide-ranging 50-year career of the internationally renowned Hong Kong photographer/designer through his work in collages and photomontages. From his early album covers when he was an art director/designer for the music industry in New York, Los Angeles and London in the 1970’s, through his diverse international assignments and personal works, to his most recent exhibition in Hong Kong. The story encompasses the long journey from cut-and-paste collages to the computer-composited photomontages of dreamscapes in this Carnival of Dreams.In his introduction titled ‘The Man from Everywhere’, Pico Iyer writes: “For decades now, Basil Pao has been the global eye through which I’ve taken in almost every country, as clearly as the world within… I never know where to place Basil; I can’t get my head around him. Album-designer, loving father, covert Chan master—21st century Renaissance man—Basil is always bringing the many worlds inside him together to create so

An indispensable reference to the development of the Chinese economy—past, present, and future.—DALE W. JORGENSON, Samuel W. Morris University Professor, Harvard University Since China undertook economic reform and opened its economy to the world in the late 1970s, its economy has been growing at an average annual rate of over 9 percent for more than four decades. No other economy in recorded history has grown at such a high rate and for such a long period as China has done. The questions that naturally arise are: Was the Chinese economy a miracle? Or was it a mere bubble? Will the Chinese economy begin to stagnate like the Japanese economy did in the 1990s, and perhaps decline? Will it be able to escape the “middle-income trap”? If it is not a miracle, can the Chinese development experience be replicated elsewhere? This book provides a comprehensive and detailed discussion of the remarkable growth of the Chinese economy over the past decades, by scrutinising the sources of e

co-published with Guangxi Normal PressThe Orient Explorer Collection is a series of interesting texts written by Westerners travelling in China in the 1800s and early 1900s. Each volume has been reprinted from scans of the original publication and is included under a particular theme.The box set focuses on the theme “Women Writers” and features seven books written by women from various walks of life. It is suitable for readers interested in early China depicted by women travellers in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Each volume of the collection is to reignite interest and also to allow readers to explore how these books relate to the region today. With the Empress DowagerKatharine A. CARLThis book provides a sensational account of the author’s time with the Empress Dowager Cixi and the Chinese Court while painting her portrait for an exposition in St. Louis in the United States.978-962-937-405-1 • HK$278 / US$36Jan 2024 • 140 x 216 mm • 396 pp • PbA Woman in ChinaMary GAUNTThis

In Lu Xun and World Literature, Xiaolu Ma, Carlos Rojas, and other contributors examine various aspects of Lu Xun, who is known as the father of modern Chinese literature. Essays in this book focus on Lu Xun’s works in relation to the notions of world literature and processes of literary worlding. The contributors offer detailed analyses of Lu Xun’s own literary oeuvre and of foreign works that engage with his writings. This volume also focuses on many facets of the publication and dissemination of Lu Xun’s works’, from printing and binding to the discussions and debates that followed their release in China and abroad. This book not only makes an important contribution to the field of Lu Xun studies, but also proposes a reexamination of the category of world literature.

On the Steppes of Dreams is the latest collection of ‘dreamscapes’ by Basil Pao. Designed as a companion piece to his previous book Carnival of Dreams (2023) - which chronicled, from his first album cover and early cut & paste collages to the current CGI enhanced digital images of his photomontage work over a period of 50 years. The new book completes the circle and concludes the story of his surrealist/magic-realism imagery with a chapter of tributes to the group of artists who had inspired and influenced his work. The book is also intended as a celebration and a momento for the 100th anniversary of Surrealism.In his introduction, Terry Gilliam wrote: “His stunningly beautiful composite images surprise us by combining opposites, juxtaposing unlikely imagery and ideas that ask questions, make us smile, make us think, releasing us from the rigid restrictions of Reason. The portal is in your hands. Turn the page and float off into Basil’s endless universe of wondrous possibilities.”

