Endangered Family Members

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Endangered Family Members OUR COMMUNITY very Saturday morning, a group number of people using Chinese dialects Hong Kong performers and few of the of middle-aged people sit quietly other than Cantonese and Putonghua as old ones have remained in the industry. Ewith open notebooks behind their usual language dropped by about When the shows are staged, during the desks neatly arranged in rows. They 15 per cent between 1996 and 2006, Hungry Ghost Festival, mainland actors listen to a teacher describing the from around 340,000 to about 290,000. and musicians have to be drafted in. vowels and grammatical structure of a language that is unfamiliar to most If the use of dialects in the age group Besides, there are now fewer places of us. They diligently jot notes and try of people in their 40s and 50s is low, available to stage the shows, even to pronounce words one by one, as their use among the younger generation during the festival time. “Now we earn instructed by the teacher. is even lower. Few youngsters even very little as fewer people have an bother to learn the dialects of their interest in our performance,” Lau sighs. Community You may wonder what foreign elders. Henry Wong, in his early 20s and language these adults have returned to studying medicine at The University of Still, at least Teochew culture is the classroom to learn. In fact, they are Hong Kong, is a rare exception. He is kept alive and is actively promoted Our learning the Teochew (also known as the youngest student in the Teochew by people like Hui and Lau and by a Chiu Chow) dialect as part of their search class and says he is learning the dialect number of Teochew organizations and for the culture of their place of origin. because he wants to know more about clan associations. Hoklo culture, on his ancestral town and his family. the other hand, does not have such an There are 15 students on the course, impressive array of backers. co-ordinated by the Hong Kong Baptist “But when my friends learn that I am University and Teochew Merchants studying the Teochew dialect, they say Long before the arrival of the British, Mutual Assistance Society Limited. it’s worthless,” he says. the ancestors of the Hoklo people Most of them are in their 40s and 50s. emigrated to Hong Kong from places The medium of instruction is Teochew, His instructor, Hui Pak-kin, who has like Huizhou and Shanwei in Guangdong and most of the students are learning in been teaching Teochew classes for 10 province. They mainly made their living order to communicate better with their years, says the dialect is in decline in by fishing on boats near areas such as elderly relatives and bosses. Hong Kong. It is his aim to preserve San Mun Tsai, a fishing village near Tai not just the language but also aspects Po, and Cheung Chau. Some admit they only became of the culture, such as “Kung Fu Tea”. interested in learning about their Apart from teaching the dialect, Hui Most of them were resettled in culture as they grew older. They were also prepares video clips introducing housing estates in Tai Po and Aberdeen not so eager to learn the dialect when Teochew architecture and organizes in the 1980s. Although their way of living they were young, even though it was field trips for students to experience has changed drastically, most Hoklo commonly spoken by neighbours and the culture. people, especially the middle aged, are Endangered family members. “At that time Hong still mindful of their traditional culture. Kong was a British colony, and I thought Besides what they learn in class, a the dialect was outdated,” Denise Khoe, few students also appreciate Teochew one of the students says. Opera. Sometimes after the Saturday Jennifer Kwok class, they get together to visit Lau Fu Hong kong Khoe’s comments go some way Guang, the chief of the Teochew Opera to explaining the diminishing use of Troupe, to play Teo music together. traditional dialects in Hong Kong today. Lau says these student enthusiasts are Cultures and Dialects Traditional dialects such as Weitou the exception nowadays and that the spoken by New Territories people popularity of this regional opera form is by Chan Ka-yan and Jennifer Kwok (known as Punti), Teochew by Chiu also in decline. Chow people and Hakka by the Hakka or “Guest people”, were once dominant The performances, which are a form within their respective communities in of ritual worship, were popular in the Hong Kong. But with Cantonese, English 1960s, especially in Wong Tai Sin and and now Putonghua prevailing as the Kowloon City. Master Lau’s troupe was a official languages of Hong Kong, their profitable business employing 300 Hong significance has faded. Kong actors and musicians. Denise Khoe comes well- According to statistics from the However, with the fading popularity prepared, with notes and files, for the Teochew class every Census and Statistics Department, the of Teochew opera, there are no new Saturday morning. 