58
DOUGLAS W. SPARKS
The study of relationships between Teochiu and other ethnic groups within the estate was obviously of relevance to my research. I became particularly interested in relationships between the Teochiu and Hoi Luk Fung, that is, people from two districts in Kwangtung directly south of Teochiu along the coast (海豐 and 陸豐). Hoi Luk Fung persons are the most similar to Teochiu among Chinese ethnic groups in Hong Kong in language, culture, and historical origins. It was initially perplexing that Teochiu in the housing estate disliked Hoi Luk Fung more intensely than any other ethnic group, and I very quickly became aware of sharp cognitive and interactional boundaries between the two groups. With increasing knowledge of northeastern Kwangtung, the area from which these people migrated, and of cognitive and social divisions within the estate, people from the border area between Hoi Luk Fung and Teochiu became an enigmatic social puzzle to me. These people are from an area called Kap Jih (P7), and there exists among Teochiu within the estate considerable variation and confusion as to the ethnic identity of these people. The confusion, of course, fuelled my interest and led to more questions and my eventual ability to view the categorization of Kap Jih in a more fluid and flexible manner, as did the Teochiu themselves.
The resettlement estate is composed of about 67,000 residents, all of whom were resettled from squatter settlements into densely populated 16-storey blocks. Most of the residents have lived in this estate since it was constructed ten years ago, and many of them had lived in squatter settlements for many years prior to resettlement. Thus, my research did not focus upon problems of resettlement nor upon the adaptation of recent immigrants to an urban, industrial social setting. People living in the estate function within dense social networks which include relatives and friends within the estate, work colleagues, and friends and relatives living in other areas of Hong Kong. This is particularly true among the Teochiu segment of the housing estate population.
Many Chinese ethnic groups are found within the estate. Housing Authority officials managing the estate do not have figures categorizing residents of this estate by ethnic group, but according to information from residents themselves, Cantonese are the largest and Teochiu the second largest ethnic group. According to Teochiu
1 A more detailed description of the ecology of the housing estate appears in my dissertation,
58
DOUGLAS W. SPARKS
The study of relationships between Teochiu and other ethnic groups within the estate was obviously of relevance to my research. I became particularly interested in relationships between the Teochiu and Hoi Luk Fung, that is, people from two districts in Kwangtung directly south of Teochiu along the coast(海豐and or 海陸 #). Hoi Luk Fung persons are the most similar to Teochiu among Chinese ethnic groups in Hong Kong in language, culture and historical origins. It was initially perplexing that Toochiu in the housing estate disliked Hoi Luk Fung more intensely than any other ethnic group, and I very quickly became aware of sharp cognitive and interactional boundaries between the two groups. With increasing knowledge of northeastern Kwangtung, the area from which these people migrated, and of cognitive and social divisions within the estate, people from the border area between Hoi Luk Fung and Teochiu became an enigmatic social puzzle to me. These people are from an area called Kap Jih (P7), and there exists among Teochiu within the estate considerable variation and confusion as to the ethnic identity of these people. The confu- sion of course fuelled my interest and led to more questions and my eventual ability to view the categorization of Kap Jih in a more fluid and flexible manner, as did the Teochiu themselves.
The resettlement estate is composed of about 67,000 residents, all of whom were resettled from squatter settlements into densely populated 16 storey blocks. Most of the residents have lived in this estate since it was constructed ten years ago, and many of them had lived in squatter settlements for many years prior to resettle- ment. Thus my research did not focus upon problems of resettle- ment nor upon the adaptation of recent immigrants to an urban, industrial social setting. People living in the estate function within dense social networks which include relatives and friends within the estate, work colleagues, and friends and relatives living in other areas of Hong Kong. This is particularly true among the Teochiu segment of the housing estate population.
Many Chinese ethnic groups are found within the estate. Hou- sing Authority officials managing the estate do not have figures cate- gorizing residents of this estate by ethnic group, but according to information from residents themselves, Cantonese are the largest and Teochiu the second largest ethnic group. According to Teochiu
1 A more detailed description of the ecology of the housing estate appears in my dissertation,
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.