Golden Light of the Buddha Art and Architecture of Tōhoku, Japan

The University of Hong Kong Museum Society is pleased to present a tour of Japan from 7th to 15th May, 2016, with Dr. Puay-peng Ho, Professor of Architecture of The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Prof. Puay-peng Ho received his First Class Honours degree in Architecture from the University of Edinburgh and a Ph.D. in Art History from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. His thesis was focused on Buddhist art and architecture of the Tang dynasty. Prof. Ho is a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Society of Architectural Historians. Currently, he serves on Town Planning Board, Antiquities Advisory Board and History Museum Advisory Panel, and is Chairman of the Council of Lord Wilson Heritage Trust. His research interests and publications are in the areas of Chinese art and architectural history, vernacular architecture, and architectural theory. He is also involved in many architecture conservation projects in Hong Kong.

The far north of Japan was the native land of the Emishi 蝦夷 people, descendants of the Jōmon 繩文. Largely a land of abundance with a central mountain range Ōu Mountains 奥羽山脈, it was conquered by the Yamato 大和regime from Central Japan and included in the territory of Japan after some bloody battles between 7th – 9th centuries. Since then, feudal lords ruled over the land with two main provinces: Ōshū 奥州 or Michinoku 陸奥 or 道奥, meaning “End of the Road”, to the east and Ushū 羽州 or Dewa no kuni 出羽国 to the west. Understandably, the religion and practices of this far-flung territory of Japan maintained a balance between the imperial and cosmopolitan school and style of Kyoto, the capital, and the local characteristics. The worship of mountain is one example, and the belief in Pure Land Buddhism is another. Apart from these ancient architecture and practices, many contemporary museums and galleries has sprung up in Tōhoku in the last 15 years. These architecture take advantage of the beautiful landscape and weave architectonic spaces through them with emphasis on light, surface, and space.

The tour will cover both the ancient and the contemporary manifestations of a regional sensitivity that will shed light on the continuum of artistic and architectural practices.

Puay-peng Ho
Professor of Architecture, School of Architecture
Director, Centre for Architectural Heritage Research
The Chinese University of Hong Kong

“Romancing the Rhine…” A Gastronomic Wine Tour of the Rhine Valley and Alsace with Mr. Wilson Kwok

Welcome to the land of hillside fairytale castles and noble fields of wine producing grapes! It is no wonder why this dramatic landscape along the legendary Rhine is titled the “Romantic Rhine Valley”. Recognizing the rich cultural and historic heritage of this region, UNESCO in 2002 aptly designated this 65 kilometers stretch of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley as a World Heritage Site.

Tucked away in the far northeast corner of France, Alsace proudly showcases its own distinct identity – part German and part French, the result of having switched back and forth between German and French sovereignty over the centuries. “Gemütlich”, a Germanic expression denoting warmth and cosiness, fittingly describes the homely feeling found within the exquisitely preserved medieval towns lining the 170 kilometers of the celebrated “Routes des Vins d Álsace”.

The University of Hong Kong Museum Society is pleased to present its fifth gastronomic wine tour, as part of its wine tour series. This time we will explore the popular wine regions of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley and Alsace. Together with internationally renowned food and wine connoisseur, wine judge and educator, Mr. Wilson Kwok, we will visit key Rhine Valley producers such as Schloss Johannisberg, Kloster Eberbach, and Weingut S.A. Prüm, along with important Alsatian wineries such as Domaine Schlumberger, Hugel and Domaine Weinbach.

Our gastronomic adventure will showcase local specialties in Michelin starred establishments such as Weingut Kruger – Rumpf (1 star), Le Rosenmeer (1 star), L’Auberge de L’Ill (3 stars) as well as in the more intimate surroundings within the private homes of local wine experts. At each stop, we will learn to pair the particular wines of the region with Wilson’s carefully selected menus.

