Maritime Silk Road: Riding the Waves in the Inheritance of History and Culture

Fully sponsored by the Tin Ka Ping Foundation, a seven-day historical heritage study tour to Quanzhou, Xiamen and Jinmen organised in July 2018 for Hong Kong secondary school teachers by the Department of Chinese and History, has been hailed as a great success.

Targeted at local secondary school teachers, the expedition made a thorough study of heritage sites in Quanzhou, Xiamen, Gulangyu and Jinmen. Teachers visited numerous historical sites, broadening their cultural perspective and extending their academic knowledge in order to include more interesting teaching materials for the history and culture curriculum at local secondary schools, as well as enhancing their teaching and research. The expedition was led by the department’s Associate Head, Dr CHAN Hok-yin, and senior tutor Dr WONG Pui-yin Marianne, with the tireless support of Dr SUN Lichuan, Chief Editor of Cosmos Books and consultant in the project to promote Belt and Road Initiative’s cultural exchange under the Counsellors’ Office of the State Council of PRC, as the tour’s honorary consultant.

The expedition kicked off with a visit to Jimei University, founded by some patriotic overseas Chinese, and the nearby Jimei School Village. They then spent three days exploring Quanzhou before returning to Xiamen and Jinmen.

Attractions such as the Islamic Qingjing Mosque, the Buddhist Kaiyuan Temple and the Manichean Temple at Jinjiang enabled the teachers to experience the harmonious coexistence of religions at Quanzhou. “Despite being a small place, Quanzhou is home to many foreign religions and temples. It is such a rarity for them to live in harmony with their local Chinese counterparts,” teacher CHEUNG Chikeung, one of the tour members, said. Members learnt to fully appreciate the rich history China is steeped in by visiting attractions such as the Nine Suns Hill (Jiurishan) cliff carvings, Luoyang Bridge built during Northern Song dynasty, Chongwu Ancient Town of Ming dynasty, the heritage site of the Song dynasty in Gugang Anhai , Mount Qingyuan, and the old fishing village of Xiangzhi Town in Shishi County.

Thanks to the help and special arrangements of the Quanzhou Historical Cultural Centre, the expedition had the opportunity to watch performances of Liyuan opera, traditional marionette puppets and the musical performing art Nanyin, adding a deeper experience to the three-day exploration of Quanzhou. Popular ancient southern drama Liyuan opera is one of the traditional dramas in Fujian province, boasting more than 800 years of history. The performance was specially arranged by Fujian Liyuan Opera Troupe with special performance by master ZENG Jingping, two-time winner of the Plum Blossom Prize for Chinese Theatre.

The string-controlled puppet show, which originated in Quanzhou, used to be called marionettes and represent an exquisite traditional form of drama popularised in Minnan dialect areas. The puppet theatre introduced marionettes to the group and put together a special show for their visitors. “The marionette show by the Puppet Troupe of Quanzhou has a very rich story and vivid puppets. I couldn’t take my eyes off it,” said one tour group member, teacher TAM Kam-shing.

In addition, the group’s itinerary also included a Nanyin performance, an Intangible Cultural Heritage. Hailed as the living fossil of ancient Chinese music, Nanyin is rooted in Quanzhou and sung in its Minnan dialect. Fujian’s Nanyin was officially added to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009. The study tour organiser had ingeniously arranged artists spanning three generations to take turns to perform. The Hong Kong teachers were deeply moved to see a group of kindergarten children delivering professional Nanyin performance. This ancient art hails from the pre-Qin period and is not only well-loved among adults, but is also passed down from generation to generation.

One expedition member, LEUNG Man-ling, sincerely hopes Hong Kong students will have the opportunity to get to know Nanyin. “In the hope that students can learn to appreciate Nanyin, I will first show them Quanzhou’s scenic landscape, so as to bring them back to Quanzhou in ancient times. I believe this will help them fathom the beauty of the music when they listen to Nanyin,” she said.

On the fifth day, the teachers took a boat to Jinmen, which got its name – literally meaning “golden gate” in Chinese – from its impregnable gold-like defences that guarded the gateway to the sea. As a focal point for exchange between mainland China and Taiwan, Jinmen carries a great symbolic significance in history.

Sites the tour visited included the Juguang Tower, Lion Mountain Howitzer Park & Museum, the Jinmen Military Headquarters of the Qing dynasty, and the Shanhou Folk Cultural Village. With the assistance of Professor CHI Changhui from National Quemoy University, the former chairman of Jinmen Bishan community, CHEN Guoli, took the teachers around Bishan’s Chen village. Thanks to his captivating presentation, Jinmen’s history came alive as moving pictures.

Tour member LI Sau-kwan was deeply touched by Chen’s guardianship of the village, saying it could help kindle Hong Kong teenagers’ patriotism. “If a history education carried the inheritance of a country’s sentiment, then it would enhance the effect of teaching young people history by introducing them to those who have been quietly guarding the culture of their homeland during study trips.”

On the sixth day, the tour party arrived in Gulangyu, an important stop on the itinerary. With the help of Dr Sun Lichuan, the delegation had the opportunity to visit the private Huang Family Villa, which is generally not open to the public. The descendants of the Huang family were specially invited to do a presentation to the group. The Huangs are one of Gulangyu’s most prominent families, having once dominated the island through their businesses, and financing the construction of the island’s public facilities such as its power plants. It is no exaggeration to say that the Huang Family Villa displays the history of the entire Gulangyu area.

The expedition ended in fine style with an insightful speech by History Professor ZHENG Zhenman from Xiamen University. Zheng gave lectures about Minnan’s native culture for the expedition, offering the teachers greater theoretical depth and providing them with many materials for teaching and reflection.

The study trip was a great success, courtesy of full funding from the Tin Ka Ping Foundation, as well as great support from different institutions such as Cosmos Books, the Quanzhou government office, the Quanzhou Historical Cultural Centre, Quanzhou Maritime Museum, and Xiamen University. “The fabric of Chinese history and culture continuously stretches across time, like a bond that connects the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation,” one tour participant, CHIN Yan-kung, remarked.

Another teacher, LAW Ming-yu, planned to teach her students the cultural and historical knowledge she learnt during the study trip. “The expedition enriched my knowledge of Chinese history, and stimulated me to reflect on my teaching attitudes and methods. During the trip, I kept thinking how I can integrate my experience into the classroom. Only if the teaching materials are interesting, interactive and diverse can they attract students’ active participation, thus improving the effectiveness of the class and leading them into the fun world of Chinese history.”

To allow more interested teachers to join the study tour, the Department of Chinese and History will hold its second expedition in July 2020. For more details, please visit
http://www.cityu.edu.hk/cah