Have You Heard of Jiu Zhang Suanshu (九章算术)?

April 29, 2012 at 12:00 am (Guest Writer, History, Science & Technology)

An article by guest writer Oon Lay Yong. Refer to “About the Writer” at the end of the post. This article is an adapted version of the original article of the same title which was published in the Mathematical Medley, Singapore Mathematical Society, in September 1995.

Jiu Zhang Suanshu is gradually being given its rightful place of importance. This trend will continue into the next century as knowledge of the book increases.

Our arithmetic is built on the Hindu-Arabic numeral system. We know how useful this arithmetic is to us. It not only provides a foundation to mathematics, it is commonly known to most people throughout the world as its knowledge is necessary in our everyday living. Try to replace the Hindu-Arabic numeral system with another numeral system of a different concept and you will find that our arithmetic and its applications will collapse like a pack of cards.

Since the numeral system is so important, let us examine it in detail. The system uses a place value notation with ten as base so that anyone who uses the numeral system will only have to remember the nine signs for numbers one to nine. Depending on the number, the nine signs or digits are picked and arranged in a horizontal line from left to right in descending order of rank. For instance, the number fifty six thousand nine hundred and thirty four is notated as: 56934, and the ranks of the digits from left to right are: ten thousands, thousands, hundreds, tens and units. In the very early Hindu-Arabic numerals, if a number had no digit of a certain rank, the space of that rank was left vacant so that fifty six thousand nine hundred and four would look like this 569  4. It was later that this empty space was filled with the zero symbol as we know it today.

From 1200 to 1600, the peoples of Europe discarded their own numeral systems or, like the Romans, displaced them to secondary importance, and laboriously started to learn the Hindu-Arabic numeral system. They had before this found even simple multiplication and division extremely difficult to perform, and knew that the new numeral system would open for them an exciting world of computation leading to the new arithmetic, which would be very useful in many areas and especially in commerce. They probably had the same feeling as we have now about computers opening a new vista of high technology for us.

The numeral system produced a method of division which resulted in a notation for the common fraction, for example, five sevenths was expressed as below, without the horizontal line which we use today.

5
7

Based on the knowledge of the numeral system and the notation to express a fraction, a new world of computations began to unfold. Literature on arithmetic grew phenomenally and some of the common topics and methods included fractions, exchange of goods, partnership and sharing, proportion, Rule of Three, areas, volumes, the extraction of square and cube roots, and Rule of False Position.

In their attempts to compute, the ancient Chinese used a bundle of bamboo sticks or rods. Through this usage they invented a numeral system, which had the same concept as the Hindu-Arabic numeral system. The nine signs that represented the first nine numbers were:

Like the Hindu-Arabic numerals, the digits were arranged in a horizontal line from left to right in decreasing order of rank. As the digits were formed from rods, the ancient Chinese had an ingenious device in displaying digits which occupied alternate positions. They turned a vertical rod horizontal and a horizontal rod vertical. For example, fifty six thousand nine hundred and thirty four would look like this:

If a number had no digit of a certain rank, the space representing that rank was left vacant, so that fifty six thousand nine hundred and four would appear like this:

This was a very natural process for a system which handled with rods. The Chinese also invented the division method which left a remainder, and used the remainder in rod numerals to denote the complex concept of a fraction. For example, five sevenths was expressed as:

Over two thousand years ago, the Chinese were aware of two very useful notations – the numeral system that used a place value notation with ten as base and the notation to express a common fraction. Through the use of these two notations they were able to compute and develop numerous mathematical methods. Around the first century, such problems and methods were compiled into a book called Jiu Zhang Suanshu 九章算术 (Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art).

Jiu Zhang Suanshu has nine chapters and two hundred and forty six problems. It begins with the topics on fractions and although the methods involve the manipulation of rods, they are surprisingly very similar to the methods that we use. This is followed by problems on areas of different shapes such as an isosceles triangle, a trapezium, a circle and an annulus. Jiu Zhang Suanshu has probably the earliest general description of the Rule of Three. This rule is first applied to problems involving exchanges of food stuff and then to other cases. Problems on partnership and sharing dominate Chapter Three, while Chapter Four is concerned mainly with the methods of finding the square root and the cube root of a number.

The next chapter involves the calculation of volumes of solids such as a circular cone, the frustum of a cone, different types of wedges and a prism whose cross-section is a trapezium. Chapter Six is concerned with the application of proportion and inverse proportion, and gives a wealth of information on the socioeconomic aspects of life in ancient China. The first problem is stated below:

Now there is a fair [way of] transporting millet. County A has 10,000 households and [requires] 8 days’ journey to reach the destination; County B has 9,500 households and [requires] 10 days’ journey; County C has 12,350 households and [requires] 13 days’ journey; County D has 12,200 households and [requires] 20 days’ journey. The four counties transport a total of 250,000 hu of millet as tax and use 10,000 carts. It is desired that the contributions be based on the distances and the number of households. Find the amount of millet and the number of carts from each [county]. Answer says: County A 83,100 hu of millet, 3,324 carts. County B 63,175 hu of millet, 2,527 carts. County C 63,175 hu of millet, 2,527 carts. County D 40,550 hu of millet,1622 carts.

Besides problems on proportional parts, the chapter also has problems involving relative distance and speed. The Rule of False Position was one of the methods devised by ancient man to solve a problem at a time when his mind was unable to formulate or to think abstractly in terms of mathematical notations. The Chinese called the method ying bu zu and Chapter Seven is devoted to this topic. Chapter Eight involves the solutions of simultaneous linear equations up to six unknowns. The data are set in columns like our matrix notation; the subtraction of two columns gives rise to the concept and definition of a negative number. The final chapter deals with problems on the right-angled triangle.

Jiu Zhang Suanshu is the most important of all the very early Chinese mathematical texts that have survived. It provided a firm foundation and had a strong influence on the subsequent development of mathematics in China which reached its zenith in the thirteenth century.

Jiu Zhang Suanshu also stands out in the world history of mathematics. It is the earliest most outstanding book on arithmetic that was built on two mathematical notations still indispensable today: one to express a number and the other to denote a fraction. It is now been given its rightful place of importance in the history of mathematics.

When you read new books on the history of mathematics, you will notice a significant change from the old ones: Jiu Zhang Suanshu is gradually being given its rightful place of importance. This trend will continue into the next century as knowledge of the book increases.

About the Writer

Oon Lay Yong is a retired professor of mathematics, formerly from the National University of Singapore.

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Are You American?

March 27, 2012 at 12:00 am (Chinese Culture, Guest Writer)

An article by guest writer Sophia Chiang. Refer to “About the Writer” at the end of the post.

“Are you Chinese?” “Are you Japanese? Korean?” “What are you?” My black-haired, almond-shaped eyed, and olive complexioned six-year old son, Lleyton, was asked by his fair-skinned, blond-haired soccer teammate, Sergio Massarucci (Italian-American).

Ah… the issue of national and, more importantly self, identity has once again crept into my life, this time through the lens of my children.

My parents immigrated to the United States from Taiwan in the early-1960’s as graduate students. At the time, the United States was just beginning to loosen its immigration policy and, thus, the mere opportunity to immigrate to this “dream” land was intoxicating. Yet as the obvious minority in their new country and living in California’s Central Valley, their goal for their children was to “not call attention” to our differences and to fully assimilate, or in other words, “become American.”