*Visits to specific wineries are subject to final confirmation

Wilson Kwok, Wine Specialist
WILSON KWOK has one of the most impressive resumes in the food and wine industry in Hong Kong. Holding a Master’s Degree of Enology at the University of Bordeaux, France as well as a Grand Diploma from the Cordon Bleu de Paris, in France, he was knighted by the French Government as Chevalier de L’Ordre du Merite Agricole for his outstanding contribution to French cuisine and wine. He has served actively as a judge in wine competitions since 1994. In 1996 he became the first in Asia to be invited to be a Member of the Jury for the prestigious wine competition, the Citadelles du Vin which is held in Bordeaux every year. In 2000 he won the Sommelier of the Year in Hong Kong on Australia Wines.
As managing director of the W’s Group, Wilson oversees also the running of his flagship restaurant, W’s Entrecote. He has published a number of cookbooks (bilingual Chinese and English) as well as contributed columns to a number of monthly journals including “Wine Now” Monthly Magazine (Chinese) as well as in the South China Morning Post. Wilson advised as well as co-hosted TVB Jade’s 6 episode series, “Wine Confidential”. More recently in October 2010, Wilson released in his own voice the first volume of an audio set of four wine glossary references spoken in six languages.

Wilson has taken members of the HKUMS to Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Tuscany and Piedmont since 2010.

Bauhaus in Hong Kong: 20th-Century Architectural Heritage With Dr. Lee Ho Yin

In Hong Kong, the form of architecture associated with “Bauhaus” is much misunderstood and often misidentified. The irony is that such form of architecture is all around us in Hong Kong. Since its inception in the early 20th century, Bauhaus architecture continues to exercise its influence in the shaping of our built environment to this day. The question is: what is Bauhaus architecture, and what are its influences in Hong Kong? The speaker Dr. Lee Ho Yin, a co-founder of Hong Kong’s tertiary-level architectural conservation education in Hong Kong, will provide the answers in this delightful lecture.

Jointly presented with the Hong Kong Arts Festival

Speaker
Dr. Lee Ho Yin, Associate Professor, Head of the Division of Architectural Conservation Programmes, HKU. He is a co-founder of Hong Kong’s first postgraduate and undergraduate programmes in architectural conservation, and appears regularly in public lectures and the mass media to speak on architectural conservation matters.

Rising above Adversity: Treasures from The Kinsey African American Art & History Collection

To celebrate art and friendship, members are invited to a preview of Rising above Adversity: Treasures from The Kinsey African American Art & History Collection. Come join us for an evening of art, history and jazz where in the company of collectors Bernard and Shirley Kinsey, you will learn more about this unique collection of historical artefacts and art that celebrate the many achievements of a minority who rose above adversity to succeed – often against odds – to create its own identity and to participate in the American Dream.

Resource Person
Bernard W. Kinsey is the president and founder of KBK Enterprises, Inc., a management consulting firm with extensive experience and success providing advice and counsel to senior-level executives. Kinsey also enjoyed a 20-year association with the Xerox Corporation and was one of the pioneers in breaking down racial barriers in corporate America.

For the past 7 years, Bernard Kinsey and his wife Shirley have focused their attention on The Kinsey Collection, their national touring museum exhibit of African American art and history dating back to 1600. The collection has been viewed by over 3 million visitors, was on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, DC and is currently on national tour in a partnership with Wells Fargo.

Mr. Kinsey received his bachelor’s degree from Florida A&M University (FAMU) and his MBA from Pepperdine in 1973. He has received honorary doctorates from both FAMU and Alabama A&M University.

1908 Hong Kong Revisited With Cheng Po Hung（鄭寳鴻）

Overview
On a journey into Hong Kong’s past, renowned Hong Kong historian Cheng Po Hung will take us through the exhibition of early photographic images: Pictures of the Past: Hungarian Photographer Dezső Bozóky in Hong Kong 1908.

In an ever more developed Hong Kong, Hungarian Photographer Dezső Bozóky’s beautiful black-and-white and hand-coloured pictures of the past present historic documents that offer insights into the bustling merchant town, cultural mixed society and lush natural landscape that Bozóky encountered. With scarcer photographic material at hand, Bozóky’s images displayed a foreign world to his compatriots at home where they formed an enormous treasure trove of information in Budapest of the early 1900s and do, indeed, do so today.

A Culinary & Cultural Adventure to Taipei

HKU Museum Society is delighted to present a fundraising trip for our 30th Anniversary Endowment Fund. “By invitation only”, our members will be treated to a culinary and cultural weekend adventure in Taipei which include visits to private collections and a gastronomic agenda designed by great bon vivant and wine aficionado Mr. Nical Wu from the eslite Corporation. We will be welcomed as special guests at the beautiful eslite Hotel, an urban oasis by Pritzker Prize award-winning architect Mr. Toyo Ito, located in the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park.

