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簡介：
早於1881年，香港已出現第一對「中外婚姻」何啟及其夫人雅麗氏。然而，有關西方與中國的婚姻研究研書籍可謂絕無僅有。華德斯博士找來81對夫婦，讓他們仔細剖析這種形式的中西結合所帶出文化差異的問題。雙方如何溝通，如何互補不足，如何與對方以至於其父母、家庭、朋友相處，甚至於喜歡什麼菜式，怎樣教養下一代等等…
Up to World War Two, Western-Chinese inter-marriage was not accepted in 'polite' society, neither by the British nor by the Chinese. Nevertheless Ho Kai (later Sir Kai Ho Kai) of Hong Kong did marry Alice Walkden, in London, in 1881. There are those who believe this was the first Anglo-Chinese marriage ever. It took place in racist, Victorian Society when views contrasted strikingly with those held by most people today.
Examples of Western-Chinese marriages, post World War Two, include: the late Bruce Lee, the late Sir Piers Jacobs, Sir Jimmy McGregor, Jack Edwards and Elsie Tu. One could go on.
While a certain amount has been written about Blacks married to Whites, and Whites to Pakistani, and so on, next to nothing has been written about Westerners married to Chinese. Researched and written by Dr Dan Waters, who can claim approaching half a century of actual experience in such a marriage, is the best person to research the subject of mixed marriages.
There are those who believe a Western-Chinese marriage is no different, say, to a blond marrying a red-head, although there are others who are more cautious and say that two sometimes antagonistic cultures inevitably add heat to the mix and an added dimension to marriage. There are also opposing views and beliefs having been raised on different codes of conduct and varying lifestyles. After marriage what sort of lifestyles do such couples lead? There can be compatibility and communication problems, not just with each other, but also with in-laws and partners' friends. What cuisines do they prefer? How do they raise their Eurasian children?
One Couple Two Cultures is based on original research of eighty-one couples involving among others Chinese from the People's Republic of China and Caucasians of different nationalities. Examples included in this book are of both successful and not-so-successful unions.
關於作者about the author：
華德斯博士(Deric Daniel Waters)博士生於1920年， 1954年來港加入殖民地政府，1960年迎婜華人妻子，自此以香港為家， 1981年獲英女皇封為皇室服務令的勳爵，1998年因他在古蹟保護的工作獲香港特區政府頒銅紫荊星章。作為一名「老香港」，華德斯對本地歷史有一種濃厚而廣泛的興趣，他的書籍和論文題材，由竹棚到風水，由比較中外的幽默到比較中外的葬禮。
Dan Waters was born in 1920 in Norwich, England, a city of pubs and churches. 'There's a pub for every day of the year and a church for every week'
With the advent of World War Two, Waters accepted the 'King's Shilling,' pledging loyalty to Monarch and Country, and facing combat in North African deserts and later in Salerno and Anzio, Italy. He was wounded three times and Mentioned in Despatches. After demobilisation, he rejoined the family building business established by his great-grandfather in 1853 and later became managing director, all the while studying and then teaching at Norwich City College.
In 1954, before he had even met a Chinese person, Waters joined the Colonial Service and set sail for Hong Kong where, as a member of the Government Education Department, he taught at the Technical College that has since become the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. In the late 1960s, he became Principal of the Morrison Hill Technical Institute, was then transferred to the Education Department Headquarters for planning and administration, and was eventually made a Companion of the Imperial Service Order by Her Majesty the Queen for his work in education. Waters also co-authored three volumes of Understanding Technical English, of which Volume One has sold over a million copies.
Dan and his Hong Kong Chinese wife, Vera Chan, were married on the Queen's Birthday in 1960, and they have lived together in Hong Kong ever since.
Dan's athletics also spans cultures: an Eastern-Counties weight-lifting champion in England in his younger years, he obtained a Black-Belt in Karate at the age of fifty-seven, ran marathons in his mid-sixties and holds Hong Kong All-comers records at 800 and 1,500 metres in the Over Seventy, Veterans Class.
His education also embraces his adopted homeland of Hong Kong. After studies at Portsmouth Polytechnic and Manchester University, his Ph.D, on the history of Hong Kong education, was conferred on him by Loughborough University in his sixty-fifth year.
His 'Big Birthday' at the age of eighty was celebrated in true Chinese style, and in his vintage years, he remains active in the community: Dr Waters volunteers on committees, researches local history and Chinese culture, gives lectures and climbs Victoria Peak. He has served as a Justice of the Peace, as Past President and Honorary Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch, and in 1998, was awarded the Bronze Bauhinia Star by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China for his work in heritage conservation.
Over the years, Dan has published widely about the meeting points between things Chinese and Western, such as 'A Comparison of Western and Chinese Humour,' and 'Feng Shui for Foreigners'. Before One Couple, Two Cultures, Dan authored 21st Century Management: Keeping Ahead of the Japanese and Chinese (1991) and Faces of Hong Kong, An Old Hand's Reflections (1995).
