This book is an academic biography of Liu Ching-chih, a renowned musicologist and translation scholar, and a prolific music critic in Hong Kong. Three Library Collections named after him are housed in the University of Hong Kong Libraries, the Hong Kong Central Library, and the Library of the Institute of Chinese Studies of the University of Heidelberg. This volume of life writing is distinguished from average biographies by its reliance on systematic analyses of an extensive array of texts and interview data. The chapters integrate chronologies, narratives, analyses and intertextual connections, with the voice of Liu foregrounded, to present a multifaceted character whose decades-long scholarship spanned across music criticism, the history of new music in China, and translation. Several chapters document Liu’s process of working on his major book projects, including A Critical History of New Music in China and A Critical History of Music in Hong Kong. One chapter portrays Liu as a scholar-music critic, and another features his leadership at the Hong Kong Translation Society. A chapter that documents Liu’s immensely rich array of academic and cultural services in Hong Kong is followed by a linguistic and cultural profile of the scholar. The ending chapter, on the biography project itself, traces the evolution of the project, explains the research methodology, and provides a metadiscoursal account of the writing of the book. The book provides a valuable reference for those who want to know about humanities scholars, public intellectuals, music criticism, music research, and civic societies in Hong Kong, for those who are curious about the academic exchange between Hong Kong and mainland China during the 1980s-1990s, and for those who are interested in an interdisciplinary approach in life writing research and the genre of life writing concerning in particular scholars.

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Prologue
• Chapter 1. From Moving to Hong Kong in 1948 to Earning PhD in 1983
  • 1.1 CC from Tianjin to Hong Kong and his early music life
  • 1.2 Passing the examinations of LTSC (1962), AMusTCL (1962) and LRSM (1963), while being an “increasingly disillusioned” school teacher (1958-1966)
  • 1.3 Working for the BBC as a Senior Translator (1966-1973) and earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of London (1972)
  • 1.4 Becoming an anti-colonial, innovative administrator at the University of Hong Kong (1973)
  • 1.5 Earning MPhil (1979) and PhD (1983) degrees by researching Yuan zaju
• Chapter 2. Organising research seminars and publishing seminar monographs at the Centre of Asian Studies (CAS), University of Hong Kong
  • 2.1 CC launching his decades-long research project on the history of new music in China
  • 2.2 CC’s definition of the term “new music” and his academic stance on the new music in China
  • 2.3 CC’s academic activities as documented in the CAS Reports
  • 2.4 Raising funds through personal connections for organising the seminars and publishing the seminar monographs
  • 2.5 Leadership and conflict management
  • 2.6 Key design features of the seminars organised by CC
  • 2.7 Debates between CC and Doming Lam
  • 2.8 CC playing his own “game” and creating monographs in “series”
  • 2.9 The CAS, University of Hong Kong as CC’s academic home base
• Chapter 3. The Chinese Editions of A Critical History of New Music in China: Criticisms and Responses
  • 3.1 The publication of the first Chinese edition of A Critical History of New Music in China (Liu, 1998a)
  • 3.2 Shilun (Liu, 1998a) being severely criticised at the Beijing symposium
  • 3.3 “The blue-covered book” (Liu & Li, 2001) and CC’s articles of responses to the criticisms
  • 3.4 CC’s responses to the criticisms on Shilun (Liu, 1998a) from mainland musicologists
  • 3.5 The 6th, or the last, Seminar on The History of New Music in China
  • 3.6 CC’s long-term vision for the research on the history of new music in China
