We are delighted to welcome to the Royal Geographical Society in Hong Kong one of our most popular lecturers, the international best selling author Simon Winchester. Mr. Winchester is well known as one of the world’s finest raconteurs and story tellers and we are honoured to welcome him on his present tour.
In his lecture “The Man Who Loved China”, Simon Winchester brings to life the extraordinary story of Joseph Needham, the brilliant Cambridge scientist who unlocked the most closely held secrets of China, once and for long the world's most technologically advanced country. Both epic and intimate, “The Man Who Loved China” tells the sweeping story of China through Needham's remarkable story, an unforgettable tale of what makes men, nations, and, indeed, mankind itself great, related by one of the world's inimitable storytellers.
No cloistered don, this tall, married Englishman was a freethinking intellectual, who practiced nudism and was devoted to a quirky brand of folk dancing. In 1937, while working as a biochemist at Cambridge University, he instantly fell in love with a visiting Chinese student, with whom he began a lifelong affair.
He soon became fascinated with China, and his mistress swiftly persuaded the ever-enthusiastic Needham to travel to her home country, where he embarked on a series of extraordinary expeditions to the farthest frontiers of this ancient empire. He searched everywhere for evidence to bolster his conviction that the Chinese were responsible for hundreds of mankind's most familiar innovations, including printing, the compass, explosives, suspension bridges, even lavatory paper, often centuries before the rest of the world. His thrilling and dangerous journeys, vividly recreated by Winchester, took him across war-torn China to far-flung outposts, consolidating his deep admiration for the Chinese people.
After the war, Needham was determined to tell the world what he had discovered, and began writing his majestic
Science and Civilisation in China, describing the country's long and astonishing history of invention and technology producing, essentially single-handedly, seventeen immense volumes, making him the greatest one-man encyclopedist ever.
Simon Winchester is a native of England and read geology at Oxford University. Mr Winchester has resided in Africa, the USA and Hong Kong and has written for
Condé Nast Traveller,
Smithsonian and National Geographic. He is the author of numerous books, including
The River at the Centre of the World, about his travels up to Yangtze River in the heart of China, and
The Surgeon of Crowthorne, A Crack in the Edge of the World, Krakatoa, The Map That Changed the World, The Fracture Zone, Outposts, Korea, among many other titles. Mr Winchester’s recent books are all best sellers including,
The Surgeon of Crowthorne ("Elegant and scrupulous"—
New York Times Book Review) and
Krakatoa ("A mesmerizing page-turner"—
Time). He now resides in Massachusetts and in the Western Isles of Scotland. He lectures frequently worldwide and writes for numerous publications.
Members and their guests are most welcome to attend this reception
and lecture, which is HK$150 for Members and $250 for others.
Please note tickets available are being sold on a first come first
served basis.
To secure your tickets you should book by replying to this
e-message to events@rgshk.org.hk
stating clearly your name and the number of members and guests.
Payment can be made by:
- Internet transfer and e-mail the details to the RGS, with
your name and your contact number.
- ATM transfer and e-mail the details to the RGS, with your
name and your contact number
RGS account details: HSBC account number: 511-304644-001.
RGS account name: Royal Geographical Society – Hong Kong
- By cheque payable to ROYAL
GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY-HK, please send to RGS – HK,
GPO Box 6681, Hong Kong.
All bookings will receive a confirmation by e-mail.