The Hong Kong Collectors Society is offering a trip down memory lane to mark its 30th anniversary this year with an exhibition of historical memorabilia, from copies of newspapers that covered Hong Kong’s return to the motherland to the first paperback wuxia novels of Louis Cha.
The HKCS members’ exhibition, which opened on Aug 27 at the Hong Kong Central Library, encapsulates the history of the city, including the early 20th century, and pays particular attention to the cultural revival of the nation.
“The collection is meant to reveal the close bond between Hong Kong and the nation,” said Tong Cheuk-man, president of the HKCS.
“It aims to enable the general public to learn about the history and culture of our country, and this exhibition will be an eye-opener for many visitors,” said Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok.
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The HKCS was founded by a few like-minded friends in 1994. Since then, the society has grown into an influential group with members from all walks of life who have contributed in shaping the history of the city.
“If the exhibition stimulates a greater appreciation of the past, particularly among the young, it will have achieved its purpose,” said Grenville Cross, vice-president of HKCS, who was also the first public prosecutor of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
“Why is collecting so important for Hong Kong? Because it reveals how this endlessly enterprising community coped and created.”
The remarks of Chris Newall, late founding president of the HKCS, are still relevant today as the SAR strives to build itself into a promising cultural hub.
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The HKSAR government is also taking the initiative to improve youth’s exposure to the nation’s history in order to enhance their patriotism.
“A sound knowledge of the nation’s history is of vital importance,” said Lam. “A people ignorant of their past history has no future.”
The society’s members, with their diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds, believe that they are “custodians of the past” and promote a collecting culture in the fast-changing commercial city.
They seek to preserve historical artifacts that were useful to previous generations, and try to enable their contemporaries and the next generation to both appreciate and cherish them.
