british – Josephine

Reflection

When we were first assigned our teams, I didn’t know how everyone’s work style would be like or how we would work well with one another. However, over the semester, I had a lot of fun working with my teammates (:

We had a little trouble deciding on what topic to choose and even when we chose our topic, we had to decide on what to focus on. Each of us had different ideas and different perspectives on the topic, but ultimately we decided to take the topic out of the box and extend on the topic much further, therefore, instead on using maps as a focus on Mapping Asia, we looked at trade routes instead.

Each of us looked at the Western powers, those that travelled to Asia and colonised countless numbers of countries. We researched, individually, on which colonial power was ideal for our group. Eventually, we settled on Britain as we thought that it was interesting how they became so influential in Asia despite being the last of the colonial powers to enter Asia. Then came finding our objects! We each took a country, Singapore, Burma, India, and Hong Kong, and did research on art pieces from the individual countries. Personally, I had a lot of trouble finding colonial pieces from Hong Kong. I didn’t want to pick something that was already shown in class as I felt I should look for something that would give a fresh perspective on colonial Hong Kong and also because I thought I would be able to learn something more from a new piece.

Once we decided on our pieces, we also had to link them together. Besides being art works that came out of British Asia, what else did they show, and how were we going to display them. All of us had different ideas on the exhibit and the overall theme, and after discussing it over and over again, throwing new ideas on the table every time, we finally settled on our final piece.

The presentation was fun and also nerve-wrecking, having to keep to the time limit was hard but it was also good preparation for FYP. Our consultation actually helped us the most in finalising the details in our model exhibit. While we initially only wanted to have the country platforms, we didn’t think about the surroundings. After the consultation, we finalised our design and began working on the physical piece.

After we were done making our piece, and after the final presentation, we were given excellent feedback and even realised that there were other ways they we could have improved on our exhibit layout, like cutting out the bottom of the cellfoam to make the platform light up to give the impression that the platforms were lit up.

In conclusion, I truly enjoyed this course as well as working with my teammates. This course has really opened my eyes to the reality of the colonial empires in Asia. It was the immense research on the two presentations in the course that really exciting. It was so difficult to find certain things but the knowledge I earned in the process was incredibly rewarding.

Object Label Final

View of Spring Gardens
Murdoch Bruce and A. Maclure
Lithography and Paint
20th August 1846
Hong Kong Museum of Art

This image is one of a series of prints by Murdoch Bruce and A. Maclure. It depicts Hong Kong as stylised towards British taste. The architectural style is influenced by and heavily resembles European architecture, including Greek columns, and is absent of any Chinese forms of architecture, such as roof ornaments taking the form of dragons or lions.

The society in British Hong Kong was racially segregated into two main groups, the local Chinese, and the foreigners, mainly the British but also included other Europeans. The land was separated, allowing the British to enjoy ‘elite’ Victorian style luxuries in the Eastern portion of Hong Kong, while racial laws were erected, forcing the natives to live in crowded living spaces in the Western portion of the island. This racial segregation materialised through mutual animosity between the two races. This animosity is disguised in the image whereby the artists portray the British as superior to the Chinese by having a local Chinese man bow to a group of foreigners, which are likely to be British — in Chinese culture, bowing is a way to show respect to one’s superiors.

While the image, at first glance, portrays a grandeur Colonial Hong Kong, it also highlights the immense difference in the socio-economic status between the two races. The British are seen as the elites of the nation, dressing in splendour, while the local Chinese are dress in simple, traditional clothes and are depicted as the working class, serving the British.

Catalog Entry Final

View of Spring Gardens
Murdoch Bruce and A. Maclure
Lithography and Paint
20th August 1846
Hong Kong Museum of Art

After Hong Kong had been colonised in 1841, there was an incredible amount of racial segregation between the local Chinese and the foreigners, which were mainly British, but also included other Europeans. Not only did the Chinese display resentment towards the British, but the British themselves had an inherent disregard for the natives. Just before the colonisation of Hong Kong, the British exploited the addictive nature of opium in China in order to make up for a trade imbalance, ignoring the social implications it would have on the Chinese. This eventually led to the start of the First Opium War (1839), ending in a British victory.

The Western part of Hong Kong was where the local Chinese would reside, having Chinese style architecture, crowded living spaces, and markets. The Eastern part of Hong Kong was filled with Victorian-style comforts in order to cater to British tastes, therefore having little resemblance to the architectural style in China. Certain racial laws were even erected simply to prevent the Chinese from living in the elite areas occupied by the British.

It is difficult to identify that this image was painted in reference to Hong Kong, and in fact, appears to be somewhere in Europe. The buildings depicted are built with a European influence, with a plain flat roof with no roof ornaments such as lions or dragons, and also incorporates greek columns and large windows. The subjects in the image are also mainly Europeans, most likely to be British in this context, identified by the European style of dressing that was popular during this time (19th C.). The women depicted are wearing lavish and elaborate dresses, which were heavily decorated and tapered at the waist to accentuate their figure, and head dresses, and the men are wearing long coats and top hats. Even the children shown are wearing layered clothes and hats. However this image depicts a scene in Spring Gardens, an area in Queen’s Road located in the Eastern portion of British Hong Kong.