The rulers of the Ming dynasty enacted paradigms of hierarchical order. Like imperial families, households, and courts in earlier Chinese dynasties, they articulated patriarchal, patrilineal, and patrilocal organizational principles as exemplars for families and institutions throughout the empire. Women made indispensable contributions to the development of these paradigms and principles and to the social, cultural, and political fabric of the family and the state. And yet, in the existing literature in Chinese and English women are often burdened with stereotypes, positioned as peripheral, or rendered almost invisible.Reading available texts “against the grain,” and drawing on a trove of evidence from material culture, Soulliere shows how women defined a place for themselves in the multigenerational Ming imperial family, imperial household, and court. The Empress and the Dragon Throne spans the first Ming century from just before the founding of the dynasty in 1368 to the end of the T

The number 8 plays a crucial role in mythology. In Asian art this can be seen in the 8 trigrams of the I Ching, the 8 Immortals, the 8 Buddhist symbols and the 8 Auspicious symbols. These interrelated elements are often depicted as a group of 8 in the form of a serial narrative, which are supplemented by motifs of pairs, figures or scenes from stories, landscapes, plants, flowers, animals, ornaments and symbols.To illustrate this point, nine objects—each consisting of eight sections or eight motifs—were selected from the UMAG collection. The items, including an eight-part panel with silk painting, each demonstrate the diversity and richness of serial narratives in Chinese art and craftsmanship. In addition to the narrative structure, these eight-part objects can be understood as components of superordinate systems. In the microcosm of their diverse details, they refer to the macrocosm of mythology, which results in a network of relationships that continuously refer back to one another.

The Global South – both as a concept and loosely defined collection of countries – has gained increasing traction in public and policy discourse. The ten BRICS+ countries are increasingly big players in economics, trade, and finance, as well as on geopolitical matters, climate change, and in multilateral institutions.Since its expansion to include five new countries, questions have arisen over the tenability and coherence of the grouping, as well as the extent to which divergences can be managed. Many non-BRICS+ nations and observers question whether BRICS+ can counterbalance the G7 countries. Though the impact of the BRICS+ as a geopolitical force remains to be seen, understanding BRICS+ is vital for policymakers and businesses across the world.Amid the growing role these powers play across the globe, academics must examine the past, present, and future of the BRICS+ countries. This compendium draws upon scholars across numerous continents, spheres, and disciplines, examining the futu

HONG KONG LITERATURE SERIESSeries Editor: John MinfordAfter her celebrated The Teddy Bear Chronicles, Xi Xi turns her creative vision towards the world of the primate kingdom. At the age of 73, despite physical challenges, Xi Xi traveled extensively across Asia, from tropical forests to conservation centers, immersing herself in the natural world of apes and monkeys.This book is one of the remarkable outcomes of this journey. Xi Xi documented 51 endearing ape and monkey puppets that she had sewn, weaving them into a series of insightful dialogues with her friend, the Hong Kong writer Ho Fuk Yan. These discussions cover the depiction of apes and monkeys in Chinese and Western literature, painting, drama, and film, as well as the interconnectedness of humans and their primate relatives. Xi Xi’s words, filled with empathy, reveal the heart of her work: ‘If there is a common theme to our conversation, it is to respect life and speak for those lives that have been discriminated against in t

This book is the second in a two-volume monograph on the Zidanku Silk Manuscripts. Looted in 1942 from the Warring States-period Chu tomb at Zidanku, Changsha, the manuscripts date to the turn from the 4th to the 3rd centuries BCE and are the only pre-Imperial Chinese manuscripts on silk found to-date. The monograph represents the culmination of almost four decades of research by Professor Li Ling of Peking University. Volume One addresses the circumstances of the discovery of the Zidanku Silk Manuscripts and the subsequent provenance history in China and the United States.Volume Two provides the first complete transcription of the Zidanku Silk Manuscripts in their entirety together with reproductions of the original manuscripts. The transcription is accompanied by comprehensive annotations, with full paleographic and philological analysis of the texts. An English translation of the texts has been added by Professor Donald Harper. For the first time, the Zidanku Silk Manuscripts can be

Co-published with HKU LibrariesOn the Steppes of Dreams is the latest collection of ‘dreamscapes’ by Basil Pao. Designed as a companion piece to his previous book Carnival of Dreams (2023) - which chronicled, from his first album cover and early cut & paste collages to the current CGI enhanced digital images of his photomontage work over a period of 50 years. The new book completes the circle and concludes the story of his surrealist/magic-realism imagery with a chapter of tributes to the group of artists who had inspired and influenced his work. The book is also intended as a celebration and a momento for the 100th anniversary of Surrealism.In his introduction, Terry Gilliam wrote: “His stunningly beautiful composite images surprise us by combining opposites, juxtaposing unlikely imagery and ideas that ask questions, make us smile, make us think, releasing us from the rigid restrictions of Reason. The portal is in your hands. Turn the page and float off into Basil’s endless univer

