Just before I posted my finalized topic on this blog, I ran into a photography shop called “Eight Banners” (八旗相馆)by accident in Tsim Sha Tsui and found a interesting story there. The story appeals me so much that I decided to submit this topic as an alternative to be discussed.

History background

(With reference to wikipedia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchu 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorgon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aisin_gioro 

The owner of the shop is Aisin Gioro Zhou Tang（爱新觉罗-州棠）whose name “Aisin Gioro”（爱新觉罗） is the clan name of the Manchu emperors of the Qing dynasty. That’s not very unusuall though, “Aisin Gioro” is a very large name clan after all.

But this Aisin Gioro Zhou Tang is not just another “Aisin Gioro”, he claims to be the 11th direct-line-descendent of Dorgon(多尔衮), the ‘Prince Regent ”（摄政王）- one of the most influential Manchu princes in the early Qing dynasty. 

Dorgon became one of the most powerful of the princes, and was instrumental in moving Manchu forces into Beijing in 1644. During Huang Taiji’s（皇太极）reign he took part in many military campaigns, including conquests of the Mongols and of Korea.

After Huang Taiji’s death, Dorgon was involved in a power struggle with Hooge, eldest son of Huang Taiji, for the throne. In the end, they compromised, and Dorgon supported the dead emperor’s ninth son, his nephew Fulin(Emperor Shunzhi(顺治皇帝)), to ascend the throne. He was made regent because Shunzhi was only six at the time of his ascension, and thus became the de facto ruler of the country.

Dorgon laid the groundwork for the Manchu rule of China, however he had been engaged in a fierce power struggle with the young Emperor Shunzhi  as the Emperor reached maturity. So as the opposition forces gained power, the Emperor Shunzhi posthumously stripped Dorgon of all his titles and even flogged his corpse.

It is believed that Dorgon has no male offspring.

So, how suddenly Dorgon’s 11th generation showed up in Hong Kong? It seems to me a mystery that I would like to find out.

Aisin Gioro Zhou Tang in Hong Kong

Whether this Aisin Gioro Zhou Tang is genuine descendant of Dorgon is still debatable, according to Zhou Tang, his family has a 300 years struggle to regain their imperial identity. So does Aisin Gioro Zhou Tang.

He  was born in Guangzhou in 1950′s and moved to Hong Kong 20 years ago. He is a award winning photographer in Hong Kong and runs his “Eight Banners Photograph Shop”（八旗相馆） in Tsim Sha Tsui.

What makes him so distinguishable is that he still keeps Manchu traditional customs in detailed life. He coils up his long hair, he wears yellow gown, he calls his wife “fu jin” (福晋，wife to prince) , he trains his son with Kungfu, and eventually he turned his little shop into a Manchu history museum.

Story Idea

I probably title this story with “in the name of Aisin Giroro”, because I find Aisin Gioro Zhou Tang’s story is about a man who tries to preserve his imperial identity from 300 years ago in a modernized metropolis Hong Kong and turns himself into a “walking heritage” living in Hong Kong.

There will be obvious culture clash in doing so, being so much identity notable is rather difficult in terms of practice. Maybe in some ways it is a promotion method to gain his business, however, considering the 300 years history, I doubt anyone would do it only for profit.

Except for the interesting history context, I also find this story has good visual potential, which is essential to make a multiple-media format story affective.

However, since my interviewee doesn’t speak much English, I would probably not touse much audio record in my story, instead, I would like to use some other soundbites related to Manchu culture, for example, music. 

Possible format - 

Page 1 – Text with one or two environmental portraits.
              Soundslides of Zhou Tang’s story, focusing on his life environment and style .

Page 2 – A photo essay of Manchu traditional customs shown by Zhou Tang and his family, with explanation given by a Qing dynasty history expert.

Courtesy of Chris B

My previous topic proposal was about an interesting lady, Chris B – mother of the Underground, godmother to many local indie bands, national director of the Global Battle of the Bands and member of four bands (Guitars & Panties, Thinking Out Loud, Cockfight and Sisters of Sharon) has dealt with.

However, Since whether Hong Kong indie music is a heritage or not remains debatable, I decided to change my focus from indie music to her identity – Eurasian, which is more relevant with heritage.

Origins of Eurasian Community in Hong Kong

From the book Being Eurasian – Memories Across Racial Divides by Vicky Lee and Meiqi Lee, I learned a little knowledge about origins and history of Eurasian community in Hong Kong:

- Origin

“The term ‘Eurasian’ has generally been understood to refer to someone of mixed European and Asiatic parentage and/or ancestry since the nineteenth century – a term invented by Marquis of Hastings, the Governor-General of India in the early 1800s, as embracing all the progeny of white fathers and native Indian mothers.”

- Eurasian Community formed in Hong Kong

“The Hong Kong Eurasian community, is the mixed-raced community in Hong Kong whose members are descendants of mainly European and Chinese residents.”

