A History of the University of Hong Kong, Volume 1, 1911-1945
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A History of the University of Hong Kong Volume 1, 1911–1945 Peter Cunich Picture Editor: Christopher Cowell Hong Kong University Press Th e University of Hong Kong Pokfulam Road Hong Kong www.hkupress.org © Hong Kong University Press 2012 ISBN 978-988-8139-21-7 (Hardback) All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed and bound by Liang Yu Printing Factory Ltd., Hong Kong, China Contents List of Tables vii List of Abbreviations ix A Note on the Romanisation of Chinese Words xi A Note on Currency Values xiii Illustration Credits xv Preface xvii Chapter 1 British Higher Education in East Asia, c.1807–1905 2 Chapter 2 The Hong Kong College of Medicine, 1887–1915 40 Chapter 3 The Idea of the University, 1901–1909 74 Chapter 4 Establishing the University, 1908–1912 108 Chapter 5 Academic Life Begins, 1912–1921 162 Chapter 6 The Struggle for Survival, 1912–1924 208 Chapter 7 The University Finds Its Feet, 1921–1931 244 Chapter 8 An Instrument of Empire, 1931–1941 310 Chapter 9 The University at War, 1937–1945 386 Chapter 10 Light of the Orient? 434 Appendix 445 Notes 447 Bibliography 549 Index 573 Tables 2.1 Student admissions at the Hong Kong College of Medicine, 1887–1912 68 5.1 Matriculated students entering the fi rst year at HKU, 1912–1921 187 5.2 Total enrolment of matriculated students at HKU, 1912–1921 190 6.1 Income and expenditure, 1912–1921 223 6.2 Graduates of HKU, 1914–1921 238 7.1 Income and expenditure, 1921–1931 255 7.2 Full-time and part-time academic staff at HKU, 1921–1931 264 7.3 Matriculated students entering the fi rst year at HKU, 1921–1931 285 7.4 Total undergraduate enrolment at HKU, 1921–1931 287 7.5 Graduates of HKU, 1921–1931 303 8.1 Income and expenditure, 1931–1941 313 8.2 Full-time and part-time academic staff at HKU, 1931–1941 348 8.3 Matriculated students entering the fi rst year at HKU, 1931–1941 362 8.4 Total enrolment of matriculated students at HKU, 1931–1941 362 8.5 Nationality and origin of students at HKU, 1928–1940 363 8.6 Graduates of HKU, 1931–1942 382 Illustration Credits Dr Solomon Bard Figure 9.7; Plate 37 Mrs Nellie Bonsall Figure 9.8 Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong Figure 1.5 Mrs Desiree Ozorio Chotirawe Figure 6.14 Corpus Christi College Oxford and Bridgeman Figure 1.8 Art Library Council for World Mission/School of Oriental Figure 2.3; Plate 1 and African Studies, London (CWM/SOAS) Th e President and Fellows of Harvard College Figure 9.1 Capt Ho Weng To Figure 9.15 Hong Kong Government (HKG) Figures 4.7 and 6.5 Hong Kong University Students’ Union Figures 5.12, 7.8 and 7.14; Plates 23, 28, 34 (HKUSU) and 36 Ko Tim-keung Figure 4.6 Jennifer Leung Figure 8.11 Mrs Shelagh Meade Figure 3.1 Private Collections Figures 1.11, 4.11, 6.1, 6.8 and 7.2 Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch Figures 4.13 and 6.4 (RASHKB) Th e Marquess of Salisbury Figure 3.10 St John’s College Figure 4.8 St Stephen’s College Figure 5.7 St Stephen’s Girls’ College (SSGC) Figures 5.8 and 8.18 Scout Association of Hong Kong Plate 22 So Man Hing Figure 1.3 Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin Figure 3.11 Th e National Archives, Kew (TNA) Figures 2.6, 4.7 and 6.5; Plate 4 Audrey Th omas Figures 9.3 and 9.14; Plates 19 and 20 Dr Ellen Tulip Figures 9.9, 9.10, 9.11 and 9.12; Plates 38 and 39a University of Hong Kong (HKU) Plate 16 xvi Illustration Credits University of Hong Kong Archives (HKUA) Figures 1.9, 1.10, 2.1, 2.2, 2.5, 2.7, 2.8, 2.10, 3.5, 3.7, 3.8, 4.1, 4.2, 4.4, 4.10, 4.16, 5.1, 5.3, 5.4, 5.10, 5.13, 6.6, 6.7, 6.9, 6.10, 7.1, 7.4, 7.5, 7.7, 7.9, 7.11, 7.12, 7.13, 7.17, 7.18, 7.19, 8.1, 8.4, 8.10, 8.12, 8.13, 8.19, 8.20, 8.21, 9.5, 9.16, 9.17, 9.18, 10.1; Plates 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 29, 30, 31, 32a, 35, 37, 39b and 40; endpapers and cover illustrations. University of Hong Kong Archives, George Figure 9.6 Endacott Collection University of Hong Kong Archives, Gordon King Figure 8.7 Collection University of Hong Kong Archives, Ride Figures 3.2, 4.14, 6.2, 6.3, 7.6, 8.1, 8.5, 8.15, Collection 9.2 and 9.13 University of Hong Kong Archives, Robert Tam Figure 7.10 