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352 Pages·2012·13.02 MB·English

HONG KONG
The Anthropology of
a Chinese Metropolis
ANTHROPOLOGY OF ASIA SERIES
Publishedby Curzon Press and UniversityofHawai'i Press
Series editor
GrantEvans
UniversityofHongKong
Asia today is one of the most dynamic regions of the world. The
previouslypredominantimageof'timelesspeasants'hasgivenwaytothe
image offast-paced business people, mass consumerism and high-rise
urban conglomerations. Yet much discourse remains entrenched in the
polaritiesof'Eastvs. West', 'TraditionvsChange'. Thisserieshopes to
provide a forum for anthropological studies which break with such
polarities. It will publish titles dealing with cosmopolitanism, cultural
identity,representations,artsandperformance.Thecomplexitiesofurban
Asia, itselites, itspoliticalrituals, anditsfamilies willalsobeexplored
Dangerous Blood, Refined Souls
DeathRituals among the Chinese in Singapore
TongCheeKiong
Anthropologyand Colonialism in Asia
Reflections onthe Japanese, Dutch, Chinese, andIndianExperiences
EditedbyJan van BremenandAkitoshi Shimizu
FolkArt Potters ofJapan
BeyondanAnthropologyofAesthetics
BrianMoeran
HONG KONG
The Anthropology of
a Chinese Metropolis
Edited by
Grant Evans and Maria Tam
UNIVERSITYOF HAWAI'I PRESS
HONOLULU
PublishedinNorth Americaby
UniversityofHawai'iPress
2840Kolowalu Street
Honolulu, Hawai'i 96822
Firstpublishedin 1997
byCurzonPress
15The Quadrant,Richmond
Surrey,TW9 lBP
© 1997G. Evansand M. Tam
PrintedinGreatBritain
All rightsreserved. Nopartofthisbookmaybereprinted or
reproducedorutilisedin any form orbyanyelectronic,
mechanical, orothermeans, nowknown orhereafter
invented, includingphotocopyingandrecording, orinany
informationstorage orretrieval system,withoutpermission in
writingfrom thepublishers.
LibraryofCongress Cataloguingin PublicationData
A cataloguerecord for this bookhas beenrequested
ISBN0-8248-2005-3
CONTENTS
ListofIllustrations Vll
Introduction: The Anthropology ofContemporary Hong Kong
GrantEvans & Maria Tam
IDENTITY
2 Hong Kong Ethnicity: OfFolk Models and Change 25
GregoryEliyu Guldin
3 Back To The Future: Herbal Tea Shops in Hong Kong 51
ChengSea Ling
CULTURALSTUDIES
4 OfMimicryand Mermaids: Hong Kong and the Documentary
Film Legacy 77
Philip Robertson
5 Resurgent Chinese Power inPostmodern Disguise: The New
BankofChina Buildings in Hong Kong and Macau 102
ChengMiu Bing. Christina
6 Treading the Margins: Performing Hong Kong 124
Rozanna Lilley
GENDER AND KINSHIP
7 Selina Ching Chan
Negotiating Tradition: Customary Succession in the New
Territories ofHong Kong 151
8 JyuhtFohng Neuih: Female Inheritance and Affection 174
Eliza Chan
v
ANTHROPOLOGY OF HONG KONG
9 Motherhood in Hong Kong: The Working Motherand
Child-care in the Parent-Centred Hong Kong Family 198
DianaMartin
RELIGIONAND BELIEFS
10 Traditional Values and Modem Meanings in the Paper
Offering Industry ofHong Kong 223
Janet Lee Scott
11 Sacred Powerin the Metropolis: Shrines and Temples in
Hong Kong 242
Graeme Lang
12 Ghosts and the NewGovernor: The Anthropology ofa
Hong Kong Rumour 267
GrantEvans
LANGUAGE
13 Bad Boys and Bad Language: ChOu Hau and the
Sociolinguistics ofSwearwords in Hong Kong Cantonese 299
Kingsley Bolton & ChristopherHutton
Glossary 333
Contributors 335
VI
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Figures
5.1 BankofChinaBuilding.
5.2 Chinese-stylegardens atthe baseofthe Bank.
5.3 The HongkongBankBuilding.
5.4 Twobronzelions outsidethe Hongkong BankinCentral.
5.5 Governor's residence in the foreground with the China Bank
'blades' inthe background.
5.6 CitibankTower.
5.7 BankofChinaBuildinginMacau.
5.8 HongKong'sPost-modernskyline.
5.9 The AmaralEquestrianMonument.
5.10 TheBankofChinabuildingwithouttheAmaral statue.
(Followingpage 104)
vii

1
INTRODUCTION
THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF
CONTEMPORARY HONG KONG
Grant Evans & Maria Tam
When anthropologist BarbaraWardarrived in Hong Kong in 1950 she
remarkedthatin'theharbouritself,allthelocalcraftwereundersail;in
theNewTerritorieseveryparticleofflatorterracedlandwasunderrice
.. .'.Indeed,ruralrhythmsstillpulsatedfaintlythroughthecity: 'Street
lifewasalsomarkedbyseasonalchangesofcolour,formostmenwore
Chinese suits- black in summerand soft bluish grey with wide white
turnedbackcuffsinautumnandwinter' (1985:ix). WardcametoHong
Kongfirmly convincedthatacentraltenetofanthropologyisthe cross
cultural studyofmeaning, theattempt to see 'throughothereyes'. She
herself did this by studying a group marginal to mainstream of
Cantonese society, the 'Tanka' or boat people. Like many anthro
pologists ofher day she travelled out ofthe city to carryouthermain
fieldwork. In the academic division oflabour which had developed in
bothEurope andAmericaanthropologistswere allocatedtribal peoples
and peasants as well as exotic (to some people 'irrational') belief
systems, while sociologists studied industrial societies, cities and
'rationality'.
Butworldpoliticsalsodictatedwhere,whenandhowanthropological
fieldworkwasdone. Priorto 1950fewanthropologicalstudieshadbeen
writtenaboutChina; theworkbyFei Hsiao TungandFrancesHsuwas
exceptional.AfterthecommunistrevolutioninChinaanthropologywas
vilifiedasan'imperialist'disciplineanddisappearedfromthemainland
untilitsrecentrevival(Guldin1994).Thus,ifanthropologistswishedto
study 'China' they were confined to Hong Kong and Taiwan, so when
anthropologists came to Hong Kong in the 1950s and 1960s they
invariablyheadedofftothestillrural villagesoftheNewTerritoriesto
study what was left of 'traditional China'. The influential work on