40 Varsity NOV 2010 ISSUE 117 NOV 2010 ISSUE 117 Varsity 41 Katherine Chan Sandy So, a self-described post-70s The Hoklo in Hong Kong are not the Jennifer Kwok is they will become fluent and will, in “Dialects themselves are not only a Hoklo, always participates in traditional only people in danger of losing their turn, continue to pass on their ancestral tool for communication, but also reflect activities, such as Hoklo wedding culture. Other dialects such as Weitou tongue to their children. the cultures behind them,” he says. ceremonies. When they lived on boats, and Hakka face a similar threat. family members would put on colourful Also, the association has been given Hoklo costumes and “rowed the dragon “Punti” or local New Territories $100,000 in funding from the Lord “Dialects themselves boat” in front of the bride’s home for people with surnames like Tang, Hou Wilson Heritage Trust to build an online are not only a tool the wedding party. and Liu moved to Hong Kong from Hakka and Weitou Chinese characters’ Guangxi and Jiangxi from the Song pronunciation database to attract for communication, Even though they now live on land, Dynasty onwards. They spoke the young people to learn more about The instructor Hui Pak-kin describes a but also reflect the Community they still follow a modified form of the Weitou dialect and farmed in areas of video clip to students. these dialects. custom. Now, they hold a paddle and the New Territories such as Sheung Shui cultures behind them.” symbolically row it all the way to the and Tai Po. One thing in Lau’s favour is that the bride’s home on land. discouragement from his relatives, he Our Hakka are very proud of their heritage With a new generation of youngsters The Hakka were farmers from insisted on teaching his son and daughter and identity. in Hong Kong and Guangzhou preparing So says many Hoklo customs still Guangdong, first recruited to Hong Hakka when they were children. Lau to fight to preserve Cantonese language exist but this does not mean the culture Kong to help cultivate farmland in the thinks there is a stigma attached to “Hakka people have an old saying: and culture against the encroachment can last. As people become more used early Qing Dynasty. Later they either local dialects. In the past, people always ‘We should never lose our dialect even of Putonghua, the spotlight will fall to urban life after moving ashore, the rented farmland to make a living from thought that those who spoke Hakka or though we have to sacrifice our land,’ on other local dialects too: can they customs have become simpler and local people or cultivated farmland in Weitou must be uneducated. “says Chang Song-hing, a research be sustained, or will they gradually be parents do not instill the tradition in remote valleys such as Sha Tau Kok. professor of the Department of Chinese replaced by dominant languages? their children. “Some of the post-80s “The problem of the diminishing Language and Literature at The Chinese would think ‘rowing a dragon boat’ Keen to help preserve these local dialects is not really about children Lau Chun-fat, the vice precident of the University of Hong Kong (CUHK). Lau Chun-fat, the vice-president of in public and putting up their hair in dialects, the Association for Conservation but their parents,” explains Lau. local dialect presevation group, suggests the indigenous languages association, traditional buns is horrible,” she says. of Hong Kong Indigenous Languages local dialects can be passed down with Chang, who is a Hoklo, says the explains his mission with a metaphor. the next generation’s involvement. was set up in 2008. Lau Chun-fat, Lau and his friends set up the Hakka are enthusiastic about preserving Hong Kong is like a garden, he says, and Also, fewer Hoklo youngsters are the vice president of the association, association to help preserve the dialects. their culture. But he points out that it mainstream languages, like Cantonese, speaking the dialect. So says most is a Hakka. He and his friends often He knows it is an impossible task, but he is hard to carry out research as many of are like red roses. “But it would be too Jennifer Kwok of them understand simple Hoklo lament that dialects like Weitou and feels he does not have a choice. Even the elderly who best know about their plain if there were only red roses all but cannot speak it well.
Recommended publications
  • An Overview of Hakka Migration History: Where Are You From?
