RAS LECTURE
Tuesday 22nd January 2013
7pm for 7.30pm start
VENUE: Radisson Plaza Xingguo Hotel
78 Xing Guo Road, Shanghai
YAT-MING LOO
Limehouse Blues:
The Lost History of London’s Chinatown
The Chinese presence in the London Docklands began in the 19th century, slowly forming a Chinatown in Limehouse near Pennyfields and Limehouse Causeway, where the seamen from Shanghai and Southern China settled respectively. The slum clearance project and housing developments from the 1930s to the 1960s resulted in the demolition of the buildings in this Chinatown.
Today, there is little trace of its physical presence. Little is known about the histories and stories of the original Chinese residents. The 1920s and 1930s representations of Chinatown and its residents in novels and films fuelled the construction of the Limehouse Chinatown myth. Opium dens, gambling and crime were the recurring themes of works, such as Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu (1913 - 1930s), further stigmatised and exoticised the place.
In this talk, Dr Yat Ming Loo will share the history and stories of the lost spaces and the Chinese community focusing on an important moment in the vanishing of Limehouse Chinatown.
Dr Yat-Ming Loo is an architect, researcher and lecturer. He holds a PhD degree in Architecture and Urbanism from the University College London. He teaches architectural history and theory at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London.
His thesis was shortlisted for RIBA President’s Award for Outstanding Thesis. His main research interests include postcolonialism, minority spaces and the politics of urban spaces. He is particularly interested in exploring the potential ways of seeing, researching and designing architecture and urban spaces with intercultural sensitivity, connecting the issues of cultural identity, margins, migration and globalisation. His book entitled Architecture and Urban Form in Kuala Lumpur: Race and Chinese Spaces in a Postcolonial City will be published in June 2013 (Ashgate Publishing).
RSVP: to RAS Bookings at: bookings@royalasiaticsociety.org.cn
PRIORITY BOOKING for Members until Sunday 20thth January 2013
ENTRANCE: 80 RMB (RAS members) and 130 RMB (non-members).
Includes one drink: 150ml glass of red or white wine/draft beer/soft drink/ tea or coffee. Those unable to make the donation but wishing to attend may contact us for exemption.
MEMBERSHIP applications and membership renewals will be available at this event.
RAS MONOGRAPHS - Series 1 & 2 will be available for sale at this event. 100 RMB each (cash sale only)
WEBSITE: www.royalasiaticsociety.org.cn