“In the pre-war generation in Hong Kong, members of this community usually accepted the term ‘Eurasian’ to describe themselves and they were often distinguished from the Hong Kong Portuguese community or the Hong Kong Portuguese Eurasian community (whose ‘mesticos’ heritage arose from very different historical circumstances).”

Eurasian, an Identity Issue

For those who think of themselves as being Eurasians, it can be an issue, which consciously or unconsciously shapes a life, defines or problematizes an identity.

Chris B has experienced it all her life. Her father is an English and her mother is a Chinese. Her family had a hard time during her childhood.

During an interview she said: “I went to school and met lot of expat children, they lived in places like the peak, Stanly, I thought wow, I only live in Quarry Bay. People didn’t like to talk with us becaus we were half westerners, so people were not so friendly. I feel that neither of the two sides want me, I felt quite angry and frustrated. “

Story Idea

The more I looked into Chris B’s story, the more I feel I can I make this into a story about identity issue with a Eurasian, and rock music as her way of expressing identity – particularly in a post-handover HK.

Now she has her own family and twin daughters – a new generation of Eurasian, I would like to talk with her about parenting idea too, like how would she prepare her babies to deal with identity issue in their future.

Possible interviewee:
- Chris B (of course)
- Chris B’s family. Her parents and her husband.
- Expert in Eurasian issue: Vicky Lee, the author of the book I mentioned above.
- Other Eurasians in Hong Kong.

The story will be conducted with multiple-medias format, likely including:
- Text and photographs
- Soundslides.
- Vox pop: How is it like being an Eurasian?

Live independent music show down a night club in Hong Kong (all photos by Jin Nan)
 

How did I start

This week I have been doing some research on Hong Kong underground/independent music. I went to several showcases in town, talked to musicians and fans; I contacted music critics asking for advices; when I thought there’s a potential story, I would go to internet for a further research. (The best part of this “research” is I had great fun from it, made new friends with whom we share a love for music.)

As a music fan myself , I always believe that the indie music  presents cultural vibrancy and creativity of a city, and of course, contributes to a city’s heritage.

It is indeed a very broad topic, what I have tried to do is try to “zoom-in” and get focused on an individual case or person, to map an interesting story with sense of news. 
 

My consideration on deciding a topic

1 I had about 3 weeks to do the story, individually. I certainly don’t want to turn it into a huge project. 
2 It must have something to do with Hong Kong heritage, but I don’t want no more “historical building” story.
3 The story itself should contain some newsy value. Something that has happend/is happening, has made/ is making impact on other people’s life.
4 I don’t want my indie music story turn out to be something that appeals to only music fans.
5 I prefer a story focused on an individual person. From my experience doing sound slides, I feel a people’s story is always more affective.
6  I would like a story more visual – as for an indie music story, I will have good chance taking some really cool photos of shows, artists, crazy fans and so on. If I’m gonna take portrait for an individual, I certainly want my interviewee has certain charm, his or her face alone can tell a story.
7 It is preferable if a story provides more possibilities in various multiple-media fomats. 
 

2 potential stories

-Rock Mother & Mother Rocks

Description:
There are double meanings calling Chris B a Rock Mother.
First, she is considered to be the ‘godmother of Hong Kong indie music’, for her effort in promoting and supporting Hong Kong independent music.  She is the founder of www.undergroundhk.com, a network which has helped organizing shows for more than 200 Hong Kong bands. Chris B herself plays in four girls band in Hong Kong too, her signititure is ‘complete with tattoos, Fender and relentless persistence’.

Secondly, Chris B is a mother who has adorable twins daughters. From baby girls’ eye, their mummy absolutely rocks!

Possible Format:
page 1-  Text with enviromental portraits of Rock Mum / Soundslides to show her on stage performance & being mother at home.
page 2-  Q&A with Chris B + vox pops (about how people think of Rock Mum, especially those musicians who have been supported and inspired by her.)

-Warehouse - the Symbol of Hong Kong Indie Music

Description:
The Warehouse Teenage Club (Warehouse) was a non-profitable NGO which aims to courage and enable teenagers’ self-development, by providing various creative courses and activities in music, drama, science and so on.
Warehouse was established because its founder Prof. Frank White were worried to see youngsters lack purpose in life and indulge themselves into alcohol and drugs, meanwhile there’s very limited space for after school activities.
Warehouse in Cantonese is 蒲窩, literally means ‘clubbing nest’. Youngsters hang out at warehouse to watch the live music show there, always the cheapest and best in town. Warehouse also launched several events like ‘band competition of the year’, ‘band shows’ to promote young musicians.
Warehouse has become a “nest” to produce young atists in Hong Kong, a teenage club is now seen as the symbol of Hong Kong indie music. 

