Research Projects

J. M. Synge (1871-1909) was a critically acclaimed man of letters in twentieth-century Irish literature and is most remembered for his plays, such as The Playboy of the Western World (1907) and Riders to the Sea (1904). This year is the 150th anniversary of the dramatist’s work, which has been said to “demonstrate the importance of wildness, resistance and imagination” while simultaneously attracting controversy due to his unconventional depiction of nationhood and women. Compared to other Celtic Revivalists such as William Butler Yeats, Synge and his plays are not well known in the Greater China Area despite his fame in Europe and America. However, the fact that nine translators in China and Taiwan have translated Synge’s plays into Chinese since the 1920s is evidence of a degree of popularity. Though impressive, these translations have not been thoroughly vetted, researched, and critiqued. In this project, I seek to meticulously investigate those Chinese interpretations of Synge’s plays by all nine writers and scholars from China and Taiwan: Guo Moruo (郭沫若), Xu Xuxuan (徐序瑄), Tian Han (田漢), Peng Ching-hsi (彭鏡禧), Ma Ching-chao (馬清照), Chen Ge (陳戈), Tsai Chin-sung (蔡進松), Chang Tsung-chi (張崇旂), and Hsieh Chih-hsien (謝志賢). To further understand the Sinophonic adoption of Synge’s work, my project studies two dramatic performances of his The Playboy of the Western World. The first of which was staged in Beijing in 2006 and second in Taipei in 2016. My plan is to pursue a diachronic, chronologically ordered, study of the translation and staging of Synge’s plays in the Greater China Area, with a view to addressing a number of critical issues at the time they were transposed for a Chinese-speaking world: the nature and pattern of intercultural translation, the mutuality of western impact and Chinese agency, the problem of the domestication and exoticization of the ancestral literary artifact, the manipulating intervention of ideological imperatives, and the linguistic question of translatability. To draw a complete and holistic picture of how Synge’s work was received and understood, in addition to analyzing the nine Chinese translations and parsing the two performances, my study will canvass and examine a host of other materials, which will include academic articles and theses as well as newspaper and magazine articles. Vertically, my research contributes to a deeper understanding of the translation, reception, and impact of Synge’s plays in the Greater China Area. Horizontally, my work sheds light on the meanings and implications of the translations of his work as an integral part of the modern Chinese project of cultural engagement with the West. 

No consensus has been achieved on when literary modernism began in Hong Kong. Some critics trace the beginning of Hong Kong modernism to the 1950s, while others argue that its roots lie further back. While it is difficult to determine beginning of Hong Kong modernism with precision, it is an indisputable fact that the publication of Wenyi Xinchao [Literary New Wave] in the 1950s by Ma Lang (a.k.a. Ma Boliang), who served as a poet-cum-editor of the magazine, was crucial for the later development of Hong Kong modernism. The relationship between the magazine and modernism has been the focal point for much discussion since then. However, to what extent did the magazine devote to promoting modernism is controversial. For example, while Ma Lang claimed that the magazine was meant to advocate modernism in Hong Kong in the 1950s, a major and regular contributor to the magazine, Lee Wai-Ling, thought otherwise. In the seventh issue of the magazine, Lee remarks that whether the much-used term “modernism” should be considered a catch-all term is still a question that has yet to be answered. Despite the fact that no consensus has been reached about the relationship between the magazine and modernism, it is a common belief that the magazine has had a potent influence on the later development of Hong Kong modernism. Therefore, rather than following along with the current discussion, this proposed project will focus on the following question: What are the elements of modernism to be found in the magazine? Among previous studies it should be noted that only a few have actually investigated the characteristics of modernism. In addition, the recent development of Western modernist discourse has not been taken into account. This project aims to bridge this research gap by examining all fifteen issues of the magazine. Two distinctive features of Hong Kong modernism observed in the magazine will be discussed in detail. This study argues that the transformative political stance of the magazine, from nationalism to localism over the years, and its localized Chinese lyrical tradition are in fact a progressive and future-oriented force in the development of Hong Kong modernism. Upon reconsidering the characteristics of modernism found in the magazine, this project will help conceptualize the distinctive features of early Hong Kong modernism.

