THE HONG KONG RIOTS OF OCTOBER 1884: EVIDENCE FOR CHINESE NATIONALISM?
LEWIS M. CHERE*
Even though its importance for China's relations with the Western Powers, and for the development of the European empires in general, is very great the Sino-French War has not attracted much scholarly attention. In the field of the development of Chinese Nationalism alone a great deal of potential evidence remains to be examined from the incidents which arose out of the conflict. Nowhere is that more the case than in the history of Hong Kong in the period of the 1880's. The reactions of the Chinese community in Hong Kong, where the legendary influence of malevolent mandarins could only be indirectly applied—if at all—could provide very good examples of the emergence of genuine Chinese anti-imperialist nationalism as opposed to the earlier xenophobic opposition to foreigners in general. Yet that evidence remains unstudied and almost completely unknown. Even those scholars who have concerned themselves with the history of Hong Kong—a lamentably small group—have not found the question of any great interest; possibly because they were concerned with other, very limited, aspects of Hong Kong's development.
There is a distressing lack of source material available outside Hong Kong for scholars interested in trying to integrate developments in the Crown Colony into the overall picture of developments on the China Coast. This is especially true for the period of the Sino-French War. The most readily available general history of Hong Kong, that of G. B. Endacott,1 devotes barely two pages to the riots of 1884, and does not give any indication of the sources used. Perhaps the scope of the problem can be better appreciated if the sentiments of G. M. Sayer in the foreword to his father's book are repeated: "The work is not of great historical importance; indeed little of significance occurred during the period to excite the interest of anyone outside Hong Kong." If those who have concerned themselves with the writing of the history of Hong Kong
* Dr. Chere is Assistant Professor of History, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington.