This is an outdated version published on 30.06.2025. Read the most recent version.

Vol. 6 No. 1 (2025)
Volume 6, Number 1

Articles

The Solitary Life of Intellectuals During the Fall of Hong Kong: A Case Study of The Diary of Chen Junbao in the Japanese Occupation

Published 30.06.2025

  • Manman Zhou

Manman Zhou
Jinan University

Abstract

On September 15, 1931, Chan Kwan-po, after a decade of overseas Chinese education in Southeast Asia, returned to China, aiming to revitalize Chinese education. Just three days later, the September 18th Incident erupted. As the situation at home and abroad worsened, his educational inspection plan in northern China was terminated, and he returned to Hong Kong, starting his journey of "national salvation". In 1937, following the outbreak of the full - scale War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression on July 7, Chen shifted his efforts from "national salvation" to "resisting the war". But the fall of Hong Kong on December 25, 1941, changed everything. The Japanese occupation dampened his patriotic enthusiasm, turning him into a solitary literatus in a war - torn Hong Kong. This paper uses Chan Kwan-po's diary as the core source, complemented by other relevant historical materials. It focuses on exploring how the lives of Hong Kong literati changed from the early days of the War of Resistance to the occupation period. By analyzing these changes, it exposes the lonely and miserable lives of Hong Kong literati, which were the result of "home - coming policy" by Japan, a tool used by the invaders to manipulate and suppress the local population. 

Keywords

Japanese-Occupied Hong Kong, Chen Junbao, Repatriation Policy

PDF

Author Biography

Manman Zhou

Zhou Manman, Master's Student in Modern and Contemporary Chinese History, Jinan University.

References

  1. [1]–[5] Xie, Ronggun. (2004). 陈君葆日记全集 卷一：1932–1940 [The Complete Diaries of Chen Junbao, Vol. 1: 1932–1940]. Hong Kong: The Commercial Press (HK). ISBN: 9789620743467.
  2. [6], [7], [9] 23rd Army Headquarters. (1941, December 9). 第23军香港、九龙军政指导计划 [Military and Administrative Guidance Plan for Hong Kong and Kowloon by the 23rd Army]. Research Archive of the Defense Agency. Shōwa 16 Riku-shi Secret Large Diary, No. 64.
  3. [8] Watanabe, Takeshi. (2016). 香港出差报告 [Report on the Hong Kong Assignment]. In Kobayashi, Hideo & Shibata, Yoshimasa (Eds.), 日本军政下的香港 [Hong Kong under Japanese Military Rule] (p. 53). Hong Kong: The Commercial Press.
  4. [10] Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Organization. (1942, January 10). 港九中国绅士录 [Who's Who of Chinese Gentlemen in Hong Kong and Kowloon]. Research Archive of the Defense Agency. Shōwa 17 Luya Secret Large Diary, No. 7.
  5. [11], [12], [14]–[18], [22]–[24], [26] Xie, Ronggun. (2004). 陈君葆日记全集 卷二：1941–1949 [The Complete Diaries of Chen Junbao, Vol. 2: 1941–1949]. Hong Kong: The Commercial Press (HK).
  6. [13] Chen, Junbao. (2018). 以陈寅恪他生未卜此生休语集义山句成四绝 [Four Quatrains Inspired by Chen Yinke’s Saying and Li Shangyin’s Lines]. In Xie, Ronggun (Ed.), 陈君葆诗歌集 上册 [Collected Poems of Chen Junbao, Vol. 1] (p. 84). Guangzhou: Guangdong People's Publishing House..
  7. [19] Chen, Junbao. (2018). 接云玉信有感漫成一绝 [A Casual Quatrain Upon Receiving Yunyu’s Letter]. In Xie, Ronggun (Ed.), 陈君葆诗歌集 上册 [Collected Poems of Chen Junbao, Vol. 1] (p. 47). Guangzhou: Guangdong People's Publishing House.
  8. [20] Chen, Junbao. (2018). 看云卿信后有感一绝 [A Quatrain Upon Reading Yunqing’s Letter]. In Xie, Ronggun (Ed.), 陈君葆诗歌集 上册 [Collected Poems of Chen Junbao, Vol. 1] (p. 54). Guangzhou: Guangdong People's Publishing House.
  9. [21] Chow, K. (2019). City in the Rain: Writers, Editors, and Publishers in Hong Kong during Japanese Occupation [Doctoral dissertation, The University of Texas at Austin]. Academia.edu. https://www.academia.edu/96179140/City_in_the_rain_writers_editors_and_publishers_in_Hong_Kong_during_Japanese_occupation
  10. [25] Chen, Junbao. (2018). 日本的南进侵略 [Japan’s Southward Invasion]. In Xie, Ronggun (Ed.), 陈君葆文集 上册 [Collected Works of Chen Junbao, Vol. 1] (p. 47). Guangzhou: Guangdong People's Publishing House.
  11. [27] Dai, Wangshu. (2017). 我的辩白 [My Defense]. In Lu, Weilian & Zheng, Shusen (Eds.), 沦陷时期香港文学作品选——叶灵凤、戴望舒合集 [Selected Literary Works from Occupied Hong Kong: Ye Lingfeng & Dai Wangshu Collection] (p. 329). Hong Kong: Tianditu Books Publishing House.