So that’s what we did. Despite the obvious physical differences and their unshakeable Chinese-accented English, my parents became “American” in dress, in the community (PTA, politics, Girl Scouts, soccer), in cooking (my mom made a mean tuna and pasta casserole and matzo ball soup) and I tried thoroughly to shed any remaining Chinese identity. Being American meant dissolving and showing disinterest towards Chinese traditions (aside from hong bao), dying our hair lighter with Sun-In hair lightener, learning to apply makeup to make our eyes more “round”, refusing to speak, or even understand Chinese, and proclaiming our desire to only marry “American.” Looking back, I can only imagine the conflicting heartbreak felt by my parents.

It wasn’t until college and in the midst of greater diversity, openness and inquiry that I became to terms with being an Asian-American, Chinese-American, or simply American. It also helped that as China’s, Hong Kong’s and Taiwan’s economic and political standing in the world grew, so did the appreciation and respect for Chinese culture, food, and people.

So 40 years later, what has changed between my Asian-American experience and that of my children’s? Unlike my parents who felt more like an added condiment to America’s melting pot, my children and I, as American-born citizens, are the main ingredients – heck, my children and I can become the President should we choose :) . Even more so, my children as second generation Americans, have very little affiliation or roots to China, Taiwan or Hong Kong, except through their grandparents and increasingly less so through their American-born parents.

However, though we speak impeccable, accent-less English, regularly score in the 700’s on the English portion of the SATs, are student body presidents and homecoming queens, we still fail to be viewed as 100% American. Despite the tremendous progress, some things still stay the same.

Consider the basketball phenomenon Jeremy Lin who, as born, raised and educated in Northern California is arguably as American as anyone else. And yet, even the usually culturally aware The Daily Show with Jon Stewart “associated “sweat shops” and “low-cost workers” to Jeremy Lin in a humorous bit on how “Asians were now stealing away basketball from blacks”. Not having worked or lived in Asia, Jeremy Lin has about as much to do with sweat shops and low-cost workers in China as a random farmer in Iowa. It would be equivalent of saying that Larry Wilmore, the African-American Daily Show correspondent should go back to his day job of being a ruthless dictator in Africa.

Or on a more serious note, consider the recent deaths of Danny Chen and Harry Lew, American soldiers of Chinese ethnicity, who both committed suicide in Afghanistan after countless months of being taunted for months for being Asian by fellow “American” soldiers. It would seem that sacrificing and voluntarily fighting for your country would be enough proof of your American-ness, not so, if you are black-haired, yellow-skinned and with almond-shaped eyes.

The challenge of nationality is not isolated to the United States, but also in Asia. Whenever in Asia, not a day goes by without someone asking me, 你是中國人嗎? The question literally translates into “Are you Chinese?” Simple enough as a question, but loaded with nuances that are difficult to answer. Without denying my ethnic heritage, my usual answer is 我是美國人 (“I am an American.”) Their reply that follows is almost always 但是你還是中國人. (“But you are still Chinese”) Yes, I am Chinese.

Though I am proudly culturally Chinese, I have no other national affiliation than to that of the United States. Yet, I feel that because of my outward appearance, I am embraced far more by my Asian brothers and sisters as the “long-lost” wayward daughter than by my own country, the U.S. where I occasionally (usually when straying away from the coastal areas) still feel like a long-staying guest who occasionally is asked “Where are you from?” and even told to “go home…” To where, I ask?

So what is it going to take for American-Asians to be accepted and embraced as Americans?

  • I dream of a day when white and black American boys (not just the Asian American ones) pin-up Jeremy Lin posters on their walls.
  • I dream of a day when Americans regularly see American-Asian politicians representing them in Congress and the Senate.
  • I dream of a day when our Executive branch positions are held by American-Asians.
  • I dream of a day when the winners of Grammys, Tony’s and Oscars include American-Asians.

Despite the continual challenges that face Chinese Americans in how others perceive our national identity, it is far better for my children. Unlike my generation, where we often sought to deny our ethnic heritage, this generation seems to have the best of both worlds. My kids proudly speak and read Chinese, love sharing their Chinese foods and customs with other American friends and seem to have little or no angst with their Chinese-ness.

