Abstract
What are the language and cultural contexts of Hong Kong literature? Writers in Hong Kong write in Chinese or English, yet those who write in Chinese do it with a melting pot background of Cantonese, Putonghua (Mandarin), classical Chinese as well as English and other Asian languages. What are the implications of this? What kinds of cultural transformations and negotiations happened as the language of modern Chinese literature, departing from the May Fourth generation of writers or the generation after, "travelled" or "moved" to Hong Kong? What are the differences and what are the possibilities? This essay offers a new perspective upon, and reflection about, the cultural and linguistic characteristics of Hong Kong literature. In the first part, historical issues are discussed. The second part focuses on the writer's own quests and explorations.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Diasporic histories : cultural archives of Chinese transnationalism |
| Publisher | Hong Kong University Press |
| Pages | 23-42 |
| Number of pages | 20 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9789622090798 |
| Publication status | Published - 2009 |