383
Recently, a poem on the Revolution composed by a village lady from Sha Tau Kok has come to my attention. It was probably composed in 1911, at about the time that news of the Revolution first came to that area. I was told that the occasion of the composition was the marriage of a girl from Sha Tau Kok Market to a villager of Shan Tsui, a village just outside the market. Her elder brother was a supporter of radical ideas, and was living away from Sha Tau Kok. He returned for his sister's wedding, and when he did, his relatives were shocked to see that he had cut his queue - the first man in the area to do so. His sister composed the poem while she was in the sedan chair being carried to her new home. When she sang it, it was an instant success. It was remembered for some years. My informant, who came from Tong To village near Shan Tsui, learnt it about 1925 (she was born in 1907), and was still able to recite it.
The poem is of interest, not only because it is an almost unique expression of the views of indigenous New Territories residents to the Revolution, (and even more because it was composed by a village lady - a group whose political views are always particularly difficult to discover), but because it discloses a more enthusiastic view of the Revolution than the general silence of our records would lead one to expect. It should, however, be noted that the then District Officer, New Territories, remarked on the speedy, unanimous and easy acceptance of the Revolution by the New Territories villagers. They had, he felt, "long been ready to join the party of progress, within a few weeks scarcely a queue was to be seen throughout the Territory".3
Because of the poem's general interest, a copy is attached, with a translation. The poem was composed in Hakka, in lines of seven characters divided into a group of four and a group of three, in rhymed couplets.
My Brother's Queue
My elder brother is enthusiastic, and my younger brother, too.
The Revolution has succeeded and my elder brother has cut his queue.
When you buy a new copper cooking-pot, it is best to put food in it.
The Manchus have starved to death, their intestines shriveled to nothing.
When you buy a new copper cooking-pot, it is best to get one with handles.
The Manchus have starved to death, their guts shriveled to nothing.
Do not fear the Manchus will use their sharp knives.
With just a single bomb-blast the hair of all their heads has gone.
2
383
Recently, a poem on the Revolution composed by a village lady from Sha Tau Kok has come to my attention. It was probably composed in 1911, at about the time that news of the Revolution first came to that area. I was told that the occasion of the composition was the marriage of a girl from Sha Tau Kok Market to a villager of Shan Tsui, a village just outside the market. Her elder brother was a supporter of radical ideas, and was living away from Sha Tau Kok. He returned for his sister's wedding, and when he did, his relatives were shocked to see that he had cut his queue the first man in the area to do so. His sister composed the poem while she was in the sedan chair being carried to her new home. When she sang it, it was an instant success. It was remembered for some years. My informant, who came from Tong To village near Shan Tsui, learnt it about 1925 (she was born in 1907), and was still able to recite it.
The poem is of interest, not only because it is an almost unique expression of the views of indigenous New Territories residents to the Revolution, (and even more because it was composed by a village lady
a group whose political views are always particularly difficult to discover), but because it discloses a more enthusiastic view of the Revolution than the general silence of our records would lead one to expect. It should, however, be noted that the then District Officer, New Territories, remarked on the speedy, unanimous and easy acceptance of the Revolution by the New Territories villagers. They had, he felt, "long been ready to join the party of progress,. within a few weeks scarcely a quenue was to be seen throughout the Territory".3
·
Because of the poem's general interest, a copy is attached, with a translation. The poem was composed in Hakka, in lines of seven characters divided into a group of four and a group of three, in rhymed couplets.
My Brother's Queue
My elder brother is enthusiastic, and my younger brother, too. The Revolution has succeeded and my elder brother has cut his queue. When you buy a new copper cooking-pot, it is best to put food in it. The Manchus have starved to death, their intestines shriveled to nothing. When you buy a new copper cooking-pot, it is best to get one with
handles.
The Manchus have starved to death, their guts shriveled to nothing. Do not fear the Manchus will use their sharp knives.
With just a single bomb-blast the hair of all their heads has gone.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.