When asked by Sergio if he is Chinese, my son Lleyton confidently replied “No, I am an American.”

About the Writer

Sophia Chiang is a first-generation, American of Chinese descent. She lives in the San Francisco Bay area with her Taiwanese-American husband and two children. She is the CEO of Causera – a web-based social fundraising company. Like most first-generation Chinese-Americans, she was good at math and earned a B.S. in electrical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and an M.B.A from MIT.

My Kids

My Husband

My Daughter and I

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A Golfer’s Life

February 29, 2012 at 12:00 am (Guest Writer, Sport)

An article by guest writer Lam Chih Bing. Refer to “About the Writer” at the end of the post.

Over the years, I’ve gained priceless experience by being a golfer and I pray all the time that I can stay competitive and injury free because I believe I have one of the best jobs in the world!

I wish I had a dollar every time someone asks me “How do you make a living playing golf?” I get that so often when I tell people I am a professional golfer. I suppose I get so many questions because it is such an uncommon profession here in Singapore.

Let me just explain how a golfer makes a living out of knocking little white balls into holes. There are 6 major golf tours in the World – The US PGA Tour, European Tour, Japan Golf Tour, Asian Tour, Australasian Tour and the Sunshine Tour (South Africa). First and foremost, a player has to qualify to play on one of these tours. This is usually done by taking part in the qualifying tournament before the start of the season to earn eligibility to play on the tour. The better you play in the qualifying tournament the more events you get to play on that particular tour. This is by no means an easy task as the US PGA Tour (the most lucrative tour) typically gets about 1500 entries in the qualifying tournament and only the top-25 players out of all these players will earn a full card to play on the tour. The tour that I play on, the Asian Tour had 550 players this year vying for 40 spots to play on the tour. Once you earn your playing privileges onto the tour through this qualifying tournament, you will have to try to play as well as you can to retain your playing rights for the following year. On the US tour, the top-125 players on the Order of Merit gets to retain his playing rights the following year whereas the Asian tour, only the top-60 gets this privilege. Any lower in the ranking earns you another trip back to the qualifying tournament. The biggest incentive is to win an event on the tour and you will be guaranteed full playing privileges for the next 2 years.

On the Asian Tour where I ply my trade, we have around 25 tournaments a year around the region as well as sanctioned events as far as Switzerland, Scotland and the US. All these events are 4 day tournaments and the typical starting field for all these events are between 120-156 players depending on the daylight available. The first 2 days, all the 120-156 players will play 2 rounds and after the 2nd round, there is a cut-off where only the top 65 players get to play the remaining 2 rounds. Once you make this 2 day cut, you are guaranteed a paycheck and those who didn’t make the 2 day cut earns an early flight home and no income for the week. The prize money on the Asian Tour varies from US$300,000 to US$7,500,000. The winner of the tournament will get 16% of the prize fund, the 25th position gets about 1% of the prize fund and the player bringing up the rear will make 0.28%. On the US Tour where each tournament varies between US$5,000,000 to US$9,000,000, a player will get the chance to be instant millionaire by winning one of those events.

Life on Tour

After being on tour so many years, things have become pretty routine. Tournaments usually runs from Thursdays to Sundays. Mondays are traveling days, Tuesdays for practice and we would have pro-ams on Wednesdays.

I am really lucky to have a very close group of friends that I hang out with most weeks. Its is a pretty diverse group with of players from Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Myanmar, Australia and the US. We practically do everything together including our practice, work out, dinner etc. During our peak period during the season, I would see this group of friends more than I would see my family.

