Newsletter No. 191

No. 191 4th November 2001 3 CUHK Newsletter Mr. Tse On CUHK's Second Bookstore Giving the Written Word Its Rightful Place M emb e rs o f t he U n i v e r s i t y c o m m u n i t y n o w h a ve an alternative to Swindon's when shopping for books on campus. A second bookstore was officially opened on 5th October in the L i Wai Chun Building on Chung Chi campus. S imp ly called 'The Second Bookstore', its owners are a bunch o f professionals and retired businessmen who share a strong common interest: reading. The group, who enjoy connections w i t h Comme r c i al Press Hong Kong, organized the first reading club at a Commercial Press bookstore in August 1999. They wou ld gather casually once a month to share their interest in books and writers with other enthusiasts and the public. Early this year, a few teachers from the University joined the reading club, were impressed, and mentioned over dinner one evening that a space for a bookstore had been up for bidding on the University campus. This was how the idea of The Second Bookstore sprouted. M r . Tse On , ma n a g er o f t he bookstore and one of the owners, said, 'We decided to pool some money and give the idea a try. We all like reading, so it is natural for us to want others to like reading too. We want to attract more like minds.' The owners hope the bookstore w i l l be a truly university bookstore in the vein o f such bookstores in the US or U K — something they believe is lacking in Hong Kong. 'Most Hong Kong people when they travel like to go shopping for clothes and souvenirs. We like to visit universities the wo r ld over and their b o o k s t o r e s. We f e e l t he re a r e n 't bookstores like that in Hong Kong 一 ones that sell quality books on the arts, history, philosophy, politics, economics, sociology, and popular science in both English and Chinese,' Mr. Tse continued. A r e t i r ed bus i nes sman i n a i r- conditioning engineering, Mr. Tse was planning to go abroad to study when his f r i e n ds p r o p o s ed the i dea o f the bookstore to him. As the other investors all have very busy jobs, he decided to stay in Hong Kong and manage the store full-time. The planning of the bookstore began in February this year. A young interior designer was recruited to give the space a clean and modern feel so that it would appeal to students and teachers alike. The shelves were manufactured in mainland China, and the rest o f the f u r n i t u re acqu i r ed f r om Ikea. The bookstore was opened on 15th June for a trial period of four months before its offi cial opening i n October. It also has a website at http://www.2ndbookstore.com, wh i ch w i l l be in operation in a month or two. Do the owners have any ambition for the bookstore? According to Mr. Tse, its primary and immediate objective is to serve the s t a ff and students o f the University. Eventually it wou ld like to build up a reputation in Hong Kong as a bilingual university bookstore selling quality books. In fact bilingualism is an important feature of the business. Chinese and English books are put side by side on the shelves. While it may make more sense to put the Chinese and Eng l i sh versions o f The Communist Manisfesto together, this arrangement is also symbolic of the importance of both languages and the cultures embedding the languages, Mr. Tse said. He also pointed out that students in Hong Kong are privileged in that they enjoy exposure to both languages and, more importantly, bo th cultures, yet they o f t en f a i l to capitalize f u l l y on such a p r i v i l ege. 