The refugee crisis of the 21st century is one of the most challenging the globe has faced; today more than an estimated 68 million people are displaced from their homes. Postcolonial and diaspora studies have been slow to respond to the need to reconceptualize theories of migration in the context of the new age of migration. The traditional articulations of diasporic identity formation are lacking in theorizing refugee identities characterized by statelessness, violence and precarity. The kinds of transnational affiliations that foster diasporic identity formations are often absent in the case of refugees on the move as are the engendering of hybrid and cosmopolitan identities so celebrated in diaspora studies

Internationalisation is gaining in popularity in higher education. Bilingual programmes where a second language is used as the medium of instruction have thus become increasingly popular. Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) with both content and language having an integrated curricular role is one such programme. There has been fruitful research on CLIL in various contexts in primary and secondary education. However, how to integrate target language support (eg English) with content teaching at university has not featured prominently in research literature. The study will investigate the impact of CLIL on university students’ content and language development in English-medium nursing education. The CLIL pedagogy in the study will draw upon recent theoretical development of translanguaging and trans-semiotising. Results of the study will inform bilingual university education, nursing education and theory and practice of translanguaging and trans-semiotising.

During two prosperous periods in the Qing Dynasty, the Qianlong and Jiaqing, textual research was prevalent, and textual-research poetry became a widely popular art. The trend of writing textual research poetry arose, and such a trend was sustained for about one hundred years. This kind of poem was based on the textual-research of various cultural relics, which emphasized the selection of materials. Such poems were mostly written in ancient poetry or song style. Scholars of poetry history and criticism often criticized this act of "academic-stuffed poetry," believing that it damaged the image and lyrical characteristics of poetry. Such acts of treating poetry had always been rejected, and such rejection worried those who practised it in such a way that it eventually disappeared in the history of poetry. However, for such a kind of poetry that can flourish for a hundred years, it must have been sustained by various conditions. The grand narrative of poetry history alone cannot reflect its real value. After all, textual-research poetry was considered as cross-genre (Li-E and Hang Shi-jun of Zhejiang school, Weng Fang-gang of Jili school, Yuan Mei and Yang Fang-can of Xingling school), cross-regional (Beijing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, etc.), cross-class (famous officials such as Wang Chang and Ji Yun, scholars such as Gui Fu and Huang Yi, commoner writers such as Huang Jingren, etc.). The poetry was widely known and distributed. Moreover, textual-research poetry appeared in the Qian-Jia period when the material culture was vibrant, where different "things/objects" contained different meanings in textual-research poems and literary circles. Aimed at examining the relationship between objects, humans, and literature, a new understanding of the value of poetry produced in the Qing Dynasty will become apparent after various research perspectives with specific case studies in this proposed study are completed.

Two problems have remained unresolved in speech prosody research. The first one is that there are numerous rival theories that have coexisted for decades -- supporters for one do not necessarily understand the others well. The second one is that in the absence of a universally accepted framework, field linguists working with a new language could propose prosodic analyses not otherwise satisfactory to fellow researchers, in part also due to field-related practical challenges compared with lab settings. Computational modelling can be a useful tool for addressing these problems. This project seeks to promote computational modeling of fundamental frequency as a tool for (i) theory comparison and (ii) hypothesis testing and analysis *for field linguists*. Here we specifically target linguists without background in computer science or statistics.

Writing from sources is an important academic literacy skill essential for university students to succeed in academia. Nonetheless, because it involves a set of complex cognitive, metacognitive, and self-regulatory processes and strategies, it is extremely challenging. Existing research primarily focused on the cognitive processes of sourcebased writing, adopting qualitative and case-study based methods. While the research generated a nuanced understanding of the intricate mental struggles and issues during the reading-to-write process, it did not investigate the contextual and behavioural aspects of the process, such as the regulation of time, environment and motivation. There is also a paucity of research adopting quantitative means to connect important antecedent, process and outcome variables to generate a comprehensive picture with sufficient clarify to guide practice and further research. The proposed study will attempt to address the above gaps in the literature.