    客家 My China Roots & CBA Jamaica An overview of Hakka Migration History: Where are you from? July, 2016 www.mychinaroots.com & www.cbajamaica.com 15 © My China Roots An Overview of Hakka Migration History: Where Are You From? Table of Contents Introduction.................................................................................................................................... 3 Five Key Hakka Migration Waves............................................................................................. 3 Mapping the Waves ....................................................................................................................... 3 First Wave: 4th Century, “the Five Barbarians,” Jin Dynasty......................................................... 4 Second Wave: 10th Century, Fall of the Tang Dynasty ................................................................. 6 Third Wave: Late 12th & 13th Century, Fall Northern & Southern Song Dynasties ....................... 7 Fourth Wave: 2nd Half 17th Century, Ming-Qing Cataclysm .......................................................... 8 Fifth Wave: 19th – Early 20th Century ............................................................................................. 9 Case Study: Hakka Migration to Jamaica ............................................................................ 11 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 11 Context for Early Migration: The Coolie Trade...........................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Special Issue Taiwan and Ireland In
    TAIWAN IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE Taiwan in Comparative Perspective is the first scholarly journal based outside Taiwan to contextualize processes of modernization and globalization through interdisciplinary studies of significant issues that use Taiwan as a point of comparison. The primary aim of the Journal is to promote grounded, critical, and contextualized analysis in English of economic, political, societal, and environmental change from a cultural perspective, while locating modern Taiwan in its Asian and global contexts. The history and position of Taiwan make it a particularly interesting location from which to examine the dynamics and interactions of our globalizing world. In addition, the Journal seeks to use the study of Taiwan as a fulcrum for discussing theoretical and methodological questions pertinent not only to the study of Taiwan but to the study of cultures and societies more generally. Thereby the rationale of Taiwan in Comparative Perspective is to act as a forum and catalyst for the development of new theoretical and methodological perspectives generated via critical scrutiny of the particular experience of Taiwan in an increasingly unstable and fragmented world. Editor-in-chief Stephan Feuchtwang (London School of Economics, UK) Editor Fang-Long Shih (London School of Economics, UK) Managing Editor R.E. Bartholomew (LSE Taiwan Research Programme) Editorial Board Chris Berry (Film and Television Studies, Goldsmiths College, UK) Hsin-Huang Michael Hsiao (Sociology and Civil Society, Academia Sinica, Taiwan) Sung-sheng Yvonne Chang (Comparative Literature, University of Texas, USA) Kent Deng (Economic History, London School of Economics, UK) Bernhard Fuehrer (Sinology and Philosophy, School of Oriental and African Studies, UK) Mark Harrison (Asian Languages and Studies, University of Tasmania, Australia) Bob Jessop (Political Sociology, Lancaster University, UK) Paul R.
    [Show full text]
  • The Paradigm of Hakka Women in History
    DOI: 10.4312/as.2021.9.1.31-64 31 The Paradigm of Hakka Women in History Sabrina ARDIZZONI* Abstract Hakka studies rely strongly on history and historiography. However, despite the fact that in rural Hakka communities women play a central role, in the main historical sources women are almost absent. They do not appear in genealogy books, if not for their being mothers or wives, although they do appear in some legends, as founders of villages or heroines who distinguished themselves in defending the villages in the absence of men. They appear in modern Hakka historiography—Hakka historiography is a very recent discipline, beginning at the end of the 19th century—for their moral value, not only for adhering to Confucian traditional values, but also for their endorsement of specifically Hakka cultural values. In this paper we will analyse the cultural paradigm that allows women to become part of Hakka history. We will show how ethical values are reflected in Hakka historiography through the reading of the earliest Hakka historians as they depict- ed Hakka women. Grounded on these sources, we will see how the narration of women in Hakka history has developed until the present day. In doing so, it is necessary to deal with some relevant historical features in the construc- tion of Hakka group awareness, namely migration, education, and women narratives, as a pivotal foundation of Hakka collective social and individual consciousness. Keywords: Hakka studies, Hakka woman, women practices, West Fujian Paradigma žensk Hakka v zgodovini Izvleček Študije skupnosti Hakka se močno opirajo na zgodovino in zgodovinopisje.