'University students in Shanghai do not have as easy access to English books as their counterparts in Hong Kong, because such books are very expensive and are subject to censorship. There aren't even bookstores like Swindon's in Shanghai,' he remarked. And, to him, reading is not only the answer to the problems of many of Hong Kong 's students, many o f wh om are considered neither proficient in English and Chinese, nor conversant w i t h the h i s t o ry and cu l t u re beh i nd the t wo languages. The solution to the ennuie and other problems o f modern life also lie between the covers of a book. In this age, the written word is often replaced by the image, and books by the cinema. Yet Mr. Tse believes that Pride and Prejudice on f i lm can never reach the same depth of sensitivity nor offer the same space for imagination as the novel. Besides one can live many lives in the wo r ld of books. The H K S AR gove r nment has been calling for a knowledge-based economy, yet Mr. Tse believes this 'knowledge' should not be l imi t ed to IT. It should i n c l u de k n o w l e d ge o f l i t e r a t u r e, philosophy, and history — things good for the soul, so to speak. ' It is a pity to see knowledge l imi t ed to a software manual and education to mean vocational training. You may be able to make a few million wi th just a phone call, but when y ou encounter p r ob l ems w i t h your marriage, health, or finance, what are you going to do? Our society does not equip us to solve these problems. That's why we have so much frustration and so many suicides. Yet there are solutions to these problems in history. Books tell you how our ancestors solved their problems,' Mr. Tse said. The bookstore also holds monthly lectures. Last September, Mr . Leung Cheuk-yan, one of the store's owners and a C U HK alumnus, spoke on Chinese writer Hu Shih. Topics for the coming months include C.S. Lew is and Eric Fromm. In the line o f promotion, the bookstore has been distributing flyers and bookmarks at the KCR University Station. As the venue of the bookstore is a bit o f f the way (located on G05 o f L i Wai Chun Building, next to the cafeteria), a brief map is included in the bookmarks. Wh e n asked i f he t h i n ks the b o o k s t o re w i l l f u l f i l its own e r s' ambitions, Mr. Tse replied, 'Changing the reading culture in Hong Kong is a mi ss i on impossible, but we hope to succeed.' Piera Chen 中大通訊 CUHK NEWSLETTER 網址 website http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/puo/ 1. 本刊逢四日及十九日出版。 2. 來函或投稿請寄沙田香港中文大學秘書處出版事務處《中大通訊》 編輯部（電話 2609 8584 ，圖文傳真 2603 6864 ， 電郵 pub2@uab. msmail.cuhk.edu.hk )。 3. 投稿者須附真實姓名、地址及聯絡電話，文章則可用筆名發表。 4. 編輯有權刪改及決定是否刊登來稿，不欲稿件被刪者請預先聲明。 5. 本刊所載文章只反映作者之觀點和意見，並不代表校方或本刊立場。 6. 所有內容未經編者書面准許，不得轉載。 7. 本刊每期發行三千八百份，免費供校內教職員索閱，部分郵寄本地教 育機構及與大學有關人士。私人索閱，請致函本刊查詢。 1. The Newsletter is published on the 4th and 19th of each month. 2. All contributions and suggestions should be sent to the Editor, CUHK Newsletter, Publication Office, University Secretariat, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (tel. 2609 8584; fax. 2603 6864; e-mail pub2@uab.msmail.cuhk.edu.hk ). 3. Contributions should bear the writer's name and contact telephone number, and may be published under pseudonyms. No anonymous letters will be published. 4. The Editor reserves the right to reject contributions and to edit all articles without notice for reasons of clarity, length or grammar. Those who do not want to have their articles amended should indicate clearly in writing. 5. The views expressed in the CUHK Newsletter are those of the authors, and are not necessarily those of the University or the Editor. 6. No part of this newsletter may be reproduced without the written consent of the Editor. 7. This publication has a circulation of 3,800 and is primarily intended for staff members of CUHK. Copies are also sent to local educational institutions and individuals associated with the University. Those who wish to be included on the mailing list please contact the Newsletter direct. 截 稿 日 期 Deadlines for Contributions 期數 Issue no. 出版日期 Issue date 截稿日期 Deadline for contributions 192 19.11.2001 2.11.2001 193 4.12.2001 19.11.2001 194 19.12.2001 3.12.2001 195 4.1.2002 14.12.2001 196 19.1.2002 4.1.2002 197 4.2.2002 21.1.2002 198 4.3.2002 19.2.2002 199 19.3.2002 5.3.2002 200 4.4.2002 20.3.2002 香港中文大學出版事務處出版 編輯：梁其汝 助理編輯：蔡世彬 李琪 陳偉珠 製作︰梅潔媚 Published by the Publication Office, The Chinese University of Hong Kong Editor: Amy K.Y. Leung Assistant Editors: Piera Chen, Lawrence Choi Graphic Designer: May Mui 印刷：鮑思高印刷有限公司 Printing: Don Bosco Printing Co. Ltd.