Introduction |
| The coast of both sides of the Victoria Harbour portrays the affluence and prosperity of our city. But once you get to the southern side of the Hong Kong Island, a vastly different landscape is stretched in front of you and the spectacular view of beautiful sky, green mountains and glittering blue sea will captivate your mind and lighten your heart. Many great men and women in the literary history of modern China have left their marks in the Southern District, such as the book "Love in a Fallen City" written by the legendary female novelist Eileen Chang; the beautiful poems composed by the poet of "The Lane in the Rain" Dai Wangshu besides the stream at Pok Fu Lam; and the final chapter of the sad life story of Xiao Hong, just to name a few. The famous writer Xu Dishan and Cai Yuanpei, the so-called father of Beijing University, were also buried in the Southern District. By retracing the footsteps of these celebrated authors and poets and rediscovering their stories, the Literary Trail in the Southern District takes you to the spots where they left their marks. Perhaps through this journey of discovery, you may have a new understanding of the mind and thought of these literary figures when reading their works. |
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| Dai Wangshu Born in 1905, Zhejiang Province, China Died in 1950, Beijing, China A native of Hangzhou, Dai Wangshu was a notable Chinese poet and literature translator, with an excellent command of French and Spanish. In the early 1930s, he has studied in the University of Institut Franco-Chinois de Lyon in France. He was also known as “Rain Lane Poet” after the poem Rain Lane he became famous for. Dai came to Hong Kong from Shanghai with his family in 1938. During his stay in Hong Kong, he lived in his friend’s house at Pokfulam. Surrounded by pines and stream, the residence was then named "Woodbrookvilla" in praise of the serene landscape. Dai has published some famous poems about this place under the pseudonym of "Master of Woodbrookvilla" to reminisce the time he spent there. During the Japanese occupation, Dai has been jailed in the Victoria Prison Compound in Central. This experience has inspired him to compose a number of renowned poems to depict his sorrow and agony. Residing in Hong Kong for almost ten years, Dai has worked as a literature supplement editor of Singtao Daily and engaged in the translation of European literary works. He has also founded a literary publication and operated a used book shop. To this end, he has played a key role to enrich the local literary realm. After the war, Dai returned to the mainland and died in Beijing in 1950. |
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| Footsteps in the Southern District Dai Wangshu came to Hong Kong from Shanghai with his family in 1938. During his stay in Hong Kong, he lived in his friend’s house at Pokfulam. Surrounded by pines and stream, the residence was then named "Woodbrookvilla" in praise of the serene landscape. Dai has published some famous poems about this place under the pseudonym of "Woodbrookvilla Monk (Ju Shi)" to reminisce the time he spent there. The premises was at the junction of Pok Fu Lam Road between the Southern District and the Central & Western District, which was subsequently redeveloped to La Clare Mansion. During the Japanese occupation, Dai was jailed in the Victoria Prison Compound in Central. The torture and hardship inspired him to compose a number of renowned poems to depict his sorrow and agony during imprisonment. Residing in Hong Kong for about nine years, Dai has worked as a literature supplement editor of Singtao Daily and engaged in the translation of Western literary works. He has also operated a used book shop with his friends at Li Yuen Street East in Central. |
Original site of Woodbrookvilla – |
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| Means of Transport Bus (NWFB/CityBus): 3A,4,4X,7,37A,37B,46X,71,71P,90B,91,94, 970,970X,973,973P |
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Xu Dishan (a.k.a. Hsu Ti-shan)
Born in 1893, Taiwan Died in 1941, Hong Kong Xu Dishan was one of the literati of the May-Fourth Movement in the early 20th Century. After graduated from Yenching University in Beijing, he continued his studies at Columbia University and Oxford University. He was remembered as a devoted educationalist, and a scholar in multiple disciplines such as Taoism and Buddhism. Xu’s association with Hong Kong began in 1935. Recommended by Hu Shih, he was appointed the head of the Department of Chinese by the University of Hong Kong . During his tenure, not only did Xu play an active role to reform departmental curriculum, he has also voiced his views on primary and secondary education in Hong Kong. Xu died of heart attack at home in 1941. His funeral was held at the Main Building of the University of Hong Kong. He was then buried in the H.K. Chinese Christian Church Union Pokfulam Road Cemetery. |
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| Footsteps in the Southern District In 1935, Xu Dishan was appointed the head of the Department of Chinese by the University of Hong Kong, at the recommendation of Hu Shih. During his tenure, not only did Xu play an active role to reform departmental curriculum, he has also advocated that students of medical and engineering disciplines should study Chinese language as well. He has raised concern about the problems of the colonial education system. In addition, he has actively promoted literary and art activities among the youth. As a patriotic educationalist, Xu has helped spread propaganda against the Japanese invasion. His students included the famous novelist Eileen Chang. He has lived in Robinson Road and held office at the Tang Chi Ngong Building at the University of Hong Kong. At the age of 48, Xu died of heart attack at home in 1941. He was then buried in the Hong Kong Chinese Christian Church Union Pokfulam Road Cemetery. A renowned educationist like Xu, his tomb was discovered only 30 years after his death which had already fallen into disrepair. Fortunately, the tomb was renovated with a generous help. |
Tomb of Xu Dishan at Pok Fu Lam |
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| Means of Transport Bus (NWFB/CityBus):4X, 7, 37A, 37B, 37X, 4, 40, 40M, 40P, 43X, 46X, 71, 71P, 90B, 91, 93, 93A, 93C, 94, 94X, 970, 970X, 973,973P, A10 |
