Humanities Arts

To understand their awareness of and interest in the Chinese tea culture, the Asia-Pacific Institute of Ageing Studies at Lingnan University conducted a public opinion survey and analysis of the tea consumption habits of young people in the Hong Kong SAR. The findings show that more than three quarters of respondents drink Chinese tea regularly. However, as many as half also drink “flavoured tea” with sugar, floral flavours or milk frequently. The proportion of young people who drink tea regularly was significantly higher than soft and speciality drinks, although more than one third were unfamiliar with the health benefits of tea. Scholars point out that parents exert a strong influence on young people’s tea-drinking habits and suggest that different sectors of society might organise intergenerational activities to pass the Chinese tea culture on to younger generations.

Transforming film education through interactive game – CineSim, developed by the Department of Digital Arts and Creative Industries at Lingnan University, received the Technological or Digital Innovation of the Year award at the Times Higher Education Awards Asia 2026 on the evening of 22 April. Widely regarded as the Oscars of higher education, the Awards are highly competitive, and Lingnan University stood out from more than 500 entries worldwide to become the only institution to receive the Technological or Digital Innovation of the Year award. This achievement clearly demonstrates the University’s lead in educational innovation and the application of digital technologies, which have earned full recognition from the international higher education community.

From royal armouries to international exhibitions, koftgari reflects a metalworking tradition shaped by conquest, courtly patronage, and shifting markets. Across Persia and South Asia, artisans inlaid steel with gold and silver, turning arms and regalia into symbols of power, protection, and prestige. Explore the craft across changing political landscapes as its patronage and purpose evolved.

In the fast pace of urban life, time slips quietly away amid daily routines. From 6 March to 4 September, the Chamber of Young Snow Art Exhibition Hall at Lingnan University presents Fleeting, Fleeting Light—Imagery of Time in Chinese Art, featuring 24 rare ink paintings, porcelain, lacquerware, and jade dating from the late Yuan dynasty to the modern era. The exhibition highlights the internationally acclaimed Space Series by Liu Kuo-sung, revered as the father of modern ink painting. The seasons, landscapes, immortal realms, and cosmos shown here invite visitors to think anew about the meaning of time.

Lingnan University held the Naming Ceremony of the Wu Jieh Yee Lingnan Hub and the Wu Jieh Yee School of Interdisciplinary Studies (WJYSIS) today, 3 March. The University also announced the creation of a dedicated research fund to support faculty members and students conducting interdisciplinary research using artificial intelligence (AI) and data science to develop innovative solutions to pressing societal challenges. These initiatives are generously supported by the Wu Jieh Yee Charitable Foundation (the Foundation).

To inspire students in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area (GBA), unleash their creativity, and engage with the evolving landscape of new media, the Department of Marketing and International Business at Lingnan University organised The City Through My Lens: A Social Media Campaign - Video Competition 2025. Students were invited to form teams and create short promotional social media videos capturing the highlights of their cities. The competition provided a platform for GBA secondary school students to express their creativity and broaden their horizons, while also strengthening the connection between the University and the younger generation. This is the first time the competition has included schools across the GBA, and there were 18 entrants. The championship was awarded to Malvern College Hong Kong, the first runner-up was St. Paul's Convent School, and the other runners-up were the HKSYC&IA Chan Nam Chong Memorial College, Sha Tin College, St. Paul’s Secondary School and Yew Chung International School.

As the Year of the Horse approaches, Prof Cai Zongqi, Director of the Advanced Institute for Global Chinese Studies and Lee Wing Tat Chair Professor of Chinese Literature of Lingnan University, and Mr Jerry Wang Junzhe, Research Officer of the Advanced Institute for Global Chinese Studies, offer a detailed interpretation of the Horse zodiac sign from the cultural perspectives of customs, classical texts, history, management, and literature, and link this explanation to contemporary Chinese New Year greetings.

Three Lingnan University students, He Shiwei, Lu Beian, and Xing Zixuan, stood out in the 2025 Study Hong Kong 10 Outstanding International Students in Hong Kong Selection, and received HK$3,000 scholarships at the ceremony on 14 December.