Collection University of Hong Kong Centenary History Plates 14, 15, 27, 32b and 33a Project (HKUCHP) University of Hong Kong Communications and Figures 4.12, 4.15, 5.11, 6.11, 8.2 and 8.3; Public Aff airs Offi ce (HKUCPAO) Plates 11 and 33b University of Hong Kong Development and Figure 5.9 Alumni Aff airs Offi ce (HKUDAAO) University of Hong Kong Libraries (HKUL) Figures 1.1, 1.2, 1.4, 1.7, 2.4, 3.3, 4.3, 4.5, 4.9, 4.13, 5.5, 5.6, 6.4, 6.12, 6.13, 6.15, 7.2, 7.3, 7.15, 7.16, 8.6, 8.8, 8.9, 8.14, 8.16, 8.17, 9.4 and 10.2; Plates 2, 3 and 26 University of Hong Kong Li Ka Shing Faculty of Plate 37 Medicine (HKULKSFM) University Museum and Art Gallery, HKU Plate 13 (UMAG) University of Sheffi eld Figure 5.2; Plate 17 Wattis Fine Arts, Hong Kong Plate 4 Wellcome Library, London Figure 2.9 Mrs Helena L. P. M. Wong Figure 6.14 Yale Divinity School Library, Special Collections Figure 1.6 Photographs appearing in Bernard Mellor’s Lugard in Hong Kong (1992) have also been used in this volume, but in some cases the original copyright owners could not be identifi ed. I will therefore be glad to acknowledge the copyright owners of the following photographs in all future editions of this book: Figures 3.4, 3.6, 3.9 and 4.17. Preface Th e University of Hong Kong has been well served by its past historians. A long tradition of recording the University’s history can be traced back to the very beginning of the institution’s existence, with the copious writings and archival collecting of, respectively, Sir Frederick Lugard and Sir Henry May, the fi rst two Chancellors, forming the bedrock on which all later histories have been written. While the fi rst formal history was not published until 1933 by our third Vice-Chancellor, Sir William Hornell, and the next did not appear until the golden jubilee volume edited by Brian Harrison in 1962, recent decades have witnessed a veritable explosion in the chronicling of the University’s history.1 Especially important was the archival work completed in the 1970s and 1980s by Bernard Mellor, a former Registrar of the University, which led to the publication of his Informal History (1980) and Lugard in Hong Kong (1992).2 In 1977, Mellor was commissioned by the University Council to write a ‘general history’ of the University in time for publication during the seventieth anni- versary celebrations in 1981. It was to be a short work ‘of a public relations nature’ with a large number of photographs, but the two-volume Informal History turned out to be far more ambitious than originally expected. Th e Council’s intention had been to commission a second, more ‘extensive academic study’ of the University’s history that would both ‘take stock of the University’s total role as an international tertiary institution of high standing’ and address the importance of HKU’s place ‘in the context of modern Hong Kong’. It was decided to defer the second more ambitious project until a later date, but after 1981 neither the fi nances nor an author could be found to enable the commissioning of the book.3 More recent books on the history of the University have ranged from refl ections by former students on their experiences during the Second World War and several faculty his- tories to the 2002 ‘impact study’ titled Growing with Hong Kong.4 Th ere have also been a large number of autobiographies written by graduates over the last twenty years, which have provided important personal perspectives on events in the University’s more recent history. Unfortunately, few of these books provide a full scholarly apparatus and their usefulness is therefore somewhat limited for researchers who wish to explore further the history of the University. In the last ten years, some attempt has been made to render historical accounts of the University more technically robust. An Impossible Dream (2002) and HKU SPACE and its Alumni (2008), both associated with the Centenary History Project, have attempted to show what can be achieved given the current archival resources of the University.5 Despite all the recent research on the University’s history and the numerous publications which have appeared over the last twenty years, however, no attempt has been made to write a compre- hensive history of HKU since the late 1970s.