Naturally over the years, we have had our share of wonderful memories. Somehow most of the things that stick with you are the practical jokes and the dumb dare bets that we so often play on one another. Some of these dumb dare bets include swallowing a live earth worm, wearing a Nemo hat to play golf in a big tournament with live television, skinny dipping in the freezing sea in broad daylight, swallowing a big spoonful of chilli padi and not drinking for 10 minutes, jumping into a fish pond in the lobby of the hotel just to name a few. The best practical joke that we played on a friend was digging up the eyeballs from a suckling pig and burying it inside a blackforest cake during a pro-am dinner. After our friend ate it (and he’s one of those who refuses to eat anything exotic), we told him what he just swallowed and he caused such a big commotion at the dinner that it was hilarious!

I know for a fact that the top golfers in the world playing on the US and European tours play all these pranks on one another as well. It seems like every week you will hear of new stories. Life on tour is certainly not just golf, golf and more golf!

Characters on Tour

The Asian Tour has in recent years grown to an extent that we have players from all corners of the globe plying their trade here. Of course with such diversified background, we have all sorts of characters on tour. You would hear stories of players working as pizza delivery boy or on the construction sites just to save enough money to try their luck on the tour. Here are a few of the more interesting characters that I’ve played with:

Security Guard from China
One of the most unlikely of golfers I’ve encountered. I played with this professional golfer from China about 4 years ago with a very home-made golf swing. He told me he used to work as a security guard at a golf course in his late teens which is the first time he’s ever set foot inside a golf club. He got really intrigue by the game and he started sneaking out and hitting balls at the range at night and got hooked onto the game. He got a break when the golf course let staff start playing on the course every Monday during maintenance. He then worked really hard during that one day and became pretty good at the game and decided to give professional golf a go. He’s done pretty well on the China Tour and is making many times of what he would have made as a security guard.

The Angry Golfer
Being such a stressful game, it is very common for golfers to lose their temper on the golf course. But I think all these years on tour, after hearing countless stories of players breaking clubs, tossing clubs into water hazards and once, a player even got his club stuck on a tree at 10m tall, I’ve got one that surpasses it all. We were playing a tournament in Macau and it is a really tricky course with water hazards all over the place. A player (I won’t mention names) started hitting some bad shots and very soon loses it. He starts breaking a club or tossing it into hazards every time he hits a bad one. By the end of 18 holes, he was left with only 7 clubs (after starting the round with 14). He then gave the remaining clubs to his caddy and decided to “quit” golf for a few months.

The Spitter
I once played with an Indian golfer who was obviously from a very humble background. He showed up on the first tee with a patched up golf bag, some very old clubs and shoes that look like they’ve been worn for years. I remember him so much because he was wearing a glove so old that to have any traction on it, he had to spit on it before every shot. Luckily it’s not one of those big gooey spits but more like 5-10 little ones, just to give the glove a bit of moisture to keep it slightly sticky. He also cannot stop calling me “sir”. I remember telling him to stop calling me “sir” sometime during the back nine to which he replied “Yes sir, sorry sir”!

My Most Memorable and Embarrassing Moments on Tour

Over these past 12 years as a pro, I have been lucky enough to win 13 tournaments (12 on the regional tours and 1 on the Asian tour). While each win is a special and memorable occasion, I would have to say the most special memory for me is during the 2008 British Open Golf Championship at Royal Birkdale. I had just become the 1st Singaporean to make the cut in a major championship and walking down the 18th hole on the final round that Sunday, with massive bleachers surrounding the fairway and green on both sides, a scene I have watched on television since I was a 10-year-old learning how to play this game, right there and then, I said all the sacrifices I have made growing up to become a golfer was worth it.

On the flip side, I have so many “oops” moments on the golf course, more than I care to remember. There are a few instances where I wish I were an ostrich and can bury my head into the ground. Once I shanked a bunker shot almost taking out the head of a spectator (we had a pretty sizable gallery as I was playing with Anthony Kim in Korea). Another time, I was playing with Rory McIlroy in the world cup and the last hole with pretty big galleries as well and a bunch of television cameras around the green, I chili-dipped a chip so bad you could hear the groaning and moaning as well as sniggering and laughter from the marquees. Of course, after that happened, I went up to my partner Mardan and said I hope that wasn’t captured on live television. Of course as luck would have it, the moment I went up to my locker to check my phone, I have received at least 15 snide comments on my phone “congratulating” me about wonderful chip!

