Culture Essay Example: Missionary Letter by Dr. Dean to Hong Kong

Dr. Dean was a missionary who emanated from New York and worked with the American Baptist Missionary Union. He began his mission in Bangkok to minister to the Chinese people before moving to Hong Kong in 1842 where he established a church and learned the Swatow language for him to be easily understood and embraced by the local community. He went with two preachers who were students and joined a missionary station and together with other missionaries Robert and Shuck they founded the Swatow Baptist church and the Cheung Chau Baptist church. He wrote the letter in Hong Kong on the 29th of August 1870. In the letter the reminiscences several years of the past where he says he preached the gospel to the Chinese people and among them four of got baptized. Dean mentioned about the Lord's table that he introduced to the Chinese people and in the first instance when they took the communion he was with seven women and men from the Chinese origin. He narrates the process where slowly witnessed converts from the Chinese people joining the church. Dean indicates that his missionary work became successful and a starting point for other missionary society that came to the region, for instance, the Germany and London missionary societies. He says that most of the missionaries were evicted by the Chinese people and his station harbored them as they continued with their work. The resistance was experienced because the west was associated with dominion and colonization. Dean and his team used a strategy which worked for them as others were driven away because of the direct exercising of authority and introduction of the western culture which seemed to be an indirect way of colonization to the Hong Kong people. Although he faced challenges, it is important to note that he was among the few missionaries in Hong Kong who were successful in introducing Christianity.

The text reflects the views of the Chinese people in respect to the missionaries who were foreigners because according to them the ministers were traitors and they were perceived to have the same mannerism as the colonialists. It explains the reasons for unrests in some parts because the missionaries were being driven away. To the people in Hong Kong, the missionaries had come to propagate the pioneering work, and the Swatow people had to rebel. Dean was among the fortunate ministers who were able to create rapport among the Hong Kong people because upon arrival he learned the Swatow language and this helped him to bond people and received no resistance. Besides, the text also reflects the views of the missionaries in the Hong Kong region because they thought the culture of the natives was barbaric and backward because they had no specific religion. They practiced the indigenous cultures which the missionaries felt that they needed to be enlightened and thus they established schools and churches so that the people could learn and have a proper religion which according to the missionaries was Christianity. It was a transition from the old ways of life to receiving the western civilization. Dean worked with the Hong Kong government in establishing schools although they were few it served the purpose of learning the English language which paved the way for the translation of the Chinese culture.

The text expounds on how the missionaries interpreted and perceived the culture of the Hong Kong people. They considered it as backward and that the people needed civilization which in some parts of Hong Kong force was almost used which made the people wonder whether it was conversion or coercion. Dean and fellow missionaries Shucks among others introduced schools in the Hong Kong territory where the people could learn how to read and write this transformed the indigenous way of life of the persons in the territory. Local languages were translated into English, and this saw the Chinese experience a transformation in culture through learning a foreign language and so that they could read the bibles in English and their Chinese languages. Besides, the religious culture was changed to Christianity and the ancient forms of worship begun to fade away as most people begun to embrace Christianity the Hong Kong people saw a larger population being converted. It is paramount to note that the people in Hong Kong although hostile at the beginning of the missionary entry into their territory they gradually adopted the western culture and as time went less resistance was experienced because the missionaries began working with the Hong Kong government. The letter is a reminiscence of several years of the past where he says he preached the gospel to the Chinese people and among them four of got baptized. Dean mentioned about the lord's table that he introduced to the Hong Kong people and in the first instance when they took the communion he was with seven women and men from the Hong Kong origin. He narrates the process which gradually witnessed converts from the Hong Kong people joining the church.

It is important to note that in Hong Kong the missionaries had come to propagate the pioneering work and the Swatow people had to rebel. It was a transition from the old ways of life to receiving the western civilization. Dean worked with the Hong Kong government in establishing schools although they were few it served the purpose of learning the English language which paved the way for the translation of the Chinese culture. Similarly, the text also reflects the views of the missionaries in the Hong Kong region because they thought the culture of the natives was barbaric and backward because they had no specific religion. They practiced the indigenous cultures which the missionaries felt that they needed to be enlightened and thus they established schools and churches so that the people could learn and have a proper religion which according to the missionaries was Christianity. Dean was among the fortunate apostles who were able to create rapport among the Hong Kong people because upon arrival he learnt the Swatow language and this helped him to bond people and received no resistance

References

Jiang, S. (2017). The Walled City of Kowloon and the University of Hong Kong. In Chinas Hong Kong (pp. 31-42). Springer Singapore.

