Hugh Baker is Emeritus Professor of Chinese at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He has published books on Chinese kinship, Hong Kong history and culture, the overseas Chinese, and the Cantonese and Mandarin languages. His published articles cover a wide range of Chinese cultural topics including food, symbolism, death, xenophobia, clan, marriage, slang, minorities, fung shui, migration, and religion. He was chief editorial consultant to the twelve-part television series The Heart of the Dragon, and his much-repeated Baker's Dozen on Radio Television Hong Kong ran to four series each of thirteen talks. He served as Chinese language training adviser to the Hong Kong Government 1973-75, and frequently writes opinions and gives evidence in court on Chinese customary law.

Professor Baker makes it possible to recognise what still remains of the architecture, agriculture and traditional dress of this historic area and also to understand something of the unique way of life followed here for a thousand years that is now steadily giving way to urbanisation and uniformity. -- From the Foreword by Lady Youde Unique... A wondrous delight to go through... BizIndia