In November, I visited two museums about Hong Kong’s maritime history, Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence and Hong Kong Maritime Museum respectively. Though the details of their exhibition are quite similar, many differences can be found between them as Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence is officially organised, while Hong Kong Maritime Museum is private. The report will compare their similarities and differences in various aspects.
About the operation of two museums, the obvious difference is that Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence belongs to the government, but Hong Kong Maritime Museum is private. Because of this, Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence has a large amount of budget for daily operation and that is why it is non-profitable and free of charge. However, as Hong Kong Maritime Museum is privately operated, it is profitable and charges from visitors. Many exhibits are also sponsored by companies and businessmen. This difference leads to the contrast between aims, structures, details, etc. of two museums which will be talked about below.
Due to different running systems, the purposes of the exhibition in two museums are not similar. Establishing Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence, the government does not only wish to boost the public’s understanding of local history, but also raise their sense of belonging as Chinese. For example, there is a section deeply illustrating Hong Kong people’s miserable lives under Japan occupation in World War II and how they treated us cruelly. At the end of the exhibition, a gallery depicts the development of People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and their role in the defence of Hong Kong after the turnover so that visitors can have better understanding of the relationship between Hong Kong ...
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...essage in Hong Kong Maritime Museum.
In conclusion, although Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence and Hong Kong Maritime Museum also introduce the maritime history of Hong Kong and coastal Guangdong, there are some differences in their operation, details, structure and messages brought out. Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence is owned by the Hong Kong government and hence, besides raising people’s knowledge of local history, it aims at strengthen their sense of belonging as Chinese and patriotism by the designed storyline in the exhibition. Also, it puts more emphasis on military aspect of coastal maritime history. For Hong Kong Maritime Museum, which is a private museum and charges entrance fee, there is not an actual storyline behind the exhibition but it can be seen that it somehow focuses more on economic aspect of local and coastal Guangdong’s maritime history.
The Early Modern Era saw great change in the field of naval technology. Exploration and the desire to expand trade fueled the development of new, more effective naval vessels. These vessels, in turn, contributed to the growth of worldwide trade and interconnection that marked the period.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has one of the finest Asian art collections that has enlightened and strengthened my understanding in my personal art experience. The Museum itself is an artistic architectural structure that graces the entire block on 82nd Street in Manhattan. Entering inside, I sensed myself going back into an era, into a past where people traded ideas and learned from each other. It is a past, where I still find their works of yesteryears vividly within my grasp, to be remembered and shared as if their reflections of works were cast for the modern devoted learner.
In the book Red Star Over the Pacific: China’s Rise and the Challenge of U.S. Maritime Strategy, the authors discuss their interpretation of Chinese strategy as it relates to the U.S. maritime power in the Western Pacific. Dr. Yoshihara and Dr. Holmes postulate that Chinese strategists have studied Alfred Thayer Mahan’s theories of sea power. He further expounds on “China’s ability to harness such power against others or to nullify the overbearing power adversaries hold in important sea areas.”1 The book continues by presenting an argument that Chinese strategist use a combination of Mahan and Mao Zedong to cover the strategic and operational levels of war for the ultimate purpose of building maritime power in order to build a great nation. This may be one explanation for current Chinese strategy, but is there another, possibly more practical explanation? This paper will present an alternate, more practical approach to today’s Chinese strategy. Contrary to a Mahanian approach, China bases its strategy on the practical needs of a great nation undergoing a ‘peaceful development’ supported by concepts from the Chinese military classics. In essence, the development of Chinese Anti-Access/Area-Denial (A2/AD) and maritime capabilities comes as a result of the need to maintain social harmony and safeguard national interests, not in order to develop command at sea as Mahan theorizes.
Duncan’s (1991) analysis of western museums is defined through the theme of “durable objects” as a criterion to judge the heritage of American and European art as a ritual of the modern state. In this manner western art museums are built like “temples” as a symbolic and figurative representation of greatness of western culture throughout the world: “[They] are more like the traditional ceremonial monuments that museum buildings often emulate—classical temples” (Duncan 90). This interpretation of American/European museums defines a dominant source of cultural heritage that ritualizes
Throughout December of 1937, the historic city of Nanking was invaded by the Japanese military, which will gradually proceed on to rape and kill helpless civilians as well as carry the death toll to exceed that of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, put together. What took place there is certainly retold throughout three views, that of the troops who executed the assault, of the people who survived and suffered, and lastly of the chosen number of Europeans and Americans who battled to save over three hundred thousand people in this abomination. That sort o...
Most American citizens remember December 7, 1941 and the significance that the incidents of that day had. The attack on Pearl Harbor was a shock to the United States of America and it engaged our country in the Second World War of that century (Pearl, 2009). Unfortunately, due to that incident, many Americans harbor many negative feelings and attitudes towards the country of Japan. While this is an understandable sentiment, it is unnecessary, because Japan is an influence on not on the United States but the entire world. Throughout this paper, we will look at the country of Japan as many have never viewed them before. Their actions of the past are just that, the past. Japan is a thriving and successful country within our environment and it is in our best interest to understand that country better. Japan, as a culture, is the
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The Chinese navy in the early 1400’s was very powerful but unfortunately it grew weaker and weaker over time. The cause of this was that China ran into political problems which prevented future voyages.
...a journey of discovery/rediscovery of what the Western world comes to mean, while at the same time, negotiating the redefinition of selfhood and national identity of Hong Kong. The will to search for a reconciliation with the West in these films is certainly deeply embedded in Hong Kong’s search for its own identity in the post-colonial era. After its return to its Chinese motherland, Hong Kong consequently takes up the important position as the bridge between China and the West. Many recognize that its success to find its identity as part of China in the future depends on its ability to come to terms with its colonial past. Indeed, as we have seen, both films positively insist on the possibility of fulfilling such an aspiration. The process is not a comfortable one, and it is often one of pain and risks. Yet the films assure that it is also one of promise and hope.
Nanking suffered a severe tragedy in six weeks that its memories fail to erase. The tragedy consisting of rape, murder, and looting will never disappear from the city or its inhabitants. Thanks to John Rabe and several others, thousands of Chinese were able to survive. The history of the massacre was slowly dying, but because of books and museums, the history lives onward. The Japanese have not repaired Nanjing or educated their own country about their own mistakes. The Japanese still refuse to believe that the massacre even occurred even though there are pictures of the event and vital proof. The Japanese have surely left a blood stain in the history of this world.
New museology is the modernisation of museums. New museums are made to be more interactive and more interesting for the visitors. Displays in the museums are no longer covered in glass and people are encouraged to look more closely and interact with displays. The museums are brighter are the displays...
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