Campus Digest

School of Chinese Medicine receives lacquerware antiques from Dragon Culture Charity Fund

Monday, 29 July 2024

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Professor Lyu Aiping (right) presents a memento to Mr Victor Choi Wang-kuing (left).
(From right) Professor Zhang Hongjie, Associate Dean (Teaching and Learning) of Chinese Medicine; Professor Li Min, Executive Associate Dean of Chinese Medicine; Professor Lyu Aiping, Vice-President (Research and Development) cum Acting Dean of SCM at HKBU; Mr and Mrs Victor Choi; and Professor Zhao Zhongzhen, Professor Emeritus and Honorary Consultant of the Committee of the Dr. and Mrs. Hung Hin Shiu Museum of Chinese Medicine.
Professor Zhao Zhongzhen introduces the relationship between lacquer and Chinese medicine to the guests.
Fuzhou Lacquered Lokapala Sculptures, Mid-Qing Dynasty (1736 – 1839 AD)
Japanese Carved Lacquer Box, 19th century (1801 – 1900 AD)
Japanese Carved Lacquer Tea Serving Tray, 19th century (1801 – 1900 AD)
Beijing Carved Lacquer Box, 19th century (1801 – 1900 AD)

 

The School of Chinese Medicine (SCM) received a donation of a valuable collection of  lacquerware antiques dating back to the mid-Qing Dynasty to the 19th century from the Dragon Culture Charity Fund. Among the donated items, four sets are now permanently displayed at the Dr. and Mrs. Hung Hin Shiu Museum of Chinese Medicine with the theme "Lacquer and Chinese Medicine".

Officiating at the donation ceremony on 3 July were Mr Victor Choi Wang-kuing, Founder of the Dragon Culture Charity Fund, and Professor Lyu Aiping, Vice-President (Research and Development) cum Acting Dean of SCM.

Professor Lyu said that SCM has been dedicated to cultivating specialists and researchers in Chinese medicine, and engaging in profound and innovative translational research. SCM also provides medical services that meet international standards and promotes the development of Chinese medicine. The Museum at SCM is particularly important in promoting the development of Chinese medicine in Hong Kong. Serving as a bridge between SCM and the community, it enables the public and people from around the world to learn about Chinese medicine.

Mr Choi said that his mission in collecting artifacts is to find a good home for them. In view of the long-standing culture of lacquer and its close relationship with Chinese medicine, he believed that the Museum at HKBU is the most suitable place for housing and displaying these lacquerwares.

The donated antiques showcase the close relationship between lacquer and Chinese medicine. They include a pair of mid-Qing Dynasty Fuzhou Lacquered Lokapala Sculptures, a carved lacquer box and a lacquer tea serving tray from Japan dating back to the 19th century, as well as a carved lacquer box from Beijing from the same period. In China, natural lacquer was not only applied to the surfaces of various objects to create artifacts, but the processed and dried lacquer could also be used for medicinal purposes in breaking blood stasis, resolving accumulation, and killing parasites. Please click here for more information about the exhibition.

Established in 2007, the Dr. and Mrs. Hung Hin Shiu Museum of Chinese Medicine museum houses more than 200 valuable exhibits and over 6,000 specimens of Chinese material medica. It has welcomed over 150,000 visitors to date. The Dragon Culture Charity Fund donated a collection of 21 sets of antiques with dates ranging from the Neolithic Era to the early 20th century to the SCM back in 2016.