Newsletter No. 529/530

剪刀霍霍向基因 Scissors for a Lock of Genes? 親撫歷史痕跡 Scaling Heights and Fathoming Depths 自從中大人類學系於2016年設立全港 首個考古副修課程，本地學生也有機會 接受系統性學術及考察訓練。早前有學 生到四川三星堆及江口古戰場實習，也 有學生在南海Ⅰ號沉船遺址考察，回港 後把學習成果展示於大學圖書館，與公 眾分享「上山下海」的體驗。 2018年暑假，人類學系、歷史系與文化 研究系有九位副修考古的學生前往四 川實習，其間操作嶄新的實時動態測量 技術（RTK）、清理墓葬、拼對陶片，也 嘗試修復和拓片等考古工作。人類學四 年級生 鍾禮筠 說：「可以觸摸幾百年前 的手製器物，觀察前人留下的生活軌 跡，意義深遠。」負責四川實習的 林永昌 教授認為田野考察能讓人了解物質文化遺產，解釋 為何我們要在乎過去的盆罐磚瓦。 南海Ⅰ號是南宋時期的沉船，當時載運大量陶瓷、金銀銅器等，包括手工精美的銅鎏金腰 帶，是迄今發現年代最早、體積最大的沉船。2017年適逢南海Ⅰ號發現三十周年，人類學畢 業生 馮樂山 和三年級生 鄧曉懿 親赴廣東陽江考察南海Ⅰ號，了解水下文化遺產。馮樂山認同 把沉船置於博物館的做法，公眾可以在特定範圍觀察工作人員發掘和清理文物，有助普及 考古學。 展板設計簡潔，讓參觀者在短短十多分鐘穿梭四川三星堆的古蜀文明、明末農民武裝事件 及南宋的盛世面貌。其實考古現場不限於國內和海外，香港亦有二百零八個具考古價值的 地點，例如早前在西貢糧船灣便打撈出宋代船錨，證明香港是宋元時期海上絲綢之路的重 要中轉港。 黃慧怡 教授是水下考古組的負責老師，她說：「香港人習慣向前看，其實考古和文物保育很 重要，不鑑古何以知今？」 CUHK’s Department of Anthropology launched Hong Kong’s first minor programme in Archaeology in 2016. Since then, local students have been able to receive systematic academic and fieldwork training in archaeology. Those who returned from internships at the Sanxingdui site and the Jiangkou Battlefield in Sichuan as well as the Nanhai No.1 shipwreck site in Guangdong shared their scaling and fathoming experiences at an exhibition at the University Library. Nine students from Anthropology, History and Cultural and Religious Studies interned in Sichuan in the past summer, engaging in archaeological work—operating the RTK (Real- time kinematic) technology, excavating tombs, refitting ceramic sherds, and transferring the artifacts’ pattern to paper. ‘It means a lot to me to be able to observe up close how our ancestors lived by taking into my hands artifacts from those times,’ said Year 4 anthropology student Chung Lai-kwan . Prof. LamWeng-cheong who took charge of the Sichuan internship finds fieldwork studies instrumental to helping the interns understand the value of material cultural heritage and the reason to care about the relics. Nanhai No.1 is a sunken ship from the Southern Song era. With its large amount of ceramics and gold, silver and bronze artefacts, it is the earliest and largest find of its kind. 2017 marked the 30th anniversary of the unearthing of Nanhai No.1. Anthropology graduate Sonia Fung and Year 3 student Deng Xiaoyi visited the archaeological site in Yangjiang, Guangdong to learn about the underwater cultural heritage. The sunken ship display in the museum allows visitors to observe the process from excavation to cleanup. Sonia thought it helps to bring archaeology to the wider public. The display has reconstructed for the visitors the ancient Shu culture in Sichuan, the peasant unrest in late Ming and the prosperous Southern Song. But one doesn’t have to look far for archaeological sites. There are 208 sites of archaeological interest in Hong Kong. For instance, a team of diver-archaeologists recovered an anchor stock of Song off High Island in Sai Kung, proving Hong Kong an important entrepot on the Maritime Silk Route back then. Prof. Sharon Wong , who’s in charge of the underwater archaeological stream, said, ‘Hongkongers are used to looking forward. But if we do not examine the past, as archaeology and conservation teach us to, how can we understand the present?’ J. Lau 在科學圈子裏，人類基因組編輯的技術已經不是甚麼新鮮事，但基因給改造以致不受愛滋 病毒感染的孖生女嬰出世的消息，仍然轟動全世界。 事件雖然稍為平息下來，但由相關技術引發的道德爭議相信仍會繼續，而且肯定會加入更 多政策制定者、社會科學家和人文學者。英文系 陳紫茵 教授認為人文學科的論述有助釐清 爭議焦點，而正正因為二十一世紀科技發展日新月異，後果禍福難料，人文學科的思維更形 重要。 在陳教授眼中，科學發現應用到現實世界，大大改善了人們的物質生活狀況，尤其在疾病管 理及診斷方面，而社會亦已成熟到有條件開始討論基因工程。 但她亦不忘提醒我們不要忘記關注科技發展引發的道德問題，以免淪為科技的奴隸。這些問 題歷來不少哲學家及小說家已經探討過，就是基因工程會對人類的個體性造成甚麼影響。 她說：「科技帶給我們很多好處，但大家應該不想見到如赫胥黎《美麗新世界》中描述的人 類將來吧？」加拿大小說家 Margaret Atwood 有小說 Oryx and Crake （2003），說的是一 個由基因工程技術主宰，但卻只用來鞏固資本主義消費模式的未來世界。這部小說發人深 省，如果我們不思考人性本質，以及生命深層的意義和目的，未來社會不堪想像。 但道德討論會否帶來社會所需要的睿智，又或是被認為妨礙科技進步和浪費時間？陳教授 這樣說：「要保證人類享受到科技進步的成果而不是承受其苦果，我們只有不斷從道德層 面詰問。」 The technology of human genome editing is no news, at least among the scientific circles. But the news of the birth of the twin girls whose genes have been altered to exclude the possibility of HIV infection has caused widespread outrage in and out of the scientific communities. The ensuing debates will surely raise many more questions and engage lawmakers, social scientists and humanists alike. Prof. Evelyn Chan of the English Department thinks that these are the kinds of questions the humanities concern itself with, which is why the humanities are so important as we forge on with technological innovations of all kinds in the twenty-first century. Professor Chan views technology as comprising real-world applications from scientific developments that lead to improvement in the material conditions of human life. She recognizes that currently very specific technologies in disease management and detection that have already done much to improve our lives will continue to develop to the extent where we will be able to start talking about genetic engineering on a much larger social scale. She, however, cautions that technology makes our lives better only if we continue to ask deeper questions about the ethics and desirability of technological developments, so that technology does not become our master and we the slaves. These include questions that philosophers and novelists alike have asked on what such technological applications as genetic engineering would mean for ideas of human agency, individuality and uniqueness. She said, ‘We have all benefitted immensely from technology, but surely we do not want to end up like the world depicted in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World .’ A glimpse of a world dominated by genetic engineering (albeit of the kind we are not currently yet capable of) geared solely towards capitalist consumerism is given in Margaret Atwood ’s dystopian novel Oryx and Crake (2003). The novel is a sobering reflection on what human society would look like where we stopped asking questions about the nature of humanity and the deeper meaning of and purpose to human life. Will moral questioning give us the guidance we need or will it be swept aside as irrelevant to technological progress and a waste of time? Professor Chan’s answer: ‘Continuing to explore the ethics of technological progress is the only way we can ensure that what we are doing truly benefits humanity.’ T.C. 10 # 5 2 9 / 5 3 0 | 1 9 . 1 2 . 2 0 1 8 字 裏 科 技 / T ech T alks 藝 士 匹 靈 / ARTS pirin