Cantonese Society in Hong Kong and Singapore

The volume collects the published articles of Dr. Marjorie Topley, a pioneer in social anthropology in the postwar period and the first president of the revived Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. Her ethnographic research in Singapore and Hong Kong set a high standard for urban anthropology and contributed to the development of fields such as religious studies, migration studies, gender studies, and medical anthropology. These essays showcase her groundbreaking contributions to various areas of scholarship, including studies on Chinese women's vegetarian houses in Singapore, Chinese secret religious sects, marriage resistance in rural Kwangtung, and child-rearing practices among Cantonese mothers, among others. Dr. Topley, a cultural anthropologist trained at the London School of Economics, moved to Singapore in the early 1950s, where she served as curator of anthropology at the Raffles Museum. Later, she moved to Hong Kong and earned her PhD from the London School of Economics. She conducted extensive research and published broadly in fields related to Chinese religion, medical anthropology, migration, and gender studies until her return to England in 1983. Jean Debernardi, a professor of anthropology at the University of Alberta, specializes in Chinese in Southeast Asia, religion, ethnicity, nationalism, and transnationalism. Her ethnographic research focuses on Chinese popular religion in Malaysia and Singapore, with notable publications on Chinese communities and religious practices.