Using the HTML5 Filesystem API

Using detailed examples from field journals and the mass media, Sylvia Chan traces the evolution of architectural journalism in China from 1949 to the present. She takes us from the propagandistic wri

The nine essays in this volume present the most recent developments in the study of Chinese linguistic research using functional approaches. Topics discussed in the volume include Chinese typology, wo

The International group of contributors of this volume provides, collectively, a multi-layered analysis of the emerging East Asian media culture, using the Korean TV drama as its analytic vehicle. By

The International group of contributors of this volume provides, collectively, a multi-layered analysis of the emerging East Asian media culture, using the Korean TV drama as its analytic vehicle. By

This study utilizes a wide range of new source materials to reconstruct the day-to-day operations of the port of Canton during the eighteenth and first half of the nineteenth centuries. Using a bottom

In Paths of Justice, Johannes Chan illuminates fundamental themes and basic values in Hong Kong’s legal system by using his own experience and drawing on interesting and important cases. The book expl

In this ground-breaking guide, former investment banker Philippe Espinasse explains the process of gathering cornerstone investors in connection with IPOs and other equity offerings. Using his tradema

In September 1923, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake devastated eastern Japan, killing more than 120,000 people and leaving two million homeless. Using a rich array of source material, J. Charles Schencking

Curriculum Change and Innovation is an introductory textbook on Hong Kong’s school curriculum. Written in an approachable style using illustrative case studies, the textbook provides an introduction t

The Philippines is one of the most significant and most interesting English-using societies in Asia, where there has been a general awareness and recognition of a localized variety of English characte

This book examines housing policy in Hong Kong using a new and unique interdisciplinary approach – combining the philosophical discussion on social justice with policy and housing studies. It consider

This book examines housing policy in Hong Kong using a new and unique interdisciplinary approach – combining the philosophical discussion on social justice with policy and housing studies. It consider

This book aims to provide medical students with some basic principles of diagnosis and management, medico-legal pitfalls and roles of evidence in primary care. Using practical examples, the whole ment

China’s remarkable journey from poverty to becoming the world’s second-largest economic power is marked by extraordinary urban growth and consumption capacity of its urban population. Central to this development fervor are multifunctional commercial complexes and shopping malls, now key features of modern urban districts. The concept of shopping malls, originally introduced to China by American architects in the 1980s, has since flourished on an even larger scale than their American counterparts.This book delves into the origins of shopping mall development in the United States after World War II, tracing how American architects exported this building type into China’s rapidly evolving urban landscapes, particularly in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Kunming, and Guangzhou. Using primary sources, statistical analyses, and illustrated case studies, the book explores the evolution of shopping malls as a consequence of China’s profound economic, social, and cultural change over the past four

A pioneering and comprehensive study of recent Malaysian cinema. Malaysian Cinema in the New Millennium offers a new approach to the study of multiculturalism in cinema by analyzing how a new wave of filmmakers champion cultural diversity using cosmopolitan themes. Adrian Lee offers a new inquiry of Malaysian cinema that examines how the "Malaysian Digital Indies" have in recent years repositioned Malaysian cinema within the global arena. The book shines a new light on how politics and socioeconomics have influenced new forms and genres of the post-2000s generation of filmmakers and provides a clear picture of the interactions between commercial cinema and politics and socioeconomics in the first two decades of the new millennium. It also illustrates how the Malaysian Digital Indies functions as a site for questioning and proposing a new national identity in the era of advanced global capitalism and new Islamisation.

Psychopathology: An Empathic Representational Approach retraces the foundations of classical phenomenological psychopathology and integrates them with modern ideas drawn from anthropology, cognitive neuroscience, computational science, and evolutionary biology to synthesize a comprehensive framework and provide fresh insights.This book explores how the scientific concepts of ‘information and representation’ can be used to understand subjective mental phenomena and integrate them in empathic clinical dialogues during interactions with patients. It explores key issues in clinical psychopathology coherently and systematically, illustrates advanced topics in an accessible manner using clinical case examples, metaphors and clarifying diagrams, and directly links advanced conceptual frameworks with pragmatic skills in the clinical dialogue process.This volume is aimed at a broad audience of mental health professionals, researchers, and students in psychiatry, psychology, and social work. Its

Shan Shui Mountain|Water is the term we generally associate with the school of Chinese landscape art that many art historians around the world believe to be China’s most important contribution to the art of painting. Rooted in the philosophy of Daoism, the Shan Shui art movement - which first gained prominence during the waning years of the Tang dynasty (618-907) - actualizes its central precept that humans are but one of myriad manifestations of the Dao, and are therefore no more nor less significant than any other beings, and our destiny lies in abiding by the Way of Nature and living in harmony within it with humility, compassion and moderation. Using the three compositional principles of Shan Shui painting - Paths, Threshold and Heart - as his structure, Basil Pao assembled this collection of landscapes gathered during more than twenty years of travelling around the world into his latest book.

