Founded in 1368, the Ming dynasty spanned a period of 276 years during which 16 emperors ascended the throne. It was the last unified and centralised dynasty ruled by the Han Chinese after the Tang and the Song dynasties. Ming culture was resplendent and multifarious. The dynasty saw the peak of traditional cultural development as well as the gradual sprouting of new cultures. Productivity surpassed that of the Song and the Yuan times, and commodity economy enjoyed unprecedented prosperity, pushing the progress of folk culture and the standard of artistic creation to new heights. Furthermore, frequent communications between Ming China and foreign countries brought about the import of foreign culture, subsequently unfolding a brand new scenario in the social development of the time.
This exhibition made possible by the generous support of individual members of the Min Chiu Society features around 300 sets of items from their precious collections. They include porcelains, lacquers, cloisonné enamels, jades, textiles, furniture, gold and silver wares, paintings, calligraphies, scholar's objects, recreational objects and religious figures. It is hoped that these exhibits will guide the audience through the history and culture of the Ming dynasty from fresh and diverse perspectives. Among the highlights of the exhibits are imperial porcelains and lacquers, porcelains and gilt metal wares with strong Arabic flavour and multifarious religious characteristics, succinctly shaped Ming-style furniture, magnificent textiles, exquisite openwork jade belt plaques, paintings and calligraphies of the ‘Four Literary Masters of the Wuzhong Region (Suzhou)̛, and scholar objects epitomising the taste of the literati.
Resource Person
We are delighted to present this special guided tour with fellow member and collector contributing to this exhibition, Anthony K.W. Cheung. He is a member of the prestigious Min Chiu Society and a renowned collector of Chinese art focusing on Ming and Qing imperial ceramics. The Huaihaitang Collection was started in the early 1980s when Anthony came across several important porcelain collections at local auctions and exhibitions. An entrepreneur-cum-collector, Anthony is also an accomplished scholar of Art. His unique connoisseurship is revealed in his extensive collections of imperial Chinese porcelain from the Ming and Qing dynasties. Anthony has supported university and public art museums in Hong Kong through numerous donations and loaned exhibits.
Julia Tao, daughter of painter Tao Wan will guide us through the exhibition of her father’s works at UMAG. The exhibition highlights about thirty selected paintings by the artist as well as over twenty name, leisure and studio seals by professional seal carvers, Tao’s painter friends and students from Canton and Hong Kong.
This will be followed by demonstrations by Master Tao's students Y.F. Chan 陳燿煇 and K.H. Kwong 鄺啟慶, who will demonstrate Tao's ink paint work and style.
UMAG Director Dr. Florian Knothe is leading a special tour for our members to view two new exhibitions at the University Museum and Art Gallery. Erich Lessing: The Pulse of Time–Capturing Social Change in Post-war Europe shows the work of renowned Austrian photo journalist and Magnum photographer Erich Lessing. Illustrious Illuminations: Christian Manuscripts from the High Gothic to the High Renaissance (1250–1500) displays rare illuminated manuscripts from the McCarthy Collection. These religious manuscripts, laboriously painted by hand, are being shown for the first time in Hong Kong.
Resource Person
A scholar of Western European art, Dr. Florian Knothe received his PhD in royal manufacture and the production of art and propaganda in 17th century France. His prior positions include: research fellow and associate in European Sculpture and Decorative Arts at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, curator of European glass at The Corning Museum of Glass, where he led the East Meets West exhibition in 2010, and related lectures and conference papers presented in the US, Europe, Asia and Africa. In his role as Director, Dr. Knothe aims to connect UMAG internationally so that future collection-oriented research and programming reflect the university’s unique geographic and cultural position between East and West.
