HKU Bulletin May 2008 (Vol. 9 No. 2)

30 31 ARTS A New Accessible History of Hong Kong W hen the British occupied the tiny island of Hong Kong during the First Opium War, the Chinese empire was well into its decline, while Great Britain was already in the second decade of its legendary ‘Imperial Century’. From this collision of empires rose a city that continues to intrigue observers. Melding Chinese and Western influences, Hong Kong has long defied easy categorization. John M. Carroll’s engrossing and accessible narrative details the remarkable history of Hong Kong from the early 1800s through the post-1997 handover, when the former colony became a Special Admini st rat i ve Region of the People’s Republic of China. The book explores Hong Kong as a place with a unique identity, yet also as a crossroads where Chinese history, British colonial history, and world history intersect. Carrol l, Associate Professor of the School of Humanities, said: “There are not that many books on the history of Hong Kong. We really only have two so far; George Endicott and Frank Welsh which are both very much the British history of Hong Kong. Then there is the more recent A Modern History of Hong Kong by Steve Tsang. “ I wanted something that was shorter and more accessible to undergraduate students and general readers. One of the goals was to make it jargon-free and readable. More importantly, though, what I’ve really tried to do is add in elements of social and cultural history, as well as gender. I tried to focus in several areas on women in Hong Kong; I do talk at some length about the debates about the mui tsui – the girls who had been sold to richer families,” he said. Based primarily on the work of others the book ends in 2005, making it the most up-to-date history of the territory. “One of the goals was to present the work of all these other scholars in a very readable way,” explained Carroll. The book concludes by exploring the legacies of colonial rule, the consequences of Hong Kong's reintegration with China, and significant developments and challenges since 1997. “What I really tried to do in the Epilogue was to give a more balanced picture of some of the positive and the negative legacies of colonial rule. Nowadays we almost solely hear about the negative legacies – the lack of any kind of political culture, the laissez faire system which has, according to many people, left Hong Kong unable to keep up with rising population pressures. I also look at the language problem, people here talk a lot about the declining quality of English and I point out (in referring to the work of the journalist C.K. Lau) that one problem with Engl ish language in Hong Kong is that, because it was such a segregated society, people rarely had the opportunity, or the need, to speak Engl ish spontaneously. “There is also the argument that the colonial government did not do more for Hong Kong in terms of social services, because there was a feeling here (and it was not just a colonial one) that if life was too good then everybody would want to come in, to a certain degree; this is really one of Hong Kong’s cultures – we don’t give people too much, the safety net is a very fragile one here.” A Concise History of Hong Kong by John M. Carroll is Available from Hong Kong University Press BOOK Brush Strokes A recent exhibition at the University Museum and Art Gallery from January to March 2008, featuring the internationally-renowned artist, Kan Tai-keung, explored his concept of painting in relation to Chinese calligraphic compositions. A designer and painter, Kan was born in Panyu, Guangdong province in 1942, and moved to Hong Kong in 1957. From 1964, he learned drawing and water colour painting from his uncle, Kan May-tin (1911-1998), and later studied Chinese ink painting with Lui Shou-kwan (1919-1975), as well as applied design with Wucius Wong, in the Department of Extramural Studies, at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. In 1967, Kan began his career as a designer and went on to establish his own design company in 1976. His earlier ink paintings (from the 1970s and 1980s) are characterized by graphic elements, featuring landscapes in very refined concrete brushstrokes. His later works are much more natural istic landscapes in ink, featuring mountains, rivers, trees, rocks, and clouds which possess a far deeper realism. Some of his most recent works consist of several panels combining visual elements of painting and calligraphy. Kan suggests the structure of the running and cursive scripts in cloudy mountains and flowing rivers in his landscapes. Over thirty paintings, dating from the 1970s to 2007, were included in this exhibition. Kan is currently Creative Director of the Kan & Lau Design Consultants, he is also a Council Member of the Hong Kong Arts Development, and Dean of the Cheung Kong Institute of Arts and Design at Shantou University.