Newsletter No. 94

CUHK Newsletter No. 94 4th October 1996 3 The Chinese University Press Hong Kong Management Cases in Hotel Management Compiled and edited by the Management Development Centre of Hong Kong, this book consists of contributions by local authors based on true-to-life situations in hotel management in Hong Kong. There are 18 cases in six parts: (1) general management; (2) housekeeping management; (3) food and beverage management; (4) front office management; (5) human resources management; and (6) marketing management. The discussion of the cases is expected to enhance understanding of hospitality management practices in Hong Kong. ISBN 962-201-734-7, 144 pages, paperback, HK$150. The book will be sold at a20 per cent discount to staff members at the University Bookshop, John Fulton Centre. New Books HKIAPS The Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies recently published two occasional papers: Occasional paper no. 51, The Road to the Development of Social Welfare in Hong Kong: The Historical Key Issues, by Dr. Jik-Joen Lee. Wh i l e e c o n om ic development has always remained at the top of the government's agenda in Ho ng K o ng and its commitment and efforts in this respect have made the territory asuccessful economic story, the government's obligation to develop social welfare for the sick, the dependent, and the destitute remains to be examined. Hong Kong's modern social welfare system was notably not built by the government but primarily by Western-style non-government agencies with religious backgrounds before the 1960s. This paper provides background information on the government's past and present roles in the areas of economic and social development in Hong Kong, as well as the development of the social work profession. Occasional paper No. 52, Hong Kong in Reenchantment: A Case Study of the New Religious Discourse, by Ms. Cheris Shun-ching Chan. The proliferation of new religious cults in Hong Kong in the recent two decades displays a paradoxical picture. On the one hand it signifies the emergence of a societal tide of reenchantment. On the other hand it appears to embody vast disenchanted dispositions. This study explores the empirical sacred constitution of a new religious cult — the Lingsu Exo-Esoterics, in order to understand the elusive phenomenon of the new religious discourse and its implications for social reality. The papers are written in English with Chinese abstracts, and sold at HK$30 per copy. Those interested please contact the HKIAPS at 2609 8770. Exhibition of the Mufei Collection of Ceramics Large kendi with floral scrolls in underglaze blue, Vietnamese, 15th century The Art Museum has organized aseries of events to celebrate its silver jubilee, the first being the exhibition of the Mufei Collection of Ceramics from 5th October to 10th November. The Mufei Collection of Ceramics was built up during the 1960s and early 1970s by Prof. and Mrs. Cheng Te-k'un for the purposes of teaching and research, and has been well studied and written on. It consists of 268 items, and is particularly rich in Chinese export porcelain of the Qing dynasty for the European market, and Vietnamese and Thai ceramics. There are also wares of Persian, Japanese and other origins. The Art Museum has recently acquired a portion of the collection which until now has been loaned to it on a long- term basis. The acquisition was made with the support of the Bei Shan Tang Foundation, the Friends of the Art Museum and the Development Fund of the Art Museum. Prof. and Mrs. Cheng have generously donated the entire proceeds (HK$1.5 million) back to the Art Museum to set up a Professor and Mrs. Cheng Te-k'un Academic Fund for Chinese Art and Archaeology. They have also donated the rest of the collection to the Art Museum for safekeeping and public display. Prof. Cheng is a distinguished authority and scholar on Chinese archaeology, art history and anthropology. After his retirement from Cambridge University in 1974, he was appointed by The Chinese University as visiting professor of fine arts. For two decades he served in succession as dean of arts, pro-vice-chancellor, director of the Institute of Chinese Studies, and director of the Centre for Chinese Archaeology and Art. Mrs. Cheng is a writer, painter and potter. At one time she was honorary lecturer of fine arts at the University, teaching pottery to undergraduates. The opening ceremony of the exhibition and the inauguration of the academic fund will take place at 4.30 p.m. on 4th October 1996 at the Art Museum. Serv i ce t o t he Commu n i ty andI n t e r na t i onalOr gan i za t i ons • Prof. Alice N. H. Lun Ng, professor in the Department of