Known as chattra, koda, godugu, sesath and hti in several Indian, Sri Lankan and Burmese languages, the ceremonial parasol has remained a symbol of divinity and political authority across South and Southeast Asia. Discover some of its earliest depictions and read about its making and use today.

In 2022, Bangladeshi architecture firm Sthapotik designed a mausoleum for the influential 20th-century Uwaisi pir (saint), Shah Muhammad Mohshin Khan. Located in Manikganj, approximately 54 kilometres from Dhaka, this building stands out as a most unconventional interpretation of the traditional dargah, or Sufi tomb.

Lingnan University was commissioned to conduct a Hong Kong School Children Happiness Annual Survey in 2012. In 2017/18 this annual study was augmented by including a survey on life education in schools. Since 2023, the Lingnan team was joined by the Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine of the University of Hong Kong, the Department of Paediatrics of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong Paediatric Society. The 2024/2025 study began with an invitation sent to all Hong Kong’s subvented schools in March 2023. We enlisted a total of 10 primary schools and 8 secondary schools in this study, covering 1752 primary school students, 1982 secondary school students, and 116 teachers.

Chimeric, half-human, half-animal figures of stone guard the doorways of many historic and contemporary temples across the world. Read more about these powerful entities and how they were crucial to the evolution of Hindu and Buddhist practices in southern India.

To encourage new students to explore and take part in all the different aspects of university life, Lingnan held a key orientation activity, its Campus Life Carnival, last night, 4 September. Over a thousand new students visited the 40 stands set up by student societies, university teams and units encouraged new students to join, gave advice, and explained Lingnan’s many extracurricular activities.

In the East Indian Ocean, the indigenous inhabitants of Nicobar carved fearsome figurines called hantakoi to fight off malevolent spirits. These totemic scare-devils, represented in both human and zoomorphic form, reveal the ways in which the people of Nicobar engaged with other dwellers of the Indian Ocean world.

Curate the Curious, an annual exhibition curated by 36 students of the Master of Arts in Curating and Art History (MACAH) at Lingnan University, will be held from 1-10 August. Introducing a new-generation curatorial perspective, the exhibition presents the hidden stories behind more than 50 paintings, sculptures, videos, and new media art by over 30 well-known artists from Mainland China and Hong Kong. The six curiosity-driven themes are designed to inspire audiences to embark on their own journey of artistic discovery and dialogue. Admission is free.

An early 19th-century miniature painting depicts a late-night tryst between two lovers, under the storm clouds of twilight skies. Created in western India’s Mewar court atelier, by the master painter Chokha, this image reveals layers of meaning.

To encourage more young people to learn about and appreciate the Chinese culture, Lingnan University has mounted an exhibition, which opened today, 10 July, entitled “The Art of Ho Wing-cheong and Collaborative Painting with Lingnan Students” at its off-campus learning hub Lingnan@WestKowloon, where the painting “The Spring Blossoms”, a collaborative creation by Mr Ho Wing-cheong, the renowned Lingnan School painter, President of the Hong Kong Art Instructors Association, and Senior Instructor of the Lingnan School of Painting, and 20 Lingnan University students from different academic backgrounds, is shown for the first time. About 40 paintings by Mr Ho are on display, and the exhibition aims to encourage young people and the wider community to understand and relate to Chinese culture. The public can register online to visit the exhibition. There is no entrance charge.

In 1938, archaeologists discovered an ivory statuette of a goddess in the ruins of the Roman city of Pompeii, which was buried under ash for thousands of years after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE. Who was this goddess — Lakshmi, the Hindu deity of wealth and prosperity or Venus, the Roman goddess of beauty — and why was she in Pompeii?

The story of Hanuman and Suvannamaccha, a mermaid, is beloved by generations in Southeast Asia who are familiar with the epic Ramayana, known locally as Ramakien. This tale is, however, altogether absent from the canonical Hindu Ramayana — a testament to the spread, influence, and adaptation of Hinduism and its mythologies in the ancient Indian Ocean world.