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| Cai Yuanpei Born in 1868, Zhejiang Province, China Died in 1940, Hong Kong An outstanding reformer in education, Cai Yuanpei studied philosophy and art history in the Universität Leipzig of Germany. He served as the first Minister of Education of the Republic of China in 1912, the President of Peking University from 1916 to 1926, and was the founder of the Academia Sinica. In this connection, he was known as an intellectual pioneer in modern China.. His critical evaluation on Chinese culture also led to the influential May-Fourth Movement. Cai was an advocate of aesthetic education. He emphasized the equal importance of five ways of life - "Virtue, Wisdom, Health, Sociability, and Beauty" - core values that are still taught in schools in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan today. He was also a proponent of women's right to divorce and remarry. At the age of 70, Cai moved to Hong Kong and resided in Tsim Sha Tsui until his death in 1940. More than 10,000 people paid tribute at the funeral. He was buried in Aberdeen Chinese Permanent Cemetery. |
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| Footsteps in the Southern District Cai Yuanpei was a leading Chinese educator. He has served as the President of Peking University and the founder of the Academia Sinica. He came to Hong Kong at the end of 1937 for convalescence and took up residence in In May 1938, Cai accepted the invitation of Soong Ching Ling to deliver a speech at In March 1940, Cai died in the Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital, and was buried in |
Tomb of Cai Yuanpei at Aberdeen |
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| Means of Transport Bus (NWFB/CityBus): 7, 38, 41A, 42, 43X, 48, 71,72, 73, 77, 90B, 91, 91A, 94A, 95C, 37A, 46X, 78, 107, 170, 970X, 973, A10 |
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| Eileen Chang (a.k.a. Zhang Ailing) Born in 1920, Shanghai, China Died in 1995, Los Angeles, California, U.S. A renowned writer from Shanghai, Eileen Chang was noted for writings that dealt with the tensions between men and women in love. Many scholars regarded her works as being among the best contemporary Chinese literature. Her bitter-sweet love stories have attracted a large devoted audience as well as critical acclaims. In 1939, Chang was prepared for study at the University of London on a full scholarship, but never did so due to the on-going war. Instead, she studied English literature at the University of Hong Kong where she met Xu Dishan. When she was about to earn her degree, Hong Kong was occupied by Japanese troops in December 1941. Therefore, she decided to depart to China. In 1943, Chang wrote one of her most acclaimed works, Love in a Fallen City, a famous novel featuring Repulse Bay as the story background. Chang later returned to Hong Kong where she worked as a translator and screenwriter. She left for the United States in 1955 and died in solitude in 1995. |
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| Footsteps in the Southern District In her masterpiece Love in a Fallen City, Chang Eileen staged her hero and heroine to begin their romance by chance at the Repulse Bay Hotel. Chang’s sensitivity with colours was fully reflected in her works, such as the use of sophisticated contrast of color and light to describe the awesome beauty of Repulse Bay. The hotel was demolished long ago, but the elegant and nostalgic verandah was restored in the restaurant “The Verandah” at the original site which successfully captures the atmosphere of a well-known scene in the novel. The movie “Lust, Caution”, adapted from a short story of the same name by Chang, was also filmed in this restaurant. In 1939, Chang studied English literature at the University of Hong Kong where she met Xu Dishan. When she was about to earn her degree, she decided to return to China to avoid the Japanese invasion in 1941. Chang later returned to Hong Kong where she worked as a translator and screenwriter until she left for the United States in 1955. |
Original site of the Repulse Bay Hotel – |
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| Means of Transport Bus (NWFB/CityBus): 6, 6A, 6X, 63, 65, 66, 73, 260, 973 |
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| Xiao Hong (a.k.a. Hsiao Hung) Born in 1911, Heilongjiang Province, China Died in 1942, Hong Kong Xiao Hong was a Chinese fiction writer renown for her novels and stories depicting the northeast China during the 1930s. After broken up with Xiao Jun she married Duanwu Hongliang. The couple made their way to Hong Kong in January 1940 and took residence in Tsim Sha Tsui. Despite ill-health and war, Xiao managed to complete her most successful long novel, Tales of the Hulan River, along with Ma Bole and short story Spring in a Small Town. At the age of 31, she died tragically during the chaos of wartime in early 1942, neither of her two lovers at her side. Her last words were “I am going to be with the blue sky and green sea eternally”. Knowing that Xiao loved watching the sea, Duanwu buried half of her ashes in Repulse Bay, which was then relocated for burial in Guangzhou in 1957, while the remaining half in St. Stephen’s Girls’ College on Hong Kong Island. |
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Footsteps in the Southern District |
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| Means of Transport Bus (NWFB/CityBus): 6, 6A, 6X, 63, 65, 66, 73, 260, 973 |
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| Hu Shih Born in 1891, Hu Shih visited Hong Kong in 1935 to receive an honorary doctorate degree from the In his trip, Hu has delivered five speeches on prompting vernacular as the official written language in The |
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| Footsteps in the Southern District Hu Shih was a Chinese Nationalist diplomat and scholar, as well as an important leader of Chinese thought. He was the foremost political liberal in Republican China (1912 – 1949), advocating building a new country through mass Chinese education rather than political revolution. He was also instrumental in establishing the vernacular as the official written language in Hu only visited |
St Stephen’s College, Stanley |
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| Means of Transport Bus (NWFB/CityBus): 6,6A,6X,63,65,66,73,260,973 |
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