    [Show full text]
  • Curriculum and National Identity: Evidence from the 1997 Curriculum Reform in Taiwan
    Curriculum and National Identity: Evidence from the 1997 Curriculum Reform in Taiwan Wei-Lin Chen,* Ming-Jen Lin,† Tzu-Ting Yang‡ November 4, 2018 Abstract This paper examines the causal effect of textbook content on individuals’ national iden- tity, exploiting a curriculum reform that introduced a new perspective on Taiwan’s history for students entering junior high school after September 1997. Using a repeated nationally representative survey and a regression discontinuity design, we show that students exposed to the new textbooks were more likely to consider themselves Taiwanese. The effect is greater for academic track students and those living in neighborhoods where less people hold the Taiwanese identity. Finally, our results suggest the effect of textbook content on individuals’ identity is not persistent in the long run. *Corresponding author, Department of Economics, University of California San Diego, Email: [email protected] †Department of Economics, National Taiwan University ‡Institute of Economics, Academia Sinica, Email: [email protected]. 1 Introduction The more homogeneous the people, the easier it is to manage a nation. As a result, state leaders are incentivized to use the education system as an instrument for cultivating national identity —an essential step toward nation building. Empirical evidence has shown that, in the past 150 years, investments in mass education by governments have appeared in response to military threats, when patriotic people are required to prepare for future wars (Aghion et al., 2018). The causal effect underlying the intuition, and the transmission mechanism behind the effect of ed- ucation on national identity formation, however, lack detailed scrutiny. National identity trends in society and cohort effects pose challenges to the identification of educational content effects.
    [Show full text]
  • Christianity and Gender in Southeast China
    Cover Page The handle http://hdl.handle.net/1887/18940 holds various files of this Leiden University dissertation. Author: Cai, Xiang-yu Title: Christianity and gender in South-East China : the chaozhou missions (1849-1949) Date: 2012-05-10 CHAPTER TWO: PROTESTANT AND CATHOLIC MISSIONS Introduction From the mid-nineteenth century, four missions—the Basel Mission, the English Presbyterian Mission (EPM), the American Baptist Mission (ABM) and Les Société des Missions Étrangères de Paris (MEP)—had a foothold in the Chaozhou region but were eventually expelled from mainland China in 1952. Since 1895, a dozen scholars have published about the history of their activities. In the first hundred years after 1895, nearly all of them were former missionaries or local church leaders.113 From the mid-1990s, historians who had no immediate connection with the missions such as Joseph Tse-Hei Lee, Hu Weiqing, and Lee Kam Keung (李金强) have stepped into this field.114 Joseph Tse-Hei Lee used the archives of the EPM and ABM as well as the British and American diplomatic sources and Chinese municipal archives to reconstruct the expansion of Protestantism into Chaozhou region in the second half of nineteenth century. He describes the transmission of Christianity in Chaozhou, a highly dynamic world with frequent migration and collective violence, which was totally different from more static, agrarian North China115. Hu Weiqing pioneered using the Chinese records of the English Presbyterian Synods at the Shantou Municipal Archives.116 His main interest was in the indigenization of Protestant Churches in Chaozhou. Lee Kam Keung has focused on the Swatow Protestant Churches in Hong Kong.
    [Show full text]
  • The Emergence of Veranda Style in Foochow: Based on the Former British Consulate from a Western Perspective
    The emergence of Veranda Style in Foochow: based on the former British Consulate from a Western perspective Hantao Wang Supervised by Dr Bruce Induni A dissertation submitted to Cardiff University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science The Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University December 2019 Welsh School of Architecture Session 201.8-2019 APPENDIX 1: Specimen Layout for Declaration/Statements page to be included in Taught Master's Degree Dissertations CANDIDATE'S ID NUMBER: Please circle appropriate valu@Miss / Ms/ Mrs / Rev/ Dr/ Other please specify ..................... .. CANDIDATE'S SURNAME : Wo.~ CANDIDATE'S FUU FORENAMES: ~ ~ DECLARATION This work has not previously been accepted in substance for any degree and is not concurrently submitted in :::::~~::::~. .. ... (candidate) Date ..l.k/lJ/MI r STATEMENTl ThJj tjissertation is being submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of ..M~c.. ..............(insert MA, Mr;~~~ MScD, LLM etc, as appropriat~ Signed ....~ ... ........\J' ····-····· (candidate) Date . .J.l,,J.J.J/.MJl,J STATEMENT2 This dissertation is the result of my own independent work/investigation, except where otherwise stated. Other sources ajel\acknowl~dged by f7;n:t:s,.,giving explicit references. A Bibliography is appended. Signed ···~······v-u········· (candidate) Date ..['7./J,J./.UJ q STATEMENT 3 - TO BE COMPLETED WHERE THE SECOND COPY OF THE DISSERTATION IS SUBMITTED IN AN APPROVED ELECTRONIC FORMAT I confirm at the electronic copy is identical to the bound copy of the dissertation Signed ... .. ..... ..... .. ·······~······ (candidate) Date .Lb/J.)/..;µ_er ST ATE MENT 4 I hereby give consent for my dissertation, if accepted, to be available for photocopying and for inter-library loan, and for the title and summary to be made available to outside organisations.