On Culinary
As General Manager of eslite spectrum Company, Nical plays a critical role in cultivating areas of wine, food, life style groceries and fine dining for the eslite Corporation. A man with enormous wine tasting experience, Nical began studying wine in 1992 undertaking training courses at a number of prominent French wineries including Dom Leroy and Henri de Villamon. He has taken part in tastings of the rare Chateau Lafitte Rothschild 1965, Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1900, Chateau Petrus 1900 and 1947 (mag.) and many more! Since 1996 Nical has also been conducting wine seminars at eslite Bookstores as well as in partnership with Cathay Pacific Airlines.

A pioneer of fine wine appreciation in Taipei, Nical was honoured with the French Chevalier award in 2001. He is the "go to" person for chateau representatives and celebrity chefs when they visit Taiwan. Through his extensive network, Nical has organized officially (and unofficially) over a dozen impressive wine tasting dinners which showcased the world's best wines paired with iconic dishes prepared with locally sourced ingredients. For this trip, he will be planning two wine-paired dinners for our tasting.

On Cultural
During our stay in Taipei, we will embrace various aspects of Chinese culture through tea tastings, special visits to see exclusive collections of Chinese embroideries, textile and baby carriers from private collectors as well as contemporary art at the eslite Gallery. In addition, we will also explore the beautiful natural landscapes of Yangmingshan and have a chance to purchase Taiwan’s bountiful products.

Christie’s Autumn Auctions With Sara Mao

In celebration of Christie’s 250th global anniversary, Christie’s presents a broad selection of selling and non-selling exhibitions during its Autumn Auctions in November 2016. Guided by Sara Mao, the tour will introduce highlights from The Pioneers – a first-of-its-kind auction in Asia focused on pioneering modern & contemporary Chinese artists who ushered in an era of artistic evolution, as well as highlights from A Meticulous Pursuit – a special curated selection of works on the theme of gongbi within the Fine Chinese Modern Paintings auction.

Resource Person
Sara Mao is a Specialist in Christie’s Chinese Paintings department, based in Hong Kong. Her primary responsibilities include business development, client advisory, catalogue preparation and market analysis, with a focus on Chinese Modern Art.

After receiving her B.A. in Philosophy & English Literature at the University of York (UK), Sara acquired her Graduate Diploma in Law from BPP Law School (UK) and a M. Litt in History of Art and Connoisseurship, with a concentration in Chinese art, from Christie’s Education in London. An active member of the Hong Kong art community, Sara serves as a Director of the Education Development Foundation Association (HK) and was an Executive Committee member of the Friends of the Hong Kong Museum of Art (2010-2013).

Port Island and Tolo Channel With Professor Chan Lung-sang

The Museum Society is delighted to have Professor Chan Lung-sang once again take us out on a boat trip to start off the new year. Tolo Channel in north-eastern New Territories is deservedly a geological showcase of Hong Kong’s Global Geopark. Professor Chan, arguably the person most knowledgeable of Hong Kong geology, will take us backwards in time, making landings at rarely visited sites to explore the fascinating stories behind the rock exposures.

On this trip, we will visit Harbour Island (白沙洲) and Port Island (赤洲) or Nai Chung (泥涌) – exact landing sites depend on weather conditions that day. Stopping at Tap Mun (塔門), we will have a simple seafood lunch before heading to heading to Double Haven (印洲塘) and at either Sai Lau Kong (西流江), the last authentic fishing village in HK, or Hung Shek Mun (紅石門). The group will return to Ma Liu Shui Pier by 5:30 pm

The trip includes a 30 min walk at each of the landing sites. The walks are rated easy to moderate in difficulty. Good walking/hiking shoes are recommended.

In case of adverse weather or unfavourable high winds, we may have to modify or cancel the trip at the leader’s discretion.

Resource Person
We are very privileged to have Professor Chan Lung-sang (陳龍生教授) as the leader of the trip. Professor Chan is professor in Earth Sciences at the University of Hong Kong as well as College Principal of HKU SPACE Community College and HKU SPACE Po Leung Kuk Community College. He received his doctorate degree in geology from the University of California, Berkeley and is arguably the first Hong Kong native to receive formal training in geology. His research interests include tectonics of South China and Hong Kong, earthquake geology and applied geophysics. He is devoted to promoting Earth Science education, and has led field trips to South China, Tibet, Taiwan, North America, Australia, Italy, Cyprus, the Arctic region and Antarctica for students.

