{"id":815,"date":"2022-10-22T00:00:02","date_gmt":"2022-10-22T00:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hkcc.org.uk\/?p=815"},"modified":"2024-04-01T10:25:51","modified_gmt":"2024-04-01T10:25:51","slug":"the-stranger-%e3%80%8a%e7%95%b0%e9%84%89%e4%ba%ba%e3%80%8b","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hkcc.org.uk\/?p=815","title":{"rendered":"The Stranger \u300a\u7570\u9109\u4eba\u300b"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

The Stranger?<\/h1>\n

\u300a\u7570\u9109\u4eba\u300b<\/h3>\n

October 22, 2022 by Re\n<\/h6>\n
EN<\/a> \u4e2d\u6587<\/a><\/h6>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Portrait photo of Albert Camus, author of \u201cThe Stranger\u201d<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What does \u201cHometown\u201d mean to you, to all Hongkongers?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Excluding Japan (which is widely considered a \u201chome away from home\u201d for Hongkongers), \u201cHometown\u201d probably means what we wrote under the column for our parents\u2019 nativelands in our handbooks. But deep down we all know, that is not our hometown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then what is \u201chometown\u201d? According to the ancient Chinese dictionary Shuowen Jiezi, \u201chometown\u201d means ungranted land away from major cities. As also explained in the annotation, hometown was written as heung in Chinese, a homonym connoting belonging, suggesting that hometown is where people feel they belong to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then what is \u201cstranger\u201d? Is it the wanderer living away from home, but constantly reminiscing about the hometown; or is it the outsider in Albert Camus\u2019s work, who is estranged from the absurd and critical crowd, the mainstream?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps, the word hometown carries no weight in our generation, but not to the generation before us. Since the 1850s, many from China left their hometowns to acquire a livelihood in Hong Kong, while the countless machinery, capital, technology and labour they brought in helped lay the foundation for Hong Kong’s economic take-off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To them, hometown matters because it defines who they are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first issue was language. Prior to the 1967 riots, there had not been an official Chinese language in Hong Kong, therefore immigrants from various parts of mainland China communicated in their native dialects \u200b\u200bwithin their own circles. Examples of these dialects are Shanghainese, Hakka and Chiuchow dialects, some of which are still being spoken by the older generation to this day. Due to language barriers then, it was difficult for immigrants from different hometowns to communicate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides, surviving in a new city was tough. In face of unfamiliarity and a scarcity of resources, there was a need for mutual support, fostering associations of immigrants from the same hometown (also known as \u2018Clansmen\u2019) in various forms. Due to a lack of public welfare back in the days, most immigrants were reliant on clansmen networks for social, information and economic exchanges. Given its importance, the role of \u2018clansmen\u2019 becomes part of one\u2019s identity, which easily creates a binary perception of \u2018us\u2019 and \u2018them\u2019, as well as a sense of hostility and distrust towards other \u2018clans\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is therefore not hard to understand why the concept of hometown was important to the first generation of immigrants in Hong Kong. That being said, to the newer generations born and raised in Hong Kong, these \u2018hometowns\u2019 in mainland China may be merely economical destinations for holidays when we were young.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent years, Hongkongers have become more and more acquainted with the idea of \u2018hometown\u2019. Perhaps this is because of the realisation that our hometown is actually the place we grew up in – Hong Kong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In search of freedom, many Hongkongers have now been forced to flee their hometown. Or perhaps they did not part with reluctance, because Hong Kong has changed so quickly that it is no longer recognisable. Or perhaps, our nostalgia is merely attached to the Hong Kong that has vanished, the Hong Kong that is in our memory. Hong Kong may be projected as the utmost beauty there, even though such beauty may have never existed. Nevertheless, the traces of our different experiences in this place condense into the homeland in our hearts today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hong Kong we\u2019d once known has now become out of reach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hongkongers, living within or outside Hong Kong, are now all outlanders.