  • 3.7 CC valuing academic exchanges with mainland counterparts
  • 3.8 Mainland musicologists affirming the value of Shilun and CC’s pioneering work
  • 3.9 Mainland musicologists’ perspectives on CC as a person
  • 3.10 CC’s perspectives on his clashes with mainland musicologists in academic views
  • 3.11 Preparing to revise the first edition of Shilun (Liu, 1998a)
  • 3.12 Working with Hou Yan in correcting the factual mistakes in the first edition of Shilun (Liu, 1998a)
  • 3.13 The publication of the expanded edition of Shilun (Liu, 2009a)
  • 3.14 The publication of On New Music in China (Liu, 2009b)
  • 3.15 CC presenting talks and writing papers related to Shilun from 2000 to 2015
  • 3.16 An aborted plan of having Shilun published in simplified Chinese characters in mainland China
• Chapter 4. The English Edition of A Critical History of New Music in China: Criticisms and Responses
  • 4.1 Working with British sinologist Caroline Mason in the translation project
  • 4.2 Revising the English manuscript of A Critical History of New Music in China in response to a reviewer’s criticisms
  • 4.3 Submitting the final version of the English manuscript of A Critical History of New Music in China
  • 4.4 Six English-medium book reviews on A Critical History of New Music in China
    • 4.4.1 An introduction of the six book reviews
    • 4.4.2 Praises and characterisations of the book
    • 4.4.3 Critical comments on the book
    • 4.4.4 Comments on the English translation of the book
  • 4.5 CC’s responses to the six book reviewers in Liu (2018a)
  • 4.6 A research colloquium on A Critical History of New Music in China (Liu, 2010a) at the University of Hong Kong
• Chapter 5. The Three Library Collections Named after CC
  • 5.1 The C. C. Liu Collection at the University of Hong Kong Libraries
    • 5.1.1 “Amassing” research materials on the history of new music in China
    • 5.1.2 Donating the collection of research materials on new music in China to the University of Hong Kong Libraries
    • 5.1.3 The C. C. Liu Collection Turnover and New Book Launching Ceremony
    • 5.1.4 The catalogue book New Music in China and The C. C. Liu Collection at the University of Hong Kong (Woo et al., 2005)
    • 5.1.5 CC’s “Preface” in Woo et al. (2005)
  • 5.2 The C. C. Collection at the Institute of Chinese Studies, University of Heidelberg, Germany
    • 5.2.1 The creation and cataloguing of the Collection
    • 5.2.2 CC and Barbara Mittler
  • 5.3 The Liu Ching-chih Collection at the Hong Kong Central Library
  • 5.4 Envoi
• Chapter 6. CC Teaching in the Department of Music Education, Shanghai Conservatory of Music as a Visiting Professor
  • 6.1 The appointment of Visiting Professorship and CC’s course teaching
  • 6.2 Supervising Master dissertations
  • 6.3 Being respected and loved by the students
  • 6.4 CC’s own accounts of his teaching at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music
  • 6.5 CC’s other academic activities associated with the Shanghai Conservatory of Music
• Chapter 7. CC’s Project on A Critical History of Music in Hong Kong
  • 7.1 The 1990s-2005: Early preparations, Liu (1997d), and a book proposal in 2005
  • 7.2 2006-2014: CC’s process of writing A Critical History of Music in Hong Kong (Liu, 2013a, 2014a)
    • 7.2.1 2006-2009: Working on different chapters while doing final-stage work for the publication of Liu (2009a, 2010a)
    • 7.2.2 2010: Separating “Cantonese opera” and “Cantopop” into different chapters, proofreading, and completing a chapter on “Cantonese popular songs in Hong Kong”
    • 7.2.3 2011: Interviewing 15 serious music composers and 15 Cantopop songwriters, responding to Ng Chun-hung, and continuing to gather materials
    • 7.2.4 2012: Focusing on the chapters that would go into Liu (2013a) and working with the “four-volume” idea
    • 7.2.5 2013: From “four” volumes to “two” volumes, the publication of the first volume (Liu, 2013a), and moving on
    • 7.2.6 2014: Working for the publication of the second volume (Liu, 2014a)
