Edmund Blunden and Places in Hong Kong

Sze-wah Sarah Lee

doi:10.65961/hks-2026-52-005

PDF(2748 KB)

Hong Kong Studies ›› 2026, Vol. 5 ›› Issue (2) : 4. DOI: 10.65961/hks-2026-52-005

Edmund Blunden and Places in Hong Kong

Sze-wah Sarah Lee

Author information +

History +

Abstract

Despite working as Professor of English at The University of Hong Kong for over a decade (1953-1964), Blunden’s time in Hong Kong has been little documented. This article aims to fill the critical gap by tracing Blunden’s footsteps in Hong Kong through exploring previously undiscussed archival materials mainly in overseas archives, supplemented by oral history interviews, contemporary accounts and analysis of Blunden’s works as well as secondary literature, bringing together archival research, literary biography, and historical investigation. This article argues that Blunden’s networks, movements, and cultural presence in Hong Kong were not only limited to The University of Hong Kong, but were more widely felt across the territory. By illustrating Blunden’s connections with various places (and by extension the people associated with them) in Hong Kong, this article not only contributes towards elucidating his biography in greater details and exploring his multiple roles as poet, educator, and public intellectual, but it also demonstrates the diversity of his reach and the legacy of his influence to English studies in Hong Kong as well as East-West literary and cultural exchange. An enhanced understanding of Blunden’s life in Hong Kong would simultaneously shed light on the development of Anglophone literature and the education as well as arts and cultural sectors in Hong Kong in the period, highlighting the significant potential of accessing Hong Kong’s history through the individual/literary archives in diverse locations.

Cite this article

EndNote

Ris (Procite)

Bibtex

Download Citations

Sze-wah Sarah Lee. Edmund Blunden and Places in Hong Kong.Hong Kong Studies2026 , 5(2): 4. https://doi.org/10.65961/hks-2026-52-005

References

A Most Rare Vision. Hong Kong: The Masquers (Hong Kong Cultural Enterprise Co.), 1964. Print.
Annual Reports for the Year, 1960-1964. King’s College. Web. 7 Jul. 2026. https://web.archive.org/web/20160417044826/. King’s College. Web. 7 Jul. 2026. https://web.archive.org/web/20160417044826/http://www.kings.edu.hk/documents/hist/1961-1964.pdf.
Blunden, Edmund.1955 Speech Day, King George V School Address. Edmund Blunden Papers, U of Texas, Austin, Harry Ransom Center, MS-0426, container 20.11. Manuscript.
—. Address for the Opening Ceremony of the Hong Kong Festival of Arts, 1959. Edmund Blunden Papers, U of Texas, Austin, Harry Ransom Center, MS-0426, container 2.5. Manuscript.
—. A Hong Kong House: Poems 1951-1961. Hong Kong: Hong Kong UP, 2001. Print.
—. “A Hongkong ‘Othello’: A Shocking Crime Story and Enormous Drama.” South China Morning Post. 7 Jan.1963: 7. Print.
—. An Address Given at the Assembly, Chung Chi College, Hong Kong.Edmund Blunden Papers, U of Texas, Austin, Harry Ransom Center, MS-0426, container 2.5. Manuscript.
—. An Address Given at King’s College, Hong Kong, 16 November1962. Edmund Blunden Papers, U of Texas, Austin, Harry Ransom Center, MS-0426, container 2.5. Manuscript.
—. “A New City Hall (1962).” South China Morning Post. 3 Mar. 1962: 29. Print.
—. Cheung Chau, the Island Near Hong Kong.Edmund Blunden Papers, U of Texas, Austin, Harry Ransom Center, MS-0426, container 4.10. Manuscript.
—. Diary of1960. Edmund Blunden Papers, 1922-1986, Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Columbia U, box 17a. Manuscript.
—. “Foreword: Past, Present, Future.” Ssŭ Lang T’an Mu (Ssu Lang Visits His Mother). Hong Kong: St John’s College, University of Hong Kong, 1956. Print.
—. Letter to Sylva Norman. 18 Mar.1962. Edmund Blunden Papers, 1922-1986, Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Columbia U, box 15. Manuscript.
—. “On the Fifth Anniversary of the Opening of the City Hall, Hong Kong.” Edmund Blunden Papers, U of Texas, Austin, Harry Ransom Center, MS-0426, container 21.9. Manuscript.
—. Speech Day and Prizegiving, Diocesan Boys’ School1954. Edmund Blunden Papers, U of Iowa Libraries Special Collections & University Archives, MsC 829, box 11. Manuscript.
—. Speech Day, Queen Elizabeth School. Edmund Blunden Papers, U of Texas, Austin, Harry Ransom Center, MS-0426, container 30.4. Manuscript.
—. The Victorian Age: Introductory Lecture.Edmund Blunden Papers, U of Texas, Austin, Harry Ransom Center, MS-0426, container 14.8. Manuscript.
—. Untitled Reminiscences of France and Belgium, 1916-1917. Edmund Blunden Papers, U of Texas, Austin, Harry Ransom Center, MS-0426, container 1.10. Manuscript.
Blunden, Edmund,Clare Blunden. “An Oriental Paradise Lost.” Eastern Horizon (Jan.1961): 30-33. Print.
“Blunden, Edmund Charles, (1896-1974), Poet.” The National Archives. Web. 30 Mar. 2026. https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/c/F58431.
Board of the Faculty of Arts Minutes (Bound Volume), 1953-1964. Faculty of Arts Records, The University of Hong Kong University Archives, 2012-022. Print.
Chen Ruiwen 陳睿文. “Chongjixueyuan zaonian lishi yu Xianggang Shenggonghui.” 崇基學院早年歷史與香港聖公會 [The Early History of Chung Chi College and Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui]. Xiangjiang xinchuan: Zhongguo jidujiao daxue zai Xianggang de chengchuan yu tuibian 香江薪傳:中國基督教大學在香港的承傳與蛻變 [Passing on the Legacy in Hong Kong: The Heritage and Transformation of Chinese Christian Universities in Hong Kong]. Hong Kong: Chung Chi College, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2022. 197-211. Print.
Cheung, W. F. Letter to Edmund Blunden. 17 Jul.1956. Edmund Blunden Papers, U of Texas, Austin, Harry Ransom Center, MS-0426, container 57.10. Manuscript. Chung Chi College Bulletin. No. 33, Jul. 1963. Print.
Dargan, Herbert. Letter to Edmund Blunden. 8 Apr.1960. Edmund Blunden Papers, 1922-1986, Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Columbia U, box 18. Manuscript.
—. Letters to Edmund Blunden. 4 Jul. and 8 Oct.1956, 11 Aug. 1961. Edmund Blunden Papers, U of Texas, Austin, Harry Ransom Center, MS-0426, container 50.10. Manuscript.