Another year in Myanmar, I had the runs with my tummy after eating some dodgy Burmese food and about 5 mins before I was about to tee off, I let out what I thought was going to be a fart … and out came more than just air! So for the rest of the round, I had to wear my rain pants to play. So, if you ever go to a golf tournament and see a player wearing a rain pants to play in broad daylight, you know the reason! At least I had my rain pants, a good friend of mine, told me about the time when he was playing with Martin Kaymer (currently the 4th ranked player in the world) at the Singapore Open, he actually played golf with a big brown stain on his white pants! Guess he forgot his rain pants that day!

Best Job in the World

I remember 12 years ago right before I made the decision to turn professional. I had 2 job offers and was seriously thinking if I should just play it safe and get a regular job. However, I decided that I am only young once and I should at least give it a go and see how good a golfer I can become. Initially, I thought I would at least give myself 3 years to taste the life of a professional golfer but 12 years on, I am still doing it. Time seems to just fly by so quickly. I suppose it’s the fact that I have so much fun doing what I am doing. Playing golf is something that I love and I know so many friends always comment how lucky I am to be doing something I love for a living. I think my wife can attest to the fact that if I take a few days off “work”, I will actually start to miss it and cannot wait to go back to playing golf.

Over the years I have had the opportunity to play with some of the best golfers in the world. I also have the chance to play with royalties, ministers and former heads of states. I get a kick when some of these “big shots” actually say they wish they could change jobs with me! I think a big part of the reason is that for a lot of amateur golfers that I play with, a lot of them cannot wait to retire so they can play more golf and travel the world, something that I get to do as part of my job.

A part of me always wonder how different life would be if I took a different path and started working in the corporate world. But over the years, I’ve gained priceless experience by being a golfer and I pray all the time that I can stay competitive and injury free because I believe I have one of the best jobs in the world!

About the Writer

Lam Chih Bing is one of the leading professional golfers in Singapore. He has a BA degree from the University of Arizona and an MBA from the University of Leicester.

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Tales of an Eclectic Collector

January 20, 2012 at 12:00 am (Guest Writer, The Arts & Art Collecting)

An article by guest writer Wong Hong Sze. Refer to “About the Writer” at the end of the post.

I have always been interested in collecting. There is difference between collecting and hoarding. Hoarding is indiscriminate amassing without a focus. Collecting is a discipline with focus. It is the art of acquiring with discernment.

When I was a schoolboy, I learned the art of collecting spiders. Unlike many of my friends who spent days in the bush picking them up at random, I remember spending hours studying the type, size and characteristics of specimens and the type of vegetation they thrive in. Only then did I embark on my collecting adventure. I did not own many, but they were of good fighting quality. My friends would then buy one or two from me for 5 cents each. This was when I discovered collecting has an investment value.

My interest in beautiful objects of art was kindled by my late father. He collected Chinese Ming and Qing porcelain vases, water pots, and wrist rests, collectibles for the scholar’s writing desk. I used to admire (and still do) the potter’s ability to mould, decorate and fire such fine kaolin to produce top quality porcelain. The decoration was never busy. A single sprig of prunus delicately painted and under-glazed onto a vase no taller than 10 cm was a good example.

So over the years, I developed a taste for small size collectibles, having lived amongst them since childhood. But I did not venture out to purchase on my own until a small revelation transformed my passive interest into active pursuit.

During my first month of employment after graduation, I chanced across an article on Chinese snuff bottles in an early edition of “Arts of Asia”, a tastefully illustrated arts magazine.

I was simply astounded by the beauty and exquisite crafting of these tiny bottles. I soon bought then the only English book on the subject – “Chinese Snuff Bottles – The Adventures & Studies of a Collector”, by the late Lilla Perry.