History, has been appointed by HE the Governor as a member of the Hong Ko ng War M e m o r i a l Pe n s i o ns A d v i s o r y Committee for one year from 1st September 1996. • Prof. Char-nie Chen, professor of psychiatry, has been invited to be assistant editor of the journal Addiction Biology from January 1996. Prof. Chen has also been appointed by the Secretary for Health and Welfare to be a member of the Advisory Council on AIDS for two years from 1 st August 1996. • Prof. Robert L. Jones, professor of pharmacology, has been appointed by the Secretary for Health and Welfare to serve on the Pharmacy and Poisons Appeal Tribunal for three years from 1st August 1996. • Prof. Augustine Cheng, professor in the Department of Microbiology, has been invited to serve on the Council of the International Society for Infectious Diseases for six years from 1996. • Prof. Wing-wah Chan, professor in the Department of Music, was invited to appear as guest lecturer in the 4th World Symposium on Choral Music held in Sydney from 7th to 11th August 1996. Prof. Chan has also been appointed by the Secretary for Home Affairs to chair the Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund from 18th July 1996 to 31st March 1997. • Prof. Pak-chung Ching, professor in the Department of Electronic Engineering, has been appointed by the Secretary for Economic Services to be a member of the disciplinary tribunal panel established under the Electricity Ordinance for three years from 1st September 1996. • Prof. Stephen L. W. Tang, associate professor in the Department of Sociology, has been appointed as a member of the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal Panel for five years from 22nd July 1996. • Prof. Cynthia S. Y. Chan, associate professor in the Department of Community and Family Medicine, has been invited to serve as the chief examiner for the 1996 Con j o i nt Fellowship Examination of the Hong Kong College of General Practitioners and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. She has also been i n v i t ed to serve on the Expert Subcommittee on grant applications and awards of the Health Services Research Committee. (All information in this section is provided by the Information and Public Relations Office. Contributions should be sent direct to that officefor registration and verification before publication.) The Land of Lingchih I n Western folklore, mushrooms have always been associated with magic and the supernatural. In popular culture the name 'magic mushroom' is given to a certain type of the fungus believed to produce hallucinogenic effects when ingested. And strangely enough, toadstools, wh i ch are poisonous mushrooms, evoke disturbingly innocent images of Disneyesque forests wherein dwell little men in 'green jacket, red cap, and white owl's feather'. In China, mushrooms and other kinds of edible fungi have long been known for their culinary value and medicinal properties, from lowering blood pressure to promoting longevity. Certain strains have even been thought to be powerful antidotes to almost all diseases. I f fungi do indeed work wonders, then the University is exceptionally well- endowed. Its 134-acre campus covers large areas of woods where every spring and summer all types of fungi grow literally under one's feet. Some of the larger edible strains, such as the lingchih (靈芝 ganoderma lucidum), the silver ear (銀耳 tremella fuciformis), and the Jew's- ear ( 木耳 auricularia auricula) are Chinese delicacies. The latter two, growing in ear-shaped projections on wood, little resemble their umbrella-like cousins. Of the different mushrooms found on campus, the lingchih is often singled out for attention. Traditionally considered a kind of elixir, the lingchih and its beneficial effects have been popularized in recent years by New Age health trends. The plant is sold in its natural form or served in a sweet soup as a speciality in dessert shops throughout the territory, often at exorbitant prices. For some unknown reason, this rare species has been growing in profusion in recent years on campus — along the road from Fong Yun Wah Hall to the Benjamin Franklin Centre, in the courtyard of the Fung King Hey Building, near the Ho Sin Hang Engineering Building, and along Village Road. Usually found under the Taiwanese acacia ( 台灣相思）, the lingchih looks like a whitish ball when young. After several days, it grows a brownish stem and the top slowly stretches itself out like the canopy of a parachute. When fully mature the entire plant is maroon in colour. Chinese legend has it that the land where the lingchih grows is lucky and prosperous. Be it so or be it coincidence, this is certainly true of the University.