名人教英文：fung ping shan
fung ping shan: the man, his life and his library (《庋藏远见 —— 冯平山》) is a riveting (饶有兴味的) and meticulously researched biographical story written by cornelia lichauco fung (冯美莲) and dr wan yiu-chuen (尹耀全).
it is published bilingually in english and chinese, complete with an annexed chronology (附录年谱), the fung family tree (冯氏家族表) and some rare pictures of china and hong kong at the turn of the 20th century.
the story spans seven decades, from 1860 to 1931 when fung ping shan was born in xinhui (新会) to a family of modest means, to the time of his death in hong kong as a legendary entrepreneur, banker and philanthropist (传奇的创业家、银行家及慈善家).
a self-made (白手兴家的) man, he was much admired for his vision in establishing new businesses and for his open mind in deploying new technologies.
his steadfast refusal to trade in opium established his reputation as a man of integrity and conscience. (他正当从商，拒售鸦片，心安理得，取信不阿。）
life in colonial hong kong
in the book, there are well-researched descriptions of the toughness of life then.
a quotation below shows how flat bottom boats were pulled by half-naked men to travel up the river:
"the lively cry of the trackers rings in your ears (纤夫震耳吆喝). the trackers mark time with this cry (他们的吆喝当拍子), swinging their arms to and fro at each step (每一步，前后挥动上臂), their bodies bent forward so that their fingers almost touched the ground (俯身向前，五指几乎着地)."
the book reveals snippets (碎片) of old hong kong and the clear divide between the european and the chinese communities in early colonial hong kong. for example, the british were concentrated in the central district while the chinese entrepreneurs were dealing in rice, silk, spices and herbs, even opium, in the western district.
an advocate of chinese cultural education
throughout his life, fung ping shan was devoted to chinese culture and education (醉心于中国文化与教育). furthermore, he believed the university of hong kong could be the hub of learning chinese classics in south china; of promoting chinese culture and of bridging the gap between eastern and western cultures. (他更相信香港大学可成为华南地区搜集中国经典之枢纽，倡导中国文化及建立中西文化之桥梁。)
with his generous donation, the fung ping shan library was the first ever purpose-built library established in hong kong. this library was not meant to be exclusively for the university but also for the general public. even the site of the library was so chosen to make it accessible to the people.
the object of fung ping shan library is to serve the public. it is a people's library without walls. through this library, fung ping shan's legacy lives on. (冯平山图书馆的宗旨是服务大众，它是一间开放的市民图书馆，从而实践冯平山本人的遗愿。)
publisher & authors
publisher: the commercial press (hk) ltd.
there are english and chinese editions of the book.
cornelia lichauco fung (冯平山孙媳冯美莲) was born and raised in the philippines and educated in the usa and the uk, having obtained a bachelor of arts degree from wellesley college and a postgraduate certificate in education, london university. she co-founded the chinese international school and the isf academy.
also by her is beneath the banyan tree, a book about her family in the context of the history of the philippines.
dr wan yiu-chuen (尹耀全博士) is deputy university librarian, hku. he was educated in hk and received his doctorate in information and library science at the university of wales.