Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch is an organisation to encourage interest in Asia broadly, with an emphasis on Hong Kong. The society was founded in 1847 and folded 1859. It was revived on December 28, 1959. Its parent association is the

Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS), was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the en ...

. The Society is open to all with an interest in the art, literature and culture of China and Asia, with special reference to Hong Kong.

History

In 1847 the Hong Kong branch of the Royal Asiatic Society was founded under its parent society, the Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. The latter had in turn been founded in 1823 by Sir Henry Thomas Colebrooke and others. In 1824 the Asiatic Society received a Royal Charter from patron King George IV and was charged with ‘the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encouragement of science, literature and the arts in relation to Asia.’ In around 1838, branches were formed in Mumbai and Chennai, and Sri Lanka in 1845. The Hong Kong branch followed in 1847, with further branches in Shanghai, Japan, Malaya, and Korea being founded before the end of the 19th century. The Hong Kong branch folded in 1859, and was revived on 28 December 1959. The Hong Kong Branch was based upon the structure of the Royal Asiatic Society in London. Sir John F. Davis, Governor of Hong Kong, was asked to be President, more for his interest and learning than for his office. The Society was made a Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, which Davis had helped to found. The Asiatic Society became the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society in January 1847. Davis and his successor Sir John Bowring, also a scholar as well as Governor of Hong Kong, kept the Society active through their personal energy. Early officers of the Society included

Thomas Francis Wade Sir Thomas Francis Wade, (25August 181831July 1895) was a British diplomat and sinologist who produced an early Chinese textbook in English, in 1867, that was later amended, extended and converted into the Wade-Giles romanization system for M ...

, who later created the Wade system of romanization of Chinese. Governor

George Bonham Sir Samuel George Bonham, 1st Baronet (Chinese Translated Name 般咸, 文咸 or 文翰) (7 September 1803 – 8 October 1863) was a British colonial governor, who became the 4th Governor of the Straits Settlements and the 3rd Governor of Hong ...

granted the Society use of space in the Supreme Court building, but when Bowring left Hong Kong in May 1859 the Society folded. James Legge, as well and later Harry Parkes were not successful in their efforts to revive it. The Hong Kong Branch was resuscitated a century later, on December 28, 1959.

Publications

The original Society published six volumes of Transactions, the first in 1847 and the last in 1859. The revived Society's '' Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society'' has been placed online by

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the f ...

. Access is free for issues three years after the publication date.

People

Former presidents include: * Sir John F. Davis * Sir John Bowring * James W. Hayes (1983–1990) * David Gilkes * Deric Daniel Waters (1996–2001) * Patrick HaseRoyal Asiatic Society Hong Kong – Officers
/ref> * Robert Nield * Michael Broom

References

External links

Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch Website
{{Authority control Learned societies of Hong Kong Organizations established in 1847 1847 establishments in Hong Kong Organisations based in Hong Kong with royal patronage