    • 7.2.7 Summary
  • 7.3 After the publication of A Critical History of Music in Hong Kong (Liu, 2013a, 2014a)
    • 7.3.1 The “applause” received and CC’s reflections
    • 7.3.2 CC’s articles and talks related to A Critical History of Music in Hong Kong
  • 7.4 The anticipated publication of A Critical History of Music in Hong Kong in simplified Chinese characters by the Shanghai Conservatory of Music Press
  • 7.5 Envoi
• Chapter 8. CC as a Music Critic
  • 8.1 CC as a prolific scholar-music critic
  • 8.2 The beginning of CC’s career as a music critic
  • 8.3 CC on music criticism
    • 8.3.1 “My hand writing my heart”
    • 8.3.2 “My way of appreciating music is purely rational”
    • 8.3.3 “A May Fourth humanistic perspective” or “a Chinese perspective”
    • 8.3.4 “Music criticism is a social activity, not just an activity of music”
    • 8.3.5 CC’s music criticism forming a coherent whole with his scholarship on new music in China
  • 8.4 Attending concerts in Hong Kong
  • 8.5 On the diminishing space for publishing music reviews in Hong Kong
  • 8.6 The reception of CC’s music reviews in Hong Kong
  • 8.7 CC as an enthusiast for Wagner’s Ring and his preparation of a talk on Ring in December 2014
  • 8.8 Two public talks in 2017 by CC as a music critic
  • 8.9 Attending the annual Macao International Music Festival
  • 8.10 A musical traveller in Europe
  • 8.11 Communicating with the organisers of the overseas music festivals
  • 8.12 Overseas travelling in the decade of 2009-2018
    • 8.12.1 A trip to South America (late December 2010-early 2011): “If I don’t do it this time, I will most likely never visit that part of the world”
    • 8.12.2 A trip to the UK (June 2014): “Back in time”
  • 8.13 CC and the pianist Fou Ts’ong
  • 8.14 Envoi
• Chapter 9. CC as a Translation Scholar
  • 9.1 The double helix of music and translation from the early years onwards
  • 9.2 CC as a witness and creator of the history of the Hong Kong Translation Society (HKTS)
  • 9.3 The HKTS’s seminars on translation in the 1980s and some books on translation edited by CC
  • 9.4 The HKTS reaching out internationally from the mid-1980s under CC’s leadership
  • 9.5 CC’s articles on translation in Liu (1996a)
    • 9.5.1 Articles on “music translation” in Liu (1996a)
    • 9.5.2 Other articles in Liu (1996a)
    • 9.5.3 Summary
  • 9.6 CC’s research on the translation syllabuses at the tertiary level in Hong Kong in the late 1990s
    • 9.6.1 A background of CC conducting research on the translation syllabuses at the tertiary level in Hong Kong
    • 9.6.2 CC’s research on the translation syllabuses at the tertiary level in Hong Kong
  • 9.7 CC’s views on translation studies as shown in his publications after Liu (1996a)
    • 9.7.1 Translation as a “cultural undertaking”
    • 9.7.2 Western theories, “pure theorists”, and the role of theory in translation
    • 9.7.3 Accomplished translators in different categories and their practice-based views on translation
    • 9.7.4 Translation criticism as the foundation for creating our own theories of C-E/E-C translation
    • 9.7.5 Hong Kong having a leading role to play in developing our own theoretical framework for C-E/E-C translation
    • 9.7.6 Summary
  • 9.8 An interview conducted by Leo Chan Tak-hung with CC in August 2004 257
  • 9.9 CC’s talks and presentations as a translation scholar from 2000 to 2018
  • 9.10 Part-time translation teaching and related services
  • 9.11 CC as a diligent writer of the history of the HKTS
    • 9.11.1 CC’s first five versions of “concise history” of the HKTS
    • 9.11.2 A twist between the fourth version of “concise history” (Liu, 2001f) and the fifth version (Liu, 2006f)
    • 9.11.3 CC’s sixth version of “concise history” of the HKTS: “Memoir Part I” and “Memoir Part II”
  • 9.12 Two things that CC did not do: To become a historian of translation and to publish a volume of translations
  • 9.13 Envoi
• Chapter 10. CC’s Academic and Cultural Services
