{"id":18029,"date":"2018-06-09T15:12:05","date_gmt":"2018-06-09T22:12:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=18029"},"modified":"2018-06-09T15:12:05","modified_gmt":"2018-06-09T22:12:05","slug":"a-multi-cultural-national-identity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/a-multi-cultural-national-identity\/","title":{"rendered":"A Multi-Cultural National Identity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Steve Tsang\u2019s A Modern History of Hong Kong<\/em> is a comprehensive while accessible history, spanning just over 150 years. Tsang, born in the latter portion of Hong Kong\u2019s modern era is a scholar and historian who writes to further the national and international perspective on Hong Kong. Taking more than a decade to compile his sources, Tsang\u2019s detailed narrative is, as one reviewer noted, impressive.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

One of the most fascinating aspects of Tsang\u2019s writing is his diplomatic voice while telling the story of his people. He gives great detail to the transition of power, the wars, the settlements and disputes between the Chinese and British, and the mass change to the economic structure of the country.<\/p>\n

In reading a review by Allan Chun, it was made evident that Tsang, for being a Hong Kong native does not give much bias yet his bias is implicit.\u00a0 \u201cDespite Tsang\u2019s deep understanding of Hong Kong as a native and scholar, he refrains from making judgments about the nature of such experiences, except to show how the politics has unfolded in historical terms and in light of the motivations of the people involved\u2026 His self-characterisation as \u2018an academic historian of the British liberal tradition who grew up in Hong Kong\u2019 (p. 274) reveals much more about his subtle subjectivity than his impartial history would care to admit.\u201d[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

As this is not a sociological text, Tsang lightly touches on the ways this effected the people and their identity. The growth of Hong Kong from scarce fishing villages to modern day super economy has much to do with those in power and the way Hong Kong was led throughout its recent history. Yet, in the telling of the story of the people of Hong Kong, it seems their identity is not a point worth spending much more than one portion of one chapter on, as their identity is largely muddled by the nearly two hundred years of foreign leadership.<\/p>\n

What does it mean to have a history of change from one foreign leadership to another, even if Hong Kong was considered Chinese pre-1842? What about those born within their own country but having never known governance without a foreign power? Likely this would seem normal, as it is the circumstance of life they entered into. But with war and transitions from China to Britain and back, along with a brief stint of Japanese rule in the 1940\u2019s, one\u2019s national identity, especially as a young adult growing up in the latter period might be confusing or at least layered. Tsang, born in 1959, reveals the difficulty of the Hong Kong identity:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Hong Kong identity that emerged was based on a shared outlook and a common popular culture which blended traditional Chinese culture with that imported from overseas, with the influences of the USA, Britain and Japan being particularly noticeable. This shared outlook incorporated elements of the traditional Confucian moral code and emphasis on the importance of the family, as well as modern concepts like the rule of law, freedom of speech and of movement, respect for human rights, a limited government, a free economy, a go-getting attitude and pride in the local community\u2019s collective rejection of corruption.\u201d[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

This blending of cultures made Hong Kong unique in its East meets West persona. Although many who felt themselves Chinese in heritage would still claim a British nationality as well, neither of course being representative of their roots, even perhaps generations back in Hong Kong proper. Relatable to Benedict Anderson\u2019s Imagined Community<\/em>, there is also the shared sense of ownership from modern history and popular culture that made Hong Kong own their complex national identity.<\/p>\n

The complexity of identity reminds me of a story a friend of mine recently shared about being Korean-American with his family in Korea. After having lived in the US and raising two sons here, he and his wife took their children to Korea for a year to live. During that time, one of their sons, after being called out as an American (even though he had a flawless Korean accent), asked his parents if he was Korean or American. He was confused because he knew where he was raised but he also knew another culture by his race, his familial culture, and his language. His mom asked him what he perceived to be. The son\u2019s response was both. He felt that he was both Korean and American, not simply one or the other. Although my friend\u2019s child was a neutral participant, not in control of his heritage or his present nationality, he actively owned his identity among both.<\/p>\n

Tsang relates being Chinese in Hong Kong to Christendom in the West. For one to be Chinese meant belief in China (both the ideology and religion) and being Chinese.[4]<\/a> Christendom in the West, though not connected to ethnicity, is largely equated through belief in the ideology of the Christian religion as well as participation. This is an interesting simile, as Christendom has drifted to become more about the ownership in name while not necessarily following the teachings of Christ.<\/p>\n

When considering the identity of a people group, whether nationally or ideologically (or both), the cultures, history and belief systems all matter, even if their governance is out of their control. As it is with many in Hong Kong and with my friend\u2019s son, they choose to own their complex multi-cultural identity. To own one aspect, such as a history but not the ideology is only a partial identity and belies the truth of one\u2019s reality. As a Hong Kong native, such as Tsang, or a Christian, identity as complex as it might be, requires both the acknowledgement of a history and an honest practice of lived belief.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> \u201cTsang, Steve, A Modern History of Hong Kong,\u201d Chun, Allen, East Asia: An International Quarterly, Spring, 2006, Vol.23(1), p.86(3)<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> \u201cTsang, Steve, A Modern History of Hong Kong,\u201d Chun, Allen, East Asia: An International Quarterly, Spring, 2006, Vol.23(1), p.86(3)<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Tsang, Steve. Modern History of Hong Kong, A: 1841-1997 (pp. 194-195). I.B.Tauris. Kindle Edition.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Tsang, Steve. Modern History of Hong Kong, A: 1841-1997 (p. 195). I.B.Tauris. Kindle Edition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Steve Tsang\u2019s A Modern History of Hong Kong is a comprehensive while accessible history, spanning just over 150 years. Tsang, born in the latter portion of Hong Kong\u2019s modern era is a scholar and historian who writes to further the national and international perspective on Hong Kong. Taking more than a decade to compile his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":105,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1290,1260],"class_list":["post-18029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-steve-tsang","tag-tsang","cohort-lgp8"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18029","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/105"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18029"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18029\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18030,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18029\/revisions\/18030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}