According to legend Kowloon, 九龍 (meaning ‘Nine Dragons’) was named by Emperor Bing, on the run from the Mongols during the Song dynasty.
A 1278 legend relates how the boy Emperor Bing of the Southern Song dynasty counted eight mountain peaks around the plateau, and a courtier reminded him that the emperor himself was the ninth dragon.
The Lóng (龍) or Chinese Dragon is the chief mythical creature in Chinese culture – a symbol of imperial power, prosperity, and the natural forces of the universe. Unlike the malevolent, fire-breathing dragons of some Western lore, the Chinese dragon is typically portrayed as a benevolent, wise, and powerful being that dwells in water or ascends to the heavens. It has been revered for millennia as a rain-bringer and embodiment of yang energy.
Emperors wore dragons on their robes and decreed only themselves allowed the five-clawed dragon symbol.
The dragon is one of the 12 zodiac animals (year of the Dragon), unique for being the only mythical creature in the cycle, reflecting its high esteem.
If humans pollute the dragon’s domain (overfishing, deforestation causing rivers to silt), local lore might blame ensuing floods on an angered dragon. Thus, the relationship is often reciprocal: humans show respect, dragons give rain and protection; humans offend, dragons retaliate with storms.
Perhaps we should not be surprised (see Day 8 blog here) that Emperor Bing features as a character in the Hong Kong comic ‘The Legend of the Emperor: Hongwu the Great‘. Known by his birth name Zhao Bing, he is the most powerful character in the series written by Hong Kong comic master, Tony Wong Yuk-Long.
On to real-life superheroes now… Lee Jun-fan (1940-73), better known as Bruce Lee, was born in San Francisco and raised in Hong Kong. Lee won a reputation in Hong Kong through winning street and rooftop fights, and then a boxing tournament.
Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless like water. You put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle. You put it into a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.
Bruce Lee
At the age of 13, Bruce took up the study of wing chun gung fu under renowned wing chun master, Yip Man. He went on to both star in and make martial arts centred movies.
Tragically, Lee’s career was cut short by his sudden death at the age of 32 from brain edema. He actually died before, arguably his most famous work, Enter the Dragon, was released.
And there he is, pride of place on the Avenue of Stars…
The famous Hong Kong Star Ferry has been operating since 1898.
We fell into Elements, a high-end shopping mall. The mall is divided into five zones based on the concept of the five elements of Nature, namely, Metal, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth. Each zone is designed with a distinctive interior architectural theme that responds to the element, featuring public art such as large-scale sculptures to enhance the respective theme. We spent some time in the Water Zone (there is a very big Zara there; worthy of the moniker, ‘flagship’) The Water Zone is represented by the water feature “Harmony”, which is a series of standalone reflective 9 metre high pillars, with water running down the surface, creating the illusion of a solid yet liquid fountain.
Eventually, we wended our way to our intended destination, M+. The M+ building in West Kowloon is one of the largest museums of modern and contemporary visual culture in the world. It is made up of 17,000 square metres of exhibition space across thirty-three galleries, three cinema houses, the Mediatheque, Learning Hub, and Roof Garden that faces Victoria Harbour. It really is a wonderful space, very fluid and enjoyable to spend time in.
Perhaps our pick of the many art installations; not the least because of its association with the terracotta warriors…
Artist Yue Minjin created these twenty-five life-sized sculptures using his signature laughing man figure. The arrangement is deliberate, à la the terracotta warriors. Each figure has an identical facial expression, clothes, and posture.
The hard-to-resist hands-on stuff featured too… an exhibition about objects and how we use them..
A large-scale variation on one of those things we have all had a go at, at one time or another. Typically, at the school fête. You know the one I mean; on the table in between the tombola stall and the bring-a-bottle stall. The one manned by the sensible pupils, if you have any…
And yes, touch the metal bar and the klaxon goes off at full pitch! 🚨
The thing about art is that some of it works for you, some does not. We agreed that the surrealism genre sort of passes us by.
But – like so many other things in life – it often pays to pause and discover a bit more: context, intent, motivation, messaging…
This surreal portrait of a woman with a bouquet of flowers in place of her head is ‘an act of resistance’. The woman’s red blouse features white stars on a blue background, referring to the Union of Burma flag and the Burmese government toppled by a dictatorship in 1962. Imprisoned for over three years after participating in the 1974 anti-government demonstrations in Burma (now Myanmar), San Minn created this work soon after his release, despite the danger of re-arrest. The painting shows traces of numerous censorship stamps, a testament to its subversive symbolism.
No disrespect to San Minn intended but do you think Morrisey might be a fan?
We marvelled at some of the residential blocks in the West Kowloon district…
And these pitched around Civic Square…
Switch to East Kowloon, and the picture is the same… high-rise living in Lam Tin…
And, in Lam Tin, on On Tin Street a school. But NOT just any old school 😉
End note:
Once you’ve seen it you cannot unsee it, as they say. This is Hong Kong and yet the Hong Kong flag flies just below, subservient. The temptation to switch the flags around must be overwhelming. Or is that just me? More than your life is worth?
Previous China daily blogs here
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