Appendix: The origin of the name "Hong Kong Type"
Hong Kong Type #34
As the origin of “Hong Kong Type” as a proper noun has not been dealt with in the novel, I would like to make a brief supplementary statement here.
The term “Hong Kong Type” (香港字) first appeared in Chinese literature in a collection of essays Chinese Education in the Past Thirty-five Years edited by Zhang Yuanji and He Shengni. This book was published in 1931 to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Commercial Press in Shanghai. The typography, layout, and printing of the book are all extremely exquisite, demonstrating the highest level of modern printing technology in China. The book contains an article written by He Shengni called ‘The Printing Technique in China in the Past Thirty-five Years,’ which outlines the process of how movable type printing was introduced to China by Western missionaries. There are two paragraphs worth paying attention to and I quote them as follows:
“In the same year, Reverend Samuel Dyer of London Missionary Society in Singapore started studying Chinese and created two types of matrices, establishing a school called the Chinese-English College. After the Opium War, he moved to Hong Kong and started a printing office. However, Dyer’s work was unfinished, as he passed away in China in 1845. During his lifetime, he engraved a total of 1,845 matrices.” (Note: “The same year” refers to the 18th year of the Dao Guang era, which is 1838 in the Western calendar.)
“In the 24th year of the Dao Guang era (1844 in the Western calendar), the American Presbyterian Church set up the American-Chinese Bible Room in Macau, with Richard Cole as the head. Responding to the needs of book printing, Cole continued the engraving and type-making work of Dyer, widely printing books, and creating several types, including small characters and numerical characters. At that time, wherever Chinese books were printed, all of the lead type were obtained here. The finished type was the same size as today’s font No. 4. Since it was made in Hong Kong, it was also called ‘Hong Kong Type’.”
These two paragraphs are not only overly simplified, but also full of errors. However, it is not necessary for me to correct them here. The details of the historical facts can be found in the relevant sections of my novel. Most importantly, this is the first official mention of the term “Hong Kong Type” in the Chinese printing industry. It suggests that this typeface had a unique identity at the time, and its historical origins were given special attention. Moreover, it can be inferred that even earlier, possibly in the late 19th century, the term “Hong Kong Type” was widely used by the professionals in the Chinese printing industry to identify this typeface. I am not a historical research expert and I cannot find earlier evidence for now. If any reader knows of any related material, please do not hesitate to enlighten me.
The English translation of Hong Kong Type: A Love Letter Late for One Hundred and Fifty Years will be published soon in dBook (NFT book) format. Stay tuned.