  • 10.1 CC as the President of the Hong Kong Ethnomusicology Society and his regrets
  • 10.2 CC’s connection with the Hong Kong Sino-British Fellowship Trust Scholars’ Association (HK-SBFT-SA) and his one regret
  • 10.3 CC’s unpublished “Memoir Part III”, on the (Chartered) Institute of Linguists Hong Kong Regional Society
    • 10.3.1 The Member of the Institute of Linguists (MIL) examination and working towards the Final Diploma in English and Chinese (FDEC) Syllabus
    • 10.3.2 The FDEC Syllabus and The C. C. Liu Trophy
    • 10.3.3 The CIOL’s “concise history” and its mentions of CC and the CIOL Hong Kong Regional Society
    • 10.3.4 CC on Edda Ostarhild, Nigel Reeves, and Henry Pavlovich and his appreciation of Pavlovich’s (2002) tribute text on him
  • 10.4 CC’s service to the Hong Kong Pei Hua Education Foundation
    • 10.4.1 Attending the opening and graduation ceremonies of Pei Hua’s training programmes
    • 10.4.2 Editing Pei Hua’s Anniversary Special Issues
  • 10.5 CC’s service to the Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation (HKSR)
  • 10.6 CC’s service to the Hong Kong Philharmonic Society (HKPS)
  • 10.7 CC’s service to the Hong Kong Children’s Choir (HKCC)
  • 10.8 CC’s connection with the Wuhan-Hong Kong Friendship Society
  • 10.9 Envoi
• Chapter 11. A Cultural and Linguistic Profile of CC, His Philosophy of Life, and His Reflections
  • 11.1 A cultural and linguistic profile of CC
    • 11.1.1 “I am not really a Hong Konger”; “I am a modern Chinese”
    • 11.1.2 “Biliteracy and trilingualism”
    • 11.1.3 “I want to expand the Chinese literature on music”
  • 11.2 CC’s personality and character
    • 11.2.1 “A simple man” and “a man of big flavour”
    • 11.2.2 “No interest in politics”
    • 11.2.3 “I practice conviction and honour in life”
    • 11.2.4 “I can be an outlaw”; “intellectually I am pretty lonely in Hong Kong”
    • 11.2.5 CC as a mentor
  • 11.3 Philosophy of life
    • 11.3.1 “I have passed the majority of the tests in my life”; “I will continue to grow”
    • 11.3.2 “Dumping nasty feelings and thoughts”
    • 11.3.3 “I work hard without sentimentality”; “work hard and enjoy life hard”
    • 11.3.4 “There are no insoluble problems in life, if you don’t aim for perfection”
  • 11.4 Dedication to work and commitment to leading a healthy life
    • 11.4.1 “Writing nonstop without considering return or reward”
    • 11.4.2 “I was eternally busy; I am still ‘quite’ busy, though on a selective basis”
    • 11.4.3 “Tennis, walking, watching TV etc. are the necessary intervals for me to take a brief rest so that I can work better”
    • 11.4.4 About health and about life and death
• Chapter 12. This Book Project as a “Joint Project” with CC
  • 12.1 Our discussion of the “joint project” over time
    • 12.1.1 “In the process of our oral history, I will grow more mature and you will also grow up”
    • 12.1.2 “Writers need to take part in a life which they are going to write about”
    • 12.1.3 “You are fully qualified to write about CC”
    • 12.1.4 “Since we have an on-going project, I’d better keep you informed of my academic pursuance”
    • 12.1.5 “You have to read my writings to better understand me”
    • 12.1.6 “A larger project”
    • 12.1.7 “Birthday book” and “pictorial autobiography”
    • 12.1.8 My (nearly unforgivable) procrastination on the project
  • 12.2 CC’s writing of “Memoir Part I, Part II, and Part III”
  • 12.3 My process of working on this book
  • 12.4 The research that underlies this book
    • 12.4.1 Research questions
    • 12.4.2 Research data
    • 12.4.3 Analyses of the research data and presentation of the “findings”
    • 12.4.4 Enhancing trustworthiness
    • 12.4.5 Ethical considerations
  • 12.5 Why this book is written in English
  • 12.6 Stylistic aspects and the length
  • 12.7 The cover design
  • 12.8 Looking ahead
• Epilogue
• Bm
• Notes
• References
• Appendices