Continuing our tradition of beginning each year with an outdoor event to marvel at the beauty of Mother Nature, we begin with a boat trip to Plover Cove and the surrounding areas. We leave from Ma Liu Shui Pier and ride towards Harbour Island and make a stop on the east dam of Plover Cove for a panoramic view of the Plover Cove reservoir. At the second stop at Lai Chi Chong, fabulous art works are displayed in the natural rock formations. A simple seafood lunch will be arranged on Tap Mun after which we will take a leisurely stroll. The boat will cruise along Port Island to view the recently discovered Skulls Island at close distance. Group will return to Ma Liu Shui Pier by 5 pm.
In case of adverse weather conditions or unfavourably 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.
Life experience and national origins are two elements that often dramatically impact an artist’s personality and aesthetic tendencies. In the case of Omar Rojas, those elements were formed by the two countries that have factored most heavily in his professional life as a composer and performer—Mexico and the Czech Republic.
A majority of the works to be performed in this programme were written by Rojas in the Czech Republic, but with a strong Mexican cultural influence. The same can be said of the Czech elements heard in the pieces composed in Mexico. This balanced duality is further enriched through the audience and Rojas’ interactive brand of concerts, and is a perfect complement to the “Mexican Big Bang” paintings on exhibit by Roberto Turnbull.
Performer
Edgar Omar Rojas Ruiz began his musical studies at the Centro de Investigación y Estudios de la Música (CIEM) (Center of Studies and Musical Research) under the direction of Alejandro Velasco “Kavindu” and Víctor Rasgado for composition, and with Marcela Rodríguez and Enrico Chapela for orchestration. From 2007–2009 he worked on his Masters in Music Composition at the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts in the Czech Republic with Prof. Arnošt Parsch. At this same institution, he completed his Doctorate in Music Composition and Theory with Prof. Ing. Ivo Medek.
His original music has been performed in Mexico, Chile, Germany, Hungary, Israel, the Czech Republic, America, Slovakia and Spain. In 2011 he was awarded first prize in the VII Concurso de Composición Musical Universidad de Zaragoza (Spain). He also has worked on the production of various international cultural projects, including as Logistics Manager for the Festival of Music and New Technologies, Visiones Sonoras, 2006 (Mexico City), General Manager and Founder of the First Composition Award Janáček–Revueltas 2008 (Czech Republic–Mexico) and Music Manager for the Festival “Mexic(k)o 2010”, a commemoration of the Bicentennial of Mexican Independence and the Centenary of the Mexican Revolution (Czech Republic 2010). Since 2007, he has been the Founder and Director of the Alumni Network of CIEM in Mexico. In 2014 he was invited to be President of the Jury during the final stage of the Song Festival at the prestigious Mexican university Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey Campus Querétaro. During this post he also worked on several interdisciplinary projects, including as musical director for the theatrical performance “Cada quien su Lara” by the renowned Mexican actor Héctor Bonilla (Mexico), and as an arranger of the suite “En el crepusculo de mi vida” by the Mexican actor Javier Díaz Dueñas.
The University of Hong Kong Museum Society takes great pleasure in inviting you to the launch of our 30th Anniversary Endowment Fund Kick-off event with our Patron Dr. Christina Mathieson and Vice Chancellor Peter Mathieson on Saturday, 5 December 2015. This major fundraising campaign benefitting the University Museum and Art Gallery and HKUMS’ future art funding has been months in the planning. On this day we will be delighted to share our vision with you.
Underlining the Museum Society’s commitment in supporting art in Hong Kong, we will be presenting Senses / 而立, a special exhibition bringing together a team of young graduates of HK institutions to curate a show that aims to promote young emerging local artists with artworks in a wide range of mediums. All pieces exhibited will be available for sale, with proceeds going towards the artists and the 30th Anniversary Endowment Fund.
Join us for art, music and afternoon tea in the Art Deco surroundings of the University Lodge, and help us launch our 30th Anniversary Endowment Fund with a bang!
