Yellow skin, yellow mask : the making and utilization of the Hong Kong Chinese identity of Sir Boshan Wei Yuk

Abstract

This dissertation examines the Hong Kong Chinese identity of Wei Yuk, a notable Hong Kong Chinese elite in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Educated bilingually and active in both Chinese and British communities, Wei Yuk embodied a hybrid identity that was both Confucian and colonial. He often dressed like a conservative Confucian intellectual bureaucrat from the Qing Dynasty in many of his still-existing images, even when attending official colonial events. This dissertation further argues that, as represented by his clothing style, the Eastern elements of Wei Yuk became key to his integration into the Western community. Furthermore, Wei’s contacts with revolutionaries seeking to overthrow the Qing regime add complexity to this case. The characteristics of Wei’s Hong Kong Chinese identity were also reflected in his participation in prominent social events. For the Chinese elites in Hong Kong, the challenges posed by the plague epidemic in 1894 were multifaceted. Unlike the choices and attitudes of most Chinese elites in Hong Kong, Wei Yuk maintained a consistently low-key yet proactive social participation during the plague, which was widely praised by numerous groups and communities. This experience became a significant bargaining chip for him to secure an unofficial membership of the Legislative Council two years later. The contributions of Wei Yuk and his District Watchmen in preventing and controlling the 1894 plague transcend the traditional “Government vs. Tung Wah” narrative, serving as powerful evidence of the effectiveness of Wei’s Hong Kong Chinese identity.