The Chamber of Young Snow Art Exhibition Hall at Lingnan University in Hong Kong presents “Print and Preservation: Special Exhibition on the Exhortations to Promote Good Deeds by Empress Renxiao of the Great Ming”. This is the first public display of the rare 1405 imperial edition from the third year of the Yongle reign compiled by Empress Renxiao of the Ming dynasty. A detailed examination of the historical context and content of this work highlights how the Ming imperial court published ethical and moral texts to assert its legitimacy and stability. Visitors will receive a free copy of the picture book “Dai Ming: Keeper of Time and Legacy” created by artist Lam Kin-choi at certain events held as part of the special exhibition. For more details, please stay tuned to our social media channels. The exhibition runs from now until 2 December 2025.

Five-time Women's World Chess Champion Grandmaster Ju Wenjun, who successfully defended her title just last week, made a momentous visit to Hong Kong. Lingnan University, in collaboration with the Hong Kong China Chess Federation, co-organised a welcome event and chess exhibition match, where Ju engaged with Lingnan students and local chess enthusiasts. Accompanying her was her coach, Grandmaster Ni Hua. During this event, the Hong Kong China Chess Federation also announced the upcoming Asian Amateur Chess Championships, set to take place in August 2025. Ju has been invited as the guest of honour to witness this significant occasion.

Often depicted as a celestial being traversing the sky in a horse-drawn chariot, Surya is the sun god in Hinduism. Once a prominent Vedic figure, today his importance has declined. Discover the many mythologies of this solar deity, whose worship can be traced to the second century BCE.

In 1864, Prussian photographer John Edward Sache arrived in Calcutta and set up a studio in partnership with WF Westfield. From albumen prints of cityscapes to controversial photographs of Indians, Sache’s career embodied British imperial attitudes to colonised landscapes and peoples.

A popular pastime in South and Southeast Asia, carrom is played by flicking and pocketing coin-like discs across a smooth tabletop made of wood. Did you know that this game, which originated in India, is now played professionally in competitions across the West?

Lacquerware and porcelain are significant in the history of Chinese civilisation. Lingnan University’s Chamber of Young Snow Art Exhibition Hall is hosting a new exhibition, titled ‘Shine and Shade, Earth and Wood: The Story of Everyday Porcelain and Lacquer’ from 17 February to 2 December 2025 featuring over 30 rare and exquisite lacquer and porcelain pieces from the Tang to the Qing dynasties. Experts and academics from the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), Art Museum of The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Zhejiang Provincial Museum will lecture on the culture, design, and academic research of Chinese handicrafts, and Lingnan will also organise two workshops on ‘The Beauty of Everyday: Experience Session on Chinese Lacquer Decorations’. The public is welcome to register and participate.

From an ancient Buddhist symbol representing the wheel of law to an enduring icon of self-reliance and resistance in the early twentieth century, the charkha, a hand-driven spinning wheel, and the chakra, the flat-spoked wheel with which it is often conflated, have lived many lives in South Asia.

Perched on a hill overlooking the village of Thiksey in Ladakh, Thiksey Monastery is one of the most expansive Buddhist complexes in India. Notable for its vast collection of murals, sculptures and rare manuscripts, this 15th-century religious site is heavily fortified and was once an administrative centre.

For centuries, gold and silver ornamentation was used to embellish textiles. Gota work is one such technique, which incorporates these precious metals in appliqué form. Read more about the history of this craft, which is inspired by Mughal and Islamic art, and found on bridal and ceremonial garments across northern India.

Themed 'Forging Connections, Cultivating Talents', the opening ceremony for the 2024-25 Lingnan University Mentorship Programmes was held at the Hong Kong Gold Coast Hotel on 26 October 2024. The following five mentorship initiatives have been in place for long, and were kicked off for 2024-25 en bloc: • Lingnan University Postgraduate Mentorship Programme • Lingnanian Executive Mentoring Programme • Lingnan University Banking & Finance Mentorship Programme • Lingnan University Insurance Mentoring and Scholarship Scheme • Police Mentorship Programme.

Lingnan University held the Honorary Fellowship Presentation Ceremony 2024 today (3 October). Mr Andrew Yao Cho-fai, Council Chairman of Lingnan University, conferred honorary fellowships upon two distinguished individuals in recognition of their outstanding professional achievements and valuable contributions to the community and the education sector.