Lauren Fenimore
Global Encounters: Hong Kong
Drs. Eric Hung and Shunzhu Wang
Pre-trip Essay
January 2nd 2009
Throughout much of China’s history, the traditional view of women in society has been one of
inferiority and subservience. Women were seen as little more than objects or the property of their husbands, having no better status than slaves or even farm animals. The only control they had was over household affairs, and outside the house they were generally expected to be demure, courteous to the point of submissive and not speak their minds, especially when it came to politics or social issues.
This attitude has remained dominant within the culture of Mainland China throughout the country’s history. However, the island of Hong Kong, located along China’s southern coast in the Pearl River Delta, deviated from this cultural norm as a result of the British take-over in 1842.
The impact of British colonial rule is Hong Kong stands out as remarkably different in itself. Colonialism, as an action taken by an imperialist government, is usually thought of as having a negative and malicious impact on the host country and its culture. Imperialist take-overs often strip a country of its resources and oppress its people, having little to no concern for their traditional values or ways of life. Hong Kong was saved from this brand of oppression partly because before 1842 it did not have a unique cultural identity or history of its own. This made Hong Kong a sort of “cultural desert” even as late as the 1970s, as culture was understood to be something that came from outside, just as colonialism brought in Western influence from the outside world. (Abbas, 6.)
In the case of Hong Kong, the event of colonialism not only helped to create a cultural identity, but to advance the economy and prepare Hong Kong to become a global city, capable of rivaling other global cities even after the British left and handed over the colony to China in 1997. (Abbas, 3.)
After the handover, Hong Kong and China were reunified politically, but the cultural differences between the women of Hong Kong and the women of the Mainland remained. While Hong Kong society was progressing under colonialism, the status of women was also changing. The Victorian era of colonialism valued education as a means of liberation and under British rule, the women of Hong Kong were educated to European standards. As a result Hong Kong women saw themselves as having a social responsibility to liberate their Mainland sisters, who they considered to be oppressed and backwards, not having the benefit of a proper education. (Wong, 260.)
According to the research of Yuk-lin Runita Wong, development projects within China are characterized as either mainstream or alternative, by the women she interviewed. Mainstream projects are those that follow the Chinese government’s way of thinking about the issues that need to be resolved and their prescribed solutions to those issues. While the mainstream approach is “top-down”, and considered the charitable approach, the alternative approach is “bottom-up” and participatory or more concerned with bettering the condition of women by teaching them to think for themselves, advancing their own station in life. (Wong, 263.)
The reason that so many of these developmental projects focused around women was that women were believed to have the power to “unite people’s hearts”, according to Ming-kit, a pro-Beijing Hong Konger and activist who followed the mainstream approach of social development. In her opinion it was women who were the most capable of uniting people and solving problems in times of hardship. Ming-kit also used the traditional assumptions that women were more concerned with peace than politics, and that their stereotypical submissive nature would prevent them from make any trouble for the government. Ming-kit saw herself and others like her as the saviors of Mainland girls and women, saying that she hoped to give them “more concern and help, just like what a mother does [for her children]”. This metaphor of mother and child illustrates the superiority complex that certain Hong Kong women had towards the women of the Mainland. (Wong, 268.)
However, this sense of superiority exists primarily in the minds of Hong Kong women and does not translate to the reality of life in Mainland, China. According to another activist, who follows the alternative development project path, Hong Kong women are not treated as superior when they travel to the Mainland. This has been a source of frustration for many Hong Kong women who have become used to their high social standing and liberated status in their native Hong Kong. (Wong, 272.)
These two dynamics, the traditional paternal hierarchy of old China society and the modern Western influences that the British colonists had on the development of Hong Kong’s culture are complex and fascinating. While in Hong Kong I hope to observe how these influences have found expression in everyday society. Is there a sense of superiority towards the women of the Mainland? How do the people of Hong Kong view people of other cultures? How do the men relate to the women? Is there an equal split between traditional Chinese and Western cultures, or does one influence eclipse the other? I’ll be interested in seeing just how different, as well as how familiar, the overall culture feels upon arrival. Observing the level of culture shock that everyone experiences and how we all adapt to it should also be an intriguing study.
