Indeed, even though in the past, historians mostly focuses on the damaging aspects of colonialism of Hong Kong. Nevertheless, two decades of prosperous development of Hong Kong has proven that the Great Britain’s domination is not certainly damaging, instead, the main influence is actually quite beneficial. According to scholars studying both history and sociology, the colonialism was no longer seen as a destructive and traumatic experience for native people. The truth is that now colonialism of a city can be a way of bringing in economic development and generating mutual understanding of different cultures.
According to another scholar called Tony Fu Lai Yu, who has written the book Entrepreneurships and Economic Development in Hong Kong, he has mentioned that Hong Kong’s society has been influenced by Western culture and the traditional Chinese values. (Tony Fu Lai Yu , 61) He has claimed that the Chinese culture should be categorized into two parts, which are called the great tradition as well as the small tradition. It is necessary here for me to explain the great tradition as well as the small tradition. In fact, the great tradition means someone is making an effort to achieve a goal. This goal is a wealthy, prosperous and strong nation. However, for the small tradition, it actually means that a person is making an attempt to maintain a good life and good earnings. Therefore, the first one, the great tradition aims at the collective interests, which means if the whole nation if wealthy, then the goal is achieved. On the contrary, the second one, the small tradition, is aiming at the individual’s interests. Therefore, it means that if a person can guarantee that he makes a good living, earns enough money to support his family and be able to afford good food and good products, then the goal is achieved. The benefit of the other people does not need to be considered. (Tony Fu Lai Yu, 61)
The truth is, according to Tony Fu Lai Yu, Hong Kong belongs to the small tradition. (Tony Fu Lai Yu, 62) The great tradition is originated from the Confucianism, which can never find root in the culture of Hong Kong. Obviously, after being ruled by the United Kingdom for more than five decades, Hong Kong has already been heavily influenced by the British western culture in many ways. This feature is most distinctive when it comes to the people in Hong Kong’s way of pursuing material satisfaction and their social status. (Tony Fu Lai Yu, 62)
In mainland China, the notion of blindly seeking for profit and fortune is not only not encouraged but also despicable. By contrast, the idea of pursuing profit and fortune is not only acceptable but also regarded as an ambitious goal in Hong Kong. (Tony Fu Lai Yu , 62)
What’s more, the influence that the western imperial powers have on Hong Kong does not only focus on the scientific development, economic development and the cultural ideology. In fact, it has also made a great impact on Hong Kong’s religious development. In mainland China, the majority of religious people believed their god is the Buddhist and they are firm Buddhism believers. However, after being ruled by the western power, the people in Hong Kong are not so much enlightened about the Buddhism. On the contrary, they are more aware of the western gods such as the Thor and Christ. Catholic churches and Christian churches are frequently visited by native people in Hong Kong.
|