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Scene and quote extracted from the movie \u201cIn the Mood for Love\u201d (2000)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u5c0d\u9999\u6e2f\u4eba\u800c\u8a00\uff0c\u4f55\u8b02\u5bb6\u9109\uff1f<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u5982\u679c\u4e0d\u8a08\u65e5\u672c\uff0c\u5c0d\u65bc\u4e0d\u5c11\u9999\u6e2f\u4eba\u4f86\u8aaa\uff0c\u9109\u4e0b\u591a\u6578\u662f\u5c0f\u6642\u5019\u624b\u518a\u4e0a\u5beb\u8457\u7684\u7236\u6bcd\u7c4d\u8cab\uff0c\u4f46\u6211\u5011\u5f9e\u5c0f\u90fd\u5fc3\u77e5\u809a\u660e\uff0c\u4e0a\u9762\u5beb\u8457\u7684\u90a3\u500b\u5730\u65b9\u4e26\u4e0d\u662f\u6211\u5011\u5fc3\u4e2d\u7684\u6545\u9109\u3002<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u9109\u662f\u4ec0\u9ebc\uff1f\u300a\u8aaa\u6587\u89e3\u5b57\u300b\uff1a\u300c\u9109\uff0c\u570b\u96e2\u9091\u6c11\u6240\u5c01\u9109\u4e5f\u3002\u300d\u4f55\u8b02\u6c11\u6240\u5c01\u9109\u4e5f\uff1f\u6bb5\u7389\u88c1\u300a\u8aaa\u6587\u89e3\u5b57\u6ce8\u300b\u5beb\u9053\uff1a\u300c\u5c01\u7336\u57df\u4e5f\u3002\u9109\u8005\u4eca\u4e4b\u5411\u5b57\u3002\u6f22\u5b57\u591a\u4f5c\u9109\u3002\u4eca\u4f5c\u5411\u3002\u6240\u5c01\u8b02\u6c11\u57df\u5176\u4e2d\u3002\u6240\u9109\u8b02\u6b78\u5f80\u4e5f\u3002\u91cb\u540d\u66f0\u3002\u9109\u3001\u5411\u4e5f\u3002\u6c11\u6240\u5411\u4e5f\u3002\u4ee5\u540c\u97f3\u7232\u8a13\u4e5f\u3002\u300d\u7c21\u55ae\u800c\u8a00\uff0c\u9109\u5c31\u662f\u6307\u6c11\u4e4b\u6240\u5411\uff0c\u5373\u662f\u6307\u4eba\u6240\u6b78\u8655\u3002<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u7570\u9109\u4eba\u53c8\u662f\u4ec0\u9ebc\uff1f\u662f\u6307\u5728\u7570\u5730\u751f\u6d3b\uff0c\u6f02\u6cca\u5728\u5929\u6daf\uff0c\u5c0d\u5bb6\u9109\u5ff5\u5ff5\u4e0d\u5fd8\u7684\u4eba\uff0c\u9084\u662f\u5982\u5361\u7e46\u5728\u300a\u7570\u9109\u4eba\u300b\u4e2d\u63cf\u8ff0\uff0c\u90a3\u4e9b\u59cb\u7d42\u7121\u6cd5\u878d\u5165\u4e3b\u6d41\uff0c\u7e3d\u662f\u9762\u5c0d\u7740\u8352\u8a95\u548c\u6279\u5224\u7684\u4eba\u5011\uff1f<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u5bb6\u9109\u65bc\u6211\u5011\u9019\u4ee3\u9999\u6e2f\u4eba\u800c\u8a00\u53ef\u80fd\u662f\u865b\u7121\u7e39\u7df2\u7684\uff0c\u4f46\u5c0d\u4e0a\u4e00\u4ee3\u5247\u4e0d\u7136\u3002<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u4e0a\u4e16\u7d00\u4e94\u5341\u5e74\u4ee3\u8d77\uff0c\u56e0\u8457\u653f\u5c40\u548c\u7d93\u6fdf\u539f\u56e0\uff0c\u4e0d\u5c11\u4e2d\u570b\u4eba\u96e2\u9109\u5225\u4e95\u5230\u9999\u6e2f\u8b00\u751f\uff0c\u70ba\u9999\u6e2f\u5e36\u4f86\u5927\u91cf\u6a5f\u5668\u3001\u8cc7\u91d1\u3001\u6280\u8853\u548c\u52de\u52d5\u529b\uff0c\u552f\u65e5\u5f8c\u9999\u6e2f\u7d93\u6fdf\u8d77\u98db\u5960\u4e0b\u826f\u597d\u57fa\u77f3\u3002<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u90a3\u70ba\u4ec0\u9ebc\u5bb6\u9109\u5c0d\u65bc\u7576\u6642\u7684\u4eba\u5982\u6b64\u91cd\u8981\uff1f<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u56e0\u70ba\u5bb6\u9109\u6c7a\u5b9a\u4e86\u4e00\u500b\u4eba\u7684\u8eab\u4efd\u3002<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Stranger? \u300a\u7570\u9109\u4eba\u300b October 22, 2022 by Re EN \u4e2d\u6587 What does \u201cHometown\u201d mean to you, to all Hongkongers? Excluding Japan (which is widely considered a \u201chome away from home\u201d for Hongkongers), \u201cHometown\u201d probably means what we wrote under the column for our parents\u2019 nativelands in our handbooks. But deep down we all know, that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":817,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/hkcc.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/stranger.jpg",1200,803,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/hkcc.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/stranger.jpg",1200,803,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/hkcc.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/stranger.jpg",1200,803,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/hkcc.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/stranger-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/hkcc.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/stranger-300x201.jpg",300,201,true],"large":["https:\/\/hkcc.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/stranger-1024x685.jpg",580,388,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/hkcc.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/stranger.jpg",1200,803,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/hkcc.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/stranger.jpg",1200,803,false],"directorist_preview":["https:\/\/hkcc.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/stranger.jpg",538,360,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/hkcc.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/stranger.jpg",1200,803,false],"twentytwenty-fullscreen":["https:\/\/hkcc.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/stranger.jpg",1200,803,false],"sow-carousel-default":["https:\/\/hkcc.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/stranger-272x182.jpg",272,182,true]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Angie Wong","author_link":"https:\/\/hkcc.org.uk\/?author=2"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"Blog<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"The Stranger? \u300a\u7570\u9109\u4eba\u300b October 22, 2022 by Re EN \u4e2d\u6587 What does \u201cHometown\u201d mean to you, to all Hongkongers? Excluding Japan (which is widely considered a \u201chome away from home\u201d for Hongkongers), \u201cHometown\u201d probably means what we wrote under the column for our parents\u2019 nativelands in our handbooks. But deep down we all know, that…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hkcc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/815"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hkcc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hkcc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hkcc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hkcc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=815"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/hkcc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/815\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1158,"href":"https:\/\/hkcc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/815\/revisions\/1158"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hkcc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hkcc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hkcc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hkcc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}