The shakuhachi (尺八), a bamboo flute now considered one of Japan’s representative instruments, came from China in its primitive form in the 8th century (Malm, 2000; Wade, 2005). The Chinese original called the chiba (尺八) has almost disappeared in its birth place, even though other vertical flutes, such as the xiao with a closed mouthpiece and the dong xiao (nan xiao) with a notched mouthpiece, are still popular there (Thrasher, 2008). In the last decade, however, there has been a “revival” of the shakuhachi in China, and an increasing number of Chinese shakuhachi players, teachers, and instrument makers actively offer lessons and concerts. The International Shakuhachi Festival is a quadrennial event that has previously been held in New York, Boulder, Sydney, Kyoto, and London. The next will be in Chaozhou in 2022. Underlying the newly emerging popularity of the shakuhachi in China is a shared narrative among Chinese practitioners: Originating in the Tang dynasty, the shakuhachi has finally returned to its birthplace and is regaining its authenticity as a Chinese instrument. With a sense of nostalgia for the past and responsibility for the future, leading Chinese shakuhachi players are promoting the shakuhachi as a Chinese instrument. The shakuhachi is widely practiced and appreciated outside Japan (Keister, 2004; Matsunobu, 2011; Strothers, 2010). The presence of non-Japanese practitioners is evident in today’s thriving international shakuhachi scene (Smith, 2008). With an expansion of international adherents and the rise of multilingual spaces, the shakuhachi has seen changing boundaries of membership and changing notions of musical identity and musical ownership (Matsunobu, 2009). Previous studies on the internationalization of the shakuhachi have focused predominantly on Westerners’ take up of shakuhachi music and their inclination towards individualized, decontextualized approaches to shakuhachi music (Keister, 2004; Matsunobu, 2009, 2011, 2013). However, little is known about Chinese approaches to shakuhachi music. Compared to Western practitioners, Chinese shakuhachi practitioners have a strong sense of musical identity rooted in Chinese culture. This ethnomusicological study, based on the author’s previous studies of the lived experiences of shakuhachi practitioners in Japan and North America (Matsunobu, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015), aims to elucidate how the shakuhachi and its music are being taken up, localized, and appropriated in the Chinese context.

A growing body of literature has discovered that the potential of feedback to enhance learning rests upon student feedback literacy. Despite being acknowledged as significant, empirical research on student feedback literacy, especially in L2 writing, is underexplored. Adopting a case study design spanning one academic year, the present study seeks to examine elementary students’ development of student feedback literacy through the use of writing portfolios; how, and to what extent such development of student feedback literacy may influence text revisions and writing improvement; and what the factors are that influence the development of student feedback literacy. The study will contribute to the limited literature on the development of student feedback literacy with the potential to offer pedagogical implications for enhancing students’ feedback literacy, which in turn will encourage greater learner agency and improvement in writing. 

Engaging students in art criticism and art making activities is the major work of visual arts teachers. With access to the free online resources provided by art museum websites and image-based electronic databases, teachers are now in a better position to make use of artworks in planning and delivering their curriculum. The following questions arise: Can art teachers assume the role of art museum curators and construct an online exhibition to facilitate student learning? How should teachers be prepared to adopt such a ‘teacher-curator’ pedagogy? Can the thematic approach and presentation of exhibitions broaden students’ horizons in considering artworks? Will learning through virtual exhibitions increase students’ motivation to learn and improve their skills in using online resources? What will be the effectiveness and impact of this way of conceptualising, organising and constructing visual arts learning opportunities? The aim of the proposed study is to answer the above questions using a design-based research. Three primary and three secondary school teachers and their students (about 165) will be invited to participate. The first phase of the study will focus on the training of teacher participants in the teacher-curator pedagogy. The second phase is the implementation stage. With the support of the investigator, the teacher participants will develop two virtual exhibitions and relevant face-to-face, museum visit and online learning activities. The third phase is the evaluation stage. Data on the impact and effectiveness of the teacher-curator pedagogy will be collected through student and teacher questionnaires and interviews. The study will be conducted in the particular cultural context of Hong Kong. Museum+, the new museum of visual culture, is scheduled to open in 2020, and the renovated Hong Kong Museum of Art will re-open in late 2019. Besides having state-of-the-art facilities, we would like to see members of our society become regular museum visitors and be culturally literate. By actively using artworks from museums to teach, the study will help to build up a critical audience for the cultural establishments in Hong Kong in the long term. Through the formulation of exhibition themes, the selection of connected artworks and the design of relevant learning activities, the study will enhance the autonomy and capacity of teachers. With a focus on using digital technology, the results of the study will contribute to developing an effective pedagogical practice in general and one that promotes online learning in visual arts in particular.

