Bulletin Number Five 1987

surgery. Another technique the Unit pioneered is the injection of haemostatic agents to stop bleeding from peptic ulcers. The International Workshop was followed by an International Symposium on Therapeutic Endoscopy held on 12th and 13th December at the Sheraton Hotel. At the opening ceremony, Dr. W.S. C. Chao, President of the Hong Kong Society of Digestive Endoscopy, welcomed participants, and Professor J.C.K. Lee, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine of the University, delivered the opening address. The 2-day symposium was conducted in nine sessions with a total of 15 lectures. In addition, 24 papers were also presented by overseas and local participants. Dr. Joseph Leung, Chairman of the Organizing Committee and Senior Lecturer in Medicine of the University, made the closing remarks. International Conference on Chinese Wuxia Fiction The International Conference on Chinese Wuxia Fiction held on campus from 28th to 30th December, 1987 ， was the very first attempt of serious examination and discussion of this very popular, possibly the most popular in the past half century, genre of Chinese fiction. The Conference was made possible by the generous donation of Dr. Louis Cha and another anonymous donor. Invited participants who have contributed papers include Professor Joseph Lau and Professor Y.W. Ma from the USA; Professor J. Pimpaneau, Professor A. L é vy and Dr. C.H. Chen from Europe; Professors Hou Chien, Sun Tung-hs ü en, Wu Hung-i, Chou Feng-wu and Mr. Yeh Hung-sheng from Taiwan; Professor Feng Qi-yong, Mr. Hu Wen- bin, Mr. Gong Yi-ren, Mr. Feng Yu-nan, Mr. Wang Chun-yu, Mr. Chang Fang and Mr. Feng Tong-i from mainland China; Dr. Leung Yin-shing, Dr. Poon Ming- sun, and Dr. Wong Wai-leung of Hong Kong. The opening ceremony was held in the morning of the 28th, with speeches from the Pro-Vice- Chancellor, Professor Baysung Hsu, the Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Dr. Philip Shen, and the Director of the Institute of Chinese Studies, Dr. Fong-ching Chen. The keynote speaker for the ceremony was Dr. Louis Cha. Mr. Yeh Hung-sheng presented to the Conference the Encyclopaedia of Wuxia Fiction edited by him, which was accepted on behalf of the Conference by Professor D.C. Lau. There were a total of 20 papers presented in the two-and-a-half-day Conference covering a wide variety of topics: the tradition and development of Wuxia fictions in China, the Chinese Wuxia fiction and its Western counterpart, Western influence on modern Chinese Wuxia fiction and technique, and social impact of the Wuxia fiction. Other than being the first conference on this ever popular genre ， the Conference has other significance. The Wuxia fiction, despite its popularity, is generally considered an unworthy topic for scholarly studies. But as Professor Baysung Hsu rightly pointed out in his speech, even if one puts aside the literary worth of Wuxia fiction, its popularity and impact on society in the past 30 years alone merit our attention and serious studies. As fiction, the better written works in the genre compare well with any 'serious' works. The misconception in the unworthiness of Wuxia fiction is largely a product of snobbery of the scholarly circle against popular culture. The Conference has broken away from this deep-rooted prejudice. Judging from the facts that the participants of this Conference included many illustrious scholars, and that there were five academics (and seven papers) from mainland China, where not many years ago Wuxia fictions were officially banned, the academic attitude towards popular culture in general and the Wuxia fiction in particular seems to be changing. The Conference, in a way, is perhaps the harbinger of this encouraging and welcome change. —W.M. Chan 9