Practical Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Second Edition is an essential undergraduate textbook in obstetrics and gynaecology for Hong Kong medical students. It provides a comprehensive overview of all the topics in the core curriculum of obstetrics and gynaecology. In addition to the description of various diseases, there is also discussion on the evidence-based approach to the differential diagnosis and management of common symptoms/presentations in obstetrics and gynaecology. Where appropriate, flow charts and diagrams are used to help readers to make a diagnosis. The book also includes updated information on diseases that are more common in Asia. While this book is mainly written for medical students, it is also a useful basic reference for student midwives, practising doctors, and other healthcare professionals who are involved in women’s healthcare.

In 2018, authorities in Hong Kong seized a shipment from smugglers that contained 88 dead pangolins. Where did these animals come from, and why were they killed? Where were they going? Who was responsible? In classic true crime fashion, the book examines evidence, suspects, and legal perspectives related to this specific case and, through it, the plight of pangolins globally. The chapters detail the lives and natural history of pangolins across Africa and Asia while exploring clues that may reveal who is responsible for the endangerment of the species. The book also explores speculation surrounding the possible role of pangolins in the emergence of COVID-19 and, more broadly, the relationship between wildlife trade and zoonotic disease. The resulting tale is one of conservation researchers, public health experts, and global organizations across Asia, Africa, North America, and Europe fighting to create a world in which pangolins can thrive again.

The Sublime Object of Orientalism proposes that globalised Asian physical cultural practices such as taiji, qigong, yoga, and meditation can be understood by examining the intimate connection between Western orientalism and the Romantic aesthetic notion of the sublime. The book recasts ‘orientalist physical culture’ as practices animated by the sublime and argues that this relationship is stronger than has hitherto been recognised by commentators.Bowman combines new readings of philosophers and cultural critics such as Slavoj Žižek and Jane Iwamura with analyses of film, media, and Asian physical practices and their entrepreneurial forms to shed light on the quest to articulate a philosophy of orientalist physical culture. He also explores ways to make sense of orientalist physical culture in the contemporary world and evaluate the often-problematic ideologies that circulate around these cultural practices without either uncritically accepting their value or rejecting them outright. Th

Tracing the global echoes of China sounds, mapping a new auditory history of migration, diaspora, and modernity.Tracing the global journeys of Chinese sounds from the nineteenth century to the present, this volume charts a vast sonic territory: from Cantonese opera arias in San Francisco to the “Far East sound” that shaped Jamaican reggae, and from the melodies of pigeon whistles over Germany to the revolutionary anthems of Cold War Italy… How have these sounds—traveling via migration, media, and diplomacy—been heard, adapted, or even rejected in disparate cultural landscapes?Through seventeen case studies spanning Asia, the Americas, and Europe, the book uncovers the myriad ways sounds interpreted as “Chinese” are transformed, contested, and imbued with new meanings as they reverberate across geopolitical and cultural borders. This collection provides a novel auditory history of China’s global entanglements, offering a comparative lens to understand the dynamic role of sound in transn

In the early twentieth century, oil painting as a non-indigenous medium began to be taught in Chinese art academies. Since that time, it has become an important and increasingly popular portal, inviting artists to explore cross-cultural dynamics and experiment with individual creative expression.This selection of twentieth-century Chinese oil paintings from the UMAG collection sheds light on the art historical and cultural significance of the medium. Highlighting the versatile aspects of Chinese oil paintings across a diverse spectrum of themes, styles, techniques, time periods, and regional and local characteristics, this publication presents the depth and virtuosity of Chinese oil paintings, extending from intimate interior views to panoramic coastal landscapes. The collective and individual memories within urban scenes activate dialogues of painting practices across time, space, and cross-cultural and cross-media encounters.The selected works display and represent the various artist

