About Us

Anyone with an interest in the history, art, literature and culture of China and Asia, with special reference to Hong Kong, will enjoy membership of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, which is generally regarded as the premier Society for the study of Hong Kong and South China.

Dating back over 150 years, the Society is today a very active body, organizing varied visits, talks, seminars and more. Click to read more about the Society’s history <link to new page on RASHKB template – text is contained in the Word file “History”>.

Talks

Each month, except in July, RAS members are enlightened and entertained by distinguished speakers on subjects as diverse as Chinese gods, George Chinnery’s shorthand, the market towns in the New Territories in 1899, a Silk Road exhibition in London held by the British Library and the British Museum, South China missionaries, 19th century brothels in Hong Kong, Macanese emigration and Hedda Morrison’s photographs of Hong Kong, to name but a few. The talks take place on Friday evenings, usually in a Central location. Details of current talks are contained in the most recent Newsletter <link to Newsletters page>.

Publications <link to publications page>

The Society being dedicated to the extension of knowledge in its chosen field of enquiry, each member of the RAS receives a copy of the annual Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. Long established as a reputable academic publication, written by experts in their field, its editors strive to maintain and enhance its status. We have issued annual volumes since 1960 and published special volumes and several volumes of Symposia. These deal with varied local subjects including historical buildings, social organizations, popular beliefs, vegetation, fauna and change and development. Recent articles include those on Nga Tsin Wai village, Shanghai’s Longhua Temple, the Chinese Labour Corps in France 1917–1921, the Lugard Tribute and Tea and Opium.

The RAS also publishes a number of books on different aspects of Hong Kong’s history and culture. Click to read more information on the Sir Lindsay and Lady Ride Memorial Fund <Link to the new Ride Fund page – see Word document in folder called Ride Fund>, which is administered by the Society and subsidises the publication of significant scholarly and academic works on Hong Kong history, society and culture.

For more, go to Publications.

Visits

In addition to frequent talks, the RAS offers carefully researched and conducted visits to places off the beaten track. Recent trips around the region were to Bhutan, Angkor Wat, Kaiping, Japan’s Nakasendo Highway and Kyoto, and Yunnan and Tibet. Closer to home, members enjoyed visits to Ha Tsuen market town, backstage at a Cantonese opera, the Hong Kong Film Archive (combined with a showing of rarely seen footage of old Hong Kong), Shaukeiwan temples and Bethanie in Pokfulam. Several visits to the remains of war-time batteries and forts in Hong Kong were arranged, as well as walks around the villages and city back-streets of Hong Kong. From time to time the Society also organises guided tours of permanent or temporary exhibitions at local museums, such as the George Smirnoff exhibition in Macao and the Maritime Museum in Stanley. These visits are all led by experts who have made a special study of the subject matter. Details of visits in the near future are contained in the most recent Newsletter.

Library

The RAS library has a very fine collection of over 5,500 books on the history, culture and social life of Hong Kong, China and Asia. In 2006 the Carl Smith collection of some 140,000 index cards, a distillation of information gleaned from primary sources during his 50 years of research, was gifted to the Society. These cards and the thousands of books are conveniently located within the Special Collections at the Hong Kong Central Library in Causeway Bay. On production of an RAS membership card, members can borrow most books for a period of two months, while the many old and rare books are available for members’ research within the library premises.

The Newsletter

The regular Newsletter keeps members informed about our activities and other items of interest.

Membership

Membership exceeds 450 local members and 120 overseas members. Membership categories are Individual, Joint/Family, Student, Institutional, Overseas and Life.

One marked feature of the membership of the Hong Kong Branch is its strongly international flavour. Members are of diverse nationalities, backgrounds and occupations. Members represent a good cross section of the population of Hong Kong. For fees, go to Membership. To join, complete the application form.