Using a cross-lagged panel design, this study investigates the concurrent and prospective effect of strategy use on CCW performance through two groups of adolescent L2 beginners: 150 non-Chinese ethnic students from local schools in Hong Kong (CSL learners) and 150 students from Vietnam (CFL learners). Quantitative (including descriptive statistics, multiple regression and structural equation modelling) and qualitative analyses are conducted on two sets of longitudinal data, in order to: (i) evaluate the significant effectiveness of strategy use on CCW performance among CSL and CFL students concurrently and overtime; (ii) examine whether the bidirectional relationship of strategy use and CCW performance vary between CSL and CFL; and (iii) depict how context affects the relationship of learning strategies and CCW development among L2 learners. 
This study promises discoveries of significant theoretical and practical potential. It expands the scope of research on skill-specific learning strategies, and connects individual differences and learning settings to explore the underlying factors affecting the CCW component of literacy acquisition. Since effective learning strategies can be taught explicitly, the results of this study have important pedagogical implications in increasing learner autonomy and overcoming the learning difficulties of Chinese L2 learners globally.

In Hong Kong, multilingualism is prevalent, where citizens have Cantonese as their first language (L1), Mandarin and English as their second (L2) or third language (L3). Previous studies pointed out that the language acquisition of a multilingual is nonlinear and dynamic (Jessner, 2008), and L3 speakers possess a greater repertoire than L2 speakers in terms of cognitive flexibility, phonetic-phonological articulatory, perceptual knowledge and language-learning awareness that helps L3 learners better acquire a new language (Gut, 2009). Regarding the complexity of language teaching and acquisition, this project aims to examine the interaction amongst L1, L2, and L3 and provide in-depth insights for language teachers and learners in Hong Kong and researchers worldwide.

Most research of early Chinese glass has focused on the issues of origin and considered this medium primarily as an evidence of China’s contacts with outside civilisations. This research, on the contrary, will explore the subject of glass in "Chinese form", which is generally agreed was locally manufactured. Because of the ostensive resemblance, many glass objects unearthed in Han burial sites have been confused with stone or ceramic materials, and some even have been mistaken for jade in archaeological reports. Therefore, this project will first cautiously investigate the feature descriptions and documentation of the relevant items in the reports and conduct firsthand study of the objects. A rigorous re-examination of the information will bring the glass pieces that have been disregarded and excluded in previous studies into the research. Because of its similarity to jade, glass had been generally perceived as a less precious substitute material for jade in ancient China. But judging by recently discovered glass pieces, the use of glass during the Han period, particularly in burials, was not that simple and did not necessarily follow that logic. By relying on archaeological material and reports of scientific analyses, and adopting the interdisciplinary approach of art historical stylistic analyses and contextual material studies, this research will address the importance of glass in Han burial rituals. It may illuminate the role of glass in contemporaneous perceptions of immortality, and will review the hierarchy of material in the ritual context.

At the turn of the twentieth century technologies and media of sound recording entered music classrooms and became an integral part of music learning. What then existed was often called “the teaching of singing,” classrooms where students sung along to teacher- played piano accompaniment. What emerged was “music appreciation”—as teachers used recordings to teach great works like literature, shared music from distant places, and a variety of other ways to teach about music. Building on work in the field of sound studies, the present proposal will provide an historical account of the creation and emergence of music appreciation as pedagogy built around media of sound recording from approximately 1900-1950. This study addresses the understanding of how music learning is connected to various media of sound recording in ways that impact what is taught and how it is taught, working within theoretical approaches from the field of sound studies (Pinch & Bijsterveld, 2012; Sterne, 2012a). Sound studies is a newly emerged interdisciplinary approach to the study of sound in human contexts, typically combining disciplines such as history, philosophy, and science and technology studies. In particular, this study characterizes media not only as the gadgets, but as larger mediated networks of recurring relations between people, practices, institutions, and technologies that come to be understood as a medium through recurrent patterns of usage. For instance, the actual medium of radio is a network that includes producers, artists, technicians, broadcast standards, advertisers, and so on. Because the radio medium involves these various aspects, media theorists note plasticity as the medium evolves, and especially as a medium first emerges, just as radio now includes satellite and various connections through the internet. This project is comprised a set of case studies, each of which examines the ways that various media of sound recording were incorporated into the teaching and learning of music. Following previous research, particular attention will be paid to the emergence of specific pedagogic approaches that emerged in concert with media of sound recording. The cases will combine historical data, changing pedagogic practices, along with theoretical implications to establish the recurring patterns and interactions between people, practices, institutions and technologies as wants, needs, values and practices adapted to sound recordings. Cases will include changes to textbooks, the Music Memory competitions in the USA, and the NBC Music Appreciation Hour, along with the connections to the larger network of media and technology.

