HKU Bulletin November 2006 (Vol. 8 No. 1)

2 COVER STORY Modernising Chinese Medicine I n an unprecedented collaboration between six local tertiary institutions the government has awarded $10 million towards modernising Chinese medicine techniques. The funding, provided by the Innovation and Technology Fund and secured by the Hong Kong Consortium for the Globalization of Chinese Medicine, will be used to investigate patient rehabilitation after a stroke and a safe and effective cure for insomnia. In a two-year project the team, which includes researchers from our University, Hong Kong Baptist University, City University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong, will conduct clinical trials on the use of Chinese herbs in treating post-stroke victims and sleep disorder patients, and determine their quality control and biological activities. The recruitment of volunteers has already begun at the Prince of Wales and Queen Mary Hospitals, and an innovative new herbal formula, which has already been developed, will undergo further development. Stroke remains the second biggest cause of death in the world and although Chinese herbal medicine has been used for decades in the treatment of neurological diseases no comprehensive research exists on its safety, or efficacy. The team has already conducted evidence-based trials on the efficacy of its own new herbal formula, which differs slightly from the traditional form, and it is now looking forward to establishing comprehensive research through clinical trials at local hospitals. The herbal formula will be developed as a supplementary medicine and is not expected to replace prescribed western medicines. Meanwhile, insomnia may be one of modern society’s commonest complaints but it is poorly understood and a successful treatment for it remains elusive. Sufferers have been increasingly turning to alternative medicines but the safety of these alternatives has raised concern. The team believes that traditional Chinese medicine could provide the answer. Chinese, and other forms of botanical medicines, are now being used by nearly one third of the world’s population and continue to grow as a form of therapy. Although Chinese medicine has evolved over the last four thousand years, and there is evidence to show that many of its herbal formulations possess therapeutic value, clinical and scientific evidence is frequently lacking. NEWS ROUND-UP HISTORY 3 Lord Lugard’s Legacy B urnished by time the perfect solid silver model of the University’s Main Building sits beneath an ornate Chinese table in a large rambling house in London’s Camden Town. The priceless artefact was made to mark the opening of The University of Hong Kong in 1912 but the remarkable story of its survival across 90 years more than matches its august origins. It is indeed fortunate that this model and the original plans of the Main Building passed down her family into the care of Shelagh Meade, the great niece of Lord Lugard, the man who became governor of Hong Kong and founded the University. Mrs Meade, now a sprightly 83 year old grandmother, is an archaeologist with a keen sense of history and a fierce guardian of her great uncle’s reputation and legacy. W i t h o u t t h i s w i n n i n g combination the architectural model would almost certainly have been lost to the University. The model was presented to Lord Lugard, who was soon due to end his five year spell as governor, by Mr N.M.N. Mody, the son of Sir Hormusjee Mody and key sponsor at the University’s inception. Mrs Meade’s earliest memory of the silver model was that it took pride of place in Lord Lugard’s drawing room (the Chinese Room) in his house at Little Parkhurst, Abinger, Surrey. Along wi th her sister, Mrs Meade had returned to the UK from Africa in 1934 after their coffee- farming parents decided to place them in a boarding school. Holidays would be spent at Abinger with Lord Lugard, by then retired and a childless widower. She said: “We used to have tea with him in front of his fire in the study. “He used to keep a shotgun beside his desk to shoot the squirrels because he preferred watching the birds. He was a good shot.” Following the death of Lord Lugard in 1945, his brother Major Edward Lugard, Mrs Meade’s grandfather, was responsible for ‘winding-up’ Lord Lugard’s estate. Little Parkhurst was a large house as befitted Lord Lugard’s standing and he had on display many priceless items from his service in the Far East and Africa. It was clear to Edward that Lugard’s collection would have to be broken up as no member of the family had a house large enough to accommodate the entire collection. Some pieces were given to museums, others distributed amongst members of the family. Edward kept a small collection of those pieces he considered should remain in the family. Inevitably some items were stored in the attic of his much smaller house including the silver model and plans of the University’s Main Building. On his death the property passed to Mrs Meade’s father. In 1971, Mrs Meade with her three children moved in with her by then widowed mother when Mrs Meade’s husband died suddenly. The model and plans were still in the attic. Mrs Lugard was concerned about the condition of the model and said something had to be done. Mrs Meade agreed to supervise the repair. Through her archaeo l ogy contacts at the British Museum, Mrs Meade arranged for one of the conservators to undertake repairs. The original glass case which had been broken was replaced by a perspex one and silver of the same age was used to repair a damaged cupola. “He did a beautiful job and ever since then I have displayed it prominently.” Now, however, the model is set to make the return journey to Hong Kong as Mrs Meade has decided to donate the model – along with the original architectural drawings – to the University. She said: “I felt it was important that Hong Kong should recognise Uncle Fred’s contribution because the University was, I think, his greatest achievement. “The irony was he was better known for his work in Africa but I think he was very proud of helping set up the University. It was his greatest legacy.”