Chinese culture in danger: the role of Chan Kwan Po in protecting books in Hong Kong during the Japanese Occupation

Abstract

The Second World War was a catastrophe to Chinese Culture. As the Japanese troops moved southward, Chinese books were sent to Hong Kong to escape war. Chan Kwan Po, librarian of the Fung Ping Shan Library of HKU, took responsibility to protect these valuable Chinese treasures. Before the Japanese arrived, Chan cooperated with different Chinese scholars, accommodated books from Mainland China and prepared to send them out of Hong Kong. After Hong Kong fell, he collected books from different parts of the city, dealt with the Japanese authorities and consequently saved numerous books. He even helped retrieve books in the post-war period. This paper aims to give a general overview of the cultural preservation work in Hong Kong before and during the Japanese occupation. It examines the role played by Chan Kwan Po in this story. Particular interest is given to how he made use of his personal networks to contact Chinese scholars and cope with pressure from the Japanese to save books, and how he retrieved books through diplomatic links. Examples will also be taken from different parts of the world to help further understand the broader picture of cultural protection during the Second World War.