Journeys with a Mission: Travel Journals of The Right Revd George Smith (1815-1871), first Bishop of Victoria, Hong Kong (1849-1865)

JOURNEYS WITH A MISSION contains annotated uncut transcriptions from archival material of five original narratives or journals of travel, covering visits to China, India, Ceylon, Java and Singapore during the interesting period 1852-1858, undertaken by the Right Revd George Smith, first (Anglican) Bishop of Victoria (Hong Kong), providing a very valuable
information resource in two main areas: Protestant (and Roman Catholic) missionary, linguistic, pastoral, medical and educational activity, and the country-situations mainly in China and India at the time. They contain first-hand information about China’s internal, consular and diplomatic events; and vignettes of Indian life and culture just a few years before the Mutiny.

As Leaves Blow by Philip Chatting

A black comedy set in Hong Kong. It explores the reactions to cultural distinctions in an international, but otherwise unremarkable, group of Hong Kong residents; namely whether to embrace, recoil, explain, attempt to change, stay oblivious, or pretend there are none.Set in a residential area of Hong Kong, where people of differing communities live, “As Leaves Blow” explores, in a darkly humorous way, the issue of how people respond to the cultural manifestations of an international city. The book has no central character other than the narrow suburban lane, the common location, where everyone in the tale lives and visits and where private games are played out. This is not a virtuous story, but is rather about human-kind’s weaknesses, stupidity and inflexibility, with a final message that we are all the product and slaves of cultural conditioning.