First Book Prize Winner for 2015:
Dr. Catherine Ladds
Catherine Ladds (centre) receiving the First Book Prize.
Dr. Catherine Ladds, Assistant Professor of the History Department at Hong Kong Baptist University, is the winner of the inaugural Hong Kong Academy of the Humanities First Book Prize. In addition to Dr. Ladds, Dr. QU Li, Lecturer in the Department of Religion and Philosophy, was awarded the prize of Outstanding Finalist for the prize, among four other honored finalists.
At an award ceremony hosted by the HKAH on 18 May 2015, Prof. Clara Wing-chung Ho, Head of the History Department and Fellow of the HKAH, delivered an address introducing Dr. Ladds. In her speech, Prof. Ho described Dr. Ladds’ versatility and enthusiasm for scholarly research in her particular field of expertise. Moreover, she explained that Dr. Ladds’ winning book is based on groundbreaking analysis and meticulous archival research that recovers an important chapter in the history of the Customs Service. Prof. Ho also mentioned Dr. Ladds’ dedicated service and contributions to the Department, Faculty of Social Sciences and HKBU community. She stated that this award is a much-deserved recognition for Dr. Ladds and has brought true honor to the History Department at Hong Kong Baptist University. Following the introduction by Prof. Ho, Dr. Ladds also gave an address outlining the significance of her winning book.
Dr. Catherine Ladds
Dr. Ladds’ book, entitled Empire Careers: Working for the Chinese Customs Service, 1854-1949, was published by Manchester University Press in 2014. The prize committee finds that she produced a work that is extremely well researched and attractively written, while also breaking new ground interpretively by challenging a number of basic assumptions guiding previous studies related to foreign customs officers within the Qing empire and the Republic of China. As she reveals in telling ways, the multinational make-up of the Customs could both further the national prestige of a particular country, while also lead to the fragmentation of national loyalties, due in part to fears of deracination and the fact that these foreigners regularly worked with Chinese counterparts. Trumping any simple stereotypes of these foreign Customs officers’ roles and personalities, Dr. Ladds presents a compellingly complex account of people enmeshed in a major Chinese institution that continued to be shaped by its linkages between various imperial and international interests.