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Model and Changes: The Hymns, Imperial Edicts, and Writings on Etiquette and Rites between Qingli and Xifeng-with a Focus on Figures of Northern Song Reform of Poetry and Prose

From Qingli to Xiling and Yuanfeng (1041-1085), the political and literary reforms happened almost simultaneously. How to explain this phenomenon? The most prominent Wenren of Northern Song were not only literary figures, but also thought leaders of that time. In an era of changes, how did they pass on Siwen through a more comprehensive form of Wen based on their philosophies and set a model for the world? In response to these questions, this research is aims to probe the connections between ‘Wen-Dao’, ‘imperial edicts’, and ‘etiquette’ in the Northern Song Dynasty.


Year: 2020 - 2022

Project Leader -

Dr FUNG Chi Wang

Disappearing Voices: An Oral History of Leftist Film Workers during Cold War Hong Kong

This oral history project aims to document the voices of Hong Kong leftist film workers who were active from 1949 to 1966 and to utilize their voices to reconstruct Cold War Hong Kong history. The principal investigator adopts the common usage of the term “leftist” during this era, defining leftist film workers as those who worked for the three major leftist film studios and the sole distributor of films made in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Until the mid-1960s, leftists controlled a significant share of the Hong Kong film market, produced popular movies and exported their productions and PRC-made films to other Chinese communities


Year: 2017 - 2021

Project Leader -

Dr HUI Kwok Wai

Circulation of Literature Across Territories: Wang Jingxi and Hong Kong Versions of Chun Wen Xue and Wen Xing Cong Kan, and the Literary Fields in Taiwan and Hong Kong in the 1960s and 70s

This project investigates literary fields of Taiwan and Hong Kong in the 1960s. In 1967, Lin Haiyin founded Chun Wenxue literary journal in Taiwan. In the same year, its Hong Kong version was published by Wang Jingxi .Wang also introduced Wen Xing Cong Kan series from Taiwan via his Wen Yi Bookstore. It was owing to Hong Kong version of Wen Xing Cong Kan that Hong Kong readers could get a glimpse of the works of Yin Haiguang, Li Ao, Bo Yang, whose once banned works were difficult to access even in Taiwan.

 

On the other hand, his poor management led to accusation of not paying royalties to the authors and infringements of copyrights. What Wang created from the mid-1960s to 70s was a complicated case regarding cultural publishing. This project aims to investigate the significance of Wang Jingxi in the dissemination of literature across Hong Kong and Taiwan.


Year: 2018 - 2020

Project Leader -

Dr CHAN Chi Tak

A Study on Joseph Yau and City Magazine: The Written Languages and Identities of Hong Kong in 1970s–80s

The project regards “written languages” as a combined perspective from Joseph Yau and City Magazine. Through the study of this important local writer and the development of City in 1970s and 80s, it aims to examine the complicated interrelation between written languages and identities and investigate the process of local identity building. We would like to advocate the inclusiveness and open-mindedness of “localness” in Yau and City. It is true that this project places a strong focus on local literature, history and culture. As we know that international approach is very critical in success of our research, we will place Yau and City in the whole picture of international politics and western cultures which are highly influential to Hong Kong during the period concerned.


Year: 2017 - 2020

Project Leader -

Dr LI Yuen Mei Fanny

Between Historicity and Imagination: Mutienzi Zhuan (The Travels of King Mu) and the Rise of Early Chinese Fictions

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.


Year: 2017 - 2022

Project Leader -

Dr LEI Chin Hau

A Study on Fragrance within the Curtains, the Annotation for Huang Tingjian’s Poetry Anthology by the Japanese Zen Monk Banri Shūkyū

十一世紀的黃庭堅(1045-1105)號山谷,是型塑北宋詩歌與禪宗形態、內涵的代表。其《山谷內集》有詩逾七百首,是今人認知山谷詩學、禪學的核心文獻。該集歷來以難解而聞名,註家甚少。自古及今的華人世界內唯宋代任淵(1090?-1164?)曾遍註內集詩,又唯錢鍾書(1910-1998)選註的逾八十首為當代學界山谷詩註的典範。然而,十五世紀室町時代的日本禪僧萬里集九(1428-1507?)曾著書《帳中香》,以漢文遍註內集。萬里獨特的知識背景、闡釋立場與心態,使得該書在詮解旨趣異於華人註家的同時,尤在認識《山谷內集》中詩禪關係的問題上,深具洞察。然此書的存在及其重要性,長期未為學界所熟知。本計劃即將針對萬里集九及其《帳中香》展開首次全面研究。筆者尤其將通過檢視該書以禪解詩的獨特路徑,反思《山谷內集》固有的內典化傾向,進而重新認識黃庭堅所引領的迥異於唐代傳統的宋型詩禪新風。同時,本計劃亦將有助學界重新探索,近古以降的中日兩國在詩禪文化上曾有的互動與共性。


Year: 2018 - 2020

Project Leader -

Dr SHANG Haifeng Aaron