Perhaps the only few things that allows us to identify this as Hong Kong is the insertion of several Chinese people in the image. Unlike the foreign occupants, the British, that are depicted in fanciful attire, the local Chinese are seen in more simple attire. As the Chinese tended to be more conservative at the time, the women wore clothes that did not accentuate their figure and instead gave them a more modest appearance. Their hair is also tied up into a bun. The Chinese man is seen to be dressed in a Changshan, a style of clothing which was common in China in the 19th Century, as well as have his head shaven and tied into a plait.

Consider how the artists’ represents the socio-ecnomic status between the two races: a local woman works on a fishing boat while a foreign woman is taking a leisurely walk with her pet beneath an umbrella. A local man bows to a group of foreigners, showing them respect and regarding them as his superiors. This image displays the idealistic views that the British had over Hong Kong.

Not only was Hong Kong conceptualised as being a haven for Victorian England in Asia, but the British themselves were portrayed as superior to their colony’s local inhabitants. However, the attitude that the Chinese possessed towards their colonisers was very different. Instead of regarding them as superiors, many Chinese referred to the British as uncivilised barbarians. This view of the British surfaced when the first British Envoy to China had refused to ‘kowtow’ — otherwise known as to bow in respect — to the Chinese Emperor.

This print preserves not only the idealised view of British Hong Kong, but it also shows us how differently the British viewed themselves as colonisers in comparison to those that they have colonised. The truth behind colonial Hong Kong, while first appearing to be hidden in this image, is actually emphasised in minor ways. With the extensive modernisation of Hong Kong’s cityscape in present day, many colonial architectural structures are being torn down or heavily renovated, leaving little to no resemblance to its original form. It is images such as View of Spring Gardens that retain the image of colonial Hong Kong, an image that will, soon, be erased from Hong Kong’s architectural heritage.

References & Further Reading

Wang, D. (2014). Identity and group conflict in the first British embassy to China in 1792 (Doctoral dissertation, uniwien).

Karsh, J. A. (2008). The Root of the Opium War: Mismanagement in the Aftermath of the British East India Company’s Loss of its Monopoly in 1834 (Doctoral dissertation, University of Pennsylvania).

History of Colonial Hong Kong (1800s – 1930s). (n.d.). Retrieved October 21, 2015, from http://self.gutenberg.org/articles/history_of_colonial_hong_kong_(1800s_-_1930s)

WHAT IS LITHOGRAPHY? (n.d.). Retrieved October 25, 2015, from http://tamarind.unm.edu/about-us/20-what-is-lithography

Object Label Draft 3

cwHK_1846_AH643890_Gden

View of Spring Gardens

Murdoch Bruce and A. Maclure

Lithography and Paint

20th August 1846

Hong Kong Museum of Art

This image is one of a series of prints by Murdoch Bruce and A. Maclure. It depicts Hong Kong as stylised towards British taste. The architectural style is influenced and heavily resembles European architecture, including Greek columns, and is absent of any Chinese forms of architecture, such as roof ornaments taking the form of dragons or lions.

Wall Text (Updated)

The British Empire was often described as “the empire on which the Sun never sets” when it was at its peak. This was due to the extensiveness of the empire, which stretched across the globe in the form of dominions, colonies, protectorates, and various other territories under British rule.

At the beginning of the British expansion into Asia, the British were faced with immense odds, having arrived in Asia much later than the other European powers such as the Portuguese and the Dutch. However, the British were determined in expanding their trade routes as well as their territories. The British first arrived in India, facing heavy competition from the Dutch East Indian Company, which as well established in India at the time. However, by 1757, the British East Indian Company had dominions in India surrendered to them. Just as these policies were designed to sustain British commercial ties to India, too, were British interests in China largely a result of attempts to maintain the economic well being of the centrepiece of the British Empire in India. Trade with China was desirable for British commerce, and it was also a significant means of supporting colonialism in India.

The British continued their expansion further east, occupying Burma, Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong. The colonisation of these territories was not without a cost. Burma came under British rule after the first Anglo-Burmese War, and Hong Kong was ceded to the British after the Chinese faced several defeats. With the 1842 Treaty of Nanking, Britain gained rights to the deep-water port of Hong Kong as a base for these economic activities.

In this exhibit, we will be looking at the art and architectural pieces that have emerged from the British colonies in Asia during the 19th Century. We will be looking at pieces from India, Burma, Singapore, and Hong Kong, and investigate how each piece reflects the colonial rule, social economic situations and influences at the time.

How did the British establish themselves amongst the locals? Were they their equals or their rulers? Journey with us along the British Asian trade route and discover socio-economic truth behind the British Empire in Asia.

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References:

Webster, A. (2000). Business and Empire: A reassessment of the British Conquest of Burma in 1885. The Historical Journal, 43(04), 1003-1025.

Karsh, J. A. (1834). The Root of the Opium War: Mismanagement in the Aftermath of the British East India Company’s Loss of its Monopoly in 1834 (Doctoral dissertation, University of Pennsylvania).