Painters of the Song dynasty (960–1279) produced some of the most breathtakingly beautiful paintings that display a high degree of naturalism. This is to say that the artists sought to skilfully capture the appearance of the subject matter. This quality can be seen in paintings attributed to Emperor Huizong (r. 1100–1126). For example the celebrated painting Women Preparing Newly Woven Silk displays great refinement of technical skills and showcases the gorgeous beauty of the court women. But by 1100 an alternative idea of what constituted as natural was defined by scholar-officials, most notably Su Shi. He argued the presence of the artist’s hand revealing his intention was the most natural part of a painting. Painters inspired by Su Shi’s ideas produced paintings aimed at revealing the naturalness of their individual interpretations of the subject represented. They created some of the most formally innovative paintings in the history of Chinese art as they turned away from the importance of naturalism to affirm their artistic visions.
This morning seminar will be presented in two talks exploring the two complementary natures of the natural in Song-dynasty painting. The first talk, The Beauty of Naturalism is devoted to exploring the naturalism central to the skilful and gorgeous productions typical of Emperor Huizong’s painting. The other, The Humanity of Expression will address the naturalness of the artist as producer of the imagery that naturally demonstrate the thoughts and expressions of the artist. Each talk will look at five paintings to illustrate the different aspects of the nature in Song painting.
Speaker
Dr. Roslyn Lee Hammers is an Associate Professor of art history in the Department of Fine Arts at The University of Hong Kong. She teaches courses on Chinese painting, South Asian art, and Asian architectural history. Her book entitled Pictures of Tilling and Weaving: Art, Labour and Technology in Song and Yuan China (Hong Kong University Press) was published in 2011. She is presently working on a study of Qing dynasty representations of agrarian labour.
For the coming autumn auction, we will be guided by two Christie's specialists, Sara Mao from Chinese Painting Department and Angel Yip from the Asian 20th Century and Contemporary Art Department. They will lead us through some of the highlights from the Chinese Painting, and the Asian 20th Century & Contemporary Art galleries. Highlights include Egret on Rock by Bada Shanren, Cursive Script Calligraphy by Wang Duo, Autumn Mountains attributed to Tang Yin, Mountain Streams by Yuan Jiang, as well as Bamboo attributed to Emperor Huizhong, and works by renowned 20th century artists including Zhang Daqian, Fu Baoshi, Xu Beihong, Qi Baishi, Lin Fengmian and Wu Guanzhong and much more.
Members and friends may stay on after the guided tour to view the other galleries.
Resource Persons
Sara Mao is a Specialist in Christie's Chinese Painting Department, with a strong background in Chinese Art. She obtained a Master in Literature in History of Art and Connoisseurship, with a concentration in Chinese Art from Christie's Education in London. She joined Christie's in 2008.
Angel Yip graduated from the Faculty of Arts of the University of Hong Kong, with a concentration in Asian Art History. She began her career in the auction field in 2011 and joined Christie’s as the Junior Specialist in the Asian 20th Century and Contemporary Art Department in 2015.
This talk is a rare opportunity to see an important work of art that dates to the Qianlong era, a scroll that has been seldom seen in public.
Two ink rubbings scrolls of the Pictures of Tilling and Weaving (or Gengzhi Tu 耕織圖) which were commissioned by the Qianlong emperor (1735-1796) have been joyfully reunited in the Huaihai Tang collection in Hong Kong. The project consists of the monumental reproduction of forty-eight scenes of agrarian labour and text related to them carved into forty-eight stone stele. Once the stones were carved, paper could be laid across them and then tapped with sponges full of ink to generate a black and white “rubbed” copy. In the case of the Qianlong rubbings, only two copies are known to exist with the Huaihai Tang version the sole complete copy.
This talk, focusing on the Pictures of Weaving, which will be on display, outlines the story of their production. According to Confucian Classics, silk is a lustrous fabric of divine inspiration. Various goddesses, sages and emperors and wives of sages or emperors are credited with inventing the processes needed to weave it. In contrast to these canonical textual references, during the 12th century, the Pictures of Weaving were inaugurated, designed to showcase the much more mundane steps undertaken by farming women in the manufacturing of bolts of silk. In the Qing era this genre experienced a vigorous revival stimulated by imperial patronage. This presentation introduces the implications of silk fabric within the history of China to then explore Qianlong’s motivations to commission paintings related to silk and its production. The talk concludes with a brief account of the provenance of the scroll, complete with a viewing of the scroll.
