Contested Images

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

The fact that Snow did not sneak into “red China” to gather information constituting the basis of his Red Start over China all alone is in many instances isunderstood even by scholars.Mao Zedong’s biography has been the subject of an international mountain of commentary in China and elsewhere. Biographies praising Mao and those slandering him are all based on the American journalist Edgar Snow’s (1905–1972) account in Red Star over China for the route Mao traveled from early childhood through his youth.How the “Red Star” Rose introduces the image of Mao and the biographical information made known to the world through the publication of Red Star, and with its publication the circumstances which they fundamentally undermined. Ishikawa Yoshihiro uses Mao Zedong as raw material to examine from whence and how ordinary historical information and images which we habitually use unconsciously come into being.He desires to help readers to reconsider the historicity of the generation of not only

The book depicts gay paradises in Southeast Asia and the men who created them. It studies the obstacles gay men have faced in securing a voice as citizens, and how they used images of paradise in Bali

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.

The distant rustle of a tusker emerging one morning from the forests of Nepal. The crack of the shifting expanses of ice in northern Mongolia. The swirl of mist around a lantern atop of Hong Kong Island. The squeaky whistle of diving kites over the holy waters of Varanasi. Black clouds carrying sleet over the rock country of Australia. Men with their eagles on horseback singing love songs as they ride through tall grasslands. This book of images is a thought-provoking look at stillness and reflection, from the bushlands of Australia to the frozen lakes of Mongolia, and the deserts of the Middle East. It’s a personal look at places of silence and space where I have found peace and meaning. My hope is to invite the viewer to pause, slow down, and look. Pay attention to the small, magical things that are happening within each image and find your own place within them. There we can meet in silence—and be still. When you stand in front of a photographic print made with movement and the play

A behind-the-scenes look into the filming of The Last Emperor through the photographs of Basil Pao. The Last Emperor Revisited is a true behind-the-scenes look at the making of Bernardo Bertolucci's legendary film through the exquisite eye of a photographer who had unlimited access to everyone and everything, everywhere. The photographs feature an international cast of characters who contributed to the creation of the masterpiece, from the director, filmmakers, and actors, to the farmers, workers, and students in and around Beijing who were recruited as extras. In July 1986, Basil Pao joined the cast and crew for the filming of The Last Emperor. His principal role was to play the young emperor Pu Yi's father Prince Chun, but he also served as a third assistant director and special stills photographer. The book contains over 250 photographs, including some of Pao's most iconic images of the film, along with a treasure trove of "never-been-seen" pictures captured during filming in Beijin

Grounded in a desire to bring back to life rare items from the University of Hong Kong’s Fung Ping Shan Library that are entwined within the world of music and to place them in a context of books and images in American, British, and other Asian collections, Chinese Music in Print views the library as a repository not of information but of artifact, and then uses these artifacts as a means for generating scholarly narrative. It begins by assessing seminal texts in the Confucian canon set against the delicacy of the concubine and amanuensis Shen Cai’s calligraphy and poetry. Confucianism was itself a crucial aspect of courtly life, and an exploration of its ritual is the book’s second theme. Vernacular genres of opera and song are represented in the third chapter, while the Great Sage returns in the fourth for an exploration of the repertoire and richness of his favourite instrument, the qin. The final chapter ends the journey with discussion of the legacy of generations of Europeans who

High Gothic: Christian Art & Iconography of the 13th–14th Century showcases classic examples of statuary, stained glass, diptychs, textiles and caskets that were used in the expression of Christian devotion in Western Europe.‘Gothic’ was originally a derogatory term coined by scholars during the Renaissance to describe the ‘barbaric’ medieval architecture that arose with the decline of the classical forms of the Roman Empire. The word is now understood to describe a style of buildings and objects created between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries which incorporate elements such as novel advances in masonry work and the characteristic ogival arch.The Gothic period saw an increased emphasis on the power of images, where vision became an active force for activating emotion and inspiring contemplation. The great cathedrals constructed in this period―with their thin walls and high vaults filled with statuary and stained-glass windows―were designed to evoke awe among visitors. The exqui

Eros of International Relations: Self-Feminizing and the Claiming of Postcolonial Chineseness is a distinctive work that explores the much-neglected Chinese perspective in broader international relations theory. Using the concept of “self-feminizing”―adoption of a feminine identity to oblige and achieve mutual caring as a relational strategy―this book argues that postcolonial actors have employed gendered identities in order to survive the squeezing pressure of globalization and nationalism in their own ways. Sovereign actors who have historically claimed to act on behalf of Chineseness have taken advantage of the images of femininity thrust upon them by transnational capitalism, the media, or intellectual thought.Shih illustrates the feminist potential for emancipation through a range of empirical examples, showing that women of various Chinese characteristics, acting on behalf of their nation, city, and corporations, reject the masculinization of their groups of belonging as remedy f

