Bulletin Vol. 8 No. 3 Oct 1971

The Institute, a two-storey building with 28,000 square feet of floor space, is built around a Chinese style courtyard planted wit h willow trees and decorative rocks. In the courtyar d is a pool stocked with goldfish and water lilies. The building contains a Lecture Theatre and an Art Gallery besides a number of offices for research and rooms for lectures. The magnificent marble- floored Art Gallery provides exhibition areas at various levels. A continuous staircase leadin g around the periphery of the Gallery provides access to all exhibits. Rooms for preparation, maintenance and storage of art objects are provided in the basement of the building. Preparation for the Exhibition began last December when the Vice-Chancellor appointe d a committee, chaired by Mr. J.S. Lee, Member of the University Council, to plan the programme. After months of concerted effort by committee members and with the help of friends of the University, the University was able to borrow a large number of Chinese art treasures from local collectors who magnanimously consented to loan their articles to the University for the Exhibition. The Exhibition featured the following categories of Chinese art: 1. Eighteenth-Century painting and calligraphy of Yang-chou School (43 items) 2. Calligraphy by leading Ch'ing calligraphists (28 items) 3. Porcelain of Tang, Sung, Yuan, Ming, Ch'ing Dynasties (85 items) 4. Seals of Ch'in and Han Dynasties (40 items) 5. Fragments of oracle bones of Shang Dynasty (45 items) 6. Inkstones of Han, Six Dynasties, Tang, Sung and Yuan periods (15 items) 7. Archaic jades fro m Neolithic to Han ending 200 A.D. (23 items) 8. Various old editions of books and rare books (134 items) The Exhibition attracted large crowds including students of secondary schools. To comply with public demand and to accommodate the many schools which planned class visits, the closing date of the Exhibition was extended from 11th to 31st October. On 21st October, Sing Tao Jih Pao published an exquisite four- 賓嘉之觀參日放開館物文 Guests attending the Opening Exhibition page supplement to report in detail the contents of th e Exhibition. To commemorate the Opening Exhibition, a catalogue of the exhibits will be printed in due course. An editorial committee for the catalogue has been appointed by the Vice-Chancellor to work out the overall plan. Meanwhile, work of photographing the exhibits for the purpose of illustrating the catalogue is in progress. The Vice-Chancellor has appointed a Management Committee of the Art Gallery composed of the following members: Chairman: Mr. J.S. Lee Members : Mr. Stephen C. Soong Mr. Wang Chi Mr. James C.Y. Watt (Secretary) The Committee is charged with the responsibility of recommending to the Vice-Chancellor policies on the Art Gallery and of implementing these policies as approved. It is also responsible for planning future exhibitions for recommendation to the Vice-Chancellor, who is concurrently Director of the Institute of Chinese Studies. The main emphasis of future exhibitions will be on Chinese art but exhibition of relevant fields of Chinese studies will be held from time to time in order to fulfil the commitment of the Institute to promote Chinese studies and to serve the community at large. - 3 -