Bulletin Spring‧Summer 2006

Chinese University Bulletin Spring • Summer 2006 During the expansion of ICS, an east wing was annexed to the museum. Prof. Charles K. Kao ( left 1 ) officiated at the opening ceremony in October 1988. new exhibition hall, in the clean and stylish tones of black and white, houses selections from the museum collections. Upholding Tradition and Ushering in the Future The inaugural exhibition of the Art Gallery was an important cultural event in Hong Kong. Due to public demand, the original 15-day event was extended to become an event of one month and four days. Preparation for the exhibition began in December of 1970. Chaired by Dr. J.S. Lee, member of the University Council, a committee was set up to plan the programme. But the Art Gallery did not have any hoardings of its own, not a single piece. The founding director of the Art Gallery was Prof. James C.Y. Watt, who now heads the Asiatic Art Department of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. He had also been the assistant curator of the Hong Kong City Museum and Art Gallery before joining The Chinese University. He recalled, ‘I arrived at a beautiful and empty shell. There was not one article in the museum — neither furniture nor work of art. The staff consisted of two people, a technician and myself. But I felt it a great challenge and I was full of enthusiasm for building up an institution that was to be an important part of the University.’ It was the efforts of Dr. J.S. Lee, himself a serious collector of Chinese art treasures, that friends of the University, and local collectors, in particular members of the highly esteemed Min Chiu Society, offered help to and loaned the University a large number of precious articles for the exhibition. The event attracted a large audience with its over 400 pieces of artefacts, including ceramics, paintings and calligraphy, seals, inkstones, archaic jades and rare books. Dr. Li Choh-Ming, the founding Vice-Chancellor of the University, said in his speech at the opening ceremony, ‘When we speak of Chinese culture, we must think of the saying, “Inherit the past and pioneer the future”. Respect for tradition does not mean blind or timid adherence to what has been handed down to us. Without awareness of contemporaneity and the development of culture as a living process, tradition is devoid of meaning. Chinese culture is often likened to a long stream with a distant source. This means that Chinese culture not only has a glorious past, but also a brilliant future. Being contemporaries, we must be conscious of our tremendous responsibility: to enrich our cultural heritage, to refine it further, and to pave the way for future advancement. The opening of the Art Gallery is but a partial realization of this conviction.’ Collecting Art Treasures and Supporting Teaching and Research After the opening of the Art Gallery, the University set up a management committee to make recommendations to the Vice-Chancellor, who was also director of the ICS, on the formulation and implementation of policies and the planning of exhibitions. The Art Gallery managed to borrow art gems from supportive local collectors and held exhibitions. But the ultimate aim of the Art Gallery was to have its own collections for research and teaching purposes. In early 1973, it set up a committee to raise funds and to oversee the acquisition of its collection. It is impractical for a university museum to compete with private collectors or to purchase expensive artefacts indiscriminately, given its limited resources. The Art Museum has an annual budget for the acquisition of art objects.