Many people hate, or dislike, the topic of “local culture” that Hongkongers talk about...For example, decorative scaffoding, Tai Hang Fire Dragon, or Cheung Chau Bun Festival are all considered “Hong Kong’s local culture,” which can even include the Ghost Festival, and burning paper goods to dead people...However, these customs aren’t unique to Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories…Ghost Festivals and burning paper dolls are originally customs of Fujian and Guangdong, and Tai Hang is unlikely to be the only place that has Fire Dragon. Why did these customs become HK’s “local” customs, in need to be preserved? This isn’t HK’s problem, but rather the problem of Mainland China. During Mao Zedong’s campaign to break the “Four Olds” [customs, culture, habits, ideas], things such as Fire Dragon, Bun Festivals, Ghost Festival were seen as superstitious, backward and feudal, and were all destroyed. With a cultural vacuum in Mainland China, the people woke up in the Open Door Reform in 1979, and realized that traditional Chinese culture has been lost. But they could still be found in Hong Kong...Thus, Hong Kong became an isolated island of traditional customs of Guangdong. [Traditional customs of Guangdong in Guangdong] has been lost (or broken off), but still exists in Hong Kong, is due to the fact that Hong Kong was under colonial rule, and didn’t experience the Cultural Revolution. However, due to the change in times and economic development, some people are calling for the preservation of Buns Festival, Fire Dragon, etc, and treat them as if they’re Hong Kong’s “local culture.” In actuality, they’re not “local,” because these things existed in Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Zhuhai during the late Qing Dynasty, but due to political reasons, these things no longer exist in Mainland China. The younger generation of Hongkongers, out of the respect for their ancestors and traditional culture, want to preserve things like Fire Dragon and Buns Festival, and call them “local” culture...Hoping to preserve “villian hitting,” buring papers for dead people at Ghost Festival, don’t equal calling for Hong Kong independence. It’s different because these things no longer exist in the nearby areas of Hong Kong. Mainland China doesn’t have it anymore isn’t because of Hong Kong, it’s because Mainland China experienced Mao Zedong’s rule...What is the problem that we, Hongkongers, want to preserve these customs? ~ Chip Tsao, on the false sense of Mainland China that Hong Kongs local culture is a sign of de-sinicization, when in fact, traditional Chinese culture was better preserved in Hong Kong, on the 11/7/2013 edition of Summit.
Posted on: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 11:12:58 +0000
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