杜甫一生的虛構自傳一個穿越了多個時代、多場戰火、多種語言的杜甫，帶著他的多重身影重返我們的生活現場。— 西川「世界偉大的隨筆家之一 」——《紐約時報》「一位隱蔽的文學領袖」My favorite essayist is Eliot Weinberger.His remarkable breadth of calm concern is impressive.—Gary Snyder (Pulitzer Prize Winner, 1975)­This is a book concerned with mortality, friendship, and regret.­The psyche looking back at its life. As such, The Life of Tu Fu sometimes feels like a poetic biography of my own life, or maybe yours.—Forrest Gander (Pulitzer Prize Winner, 2019)溫伯格巧妙地運用拼貼手法，從杜甫一千多首浩瀚的詩歌中擷取靈感，將其詩句、意象與情感重新編織成五十八首全新的詩篇。這些詩篇猶如一幅幅流動的畫卷，描繪出杜甫顛沛流離的一生，以及他所經歷的戰亂與瘟疫。儘管時空相隔千年，但在後疫情時代，我們或許更能體會杜甫詩歌中那種深刻的孤獨與蒼涼。這部作品不僅是對杜甫一生的致敬，也是對我們自身、對苦難和對人生短暫易逝的反思。Drawing inspirations from a vast oeuvre of more than a thousand poems, Eliot Weinberger has deftly composed a montage of ­fifty-eight poems derived and adapted from the lines, images, and feelings in Tu Fu’s poetry. These poems weave a tapestry of Tu Fu’s turbulent life and times of war and disaster.In the post-pandemic era, we may appreciat

In what period did objects of worship appear in China? Could there be a possible convergence between written testimonies and archaeological remains? How was the production of icons understood, especia

Hundreds of Chinese export paintings of Canton trading houses and shopping streets are in museums and private collections throughout the world, and scholars of art and history have often questioned th

In 2007, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region held its first-ever contested election for Chief Executive, selected by 800 members of an Election Committee drawn from roughly 7% of the populatio

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

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.”

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

This new revised edition collects in one place the articles from the three volumes of Hugh Baker's Ancestral Images originally published in 1979, 1980 and 1981. The 120 articles and photographs explor

Global connections and screen innovations converge in Hong Kong cinema. Energized by transnational images and human flows from China and Asia, Hong Kong's commercial filmmakers and independent pioneer

In September 1946, when the photographer Hedda Morrison reached Hong Kong, it remained little changed from decades earlier. Acclaimed for her images of China taken in the 1930s and 1940s, Hedda Morris

The University Museum and Art Gallery collaborates with Chen Xi on the exhibition Chen Xi: So We Remember. This catalogue accompanies the exhibition. The paintings illustrate important events that have shaped our modern world. The artist created this series of contemporary images to commemorate, to document and to provoke thought. The show presents her preliminary pen and watercolour drawings along with the finished oil paintings. Meticulous in her research and true to both the documented incident and the domestic details, Chen Xi creates historical paintings for our present and future generations. Her method directly relates to contemporary life and to a society that is informed and influenced by modern-day media. Interestingly, the painter does not simply depict a historic event, but frames within a TV screen each episode of her sequential and international narrative. By presenting the paintings within the TV’s glass, they become screen shots linked to a specific moment in time and s

Erich Lessing: The Pulse of Time includes documentary images from the pinnacle of Lessing's career in the 1950s and 1960s, which illustrate the journalist's ability to be working in the right place at the right time. Lessing reported on many of the most significant political event in post-war Europe and his, now historical, photographs record social and economic change in ever developing societies in both Eastern and Western Europe. 《埃里希．萊辛：時代脈搏》囊括了萊辛創作於二十世紀五、六十年代事業高峰期的紀錄影像，該系列作品彰顯了他作為記者對於時代及現場的把握能力。萊辛報道了許多戰後歐洲的重大政治事件，而他的這些現已被賦予了歷史性意義的影像作品，也成為不斷發展的東西歐社會及經濟變遷的見證。

When the Chinese Nationalist Party nominally reunified the country in 1928, Chiang Kai-shek and other party leaders insisted that Nanjing was better suited than Beijing to serve as its capital. For th

The growth of Shanghai in the late nineteenth century gave rise to an exciting new art world in which a flourishing market in popular art became a highly visible part of the treaty port’s commercializ

The essays in this volume address a diverse range of issues in China’s narrative art and visual culture mainly from the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) to the present. These studies attend to the complex way