Newsletter No. 50

CUHK NEWSLETTER (The followin gtw opath shav ebee n include dfo r interes t only , an dwalkin gthe mal l b y yoursel f i sno t recommended. ) Ascar y walk: The Path of the Braided Hair This refer s t o tha t par t o f th e Evergree n Lane fro m Block G o f th e Chun g Ch i Staff Quarters t o the Hu a Lie n Tang, an d i s certainly no t fo r the faint-hearted . A widely circulated stor y first noted i n the early seventies and no w available i n severa l version s differin g only i n detail s ha s it that one night, a student, as he walked back to his hostel, observed a woma n wit h braide d hai r o n th e bac k o f he r head walking i n front of him. As they walked the woma n suddenly turned , onl y t o revea l that , wher e he r fac e should be , ther e were n o facia l features but onl y braide d hair, jus t as there was o n th e back o f he r head ! What ha s become o f th e studen t an d the grotesqu e figur e h e encountered i s not known , bu t the stor y has survived for over two decade s a s i t is passed o n from class to class . Another scary walk: The Shortcut to Chek Nai Ping Unlike th e previou s one , thi s infamou s pat h earne d its ba d nam e becaus e o f actua l incident s an d no t supernatural horrors . The path in question i s situated nea r Staff Residence s No.3 - and 4 an d i s clos e t o th e Shaw College campus . I t is a shortcut to the village of Chek Na i Ping, wher e a considerabl e numbe r o f student s stil l liv e in rente d accommodation . I n 198 9 an d 1990 , fou r case s of armed robber y an d assaul t occurre d o n tha t path, an d in thre e o f thes e cases , the victim s wer e female student s of th e University . Securit y i s difficul t to maintai n a s th e path i s outside the University boundaries, an d the banan a grove o n th e side , wher e inalefactor s ma y hid e an d observe th e passers-by , mak e th e pat h eve n mor e dangerous t o traverse . Th e Universit y ha s thu s warne d students agains t usin g thi s pat h an d ha s alway s urge d those wh o g o t o Che k Na i Pin g t o tak e on e o f th e mor e exposed an d bette r lighted , i f longer, routes . New Publications of the University Press The following books will be sold at a 20 per cent discount to staff members a t the University Bookshop , John Fulton Centre . • Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain, b y Louis Cha , translate d by Olivia Mok, 450 pages, paperback, HK$148 . • Agricultural Reform in Taiwan: From Here to Modernity? b y Irene Bain, 592 pages, hardcover, HK$280 . • Children's Nutrition and Growth (in Chinese), b y Sophi e S . F. Leun g an d Ad a H o Ho w Sim , 14 6 pages , paperback , HK$88. NO.50JANUAR Y 1994 9