Bulletin Spring‧Summer 2001

Chinese Creative Wr i t i ng Besides teaching and research, the University's teachers are very active in creative writing. Their essays, poems, and short stories can be found in various publications, and many have been published as collections. From the Department of Chinese Language and Literature, Profs. Lo Wai-luen, Tay Lian-soo, Tsui Chee-yee, and Wong Juen-ko n have published essays and articles, and served as columnists in newspapers. The poems of Dr. Tu Chia-chi and Dr. Chan Kit-yee have appeared in literary publications and poetry magazines. Dr. Chan also publishes short stories from time to time. Published essay collections include Prof. Lo Wai- luen's Cheng jiao xiao ji (承教小記） and Xianggang gu shi (香港故事 ), Prof. Tay Lian-soo's Rang Xianggang ren ji x u z u o meng" (讓香港人繼續做夢) , Prof. Chiang Ying-ho's Wen ren de Xianggang (文人的香港)， Prof. Fan Sin-piu's Me c h a n i c s / [] (力學 /〔〕)， Dr. Tu Chia-chi's Wo zai/wo bu zai (我在 / 我不在 ) , etc. Prof. Tay has also had a collection of short stories entitled Xianggang da x u e (香港大學)， while Prof. Richard Ho Man-wui and Prof. Wong Kuan-io both have collections of poetry written in traditional form with Hong Kong as the theme, to their names. These examples are but part of the University's literary creativity, which is not confined to the teachers of the Department of Chinese Language and Literature. Jianqiao yu si (劍橋語絲) and Haidebao yu si (海德堡語絲) by Prof. Ambrose King of the Department of Sociology and Qiao pan xian tiao (橋畔閑眺 ) by Prof. Serena Jin of the Department of Translation are widely quoted and well respected essay collections. Young CU Writers Turned Teachers Prof. Fan Sin-piu, who joined the teaching ranks of the University in 1997, is an alumnus. Even as a student, he had won the Chinese Literary Prize of the then Urban Council several times. He was champion of the essay division in 1987, second runner-up in the same division in 1991, and first runner-up in the poetry division in 1994. Prof. Fan's M e c h a n i c s / [ ] is a collection of those of his essays and poems he is most pleased with. Prof. Fan notes that while many writers focus on the contents, or the 'flesh' of a work, he is more keen on exploring the forms of expression. His is a new stylistic endeavour, as testified by his personal favourite, the first chapter in Mechanics/[ ]. In this chapter, the contents are compressed to leave space for stylistic experimentation. Dr. Chan Kit-yee, also an alumna of the University, was the first runner-up of the short story division of the Youth Literary Award organized by the University of Hong Kong and The Chinese University, and of the literary criticism division of the Urban Council Chinese Literary Award. Works of her college days were mostly carried in the literary pages of Sing TaoDaily, while her recent works have appeared in publications including Su YehLiterature, Hong Kong Literary Monthly, and Hong Kong Writer. Dr. Chan says, 'Creative works are the result of things you simply have to say.' She believes that in today's society, creative writing is the activity of a small circle of people, sometimes even an individual. She defines a decent creative environment as one which allows creators' voices to be heard in their true forms. Hong Kong Culture: A Multiplicity of Colours 7