CHINA MAIL, PAGE 2
HONG KONG CENTENARY NUMBER
1841
******* 1941
HONG KONG IN HISTORY
זן
was a sultry day in August,
1839, when a small fleet
of
ships, Junks and boats of all descriptions, escorted by H.M.S. Volage, came scurrying into Hong Kong harbour from Macao, and the men, women and children who sought safety on board the Brit- ish and American ships lying at anchorage there might well have doubted the sanity of anyone who prophesied 2 great future for their temporary "home."
From the ships, they could look up at the great barren rock tow- ering nearly 2,000 feet above them. Except for a large Chinese camp on the other side of the mountain, there was little real life on the island, save for thieves and pir- ates, who at one time were many that the early Portuguese named the sinall cluster of is- lands the "Ladrones."
60
Yet only a year later, Hong Kong and part of the surrounding territory had come under the British flag, the steps for its ac- quisition being rapid once the mitial momentum had been given
Heights Named
On January 20th, 1841, the is land was ceded to the British as a depot for trade. On January 6th, formal possession was taken by Admiral Sir J. J. Gordon Brem ner, who, after determining the chief heights, named them Vic- toria Peak, High West, Mount Gough and Mount Kellett. The “Notification of Occupation" was published on May 1st, 1841.
On August 29th, 1842, th first formal trea y with China was signed, confirming the cession Hong Kong, while on April 5th. 1843, a Royal Charter creating the Colony was signed, with Sir Henry Pottinger as first Governor.
Had those early pioneers xlub- ped to think about it at all, could they possibly have foreseen the. growth of Hong Kong into one of the greatest ports in the world as well as one of the most beautiful! It is doub'ful if many of them even bothered to think ahead, for there were the more pressing, more urgent problems to be con- sidered--the constant fear of at- tack, the worry over the children continually ge.ting out of hand on board ship, the annoyance at being driven away from Muca and chagrin at the luss of be- longings which had to be left be- hind in the rush.
Thrilling Story
over
Possibly here and there some young dreamer leaned
the bluc rails, gazing down at the waters or up at the rugged rocks and heights, and dimly saw some sort of city growing up. But it is doubtful if even the most opti- mistic of dreamers could have foreseen the great metropolis and port which was to shoot up rapid- ly, linked up by fingers of roads shooting out like tentacles around the lower levels and gradually ex- tending up, over and around the entire Island.
In its quiet, historical way, the story of Hong Kong is a thrilling one, of a city which, like many of the towns coming into being in the United States at almost the Fame time, owed its existencù to "the sheer force of circumstances and events! Few in Hong Kong to-day have more than a vague idea of how Hong Kong came to be, for most of its population, Chinese and foreign, has been a "floating" one, and it is only in very recent years that there hus been any considerable number of people to whom Hong Kong wan "home".
Yet, the history of Hong Kong has been one of steady arid rapid. growth, and its story is that of
many a town and port in other parts of the world-the carly days of mistakes and mishaps, of the trials and tribulations that affect every new town, of rampant crime and vice and
arable land, its few valleys made
it cuite unattractive to the farm- ers and peasants of China and, at the same time, fairly attractive to the bands of pirates. who found and headlands the many coves not always
ideals haunts which they shared among the few fishing folk sa tered here and thero.
the
honest udministrators of the life and destiny of the city, until fin- ally maturity is reached and city settles down to a happy. planned future.
Cooperation
Side by side with the growth of Hong Kong has been the steady improvement in relations between the people and Government of the largest race of people and of the largest and most powerful Em- pire in the world, until to-day both are seen fighting the battle for the same ideals of democracy and freedom.
same
Only a short while ago. It was announced that when the war is over, discussions for the abolition of extra-territoriality will be instituted, a far cry from those carly days when the proud Chin- ese called all foreigners "barbar- tang" and "slave people" and the foreigners regarded China as coun ry populated exclusively by blood-thirsty bandits and im- possibly proud rulers and officials.
:1
has
Bias Bay, of course, is famous all over the world as the haunt par excellence of some of the most blood-thirsty pirates history ever known, and the early Portu- guese, who were the firs: to come out here (in 1517) gave the entire wide berth. group of islands
them naming
the “Ladrones after the Portuguese word for thief or pirate.
Occasionally, history touched briefly at its shores. As far bark as 1279, when Kublai Khan over- Ahrew the Sung dynasty, the last emperor, a boy, fled to South China and is said to have drowned him- self near Hong Kong, the "Sung Wong To" at Kowloon being a monument to his memory.
By the 17th century, the Ming rulers had established peace and order of a sort here, driving out part of the great horde of pir- the ates which flourished during period of the Mongol rule, and this was responsible for the native
The Colony's Birthday
Opinion regarding the true date on which Hong Kong's birthday should properly be celebrated difiers with the school of thought.
The official decree January 20 takes its warrant from the signature on that date of the Treaty of Chienpu, which ceded Hong Kong Britain.