Zhao Hai Tien’s creative explorations are characterized by the diversity of media in her work—from airbrush on glass and acrylic on canvas to calligraphic experiments, large-scale public murals and oil paintings. Her practice blends technical precision with expressive freedom and spiritual influences. Over more than three decades of Buddhist and Taoist study—and twenty-four years under the guidance of a respected qigong master—Hai Tien’s work has shifted from contemplative, figurative compositions to liberated, spiritually resonant expressions that capture the flow of energy and inner awareness in vibrant, form-defying strokes.Her first solo show, Recent Works of Hai Tien, opened at the Alliance Française in Hong Kong (1972), launching a sustained presence in the local art scene, and leading to solo exhibitions in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Berlin. Her work was also presented in prestigious group exhibitions across Asia, including the First Hong Kong Biennale (1971). Her most notable pub

A text that has been poorly understood and unfairly denigrated over the yearsThe Liezi is a work attributed to the Daoist Lie Yukou, who, according to the traditional account, lived during the later part of the fifth and first part of the fourth centuries BCE. This places him between the first wave of philosophers of the pre-Han “Hundred Schools” (notably Lao Zi, Confucius, Mo Di, and Deng Xi) and the second wave, from mid-fourth to the end of the third centuries BCE. Thus, he may be said to have responded to the former and prefigured the latter.The Liezi we have today is the recension by the Xuanxue (Dark Learning, third to fifth centuries CE) scholar Zhang Zhan and is accompanied by Zhang’s commentary, which is a philosophical work in its own right and comparable to the commentaries of Wang Bi on the Laozi and Guo Xiang on the Zhuangzi. It is an engaging work, presenting profound philosophical ideas in a straightforward, down-to-earth, and sometimes humorous way, which makes it an ad

Travels and Revelations: 23 Essays by Zhang Chengzhi is aboutcultures which the author knows intimately.With sophisticated sensibility, he describes the tangible cultures of Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Ningxia and Xinjiang in recent decades– the landscapes and cityscapes, the roads and waterways, the rural and urban dwellings, the working and living habits, and the outstanding symbols and totems.Like a traveller pausing before stunning scenery– the Mongolian grasslands, the yellow-earth plateaus, the Yellow River’s mighty gorges– he reflects on the intangible cultures that have made the Han, the Hui, the Mongolian and the Uyghur peoples who they are, and contemplates on their language usages, socio-political dilemmas, philosophical traditions, beliefs and biases and their religious aspirations.These essays show how deeply Zhang Chengzhi understands modern China’s painful evolution through war and revolution and how deeply he is attached to his Hui–Muslim roots. They also show his b

A groundbreaking exploration of justice, democracy and Islamophobia, inviting us to reconsider our assumptions and build a more equitable future.Change has run amok! Technology advances by the minute, and much of what we think we know about the world fades in front of our eyes. How we are, how we know, how we live our daily lives—all shifting quicker than we can cope with.Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia’s tenth Prime Minister, asks how we might rethink ourselves for these confusing, uncertain and volatile times, and shape fairer, more sustainable futures. Anwar’s passion is rooted in experience: he spent, in total, over a decade behind bars after three separate miscarriages of justice, from his days as a student activist to his time as Leader of the Opposition.Alongside reflections on his time in prison are critical investigations into truth, justice, post-colonialism, Islamophobia, democracy and global order. Anwar assembles ideas from East and West, North and South, to explore how we can cre

Ikat Textiles of Timor offers an in-depth overview of regional textile styles from both West and East Timor, while also contributing significant new insights into their design traditions. In academic literature, the ikated men’s wraps from Timor have long been described as symmetrical. However, Dr Peter ten Hoopen’s examination of early examples from museums and private collections reveals that, historically, two thirds of these textiles were actually asymmetrical. This discovery challenges an academic consensus that has persisted since 1912, and highlights a previously overlooked level of creative ingenuity—inviting greater admiration for the women who wove these complex designs.Today’s ikat weavers on Timor, like many foreign scholars before them, seem unaware that asymmetry was once a dominant design principle. Many continue to assert that perfect symmetry has always been the tradition. Yet the historical textiles tell a different story. Ten Hoopen’s groundbreaking findings justify