Speaker
Dr. Roslyn Hammers is an Associate Professor of art history in the Department of Fine Arts at The University of Hong Kong. She teaches courses on Chinese painting, South Asian art, and Asian architectural history. Her book entitled Pictures of Tilling and Weaving: Art, Labour and Technology in Song and Yuan China (Hong Kong University Press) was published in 2011. She is presently working on a study of Qing dynasty representations of agrarian labour.
Cheongsam, a loaned word derived from a Chinese term literally meaning ‘long dress’, refers exclusively to a traditional Chinese female dress form that first came into vogue in Shanghai in the 1920s and saw its golden age in Hong Kong in the 1950s-1960s. Noted for its elegant body-hugging silhouette, exquisite Shanghainese tailoring, unique East-West appeal, amazing versatility and distinct national identity, this dress form was embraced by all local urban Chinese women in its heyday. Although the cheongsam ceased to be a mainstream outfit in Hong Kong after the 1970s, it continued to receive support from the local elite and on special occasions. The apparent revival of the cheongsam in the last two decades has seen this dress form in a new context and subjected to greater freedom of expression. However, reintroducing it back to our daily wardrobe has met many difficulties. Let’s see if the cheongsam images of the 1960s can throw some light
on this.
* Jointly presented with Cheongsam Connect.
雖然近年較多香港人使用「旗袍」一詞，其實「長衫」這地道說法在香港有悠久的歷史。戰前的「香港長衫」唯上世紀二十年代「上海旗袍」潮流馬首是瞻，但戰後卻能擺脫上海旗袍的影子而闖出新天地。大批南來的「上海裁縫」和他們的精湛「海派工藝」造就了二十世紀中葉香港長衫的「黃金時代」。長衫普遍成為香港城市女性的常服、便服及宴會服，將中華女性引以為傲的身分、端莊形象和東方美態發揮得淋漓盡致 。七十年代以後，雖然長衫不再是主流服，卻仍受不少精英階層的女性擁戴，並繼續成為喜慶宴會的最得體服裝。長衫潮流在二十世紀末明顯復甦，傳統與創新並存，中西更見融匯，然而要把長衫重新普及仍是困難重重。讓我們向上世紀中葉的光影圖像取經，看看有何玄機可以讓長衫重新回歸城中女性便服與常服的行列。
Speaker
Dr. Brenda Li holds a BA degree in Chinese literature and history from the University of Hong Kong and DPhil and MPhil degrees in Tibetan and Himalayan Studies from the University of Oxford. She is a multi-disciplinary scholar: Translator and writer in Chinese art and culture, project-based Researcher and Editor of the Hong Kong Museum of History and Hong Kong Heritage Museum, Instructor of Tibetan language and the ground breaking Certificate Course in Cheongsam Design and Production at HKUSPACE, and author of two books on Tibetan history and culture. She was Researcher of the exhibition “A Century of Fashion: Hong Kong Cheongsam Story” organised by the Hong Kong Museum of History in 2013. Dr. Li is an advocate of local cheongsam culture and she makes her own cheongsams.
講者簡介：
李惠玲為香港大學中國文學及歷史學士，英國牛津大學西藏與喜馬拉雅研究碩士與博士；資深中國文史美術翻譯及寫作人，藏學研究學者及作者，身兼多職及同時涉獵不同的學術範疇。現時為香港歷史博物館及香港文化博物館特約研究、翻譯及編校員，香港大學專業進修學院西藏語文導師，並為該學院新開創的「長衫製作及設計證書課程」講授香港長衫歷史和文化。曾為2013年香港博物館舉辦的「百年時尚：香港長衫故事」展覽作研究員並撰寫展覽目錄。李博士喜愛縫紉，所穿的長衫全是自己縫製，近年積極推廣本土的長衫文化。