From Lilla, I learned that snuff was grounded tobacco imported by Europeans into China during the early Qing dynasty in the 17th C. In Europe, snuff was consumed by sniffing a small quantity and inhaled into each nostril thereby producing a few loud sneezes. It was supposed to clear the nostril passage ways and result in a sense of well being, if not aphrodisiac sensations. It was used by the gentry during the courts of Louis XIV (1643-1715) and elsewhere and was considered fashionable by men and women to carry a snuff box in their pockets.

When snuff was introduced into China to the Kangxi court (1662-1722) by Jesuits, it was soon realized that box containers were not practical as the mandarin robe did not have pockets. Instead, it was ideal to store snuff into small bottles (no more than 5 cm high) wherein the user was able to tuck it into the long sleeves of his robe.

These small bottles soon caught on not only in the Chinese court but in business circles where merchants presented them as gifts and bribes. They soon became a collector’s item and hence various forms of material were used to make them. These included glass, quartz, jade, silver, hornbill, porcelain, sharkskin, and other organic and non organic material. Intricate decorations were also employed – carving, pasting, and later a technique known as inside painted, where a painting was executed inside a glass bottle.

I vividly remember my first acquisition. It was bought at a local antiques shop known as “Moon Gate”. It was a late 19th C glass overlay bottle with intricate carving of figures toasting each other. Almost half of my first month’ salary went to acquiring this beauty and I have kept it to this day. It was probably a good investment as these beauties would have appreciated at least 15-20 times since then.

My first snuff bottle

Through the years, I acquired other bottles. Another favourite is this porcelain carved bottle with a green jade tablet (likely taken from a Mandarin’s hat) attached into the middle. The bottle was acquired in London and would have been dated circa 1870. I take it out even now to admire it.

There were a few cardinal rules about collecting snuff bottles (which also apply to other forms of collecting) which I adhere to closely. First, the bottle has to be in mint or near mint condition. Don’t risk the temptation to purchase bottles which have cracks or defaced decorations, no matter how well crafted. Second, make sure it is of the age period attributed. There are countless modern bottles attributed to the Qing dynasty in today’s market. Nowadays I attest to the 90-10 rule. Assume 90% in today’s market are fakes to begin with. The challenge is to search out the 10%. Third, buy the best you can afford. It is more satisfying to resist the temptation of amassing poor quality pieces when you can live with just one of the best in its class. At present, I have only one or at most two bottles from each type of material. Fourth, buy pieces which appeal for its artistic value to you personally and not only for investment value. After all you will have to live with them on a daily basis!

Another favourite of mine is this inside painted bottle of an opera actor. It is dated 1911 and signed Ma Shao-Hsuan. Ma was one of the first artist to paint portraits. The technique was to paint in reverse using a small pointed brush inserted into the mouth of the bottle. It is micro painting in its highest form! There are now thousands of bottles attributed to Ma but most are contemporary fakes. I acquired this bottle in 1965 from a reputable dealer in Hong Kong.

Front

Back

In the mid 1990s my family and I lived in London for 2 years on a cross posting. London is often considered the Mecca of the antiques and fine market. Indeed so. In almost every nook and corner was an antique shop of sorts. Some dealing in 17th C European paintings, some in early 20th C art deco collectibles and others in heirloom bric bracs. Saturday mornings would catch us trotting over to Portobello Market to browse at the vast quantities of antiques but seldom to buy. The sheer crowd from across the globe was sufficient to satisfy as a study of cross cultural interest and tastes. A couple from France, for example, would be hunting for Russian orthodox icons. A single woman from Tokyo would be looking for pre World War Two diaries printed by His Majesty’s Stationers. It was there that I was introduced to another area of collecting – 18th C English drinking glasses!

