Newsletter No. 109

4 No. 109 4th June 1997 CUHK Newsletter Research Centre for Translation 25 anniversary NEW... Renditions Paperbacks Marvel s o f a Floatin g Cit y by X i X i edited by Eva Hung X i X i weaves Western culture and local perception, reality and fantasy into narratives of the hopes, anger and fears which grip the people of Hong Kong in a crucial period of their history. ISBN 962-7255-18-1 XX + 106 pages HK$89 RenditionsNos4 7 & 4 8 A special issue on Hong Kong writing of the 90s, illustrated with the works of Hong Kong artists. Recent works of local writers featuring a new generation of poets; prose and fiction by both established authors and newer voices. (Index) 238 pages HK$130 Sold at a 20 per cent discount to staff members at the University Bookshop, John Fulton Centre. Staff New Book Crystallography in Modern Chemistry: A Resource Book of Crystal Structures New paperback edition (1997) published by Wiley-Interscience, New York Over the past 25 years, X-ray crystallography has emerged as one of the most important tools for structure elucidation in all branches of chemistry. No other method can match its ability to provide atomic structural information on crystalline materials of molecular weights ranging from ten to several million daltons. Written by Thomas C. W. Mak and Zhou Gong Du, the book brings readers from the birth and development of X-ray crystallography to the forefront of current research. Crystallography in Modern Chemistry isa useful reference for researchers who need an updated overview of crystallographic data on compounds of historical and current interest. With over 1,000 illustrations, it gives detailed descriptions of crystal structures in increasing levels of complexity, and includes unit-cell parameters and atomic coordinates for each principal structure. ISBN 0-471-18438-1, 1,324 pages, US$69.95 A Book That Marks 1997 But Is Not About It O ur book is not about 1997 or how people feel about 1997. There are no big political statements at all. We're not interested in politics. Everybody's tired of politics,' say Tim Nutt and Chris Bale about their latest venture called Hong Kong: A Moment in Time, published by The Chinese University Press. Despite their claims, the book is bound to prompt many questions about its relation to 1997 precisely because of the latter's absence i n the manifest- content, juxtaposed with its implied presence in the title and the fact that the book i s published now. The authors explain away these textual tensions: '1997 i s clearly a landmark year, so we thought it'd be nice to do a book that marks that year. We're not implying that 1997 marks the end of anything or the start of anything. It is simply a moment in time.' What can a book on Hong Kong be like, that marks 1997 but is not about it, and that is produced by two expatriate men who have lived in the territory for 20 years? To quote Nutt, it is a visual and impressionistic book, a book with over 400 photos of Hong Kong and ten interviews with their 'old friends'. Nutt was mainly responsible for the photos, while Bale took care of the interviews and put the text together. So how does this book differ from the myriad glossy publications spewing with Hollywood- as well as Hong Kong Tourist Association-appropriated images of Hong Kong, that don the bookshop windows in Tsim Sha Tsui? Bale says, There are lots of books on Hong Kong, but many of them are very cold although they may have brilliant photos. We wanted to make our book more real. In a book of this size, there are usually only 150 pictures. This one has over 400. We want everyone to be able to see a picture and say, "Yes, that's right. That's Hong Kong." In the same way, by talking to people we know personally, we felt we could make it warmer. It's not a book for tourists. We didn't want the corny images.' An important aspect of the book is that it is not a money-making venture. HK$50 of each copy sold goes t o the Hong Kong Association for the Mentally Handicapped and the special schools of the Red Cross for physically handicapped children. The target is to raise HK$ 100,000 for each charity. Twenty paintings b y the handicapped children in the two charities on what Hong Kong means to them also grace the pages of the book, adding an extra artistic dimension with their bold use of colour. The idea for the book came about when Nutt, walking in the hills one afternoon last summer, suddenly felt h e had t od o something t omark 1997. He drew up questionnaires about people's thoughts o f Hong Kong and sent them to 800 friends. There were four sets of questionnaires: 'expat friends living in Hong Kong', 'friends who have left Hong Kong', 'Chinese friends living in Hong Kong', and 'visitors to Hong Kong'. With slight variations, the questions asked include 'What unique image do you associate with Hong Kong?' 'What food [colour, smell, texture, noise] do you associate w i th Hong Kong?', 'Describe your view of Hong Kong in terms of its focus and its motivation', and 'What art do you associate with Hong Kong?', As Nutt and Bale went through each returned questionnaire looking for quotes to use in the book, what struck them was 'how positive people are about Hong Kong'. Those who have left miss it; those who are about to leave dread leaving. Among the Chinese respondents, there i sa strong sense o f cultural identity as 'Hong Kong Chinese'. Twenty years ago, most people living here were bom in China; now there is a Hong Kong generation who were bom and raised in the territory. Their impressions of Hong Kong and their memories generated themes for photographs. 'There are 400 photos, but obviously there are 4,000 others that have had to be left out. It's the same with the interviews. We're not pretending these ten people represent every walk of life in Hong Kong. We chose the ten whom we think have different perspectives of Hong Kong, and whose life stories also show different aspects of Hong Kong,' explains Bale about the choice o f interviewees. They include an artist, a movie star, an executive, a civil servant, a mother, and a social worker. None of them, Bale feels, said the 'typical' things that contributed to the 'tired old images of Hong Kong', and for him that was the most enjoyable part o f making the book. For example, when asked i fshe thought Hong Kong is a land of opportunities where people all have a fair chance to do better in life, social worker Christine Fang said no. Although she'd 'like to say it is fair because it gives people hope' , she feels many people are not given a fair chance. Graphic designer John Au was asked if he found Hong Kong a very difficult place to be creative because it is so money-oriented. He replied that i f creativity i s making something out o f nothing, then a family with a monthly income of $10,000 that manages to put five children through school an d university i s demonstrating creativity at the highest level. What were the main difficulties i n making the book? 'Getting the pictures,' says Nutt. 'We d i dn 't seriously begin the photography and the interviews until January and the book has to be out in June. There has to be visual continuity. We can't just get a whole bunch of photos and throw them into a book. Some of these pictures were taken almost 20 years ago. We also needed specific pictures to go with the book's themes. That meant I had to take them in February and March when the visibility in Hong Kong was terrible.' Piera Chen The book (ISBN962-201-772-X, hard cover, 124pages) is expected to be out in early June. It will be sold at HK$310, or HK$250 if ordered through The Chinese University Press.

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