Davis, S. G. “From S. G. Davis.” Edmund Blunden, Sixty-Five. Hong Kong: The English Society, University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong Cultural Enterprise Co.), 1961. 81-82. Print.
—. Letter to Edmund Blunden. 30 Mar.1961. Edmund Blunden Papers, U of Texas, Austin, Harry Ransom Center, MS-0426, container 50.12. Manuscript.
“Diocesan Boys.” South China Morning Post. 7 Jul.1954: 5. Print.
“Edmund Blunden: An Inventory of His Papers at the Harry Ransom Center.” Harry Ransom Center. Web. 30 Mar.2026. https://norman.hrc.utexas.edu/fasearch/findingAid.cfm?eadid=01247.
“Events and Reminders for Today.” South China Morning Post. 28 Feb.1962: 5. Print.
“Events and Reminders for Today.” South China Morning Post. 14 Nov.1962: 5. Print.
“Harry Odell in Association with Professor Edmund Blunden Presents the Masquers in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” South China Morning Post. 12 Mar.1962: 13. Print.
Hensman Bertha. Letters to Edmund Blunden. 10 Feb., 5 Mar., 12 Oct., 24 Oct., 3 Nov., 19 Nov.1962. Edmund Blunden Papers, U of Texas, Austin, Harry Ransom Center, MS-0426, container 49.5. Manuscript.
—. “The Kilborn Family: A Record of a Canadian Family’s Service to Medical Work and Education in China and Hong Kong.” Canadian Medical Association Journal 97.9 (1967): 471-83. Print.
Ho, Elaine Yee Lin. “Connecting Cultures: Hong Kong Literature in English, the1950s.” New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies 5.2 (2003): 5-25. Print.
—. “‘Imagination’s Commonwealth’: Edmund Blunden’s Hong Kong Dialogue.” PMLA 124.1 (2009): 76-91. Print.
“Hongkong Festival of the Arts Opens: Broad Scheme and Exactness of Details Draw Praise: Exhibitions and Competitions.” South China Morning Post. 17 Oct.1959: 8. Print.
“King George V School: Year of Achievements Reported at Annual Speech Day: General Certificate Exams.” South China Morning Post. 26 Nov.1955: 6. Print.
“Masquers to Present ‘Othello.’” South China Morning Post. 2 Dec.1962: 7. Print.
“Masquers to Present Shakespeare’s Comedy at the City Hall.” South China Morning Post. 25 Mar.1962: 4. Print.
Meacham, William. The Archaeology of Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Hong Kong UP, 2009. Print.
“Mr B. G. Birch: Doyen of University Teaching Staff Retiring Soon.” South China Morning Post. 18 Jun.1953: 4. Print.
“Overview of the Department of Geography at The University of Hong Kong.” Department of Geography, The University of Hong Kong. Web. 30 Mar. 2026. https://geog.hku.hk/overview.
“Prof. Blunden Recommends Liberal Form of Education.” South China Morning Post. 17 Nov.1952: 6. Print.
Programme for Comus and The Secular Masque, 1956. Edmund Blunden Papers, U of Texas, Austin, Harry Ransom Center, MS-0426, container 86.4. Print.
“Queen Elizabeth School: Moving Forward with New Strength and Vigour: Annual Speech Day.” South China Morning Post. 10 Nov.1956: 8. Print.
Ramazani, Jahan.Poetry in a Global Age. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2020. Print.
Rayne, Robert N. Letter to Edmund Blunden. 28 Mar.1966. Edmund Blunden Papers, U of Texas, Austin, Harry Ransom Center, MS-0426, container 49.5. Manuscript.
Ride, Lindsay. “The Faculty of Medicine.” University of Hong Kong: The First 50 Years, 1911-1961. Ed. Brian Harrison. Hong Kong: Hong Kong UP, 1962. 103-15. Print.
She, George. Letter to Edmund Blunden. 21 Jul.1956. Edmund Blunden Papers, U of Texas, Austin, Harry Ransom Center, MS-0426, container 75.6. Manuscript.
Tsang, Reynold K. W. “The Arts.” A New Documentary History of Hong Kong, 1945-1997. Ed. Florence Mok and Chi-keung Charles Fung. Hong Kong: Hong Kong UP, 2025. 221-45. Print.
The Colonial Secretary. Invitation to the Laying of the Foundation Stone of the City Hall, 25 Feb.1960. Edmund Blunden Papers, U of Texas, Austin, Harry Ransom Center, MS-0426, container 83.6. Print.
The Council of St. Stephen’s Girls’ College. Invitation to the Opening of the Jubilee Building, 15 May1958. Edmund Blunden Papers, U of Texas, Austin, Harry Ransom Center, MS-0426, container 83.6. Print.
Wah Yan College, Kowloon. Invitation to a Performance of “The Pirates of Penzance,” 25-27 Feb.1960. Edmund Blunden Papers, U of Texas, Austin, Harry Ransom Center, MS-0426, container 14.2. Print.
Webb, Barry. Edmund Blunden: A Biography. New Haven: Yale UP, 1990. Print.