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Museum of Hong Kong Literature
The new Museum of Hong Kong Literature is housed in a historic building with its own venerable story: a monument to all that the written word can be.
The Museum of Hong Kong Literature
Only in Chinese, says scientist and philosopher Douglas Hofstadter, is the written word so revered that great monuments in stone are built to memorialise a single character.
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At the same time, only in Hong Kong do we find the widespread integration of Chinese with other international cultures.
Reading corner
The new museum, opened by Chief Executive John Lee in May 2024, celebrates the unique historical and cultural background that has given birth to Hong Kong’s literary heritage.
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The museum forms the heart of the new 7 Mallory Street complex. The Urban Renewal Authority has beautifully refurbished this location under the designation M7.
Scroll written by Eileen Chang
Formerly known as the Green House, M7 comprises a cluster of ten pre-war Grade II historic buildings constructed in the 1910s. Below, visitors can enjoy a meal, relax in the reading nook, or explore a wide range of high-end Chinese tea offerings.
Above, they can enjoy a small but intriguing permanent exhibition that showcases how Hong Kong’s literary scene has influenced, and been influenced by, every aspect of society.
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At the opening ceremony, Lee highlighted the role of Hong Kong as a bridge for the exchange of Chinese and foreign cultures. “Generations of Hong Kong writers have recorded the development story of Hong Kong with their pens and written countless excellent literary works.”
Entrance at The Museum of Hong Kong Literature
While Hong Kong literature is predominantly written in Chinese, its origin and impact go far beyond the Chinese language.
Hong Kong is a bridge for the exchange of Chinese and foreign cultures
“Winds from every point of the compass pass through Hong Kong,” says the President of the Hong Kong Writers Association and Director of the Museum of Hong Kong Literature, Poon Yiu Ming. “Hong Kong literature has absorbed Western literary trends and has also inherited traditional Chinese culture and traditional literary expression techniques.
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For example, Hong Kong writer Liu Yichang introduced the [Western] stream-of-consciousness technique in his famous novel The Drunkard, while Hong Kong also has a large number of writers from Southern China who have inherited traditional Chinese realism techniques.”
Exhibit at The Museum of Hong Kong Literature
This is the reason, the first room in the new museum opens with the question, “Is Hong Kong literature written only in Chinese?” and provides examples of prominent literary works in English by Hong Kong writers as well as showcasing works in Chinese.
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Poon explains, “Our current permanent exhibition… is bilingual, in Chinese and English. We hope to use this platform to showcase Hong Kong literature to more English readers. In the future, we do not rule out the possibility of launching bilingual Hong Kong literature research books or literature research materials.”
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The museum has three permanent exhibition halls. “Unfolding the Atlas of Hong Kong Literature” introduces basic information so visitors unfamiliar with Hong Kong literature can have a first impression.
Letters by Xiao Hong
“Selected Handwriting Works of Nan Lai Writers” mainly exhibits manuscripts and letters from southern China, including the writings of Soong Ai-ling, a prominent figure in the history of modern China, and the feminist novelist and essayist Xiao Hong; the museum has dedicated a room to these authors to acknowledge their impact on the development of Hong Kong literature.
Wuxia novelist Jin Yong considered the founder of Hong Kong modern literature
“Literature and Cross-border Art” introduces the interaction between Hong Kong literature and other art forms.
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“Literature can be seen everywhere in our lives,” says Poon. “Many well-known movies are adapted from literary works. In addition, there are connections between literature and music, literature and new media, and literature and painting.”
Literature and music display
Wuxia novelist Jin Yong, one of the best-known literary figures in Hong Kong, has more than 200 million readers around the world and many of his works have been made into movies and TV shows. Liu Yichang, considered the founder of Hong Kong modern literature, has had many works adapted into stage plays.
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The museum and the M7 complex are designed to provide an active experience for visitors. The bookstore and reading room promote Hong Kong literature by encouraging reading.
Classic and modern works of literature are available at the new museum’s gift shop
Poon says, “We hope that everyone can gradually understand Hong Kong literary works and fall in love with reading Hong Kong literature. So, we provide a space for them.