Restoration of the Adoration of the Shepherds With Youjin Noh

Sebastiano del Piombo’s (1485-1547) Renaissance masterpiece Adoration of the Shepherds c.1510 was originally painted on a wooden panel. While owned by the Duc de Orléans in eighteenth century Paris, the paint layers were removed and transferred onto canvas, in a misguided attempt to preserve it. This caused widespread damage to the original paint and the composition was almost completely overpainted in subsequent attempts at restoration. Critical areas of the original paint remained intact and it was decided to remove all the old overpainting and bring the composition back to life by judicious and specialised restoration of the losses.

The study on artist’s painting technique through pigment analysis demonstrated Sebastiano’s sophisticated system of layering colours with the most precious pigments such as ultramarine and red lake. A close study of an early copy of Sebastiano’s original painting from The Louvre, Paris was also important source of information as well as use of live models, lay-figure and preparatory drawing. The crucial stage of restoration such as retouching the losses required a new way of approach, due to the condition of the painting, which could be called ‘line layering retouching’.

Conservator Youjin Noh, part of the restoration team at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge who undertook the mammoth task of the painting's restoration, will talk about the dramatic past of the painting and the details of restoration process undertaken to bring back the Adoration of the Shepherds to public view.

Speaker
Youjin Noh holds a Master’s Degree in Painting Conservation from Sorbonne University (Maîtrise des Sciences et Techniques de Conservation – Restauration des Biens Culturels) in Paris as well as a Master’s Degree on Paper Conservation from the University of London. Prior to gaining her conservation qualifications, Youjin had studied Asian Arts at Ewha University in Seoul.
Youjin has previously worked at the Hamilton Kerr Institute of Cambridge University as painting conservator, undertaking the restoration of many works of national importance, including the Adoration of the Shepherds by Sebastiano del Piombo (Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge University). Youjin currently runs her own restoration studio in Hong Kong.

Chiu Yuen Cemetery 昭遠墳場 With Dr. Joseph Ting, Andrew Tse and David Ho

Chiu Yuen Cemetery is a burial place for the members of the Eurasian community in Hong Kong. Situated in Mount Davis, the land was granted to Sir Robert Ho Tung and his brother Ho Fook, as trustees for the Eurasian Community in 1897. Sir Robert’s mother was amongst the early burials there. In 1915 the boundary of the cemetery was further expanded and Ho Chong was built. Ho Chong is the private burial ground for the exclusive use of Sir Robert’s brother Ho Kom-tong’s family. Ho Kom-tong was a man who believed in Feng Shui and he planned and built his own cemetery, with tomb stones erected for family members as early as 1915. Ho Chong was built on a slope and has four levels. The top level is the graves of himself and his wife, the second level for his concubines, and his sons occupied the third level. He also built a garden and a memorial hall on the fourth or lowest level.

After Ho Fook died in 1926 the cemetery was administered by Sir Robert until his death in 1956. In 1958, Chiu Yuen Cemetery was incorporated and took over from Sir Robert’s estate the ownership and management of the cemetery.

Proper paths and barriers were only built in after 1960, so there are only limited walking paths and visitors have to cross between graves to get from one area to another. Therefore, hiking or walking shoes, preferably with walking sticks are highly recommended. Snake and bees are not uncommon.

Resource Persons
Dr. Joseph Ting will explain the historical background of Chiu Yuen Cemetery. Dr. Ting majored in Chinese Literature and Chinese History from HKU and graduated with a BA degree in 1974. He was conferred an MPhil in 1979 and a PhD in 1989, both from HKU. Dr. Ting joined the Hong Kong Museum of Art as an Assistant Curator in 1979 and was appointed Chief Curator of the HK Museum of History in 1995. He retired in 2007 after serving for 28 years. He is currently an Honorary Assistant Professor in the School of Chinese at The University of Hong Kong, as well as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of History at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

We are delighted to also have Andrew Tse and David Ho with us, to share some insights into their family on this visit. Before his retirement, Andrew E. Tse was CEO of Macau’s East Asia Airlines, Hong Kong’s Heli Express and founder of Hong Kong Express Airways. He received both his university and post-graduate degrees in Canada.

David Ho is the grandson of Ho Kom-tong. He undertook the renovations of the Ho Chong Memorial Hall several years ago and sits on the Board of Chiu Yuen.