香港大學每週活動推介（2013年8月31日至9月6日）

Contemporary China Studies Public Lecture
Three Potential Wellsprings of Welfare: China’s Minimum Livelihood Guarantee in Comparative Perspective
This lecture will posit three disparate motivations governments may entertain in their execution of welfare programs, particularly programs of social assistance which are targeted at indigent populations and that, unlike insurance programs, do not entail contributions from recipients: 1) they may extend assistance to needy persons on the basis of the principle of the rights of the individual, or social citizenship rights — or, on the basis of the Confucian concept of rites (the rite of benevolence);  2) they may supply protections and grant benefits (such as educational and health care benefits) in order to enhance the productivity of the nation;  and 3) they may offer subsidies for the purpose of pacifying anger and silencing demands on the part of the poor.

Professor Dorothy J Solinger argues that the intended beneficiaries of these three types of projects are, respectively, isolated individuals; society/the state writ large; and politicians.  She uses this categorization to discuss and distinguish official hand-outs in three historical times:  state charity in traditional, imperial times; funds for the impoverished during the Republican era and during the early PRC; and the current policy of aid for the poverty-stricken (the Minimum Livelihood Guarantee program, colloquially termed the dibao).  She finds that, whereas a kind of notion of right to governmental protection adhered under dynastic rule according to the Confucian notion of the rite of benevolence, and Republican and early PRC leaders understood the help they provided as geared toward strengthening the nation, today’s political elite bestow financial aid mainly in hope of preempting disturbances and “instability”.

Date:                   September 12, 2013 (Thursday)
Time:                   6:30pm
Venue:                Social Sciences Chamber, 11/F, The Jockey Club Tower, Centennial Campus, HKU
Speaker:             Professor Dorothy Solinger
                           Professor of Political Science
                           School of Social Sciences, University of California, Irvine
Website:             https://www.socsc.hku.hk/ccspl/dsolinger/

Enquiries:          Mr. Ren Au (Email: renau@hku.hk)

Serena Yang Distinguished Lecture
Autonomy and Control in Human Behaviour: Research and Applications Using Self-determination Theory
The motivation of behaviour takes many forms, not all of which are volitional or authentic.  Self-determination theory (SDT) distinguishes motivations in terms of the degree to which they are self-regulated or autonomous, versus regulated by external rewards or pressures that are experienced as controlling.  People’s quality of engagement, persistence and well-being are strongly affected by how autonomous or controlled they feel, a finding that replicates across collectivist and individualistic cultures.  In this Lecture, Professor Ryan will provide an overview of SDT, with emphasis on recent research in education, clinical care, sports, and work.  He will detail how performance and well-being are affected by the motivational strategies of parents, teachers, managers, coaches, and clinicians.  He will also highlight some unique phenomena, such as why video games are so addictive, why people can’t wait for the weekend, and why we are intrinsically motivated to help others. 

Date:                     September 13, 2013 (Friday)
Time:                    6:30pm
Venue:                 Rayson Huang Theatre, The University of Hong Kong
Speaker:              Professor Richard Ryan
                             Professor of Psychology and Education
                             University of Rochester
Website:            https://www.socsc.hku.hk/sy/rryan/

Enquiries:          Miss Nikki Wong (Email: nhywong@hku.hk)

道法自然 ─ 饒宗頤道教美術展
香港大學饒宗頤學術館是次主辦「道法自然 ─ 饒宗頤道教美術展」，是饒教授第一次舉辦的道教書畫展覽。

饒宗頤教授的道教書畫可以分成幾類：第一類是他描繪的道教宗師及神仙的畫像，如老子像、張三丰像、八仙圖像等；第二類是他以道教名言為主題的繪畫；第三類則是他書寫道教經典名句的書法作品；第四類是他繪寫與道教有關的帝皇、學者詩詞的作品，如他所臨寫的宋徽宗秋花詩、宋高宗養生論、丘處機青天歌、楊鐵崖及白玉蟾等人的詩句；至於第五類則是與他的學術研究有關，例如他研究馬王堆出土的帛書，故他亦曾臨寫馬王堆出土的《老子》甲、乙本。

是次展品雖為數不多，但從中可見到他對道教的研究十分深邃而具開創性，這一類書畫亦別有一種神清氣淨的境界。

日期：2013年8月23日－ 9月30日
時間：9:00am－6:00pm (星期六、日及公眾假期休息)
地點：香港大學饒宗頤學術館 (香港薄扶林大學道2號2樓，研究生堂旁)
電話：2241 5598