    [Show full text]
  • One China One Taiwan.Pdf (PDF, 118.82KB)
    One China, One Taiwan Little Chance of a Red Future for Taipei Originally published at: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/taiwan/2016-01-12/one-china-one- taiwan January 12, 2016 Salvatore Babones On January 16, the people of Taiwan will go to the polls to elect a new president and new legislative representatives. Like the United States, Taiwan has a two-term limit on the presidency, which means that the incumbent president, Ma Ying-jeou, must step down. And like the 2016 U.S. elections, the 2016 Taiwan elections are wide open. Ma’s governing Kuomintang (KMT) party enters these elections in complete disarray. Its spring 2015 presidential primaries resulted in the nomination of a senior legislator named Hung Hsiu-chu, its first-ever female candidate for president. But then in an unprecedented move, she was displaced by party chairman Eric Chu at a special party convention held on October 17. Chu went on to claim Hung’s former place at the top of the ticket. Chu is widely viewed as a placeholder candidate with a mandate not so much to win January's election as to prevent serious losses for the KMT, especially in the legislature. Tellingly, he has not resigned his position as mayor of New Taipei City, Taiwan's largest local government area. He has instead taken three months’ leave while an acting mayor watches over his suburban Taipei power base. Opposing the KMT is the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and its candidate, Tsai Ing-wen. A veteran campaigner who lost to the KMT’s Ma Ying-jeou in 2012, Tsai is widely expected to emerge from the polls as Taiwan’s first female president.
    [Show full text]
  • Three Cases in China on Hakka Identity and Self-Perception
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by NORA - Norwegian Open Research Archives Three cases in China on Hakka identity and self-perception Ricky Heggheim Master’s Thesis in Chinese Studie KIN 4592, 30 Sp Departement of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages University of Oslo 1 Summary Study of Hakka culture has been an academic field for only a century. Compare with many other studies on ethnic groups in China, Hakka study and research is still in her early childhood. This despite Hakka is one of the longest existing groups of people in China. Uncertainty within the ethnicity and origin of Hakka people are among the topics that will be discussed in the following chapters. This thesis intends to give an introduction in the nature and origin of Hakka identity and to figure out whether it can be concluded that Hakka identity is fluid and depending on situations and surroundings. In that case, when do the Hakka people consider themselves as Han Chinese and when do they consider themselves as Hakka? And what are the reasons for this fluidness? Three cases in China serve as the foundation for this text. By exploring three different areas where Hakka people are settled, I hope this text can shed a light on the reasons and nature of changes in identity for Hakka people and their ethnic consciousness as well as the diversities and sameness within Hakka people in various settings and environments Conclusions that are given here indicate that Hakka people in different regions do varies in large degree when it comes to consciousness of their ethnicity and background.
    [Show full text]
  • Development of Central Taiwan
    Chapter IV Findings and Discussions 1. Ethnic Groups Involved in the Development of Central Taiwan “Development” originally means “cultivating a piece of wild land until it becomes productive”, and people also use the word to refer to the civilization process not only limited to agriculture but including cultural, social, economical and behavioral changes as well (Yin, 1989). Since development is a kind of purpose-driven activity, people involved in the process must play an important role. There had been Austronesian groups, Dutch, Han people and Japanese living in Central Taiwan along the time axis before Taiwan was returned to China in 1945, and in the following account we will start from Austronesian groups. 1.1 Austronesia People An account of Taiwan can be traced back to Sui Dynasty (隋朝), called “Liuqiu” (流 求) at that time. In “History Book of Sui” (隋書) it was written that the “Liuqiu kingdom is located in the ocean.” At that time, the emperor of Sui intended to conquer it, but their language was not intelligible, so the emperor recruited people from the south to form an army, for one of the southern ethnic groups, Kun-lun (崑崙), also known as Malaysian (馬來人), can understand Liuqiu’s language quite well (Abe, 1994). According to this passage and recent linguistic research, these people should belong to Austronesian groups and were the earliest inhabitants of Taiwan. 17 Austronesian people in Taiwan can be divided into two groups: mountain groups and plains groups, also known as Pingpu groups. The mountain groups are better known by people in Taiwan, for their language and culture are still distinguishable.
