Rehabilitation

Rehabilitation: A Life’s Work is the autobiography of a remarkable man and his remarkable career. Sir Harry Fang, a world-renowned pioneer in the development of rehabilitation medicine, tells a fascinating story of his own emergence as an expert in medical practice and the emergence of a whole new branch of that practice.

But this book is much more. It is the story of Hong Kong’s coming of age. In this memoir, Sir Harry proves to be an insightful and articulate witness to Hong Kong’s evolution from colonial outpost to thriving international metropolis. With humour, wit and deep understanding, he brings us a refreshing look, not only at the practice of rehabilitative medicine, but at the politics, economics and personalities that have shaped our times.

Harry Fang was born in Nanjing, China on August 2, 1923, the son of General Fang Zhen Wu. He was educated at King’s College, the University of Hong Kong, and Shanghai Medical College. In 1952, he was awarded a scholarship by the Sino-British Fellowship Trust, which led to his qualification as a specialist in rehabilitation medicine, the field that became his life’s work. One of his life’s works. Besides his work as a pioneer in medicine, he has been, at one and the same time, a fund-raiser, organizer of international events, renowned orthopaedic surgeon, a reformer, the developer of a major hotel in Beijing, a rehabilitation expert, an organizer, a volunteer, a politician—and a man with a shrewd eye for a racehorse. Remarkably, Sir Harry also turns out to be a gifted storyteller.

“This is an important book. Not just because of the man who wrote it, but because it is the story of Hong Kong’s coming of age. The world Sir Harry Fang grew up in is a world many of us will remember. In this memoir, Sir Harry proves to be an insightful and articulate witness to Hong Kong’s evolution from colonial outpost to thriving international metropolis.” —From the Foreword by T. L. Yang