—
means
tions. Some philologists, how- cver, are mean enough to suggest that the name has no such poe- tic
but origin
merely "Heung's Harbour," Heung being notorious bandit a particularly who made his headquarters there. The early Occidental mariners, however, mistook the name as be ing that of the island as a whole, and marked their charts accord- ingly. Owing to the lack of any other, and proper, name, the var- ious treaties which were signed in connection with the cession of the territory to Britain used the name "Hong Kong" to designate the entire area, and it has now passed into general use.
East India Company
the
Hong Kong's history actually
of begins around the time Emperor Kien Lung (1735-1795), when trade and commerce bc- tween China and Europe really a'tained dimensions of any im- portance. Canton was then, the only port open to foreign trade, chiefly in the hands of the Por- tuguese. the British and the
smull Dutch, and a
colony European merchants settled there in the 18th century. British trade was a monopoly of the East India Company.
of
This trade consisted chiefly of opium, tea and silk, and was sub- jected to many exactions and re- strictions; feeling often ran high on both sides. With the passage of time, it is now possible to look buck with a more unbiassed view and see that each side had much to complain of and much in its favour.
The Chinese were the oldest. civilised people in the world, with a proud history behind them of
the culture and superiority over to
A puzzling complication was the choice of Jan- uary 21 for the exchange of congratulatory mes- sages in the Jubilee Year, 1891.
Protagonists of other dates quote the first land- ing on January 25, 1841, and the formal hoisting of the Union Jack on January 26, 1841. To which, presumably, the correct reply is that the christening comes after the birth.
It may well be that one day, when some historian in the dim, distant future sits down to write of China with the perspective of centuries before him, he may ind that the presence and growth of Hong Kong, as a place where Chinese and foreigners could min- gle,, live and trade side by side, may have done much to straighten out the understandable difficulties and misunderstandings carly years.
of
those
To-day, on its 100th birthday, Hong Kong has attained its maj- ority, and it is an appropriate mo- ment to pause a while and look back at those early days, to ap- the preciate the difficulties. of pioneers, and then, as the page- ant of the years passes by and eventually reaches the year 1941, to look ahead and try and see what remains to be done, what can be done and what should be done.
Out Of The Sea
up
Up to the middle of the last century, Hong Kong had no his tory in the accepted sense of the term. The island struggled out of the sea in the days when the earth was yount, when all var North: China, gave for the moun-. taths was still under water, and ditu extremely unlikely that". It ever formed part of the main "land": .
Pis "rocky heights, its lack of
Uopulation of this area being formed of two distinct racial peoples who differed widely in language, customs and manners- the "Puntis," who came from the nearby Tungkoon district; and the "Hakkas," who came down fron the North. In addition, there were the "Tankas," the boat people or literally, floating popu-
lation.
Three Racial Units
Each of these three racial units have played a vital part in the growth of the Hong Kong-Kow- loon area. The Puntis are an agricultural - people, inhabiting the valleys and making excellent traders. The Hakkas prefer the hill-districts, and like"most hill- district people, are a frugal, hardy race..
lesser races around them. The traders had all the rough-and- readyness of the pioneer, and with their different philosophy and outlook on life, it is not surprising they found the Chin- ese way of living and doing business incomprehensible at times.
Diplomacy Moves
ઈંડ
The Chinese felt that they were not being accorded the res- pect due to an ancient, mighty, civilised people, and called the in- truders "barbarians," which the traders naturally resented, they felt that their own particu- lar brand of civilisation was sup- erior, from the purely material point of view, at any rate, to that of the Chinese.
With both sides proudly scorn- ful of the other, it is not to be wondered at that there were "differences of opinion" on more than one occasion, nor that many acts of injustice (or justice, de- pending on the point of view of the party concerned) were com- mitted.
++
Eventually, things got so bad— ! particularly as regards the Eng- lish-that it was decided in Lon- don to put relations between China and Britain on a proper diplomatic basis, and in 1792 a costly Embassy, under Lord Macartney, was sent out in H.M.S. Lion. With them sailed the East and India - Company's. Hindustan
Two Audiences ·
In those days, Hong Kong: had ... Jackal. no real name as a whole, *The Puntia themselves are believed to have actually originated the name, giving it to a small port (now
Lord Macartney brought with - ' known as Aberdeen) on the him personal letters from George southern side of the Island, which
III to the Emperor of China, to- they named fleung Kong" or "gether with gifts valued at about “Hinng : Klang." There is stil£18,000. Lord: Mucartney was quite
a lot of argument about commissioned stonegotiate a what the Chinese characters form- :-- treaty of friendship and alliance,- ing. this name really mean dl- though the consensus is in favour. of "fragrant stream," Fragrant barbottr" "the place of sweet lagoans," or other" similar varia-
and was granted two audiences of the Emperor Kien Laing at Jehol, when he asked for permission for English merchants to trade at (Continued on „Page=4.);