Possible Formats:
page 1 – Story about warehouse, how it transfers from club into the symbol of Hong Kong indie music. Possible interviewees will be Professor Frank White – the founder of the warehouse, indie musicians, teenage music fans and so on.
Photo essay of the warehouse.

page 2 – Text story about a band who started a music career at warehouse and became famouse since, wtih one or two photo of them.

Photo by Jin Nan
Audio by  Diego Laje
Interview by Sanchez Wang

Hong Kong  - Vivek Mahbubani, an Indian who was born in Hong Kong, is considered to be the “funniest man in Hong Kong”, and maybe the most famous Indian in Hong Kong.

He not only speaks fluent Cantonese, but also performs ”栋笃笑” - Hongkongized stand-up comedy. Last year, after winning the Cantonese stand-up comedy competition, Vivek Mahbubani started a creeras a professional stand-up comedian,  performing at the TakeOut Comedy Club.  

Vivek Mahbubani considers himself “cultural misplaced”, he is a perfect example of cultural exchange and clash. Click Here to meet Vivek Mahbubani.

(Many thanks to my team mates Diego Laje and Sanchez Wang. )

- Sex Talk at Lan Kwai Fong

Hong Kong, Sept.29- JMSC – It was Friday night at Lan Kwai Fong, right time and right place to talk about sex. Thank God we have a universal sex icon we all love to talk about: David Beckham. Here comes the question: what would you wear if you were going to meet David Beckham? No, it is not a fashion issue at all, but to reveal your feelings about the famous sex symbol.

Interview by Diego
Photo by Jin Nan 

Click pictures below to hear what they were talking about.

Christina showed her whip.

Andrew would wear whatever Victoria Beckham wanted

Aiden thought Beckham was a "show pony".

Mini-India and Mini-Pakistan inside Chungking Mansions

Named after a major city in Mainland China, crowed with people from all over the world, Chungking Mansions is know as  ”the best example of globalization in Asia”.

Phone shops, currency exchange offices and curry restaurants make up the first two floors of the building. When i asked people there “what makes its fame of the building “, they said “people call it mini-India or mini-Pakistan”.

From their look, it is hard for me to tell from Indians and Pakistani. They speak almost same languages, their food are similar too. These two countries have been long time neighborhood.

However, they have a significant difference: religion. While India people mostly are Hinduists, Pakistani are mainly Muslims.

Here in Hong Kong, Indians and Pakistanis have built up their mini countries inside Chungking Mansions, where they make businesses, they make friends. They make themselves part of Hong Kong’s history. 

Click here to view the full slideshow.

As for labor division, most of job will be done by team while each of us is assigned an individual job. My specific role in team is photographer. Indeed, it is my dream job. I am a passionate amateur in photography. I have a nice canon 30D dslr as well as several fancy lences. Further more, I have learned and practised photo shooting for about one year, and published some photos in print.

However I don’t think that will garantee us to gain professional-quality photos. We will have photojournalism discussion in team before taking pictures.

The most interesting part of our topic is culture exchange. To my opinion, Hong Kong is one of the best example of culture fusion which is the most significant merit of the city, and of course, the very special herihage of Hong Kong. 

At the early stages, we all agree to track down different groups of migrant workers before we decide which group or individual suit our topic best. The first week will be preliminary study and research. To me the greatest challege is how to present the interaction and exchanges between migrant and domestic cultures, which requires in-depth understanding to the different cultures. For example, religion.

For approaching to the potentional subject, I went to the Chungking Mansions on Friday. I have made some progress talking to Hinduism and Muslim people. Click here to view my notes on that day.

Last Sunday was the Mid-autumn Festival according to Chinese lunar calender. Traditionally, local Hong Kong people love to gather at Victoria Park, especially for those families with children.

Obviously, children had much more fun than adults. They played with varieties of lanterns with imagination and creativities. One girl made a pair of glasses using light tube, another boy equipped himself with lanterns pretending to be a knight! Look at them, everything was just like a fairytale.

Click here to view the full version of the photo essay.

As seen from its name, the Queen’s Road is related to the colonial times of Hong Kong. It is ‘the first road in Hong Kong built by the British Empire between 1841 and 1843′ according to Wikipeida.

‘When Hong Kong was founded as a Crown Colony, Queen’s Road was the hub of activity. Its development was haphazard, and its path winding as it made its way through the newly-founded city including the Hong Kong Club for tai-pans. Between squatter huts, military encampments, and taverns, the first governors build their homes along Queen’s Road. The first post office and Christian churches soon followed.’

Queen’s Road is not only where I study and live, but also the road interests me the most. My first time to hear the name is back to 15 years ago, from a pop song called ‘Queen’s Road East’ by Lo Ta-yo the Taiwanese singer. The lyrics has certain political implications about the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People’s Republic of China. The song is very satirical by calling the Queen a ‘nice and wise friend on the coin’, mocking ‘Why there is no Royal Palace on the Queen’s Road East’? 

Now I am here on the Road, I feel the history. I want to explore for more.