Dictionary of Hong Kong Biography
VIEW EVENT DETAILSEvening Discussion with May Holdsworth, Christopher Munn, Lynn Pan, and Libby Halliday Palin, Editors and Contributors, Dictionary of Hong Kong Biography
The Dictionary of Hong Kong Biography is a compilation of over 500 specially commissioned entries recounting the lives of well-known and usually successful figures who have left their mark on the city. But the Dictionary also highlights the experiences of those, like most of Hong Kong’s population, who are not wealthy or powerful or distinguished. Other entries feature the more unsavory characters from the past such as pirates, gangsters, and other scoundrels, and even a few eminent failures. The collective story of this diverse group of people and their struggles and achievements over several centuries contribute to an understanding of what made Hong Kong the remarkable place it is today. Published in 2011, the Dictionary has been many years in the making.
Editors May Holdsworth and Christopher Munn will discuss the background to the project — how it came into being, those involved, criteria adopted to determine the scope and selection of names, how widely the net was cast for writers, and what modifications might be made in the future. Two contributors to the Dictionary, Lynn Pan, Shanghai-based author of several books on China, and Libby Halliday Palin, documentary film director and writer, will discuss some of their favorite characters in the Dictionary.
Moderated by Phil Whelan, Presenter, RTHK.