Laura. M (2014) William Dean 1805-1895 retrieved from http://www.bdcconline.net/en/stories/d/dean-william.php

The Michigan state university (2012) Missionary letters to Hong Kong https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=AsPNAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA54&dq=missionary+letters+to+hong+kong&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiS0sS15KzYAhVGwBQKHZQyCBsQ6AEILDAB#v=onepage&q=missionary%20letters%20to%20hong%20kong&f=false

Vietnam War tourists: US Naval visits Hong Kong and British-American-Chinese relations, 19651968

The United States armed forces visit to Hong Kong was protested by the communist group in China, and the Hong Kong people raised their grievances to the British government who were the colonial masters in the territory. The British took the protests with feigning seriousness terming it as propaganda and an attempt to split into two groups where one were to side with the British masters and another to be on the American side. The US naval visits came when the Vietnam War was at its pick and arrival of any guest heightened tension among the natives in the territory. The British allowed the US naval visitors to have recreational and rest in the Hong Kong territory and regarded them as well willed imperialists because they were well mannered and could bring a good fortune in the economy of the region. In 1965 the Vietnam War heightened, and more American troops were deployed in the territory. As the number of the US troops in Vietnam increased the soldiers became unhappy and uncomfortable, and an excellent recreational place had to be sought to improve their comfort and satisfaction at work. In this regard, Hong Kong became the opportune place where the soldiers could rest. The choice of Hong brought a lot of tension as protests against the British government were staged in an attempt to convince the British colonial masters to drive the Americans away. It is because they were portrayed as traitors who wanted to bring back the humiliation era among the local people. Beijing protested to British against the move for Hong Kong to be exempted from being the host for recreation and rest zone for the American soldiers. The intended military use of Hong became a trigger to unrest between Beijing and the western powers because it wanted Hong Kong was to be under the British rule and the coming of US forces could strain an already suppressed people of the communist republic.

The tension brought radicalization and revolution in the Hong Kong territory because of noncompliance with the request of Beijing orders. The British diplomats in Beijing were mistreated and arrested. Tension made the British to restrain their support of the US recreation and rest program because of the bad relationship that had developed between the Hong Kong people and the British. The tough moments that the British people in Beijing went through made their counterparts in Hong Kong to shun their support to the US recreation and rest program. The tension put the British in a dilemma because they were torn in between suspending the recreation program and restoring the peaceful co-existence of its people with the locals in Beijing. The US naval visit became an interaction point among the British, Chinese, Soviet Union and the Americans in the pick of the Vietnam War. It is critical to note that the American servicemen helped the super powers and the Chinese to fight the North Vietnamese. Before the Americans finally found a peaceful place in the Hong Kong territory, they faced a lot of resistance because the locals thought of the agony they suffered in the hands of the western powers during the "the century of humiliation. The century was marked with dominion by the imperial powers who used the gunboats to capture the territory of the Qing power and harass the Chinese people. To the locals, they were already under the British colony, and the coming of the US naval troops indicated dominion by two western powers and a rationale for their resistance. The rise of Anti-Americanization escalated, and any American influence was shunned and opposed among the Hong Kong people. The brutal behaviors of the American soldiers in the Vietnam War discredited them in the Hong Kong territory heightening the cold war among the in among foreign interests groups and the locals.

Between 1965- 1970 Hong Kong hosted over 534,700 American members of the armed forces, and this brought significant impact among the local people. Firstly, there was a tremendous economic growth in the Hong Kong region whereby Hong experienced a transition from the traditional ways of conducting trade to the modern techniques that were labor intensive. Besides, there was a transformation from consumption to commercial production where the locals were introduced to export trade that became beneficial to the entire Chinese territory. Most of the produce from China was imported to American, for instance, textiles and electronics. Modern production technology was also experienced, and an introduction of machines for large-scale production was evident this took Hong Kong to a higher level of economic growth. Research indicates that America received 37% of the Hong Kong and the entire Chinese produce. Besides, over 400 American firms were established in Hong Kong and spread throughout China with their headquarters found within the Chinese territory. Job opportunities became available for the local people in Hong Kong as the American firms offered employment.

Additionally, the American culture brought a lot of influence in the Hong region which spread across the entire Chinese territory. The Ameri...