In the years surrounding the second World War from the 1930s-50s, numerous new theatres opened in different districts across Hong Kong including Majestic Theatre (1928 in Jordan), Cathay Theatre (1939 in Wanchai), Capitol Theatre (1952 in Causeway Bay), etc. These buildings indicated a flourishing of entertainment businesses in Hong Kong and the high demand of this form of leisure from the local society. Interestingly, most of these theatre buildings were built in the Art Deco architectural style. Most of these theatres are now demolished or abandoned, but a socio-history of entertainment and theatre buildings in Hong Kong are missing in academia and there is a need of repositioning in the field. This research argues that Art Deco, a modern architectural style, can be understood as a form of entertainment and demonstration of resistance of the colonized in early twentieth century Hong Kong. The study also aims at demonstrating that these theatre buildings are not passive objects, but rather subjects that are able to consume the dominating culture to ‘self-fashion’ and ‘self-represent’, in using postcolonial theoretical terms. Previous research has been done on Chinese cinema operators and cinema business in Hong Kong in the early twentieth century, but little research has been conducted to link the architecture or socio-cultural landscape of Hong Kong cinema to postcolonial theories. This project will envision a three-tiered impact. First, the research will reveal the ways in which the patron, architect and the audience of the theatre buildings interacted with each other in laying the foundation of modern cinema and public entertainment history in Hong Kong. Second, based on archival research and visual ethnography, the research will adopt postcolonial theory to analyse and problematize the architectures, and investigate the ways that they ‘self-fashion’ and ‘self-represent’ different identities. Third, on top of formulating a database on Art Deco theatres, the research will propose ways of strengthening the conservation policy for the remaining few surviving Art Deco theatres in Hong Kong. The project will ultimately examine the reach of Art Deco into everyday life of Hong Kong in the form of architecture and cinema, critique the dynamics between the dominated-subjugated in colonial Hong Kong, and offer a new way to conserve architectural heritage through emphasizing its aesthetic and socio-cultural implications.

“Wig: The Global History of a Cold War Commodity, 1958-1979,” examines Asia’s “miraculous” economic growth under the US Cold War umbrella by tracing the “life” of a strange commodity: the human-hair and synthetic-fiber wig. In the 1960s-70s, wigs became a key Cold War commodity in Asia: the #2 export in South Korea, employing over 40,000 people; the #4 export in Hong Kong, employing 30,000; and a state-supported industry in India and Singapore. By the 1970s, when 40% of US women wore wigs or hairpieces, the wig was a US$1 billion global industry, dominated by Asian wigmakers and Korean-American wig retailers. But while no one intended for wigs to fuel Asian industrialization and globalization, the rise of wigs was not an accident. The wig became a Cold War commodity in 1965, when the US extended its 1950 trade embargo against China to include communist “Asiatic” hair – cutting off China’s US$10 million hair trade to punish its escalation of the Vietnam War. This seemingly minor intervention had major consequences: by restricting trade in communist hair, the embargo devastated Hong Kong’s wig industry (which relied on Chinese hair) and jumpstarted South Korea’s industry (since the ROK harvested its own “anti-communist” hair). And as Asian wigmakers scrambled to find new, ideologically acceptable hair sources, they produced a complex map of the Cold War Asia-Pacific: hair was smuggled from China to Hong Kong through Indonesia, and flown from non-aligned India to US-allied South Korea. Wigs thus reveal how Asian export-led industrialization took shape under and beyond US Cold War influence. This project introduces global and interdisciplinary approaches to studying Cold War history. By examining how wigs moved, we understand Asian growth differently: seeing how Asia’s industrialization was shaped not only by Cold War politico-economics but also by ordinary people, from bureaucrats and factory workers to hair peddlers and wig-wearers. The project thus makes a methodological intervention in two growing fields of history, the history of capitalism and global history, by combining “top down” (diplomatic history, political history, economic history) and “bottom up” (social history, labor history, material culture) approaches, producing a thick, transnational approach to global history. “Wig” will yield a book proposal, conference presentations, a journal article, and a complete book draft. To create impact beyond academia, project findings will be used to produce multilingual global history teaching materials, which will be disseminated locally and through a web site for educators around the world.