  • Appendix 1.1 Some books studied by CC from the late 1950s to the early 1960s in preparation for the examinations of LTSC (1962), AMusTCL (1962), and LRSM (1963)
  • Appendix 1.2 CC with Steven K. Luk in 1971
  • Appendix 1.3 CC’s books on Yuan zaju
  • Appendix 2.1 CC’s research projects at the Centre of Asian Studies (CAS), University of Hong Kong (HKU), as recorded in the CAS Reports 1987-1990 to 1996-1999
  • Appendix 2.2 Photographs from two of the seminars organised by CC at the CAS, HKU
  • Appendix 2.3 The covers of some books (co-)edited or authored by CC on music
  • Appendix 2.4 A fundraising letter written by CC, addressed to Wang Weiqian, to raise funds for the 5th Seminar on the History of New Music in China (16-19 February 1993)
  • Appendix 2.5 CC’s letter to Shi Ziqing to invite calligraphic inscription of the book title for Liu and Wu (1994), and to raise additional fund for publishing the monograph
  • Appendix 2.6 Call for Paper: The 5th Seminar on the History of New Music in China
  • Appendix 2.7 The composition of the participants at the seminars organised by CC between 1985 and 1999
  • Appendix 2.8 CC’s letter to contributors giving instructions on proof checking for the monograph of the 5th Seminar on the History of New Music in China (Liu & Wu, 1994)
  • Appendix 2.9 Tang Chi Ngong Building, the site of the CAS, HKU, and the door of CC’s old office in the Building
  • Appendix 3.1 CC with Liu Zaisheng and Ju Qihong in Beijing (10 December 2010)
  • Appendix 3.2 CC working with Hou Yan to correct the factual mistakes in the first Chinese edition of A Critical History of New Music in China (Liu, 1998a)
  • Appendix 3.3 The first six slides in a set of PowerPoints for CC’s talk at a “reading club” session, hosted by The Commercial Press Tsim Sha Tsui Store (29 May 2009)
  • Appendix 3.4 The first six slides in a set of PowerPoints for CC’s talk at The 18th Taipei International Book Exhibition (end of January 2010)
  • Appendix 4.1 Frank Kouwenhoven’s recount of his debate with CC in the early 1990s in Leiden, the Netherlands during CC’s visit
  • Appendix 4.2 Message from the Department of Music, HKU announcing a research colloquium scheduled on 29 September 2010, for discussing A Critical History of New Music in China (Liu, 2010a)
  • Appendix 4.3 The research colloquium on Liu (2010a), Rayson Huang Theatre, HKU (29 September 2010)
  • Appendix 5.1 The C. C. Liu Collection Turnover and New Book Launching Ceremony, University Museum and Art Gallery, HKU (30 September 2005)
  • Appendix 5.2 Invitation card for The C. C. Liu Collection Turnover and New Book Launching Ceremony
  • Appendix 5.3 Some items in The C. C. Liu Collection, Music Library, HKU
  • Appendix 5.4 The C. C. Liu Collection at the Library of the Institute of Chinese Studies, University of Heidelberg, Germany
  • Appendix 5.5 The Liu Ching-chih Collection at the Hong Kong Central Library (HKCL)
  • Appendix 6.1 Some slides used in the course (History of Music Education) taught by CC as a Visiting Professor at the Department of Music Education, Shanghai Conservatory of Music (2004-2017)
  • Appendix 6.2 Jin Yicun, a student in CC’s last cohort of Master’s dissertation supervisees at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, on CC
  • Appendix 8.1 CC’s talk on (The appeal of the Ring Cycle), for the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) (13 December 2014)
  • Appendix 8.2 Collections of CC’s music reviews
  • Appendix 9.1 Some books authored or (co-)edited by CC as a translation scholar
  • Appendix 9.2 Citation for CC, composed by Leo Chan Tak-hung for awarding the title of President Emeritus of the Hong Kong Translation Society (HKTS) to CC (3 September 2005)
  • Appendix 9.3 CC and the HKTS
  • Appendix 9.4 For CC’s lecture on: (Translation as academic, professional, or semi-professional pursuits), at Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages, Taiwan (April-May 2008)
  • Appendix 10.1 CC and the Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation (HKSR)