One of the world’s foremost Chinese cultural scholars, Professor Leo Lee, was an honoured guest last month of CityU, where he delivered three lectures on humanities and Chinese culture.

Dr Lee, Professor of Modern Chinese Literature at Harvard University and a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Hong Kong, is well known for his promotion of a cultural conduit between Chinese and Western scholars, and for the introduction of new theoretical models in analyzing modern Chinese literature.

In his first lecture at CityU on 28 January, Dr Lee described Hong Kong not as a "cultural desert", but as a place where Hong Kong's rich and diverse urban life is reflected in the many works of local writers. "Such cultural assets are often forgotten and neglected," he said.

In his second lecture, on humanities and Chinese literature, Dr Lee analyzed the works of Lu Xun, popularly known as the father of modern Chinese literature, in the context of contemporary literary themes such as anxiety, helplessness and alienation. His third lecture, Humanities and Modern Chinese Film, portrayed the development of the early Chinese film industry in Shanghai in the 30's, using works from prominent directors such as Fei Mu as examples.

Professor Lee is the author of a number of books and publications. Among the most prominent are Shanghai Modern: The flowering of Urban Culture in China, 1930 - 1945, Voices from the Iron House: A Study of Lu Xun, and The Romantic Generation of Modern Chinese Writers.