History of Hong Kong

INTRODUCTION

City of Life: Hong Kong is it! is a two-year celebration co-ordinated by the Hong Kong Tourism Commission and Hong Kong’s 18 District Councils, and sponsored by the Hong Kong Jockey Clubs Charities Trust.

The programme showcases the events, festivals and activities that have helped to make Hong Kong the most popular destination in Asia. Both visitors and residents can explore Hong Kong’s 18 Districts, which will highlight local events and attractions as well as international standard events.

From now until March 2003, you are invited to participate in this celebration of our lifestyle, culture and traditions - a Living Fusion of East and West. You’ll want to stay here for Life!

HISTORY

Hong Kong’s English name is derived from two Chinese characters, Heung and Gong (“fragrant harbour”). Originally this was only the name of a small settlement near Aberdeen, the main fishing and entry port for pre-colonial Hong Kong Island. Some historians suggest Hong Kong’s Chinese name was inspired by its export of fragrant incense.

The explanation for Kowloon’s name is even more romantic. In Chinese, the peninsula’s name is Kow Lung (“Nine Dragons”). It is believed this dates back as far as eight centuries to Emperor Ping, one of two boy-emperors of the doomed Sung Dynasty whose court felt to Hong Kong. He is said to have counted eight mountains in the area, and decided to name it “Eight Dragons” based on the belief that a dragon inhabits every mountain. His tally was corrected by a quick-witted courtier who pointed out that as emperors were also believed to be dragons, there were nine dragons- Emperor Ping being the ninth.

Pre-colonial Hong Kong
While many history books began the story of Hong Kong with the British colonial presence, the area has been inhabited for millennia. Recently, a 4,500 year-old burial ground was unearthed on Lantau Island and archaeological rock carvings can be found on several sites around Hong Kong. Much evidence of Hong Kong’s early period can be found in its fishing communities and small villages, many of which are still protected by defensive walls, moats and gatehouses.

About 2,000 years ago, during the Han Dynasty, China claimed Hong Kong and the surrounding area. The Cantonese migrated during the 14th Century and were followed closely by the Hakka people. Traditional customs and beliefs from these distinct and fascinating Chinese cultures can still be observed throughout modern Hong Kong. Many people continue to pay rent to descendants of the dominant settler families of those times, known as the “Five Great Clans”.

Some of the earliest written references to Hong Kong predict its destiny as an economic center. Imperial records state that troops were garrisoned at Tuen Mun and Tai Po - now major New Territories town developments - to guard the pearls harvested from Tolo harbour by aboriginal Tanka divers.

By the 17th Century, the region was infamous for rebellion and piracy. To solve the problem, the ruling Manchus evacuated the coastal area. A new group of emigrants arrived from the north: the Hakka- “guest” people - a clan who farmed rice, pineapples, tea and incense.

The Opium Wars and their aftermath
The arrival of the British in the 19th Century marked Hong Kong’s emergence in world affairs.

British traders originally made their fortunes in the opium trade. They exchanged the infamous commodity for China’s silver, silk, tea and spices. Eventually the Chinese Imperial Government, worried about the drug’s effects on its population, sought to ban the import of opium.

Britain deemed this ban against its interests in the region. It wanted to strengthen its foothold with a port, free of Imperial control, which led to the Opium Wars (1840-42). Queen Victoria’s gunboats triumphed and Hong Kong Island was ceded to Britain under the Treaty of Nanking in 1842. Sir Henry Pottinger was its first governor.

The Territory Expands
The Chinese continued trading actively in Hong Kong which resulted in intermittent hostilities between the two nations.

Britain’s response was to seek protection by taking more territory for itself. The Kowloon Peninsula and Stonecutter’s Island were handed over to Britain in 1860 and in 1898 a 99-year lease wan granted for the area known as the New Territories.

History in the Making
Britain’s 99-year lease on the New Territories expired at midnight on 30 June 1997. Thirteen years earlier, in 1984 the Sino-British Joint Declaration made history by stating that Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories would all revert to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, to become an autonomous Special Administrative Region (SAR). On that landmark date, 1 July 1997, the Crown Colony once more became a part of China, the largest nation on earth. It’s an unprecedented event in the 20th Century, and another fascinating chapter in Hong Kong’s exceptional history.