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This is a quiet place in the busy city, where everyone can calm down and slowly appreciate Hong Kong literature.”
Julien, an early visitor to the museum, comments, “It’s a small but nice place to inspire readers and writers. I enjoyed the pairing of literature with other arts: painting, music and films.”
Hong Kong Writers
In addition to paper books, the museum has also installed electronic reading devices to increase the variety of literary works available and allow readers to choose freely.
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Yu Hwan Gung, Yuki, Operations and Marketing Director of the new museum, also recommends the children’s literature room, highlighting the museum’s role in literary education. “We believe that it is important to cultivate children’s interest in literature and reading from an early age. We use holographic projection technology to subvert the traditional reading method of reading books and words and present Hong Kong’s classic children’s literature on the big screen in the form of animated picture books. It is a way to allow children to integrate themselves into the story, interact with literature and provide an immersive reading experience.”
The third gallery explores the way literature interacts with other arts
The founders hope that the Museum of Hong Kong Literature can be a bridge to connect literary circles, literary researchers, lovers of literature and the general public in Hong Kong and overseas.
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Hong Kong continues to offer a thriving literary scene for writers and readers. Along with the Hong Kong Writers Association, the founding organisation of the Museum of Hong Kong Literature, literary groups in the SAR include book clubs, literary societies and writers’ groups. Many are open to both professionals and aspiring writers.
Exhibition Looking for Flowers in the Literature of Everything
Every month, the Hong Kong Writers Circle meets at Varga Lounge to share their latest work in English, Chinese and other languages; the organisation also publishes a quarterly literary magazine, The Apostrophe, and a themed annual anthology of short stories and poetry.
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Poets gather to perform at Peel Street Poetry every week and collect new work in The Tentacle. The Hong Kong Review publishes works from Hong Kong and Tianjin.
Hong Kong literature encompasses multiple languages and origins
The Women in Publishing Society and Write or Die Hong Kong provide support and community to local and international writers in Hong Kong. The WiPS annual anthology, Imprint, is now in its twenty-second year.
Literature is the nourishment of our soul
Participants in this vibrant community take literature seriously. Hong Kong Writers Circle chairman Wilson Li says, “Literature is the nourishment of our soul. Without nourishment, our souls will eventually die.” Many writing and reading activities are also available via Hong Kong’s extensive public library network.
Exhibit at The Museum of Hong Kong Literature
The exhibition Seek Richness of Literature amidst Flowers was launched at the museum opening session and will continue until August 26, 2024. This exhibition matches flowers, grass and trees with the written word, representing the sowing of literary seeds that will allow literary flowers to bloom.
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The museum will expand its scope in the future. Poon continues, “The Literature Museum collects, organises and studies Hong Kong writers and works. Next, we will carry out specific research work in several aspects. The first is the oral history of Hong Kong literature, a project we started last year. We have interviewed and compiled material from writers or their descendants. The final results will be presented as Digital MHKL on the Museum of Hong Kong Literature website. We also plan to publish a series of books on Hong Kong literature research and a set of anthologies of works by Hong Kong writers.”
Exhibit at The Museum of Hong Kong Literature
While the immediacy of electronic entertainment has created challenges for writers and readers, the Museum of Hong Kong Literature shows that literature remains a powerful force in Hong Kong culture and that a new way of understanding literature is possible.
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Before the museum was built, the founders cooperated with the China Academy of Art on a mixed reality tour of literature and art, where works were combined with AR technology to take the audience on an in-depth tour of the literature museum through interactive animations.
This hybrid approach is central to the new museum’s understanding of how literature in Hong Kong will evolve.
The Museum of Hong Kong Literature at night
No matter the format or the mode of consumption, literature can be the cultural, spiritual pillar and soul of a country and a city. Poon is optimistic about the role literature can play. “Literature,” he says, “transcends politics, region and space.”
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At the Museum of Hong Kong Literature, visitors now have a place to explore how literature can also integrate the heritage of the past with the possibilities that the future has to offer.
Text Jan Lee / Photos by Jan Lee & Dave Chung