    [Show full text]
  • Proquest Dissertations
    TO ENTERTAIN AND RENEW: OPERAS, PUPPET PLAYS AND RITUAL IN SOUTH CHINA by Tuen Wai Mary Yeung Hons Dip, Lingnan University, H.K., 1990 M.A., The University of Lancaster, U.K.,1993 M.A., The University of British Columbia, Canada, 1999 A THESIS SUBIMTTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Asian Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA September 2007 @ Tuen Wai Mary Yeung, 2007 Library and Bibliotheque et 1*1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-31964-2 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-31964-2 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par Nnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protege cette these.
    [Show full text]
  • Culture in Vernacular Architecture [Teacher Notes]
    Liberal Studies Teaching Kit for Senior Secondary Curriculum Hong Kong Today Culture in Vernacular Architecture [Teacher notes] Organizer Sponsor Research Team Contents Preamble Liberal Studies | Teaching plan i Lesson 1: Culture in Vernacular Architecture 1.1 Vernacular Architecture for People 02 Architecture in Vernacular Culture 1.2 Case Studies: Various Cultures in Vernacular Architecture of Hong Kong 05 1.2.1 Tong Lau or Tenement Houses 05 1.2.2 Stilt Houses 10 1.2.3 Walled Village 14 Exercise: Examine a nearby Vernacular Building 16 Summary, Key words and Further reading 18 Disclaimer Create Hong Kong of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region provides funding support to the project only, and does not otherwise take part in the project. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in these materials/events (or by members of the project team) do not reflect the views of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. © 2012 Hong Kong Institute of Architects Topic 01 Culture in Vernacular Architecture Major teaching areas Interdisciplinary teaching areas Liberal Studies: Module 2 Hong Kong Today Design and Applied Technology: • Theme 1: Quality of Life • Strand 1 Design and Innovation • Theme 3: Identity • Strand 2 Technological Principles Liberal Studies | • Strand 3 Value and Impact Related teaching areas Liberal Studies: Module 5 Public Health Culture in Vernacular Architecture in Vernacular Culture • Theme 2: Science, Technology and Public Health Learning objectives • To
    [Show full text]
  • Revamping Tradition: Contested Politics of 'The
    Revamping Tradition: Contested Politics of ‘The Indigenous’ in Postcolonial Hong Kong 83 Part II People: Whose Indigenity? 84 Whose Tradition? Revamping Tradition: Contested Politics of ‘The Indigenous’ in Postcolonial Hong Kong 85 Chapter 4 Revamping Tradition: Contested Politics of ‘The Indigenous’ in Postcolonial Hong Kong Shu-Mei Huang [Yet] it was unthinkable that anyone not of the village clan could build a house in a village. Denis Bray (2001, p. 164) Using the past, present, and future to emphasize each other is common in commemorations. John Carroll (2005, p. 165) On lunar New Year’s Eve, 2012, the chairman of the Heung Yee Kuk (HYK), Wong-fat Lau, made a drawing in the Che Kung Temple in the presence of many of the elite in the New Territories (NT) – a symbolic gesture to welcome the New Year in Hong Kong. The poem in the drawing read, ‘What is evil and what is divine? It’s so hard to differentiate the evil from the divine’. Chairman Lau was subsequently bombarded by questions from the media about whether the poem alluded to the then-serious competition for Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). Lau laughed, without giving any explicit message. About 2 years earlier, during mid-October 2010, I had happened to attend a community meeting in the soon-to-be-demolished village of Choi Yuen. Some sixty people had gathered to witness a significant phone call to Lau, in which the villagers were trying to obtain his assistance in negotiating a right-of-way to enable their relocation plan.
    [Show full text]