I was simply fascinated by the various shapes, designs, and sizes, of what we know as a drinking glass. As usual, I read up on the subject, the most illustrated and readable book being “An Illustrated Guide to Eighteenth Century Drinking Glass” by L.M. Bickerton.

From it, I learned the virtual monopoly in glass making held by Venice was broken in the late 16th C when England produced some very fine ale mugs and wine goblets. The early English glasses were heavy as they were mixed with lead which acted as a ballast to prevent the contents from spilling. A typical glass would be made in three pieces – the bowl (which holds the liquid), the stem and the foot.

As time passed, the British Government passed an Excise Tax on the lead content and from the late 17th C onwards, glasses were lighter, but with the growth of the industry, more intricate designs and shapes were added.

On reflection, collecting English drinking glasses and Chinese snuff bottles, has its parallels. Both function as containers. Both have a body, a stem (in the case of snuff bottles a stopper) and a foot. My collection of bottles and glasses is also quite parallel in period – the Qinlong period onwards in China and the Georgian period onwards in England). There is however one very perceptible difference. Chinese snuff bottles were made from a myriad of materials whereas English glasses were just forms of silica.

Nevertheless, drinking glasses (like snuff bottles) were also classified according to form, shape and decoration.. There were mugs, drams (whisky glasses), goblets, balusters etc. Stems came in various shapes – moulded pedestal stem, straight stem, air twist stem, colour stem, and incised twist stem. The decoration is often an art in itself – from common engraving to engraving in commemoration of an event eg Royal Coronation; or a baby’s christening.

One of my early acquisitions is a most interesting ladies cocktail glass which has an opague twist stem engraved with a bird in flight. The engraving is actually a secret code. The bird signifies the return of Bonnie Prince Charles from exile to claim the English throne. Owners of these glasses were invariably supporters of the Prince! I bought this from a collector in Bath.

Some decorations were produced to represent a society or commercial enterprise. I have a dram (whisky drinking glass) which represented a particular Masonic Lodge in Scotland. It was engraved “Lodge of Harmony No 559”. The compass and slide rule emblem is clearly visible. A local Masonic friend helped me trace the Lodge to one which existed in Dunedin Scotland circa 1768.

In the course of my work overseas, I occasionally stayed over the weekend to browse the local flea market and antique shops. The anticipation was the optimistic prospect one might stumble onto an unexpected gem. Most times, the results were disappointing but all it took was one unexpected find to fuel the enthusiasm once more. I visited an antique shop in Mumbai in 2002 to discover a treasure trove! Scattered around the display cabinets were finely blown 19th C English drinking glasses. Some were cocktail glasses, some were after dinner liquour stem glasses; some were brandy tumblers. All bore an identical. engraved emblem – the royal insignia of the Maharaja of Rajustan. The dealer informed me the entire dinner set collection was commissioned to be sold in his shop but sensing he would find it difficult to sell it as a set, he was willing to sell single pieces. I picked up three glasses of different shapes, the most interesting being the one illustrated below.

These last two years, I have embarked on yet another collecting adventure – antique pocket watches, but a discourse of this newly found joy will run well beyond the space permitted for this article.

So for me, collecting is a continuous journey. There are always new areas to explore. But delving into a new subject to collect does not devalue the previous subjects. I still cherish my snuff bottles and English drinking glasses. Often, it is not the collectibles that one cherishes but tales of how they were acquired and the interesting types of people one meets in the trial of acquisition which is etched in memory.

About the Writer

  • He has the good fortune of visiting many interesting places and meeting extraordinary people in his 35 year career as a HR director.
  • He has also participated in arts forums as speaker and has contributed to events organized by auction houses such as Sothebys.
  • He is interested in many forms of the arts and can be found frequently attending concerts at the Esplanade and Young Siew Toh Music Conservatory.
  • He is a council member of the SE Asia Ceramics Society and the China Society.
  • He is an unabashed lover of all good things, notably food and wine.

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