In this new study, Peter ten Hoopen reveals levels of virtuosity in the work of Sumbanese textile artists that remained overlooked for over a century of Indonesian textile research. Their richly decorated men’s wraps, hinggi, have commonly been described as symmetric along both axes. But as ten Hoopen’s investigation at Leiden University uncovered, this supposed canon only survived because crucial design elements were overlooked. Sumba’s noble weavers managed to create asymmetry by hiding tiny visual elements that disrupted symmetry and were made to be overlooked. They exploited insights in the way we process visual information by simulating regularity, while deceitfully tying in elements that break it. Ironically, they were so good at hiding these design elements that they remained unnoticed for generations. This virtuosity was a product of Sumba’s competitive culture, suffused by an ancient headhunting ethos and marked by secrecy. As the artists strove to outsmart each other, natural

How did lay people in old China save their lives when dealing with acute or chronic health issues? Conventional medicine was costly and might not have been an option for many. Instead, people in villages and towns relied on remedies drawn from a woodblock-printed illustrated booklet called the Seventy-Two Therapies, first published in 1847. The goal of this book is to foster an appreciation of China’s long tradition of folk remedies. Each folk remedy is illustrated by a page from the circa 1860s woodblock edition of the Seventy-Two Therapies which the author used for translation. He also added a historical and interpretive analysis to expand on each therapy and to place it in the context of contemporary thinking, aiming at academics and readers interested in the everyday lives of common people in pre-1950 China, and in the folk medicine wisdom inherited from the past. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “The 72 specific disease

Following the ending of the First Opium War and the signing of the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842, Britain opened five treaty ports on the Chinese mainland in the cities now known as Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Ningbo, Shanghai, and Xiamen. Foreigners were allowed for the first time to live and work normally in these cities under the eyes of their state’s consul. In establishing this presence, consular staff and their families faced numerous challenges, including unsuitable accommodation, illness, hostile local authorities, attacks from militias and pirates, while at the same time adjusting to an unfamiliar language and culture.Henrietta Alcock (1812–1853), the first wife of the British Consul, Rutherford Alcock, was little-known until an album of sketches and watercolours depicting her life in China came to light. Acquired by the Martyn Gregory Gallery, London in the early 1990s, the works in the Alcock Album feature picturesque natural landscapes, traditional Chinese architecture, and scenes of co

Form Follows Fever is the first in-depth account of the turbulent early years of settlement and growth of colonial Hong Kong across the 1840s. During this period, the island gained a terrible reputation as a diseased and deadly location. Malaria, then perceived as a mysterious vapour or miasma, intermittently carried off settlers by the hundreds. Various attempts to arrest its effects acted as a catalyst, reconfiguring both the city’s physical and political landscape, though not necessarily for the better. Caught in a frenzy to rebuild the city in the devastating aftermath, this book charts the complex interplay between a cast of figures, from military surveyors, naval doctors, Indian sepoys, and corrupt and paranoid officials to opium traders, arsonists, Chinese contractors, and sojourner architects and artists. However, Hong Kong’s ‘construction’ was not just physical but also imagined. Architecture, cartography, epidemiology, and urban infrastructure offer a critical forensic l

Health is not just the absence of disease.In an era when living to 100 is becoming more common,our concept of ageing must evolve. While Hong Kong people enjoy the world's longest life expectancy, an important question arises: Are we truly achieving healthy ageing? In this book, Professor Jean Woo addresses a diverse array of challenges associated with the elderly population in Hong Kong society, including issues like elderly poverty, unfriendly community designs, unfair stigmatization faced by seniors, and late-life loneliness. Drawing on extensive research and clinical experience, she advocates for self-care, education, and empowerment, encouraging us to move beyond dependence on doctors and medications. Ageing is inevitable, yet we can control how we age. --------------------------------------------------------------By 2046, 36% of Hong Kongers will be ‘older adults’. Take Charge of Your Own Ageing is a timely publication to remind our society about the significan