Works Cited
Global Encounters: Hong Kong
Drs. Eric Hung and Shunzhu Wang
Pre-trip Essay
January 2nd 2009
Throughout much of China’s history, the traditional view of women in society has been one of
inferiority and subservience. Women were seen as little more than objects or the property of their husbands, having no better status than slaves or even farm animals. The only control they had was over household affairs, and outside the house they were generally expected to be demure, courteous to the point of submissive and not speak their minds, especially when it came to politics or social issues.
This attitude has remained dominant within the culture of Mainland China throughout the country’s history. However, the island of Hong Kong, located along China’s southern coast in the Pearl River Delta, deviated from this cultural norm as a result of the British take-over in 1842.
The impact of British colonial rule is Hong Kong stands out as remarkably different in itself. Colonialism, as an action taken by an imperialist government, is usually thought of as having a negative and malicious impact on the host country and its culture. Imperialist take-overs often strip a country of its resources and oppress its people, having little to no concern for their traditional values or ways of life. Hong Kong was saved from this brand of oppression partly because before 1842 it did not have a unique cultural identity or history of its own. This made Hong Kong a sort of “cultural desert” even as late as the 1970s, as culture was understood to be something that came from outside, just as colonialism brought in Western influence from the outside world. (Abbas, 6.)
In the case of Hong Kong, the event of colonialism not only helped to create a cultural identity, but to advance the economy and prepare Hong Kong to become a global city, capable of rivaling other global cities even after the British left and handed over the colony to China in 1997. (Abbas, 3.)
After the handover, Hong Kong and China were reunified politically, but the cultural differences between the women of Hong Kong and the women of the Mainland remained. While Hong Kong society was progressing under colonialism, the status of women was also changing. The Victorian era of colonialism valued education as a means of liberation and under British rule, the women of Hong Kong were educated to European standards. As a result Hong Kong women saw themselves as having a social responsibility to liberate their Mainland sisters, who they considered to be oppressed and backwards, not having the benefit of a proper education. (Wong, 260.)
According to the research of Yuk-lin Runita Wong, development projects within China are characterized as either mainstream or alternative, by the women she interviewed. Mainstream projects are those that follow the Chinese government’s way of thinking about the issues that need to be resolved and their prescribed solutions to those issues. While the mainstream approach is “top-down”, and considered the charitable approach, the alternative approach is “bottom-up” and participatory or more concerned with bettering the condition of women by teaching them to think for themselves, advancing their own station in life. (Wong, 263.)
The reason that so many of these developmental projects focused around women was that women were believed to have the power to “unite people’s hearts”, according to Ming-kit, a pro-Beijing Hong Konger and activist who followed the mainstream approach of social development. In her opinion it was women who were the most capable of uniting people and solving problems in times of hardship. Ming-kit also used the traditional assumptions that women were more concerned with peace than politics, and that their stereotypical submissive nature would prevent them from make any trouble for the government. Ming-kit saw herself and others like her as the saviors of Mainland girls and women, saying that she hoped to give them “more concern and help, just like what a mother does [for her children]”. This metaphor of mother and child illustrates the superiority complex that certain Hong Kong women had towards the women of the Mainland. (Wong, 268.)
However, this sense of superiority exists primarily in the minds of Hong Kong women and does not translate to the reality of life in Mainland, China. According to another activist, who follows the alternative development project path, Hong Kong women are not treated as superior when they travel to the Mainland. This has been a source of frustration for many Hong Kong women who have become used to their high social standing and liberated status in their native Hong Kong. (Wong, 272.)
These two dynamics, the traditional paternal hierarchy of old China society and the modern Western influences that the British colonists had on the development of Hong Kong’s culture are complex and fascinating. While in Hong Kong I hope to observe how these influences have found expression in everyday society. Is there a sense of superiority towards the women of the Mainland? How do the people of Hong Kong view people of other cultures? How do the men relate to the women? Is there an equal split between traditional Chinese and Western cultures, or does one influence eclipse the other? I’ll be interested in seeing just how different, as well as how familiar, the overall culture feels upon arrival. Observing the level of culture shock that everyone experiences and how we all adapt to it should also be an intriguing study.
Works Cited
Ackbar Abbas, _Hong Kong: Culture and the Politics of Disappearance_, "Introduction: Culture in a Space of Dsiappearance" and "Building on Disappearance: Hong Kong Architecture and Colonial Space".
Yuk-Lin Renita Wong, "When East Meets West: Nation, Colony, and Hong Kong Women's Subjectivities in Gender and China Development".
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