Why were so many Buddhist grottoes carved across China, and what do they tell us about the history of Chinese art?Grotto Art of China: A Sourcebook traces the origins of this unique art form from the Indian subcontinent to its monumental flowering across Asia and into China.This volume brings together contributions from leading international scholars, providing systematic studies of major grotto complexes—including Mogao, Yungang, Longmen, Gongxian, Xiangtangshan, and Tianlongshan—alongside crucial, lesser-known regional sites in Gansu, Shandong, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Tibet, and Xinjiang.Organized geographically, the book explores these sacred sites as mediums of devotion, political expression, and cultural exchange, covering topics such as imperial patronage, distinctive artistic styles, and the ways these resilient sites preserve vital information otherwise lost to history.An essential reference for students, scholars, and informed travelers, it offers deep insight into the spiritual and

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

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.”

History remembers Du Fu (712–70) as the Confucian poet-sage, but why would he abandon his official post to wander the remote fringes of the Tang empire? This exploration of Du Fu’s late wanderings reveals the restless spiritual and intellectual journey that mirrored his seemingly directionless, perplexing physical travels. Moving beyond traditional portrayals, it uncovers a complex figure torn between north and south, service and retreat, and the truths of the Three Teachings.A close reading of the poems from his last, prolific decade follows Du Fu as he confronts the brilliance and collapse of his dynasty, transforming all he experienced into poetry that became both his autobiography and his apology. Through his verse, a man who refused to settle for a single answer emerges, one whose constant wavering was a part of his greatness and ultimately redefined the possibilities of Chinese poetry.

Sustaining Landscapes: Governance and Ecology in Chinese Visual Culture, 960–1368 CE examines ecological thought contested amid the rise of the Chinese landscape genre, tracing its intersections with infrastructure governance, natural resource management, and geospatial knowledge. It traces the pre-industrial notion of “sustainability” in policy debates, legal regulations, and arts. Landscape imagery on paintings, maps, as well as mass-produced artifacts such as fans and ceramic pillows documented both appropriate and exploitative use of natural resources, and critiqued on social inequity and political turmoil. This book breaks new ground by bringing together research on visual and material culture with analysis of politics and ecology. Wang argues that the Chinese landscape genre embodied a holistic approach to negotiating debates on human-nature interdependence and people-state relationships. It joins the increasing literature on ecocriticism and offers alternative perspectives to ad

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

In The Heart Sūtra: Revisiting Its Texts, History, and Meaning, Henry C. H. Shiu investigates the historical origins of the Heart Sūtra, a significant Buddhist scripture. He compares the Sanskrit texts with their Chinese and Tibetan translations to analyse whether the Heart Sūtra might be a Chinese apocryphon, through detailed linguistic examination. To achieve this goal, Shiu thoroughly examines the primary source from which the scripture was extracted. He emphasises the necessity of reading the Heart Sūtra in the larger context of the Perfection of Wisdom literature, which contains the essence of Mahāyāna Buddhist teaching. In this monograph, Shiu successfully transcends the boundaries between the Chinese, Indian and Tibetan Buddhist traditions and provides a revisionist interpretation of the Heart Sūtra.

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.

Told through a little girl’s keen and often amused observation, AN INCH OF TIME gives a truthful, pleasant picture of daily life in Hong Kong in the post-war years. This first-hand account of the kind of home and school education received by many middle-class local Hong Kong children decades ago contains reminiscences about aspects of life-style, customs and traditions – both eastern and western – which average Hongkongers lived by in the 1940s and ‘50s. This memoir is set in a specific locality, the Happy Valley district of Hong Kong Island, home for over a century to the famous Jockey Club race-course.

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

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 year (2025), on the 50th anniversary of my public service starting as an Administrative Officer in the Hong Kong Government and morphing into a politician, after many twists and turns, I am pleased to publish the ninth edition of my series of books entitled “Regina’s English Works for You”.The articles collected in this year’s “Regina’s English Works for You 9” fall under three broad areas: “Hong Kong’s Recovery and Resurgence” after our re-opening in early 2023, “Opportunities in the Greater Bay Area”, and “Emerging Rivalry between the East and the West”. The articles are a reflection of the global trends reshaping the world and life in Hong Kong. I hope readers can glean from these pieces some insight about the way the world is heading, and how we should position ourselves in a world transformed by “changes unseen in a hundred years”.I hope you will enjoy reading these fairly short and readable pieces and, in the process, learn one or two new things about mastering the English