Renowned for his work on the dictionary Shuowen Jiezi, Qing philologist Zhu Junsheng (1788—1858) is also author of Liushisi Gua Jingjie, a work generally viewed as a repository of existing interpretations without scholarly innovation and thus largely overlooked. However, to gauge its worth simply on the format presented is to conclude on bias rather than evidence. In fact, on top of being transmissive in nature, Zhu’s work is pivotal and innovative in many ways. It is proposed that the following two areas of Jingjie’s significance will be uncovered: (1)While Jingjie does incorporate a wealth of existing interpretations, Zhu would often present an abridged or restructured extraction, to which his own views are provided. Zhu is also keen on making historical references alongside his interpretations. His historiographical acumen reflects mid-Qing intellectual scholarship, invoking new understandings on astronomy and geography to support his theses, which in turn makes a fresh contribution to classical exegesis. The criticism that Jingjie is “with a clear lack of a critical eye” is an imbalanced assessment. Only through thoroughly understanding how Zhu accepts past scholarship and makes transformative innovations can we observe how new life is breathed into the Chinese classics that has seen continued reinvigoration throughout the ages. (2)It is indisputable that Zhu’s Shuowen Tongxun Dingsheng is his philological magnum opus. However, in evaluating the extent of his achievements, scholars often overlook the philological evidence presented in his other works. It must be acknowledged that Shuowen Jiezi is an analytical dictionary and Zhu’s work on it strives to examine each character’s basic (or definitive) meaning. Whereas the goal of Jingjie is interpret Zhou Yi and its philological exegeses serve such a purpose. It is therefore not surprising to see competing glosses between Zhu’s two works. Only through a systematic examination of Zhu’s philological evidence from Jingjie in contrast with that of Shuowen Tongxun Dingsheng can we observe how his preparatory work for the latter has informed the formation of his understanding of Zhou Yi, and more importantly, how Zhu applies his philological expertise in the interpretive and extended meanings of individual characters found in the Chinese classics. The research output would be pioneering in its evaluation of Zhu’s philological and linguistic achievements outside of the singular source thoroughly examined by other scholars.

Twenty years after its 1997 handover back to China Hong Kong remains a unique place on the world’s stage. British colonialism has left many enduring marks on Hong Kong identity as well as on its physical landscape. One of the most peculiar, and controversial, is the legacy of the Small House Policy of the New Territories; an agreement reached between the British and the village leaders after it leased the New Territories in 1898. In a city of severe land scarcity, this unusual law grants decedents of ‘original villager’s’ families (mainly Hakka people), upon their 18 birthday, rights to build a maximum three story house of no more than 2100 sqft. With skyrocketing housing prices downtown this has created a boom of these ‘village houses’ being build and sold, mainly to ‘new villagers’ migrating from the city, on lands that once were Hong Kong’s farms and rice paddies. This has led to rapid changes in the visuality of these once traditional villages. The most notable visual change among these communities is the disappearance of traditional Hakka ancestral family homes, which are now scattered throughout a maze of stylistically unrelated modern village houses. The vanishing of these unique homes continues at rapid pace and since commencement of a pilot study in the spring of 2018 at least half a dozen additional ancestral homes, some dating back over a century, have been demolished during the summer. This makes the study of these traditional homes, their visual culture, and how they once formed the backbones of these villages all the more urgent. In order to do so this visually driven study employs both audio and visual methods to seek a more in-depth picture of current village life in North Eastern New Territories, Hong Kong by observing, documenting, collaboratively creating, and jointly analysing the multimedia data captured. This study documents the derelict, intact, restored, in ruin ancestral structures, attempting to trace revitalized elements of traditional Hakka villages via their design, layouts, and relationship with the natural environment. The study looks at how the making and sharing of imagery can foster dialogue and analyse the current state of flux of these villages and their lands to reconsider the ‘place’ they occupy how these changes may affect visual cultural identity and connections with the past.

This project aims to examine the relationship between IDLE and two dimensions of EIL among Hong Kong university students, who are increasingly experiencing diverse accents among users of English through IDLE activities. Drawing on a sequential explanatory mixed-methods research design, data will be collected from 20 ESL/EFL classes at two universities by means of questionnaires (N = 400), open-ended questions (N = 400), semi-structured interviews (n = 40), and stimulated recalls (n = 40). With an interdisciplinary approach drawing from E-learning, sociolinguistics, and TESOL, theoretically this study can help us better understand and further theorize the way in which informal language practice using technology is related to contemporary students’ perceptions of EIL. Pedagogically, the findings will offer practical insights into how English language teachers can better prepare contemporary English learners for cross-cultural interactions in digital or face-to-face milieus.

The prevalent theory traces the origins of Chinese fiction to the Wei and Jin Dynasties and considers the Tang Dynasty the time when they emerged fully fledged. With the advancement of archaeological works in China, this theory is gradually being challenged by excavated works of fiction dated to the Warring States and the Qin and Han periods. However, questions such as what are the stylistic features of early Chinese fiction and how did the fiction genre developed from that of historical writing remain to be answered. The purpose of this project is to focus on Mutienzi zhuan (The Travels of King Mu) to answer the above questions. As the earliest excavated text that survives into the modern age in Chinese history, our research on Mutienzi zhuan involves multiple aspects. We will start with a textual study of the text from a paleographical perspective, then move on to date its contents by comparing the text against documented bronze sources. The third step is to analyze the stylistic features of Mutienzi zhuan by comparing it with selected early fiction from other cultures, such as The Golden Ass, One Thousand and One Nights, and Mesopotamian mythologies, and to investigate the authorship, readership, transmission, and consumption of early Chinese fiction from a social perspective. The last step is to distinguish between the real and imagined geography in the text and reconstruct the transportation geography of King Mu’s travels using a historical geographical approach. It is hoped that this comprehensive research on Mutienzi zhuan will contribute to the study of Chinese paleography, history, geography and literature.

• Examines how post-1997 Hong Kong writers use animal narratives in their novels to express their reflections on urban animal survival and the relationships between humans and animals
• Pioneers a research direction in animal/ecological writing within Hong Kong literature
• Lays the groundwork for future studies employing ecocriticism to analyze either Hong Kong or contemporary Chinese literature
• This research not only contributes to the development of Hong Kong literature studies at our institution but also aligns with the university’s goal of establishing a leading humanities research center 

The Artistic Style, Casting Techniques, and Eastern Territories of the Western Zhou Dynasty as Reflected in the “He Zi Gui” from the Oriental Museum (Swedish World Museum of Culture)

The “He Zi Gui” (Catalogue No. 03977 of the Ji Cheng), excavated during the Qing dynasty, passed through various hands before ultimately being acquired by the Oriental Museum in Sweden. Its inscriptions and artistic style reflect the history and culture of the Eastern Tu Ji Kingdom during the transitional period between the early and mid-Western Zhou Dynasty, making it highly valuable for research. However, as the “He Zi Gui” is not an archaeological excavation but has a long and complex transmission history, questions remain regarding the authenticity of its object and inscriptions. Moreover, its unique decorative patterns require analysis within a modern archaeological framework and classification system. This research aims to integrate interdisciplinary approaches—including history, archaeology, art history, and technological testing—to achieve the following objectives:

• Reconstruct the transmission history of the “He Zi Gui”
• Examine its positioning within an archaeological context and classification system  
• Conduct X-ray analysis of its inlays, outlines, and casting technique features (subject to approval by the holding museum)  
• Explore the history and culture of the Eastern borderlands of the Western Zhou and Zhou dynasties through the study of the “He Zi Gui” It is hoped that the research will reveal the scholarly value of the “He Zi Gui,” demonstrate an interdisciplinary methodology combining literature review with technological testing, and establish further collaboration with the Swedish Far East Museum.