Re-envisionist History
An exhibition at CUHK makes Second World War history relevant to all of us right now. Sadly.
For too many of us, the Second World War is what we saw in Saving Private Ryan. On this side of the world it’s something that happened in Europe that the Americans had to come and fix (not true). Conversely, even though the USA became the first and only state to deploy an atomic bomb in wartime, on that side of the world the Pacific War is somehow separated from the conflict. The point is, as public policy pro John Mak Hiu-fai points out, WWII history is very often siloed – so much so it has two end dates: May 8, 1945 or August 15, 1945 depending on where you are.
Considering the shit show the world has turned into of late, Mak and journalist Angus Hui Chong-yin thought it was time to bridge the gap between East and West, make the world’s deadliest armed conflict ever resonate, and make history relevant to people now. In D-Day Hong Kong (running until January) co-curators Mak and Hui contextualise the life of Chinese naval officer Lam Ping-yu, one of 24 Chinese soldiers who were posted to Europe and stormed the beach at Normandy. It wasn’t just Tom Hanks. Hui and Mak turn Lam’s story into just that: a story, which both think is one of the keys to making history a living thing we need to understand.
“I was good at history, but I was frustrated. I remember for A levels I had to memorise 150 years’ of popes, and Spanish kings and queens – not to mention these weren’t Elizabeth II. They served two-year terms,” says Mak of the dry, dusty way most of us learn history. So Hui and Mak decided that if they were going to present Lam’s story, it would be an engaging one people could interpret and internalise. “We wanted to create a compelling story that touches people, that people could relate to … The places and the names ought not be the main points of the story.”
D-Day Hong Kong had dual geneses. One shortly after Hui and Mak moderated a policy deliberation function about 18 months ago and hit it off at what they expected would be a post-function courtesy lunch. That courtesy lunch turned into a meaty two-hour debate that revealed complementing views of world history. “How do you inform and make history relevant to modern society, to the community at large,” they wondered. Another came after Lam’s journal, along with a minor treasure trove of historical artefacts, was discovered in a derelict Shek Tong Tsui building, scheduled for demolition in 2015. Hui, an HKU student living in Kennedy Town at the time recognised the surrounding buildings as, “Places I always visited, where I went for lunch. So I’d imagine there was an old gentleman sitting next to me, like Tom Hanks [him again], and I guess that sort of strange imagination piqued my curiosity. I wanted to know more,” he says. He flirted with using the discovery as a basis for a PhD thesis but decided Lam’s writings would make a better public exhibition. And so a collaboration was born.
“One thing that particularly interested me at the time, that still interests me, is the ability of one single individual to effect change. That’s a question I explored throughout the first 10 years of my career as I started thinking about politics and history,” Mak continues. By the individual he’s referring not to politicians writing legislation or generals on the frontlines, but everyday people. Foot soldiers as it were.
Lam, it turned out, was the perfect one person to put under that lens. Lam’s journal was found with a Japanese naval sword, ROC naval uniform buttons and a stack of letters, but the jewel in the crown was that handwritten 80-page diary; 13,000 traditional Chinese characters spanning the months between May and November 1944 (many entries are translated to English). “So it covered a Chinese man’s journey in Europe, mainly in France and Britain, during the Second World War,” at the time of the pivotal Normandy landings in June notes Hui. “The most essential way for us to learn history is through pain, but most people don’t really experience a painful journey, nor do they want to.” That’s what makes Lam’s journals – put into a larger perspective in the exhibition with additional letters, oral accounts, archival documents and photos – so invaluable to understanding our collective history.
“The more interesting thing is how [Lam] ended up in Britain, in Europe. It’s all fine and dandy that there was military cooperation among great powers of the world. But if you browse the documents you notice this was an idealist through and through, a young Chinese idealist in an imperfect world trying to make himself useful and repeatedly let down, but who soldiered on. I found that fascinating,” adds Mak. Considering the period in question seems perilously close to repeating, it’s timely too.
“That is exactly our call to action,” says Mak.
It’s odd buried histories aren’t uncovered more often in Hong Kong given its strategic import in the 1940s and constant excavation after that. But for decades livelihoods were prioritised over preservation and a lot has been lost. It’s another reason Lam’s diary is so crucial. “There were 24 officers in total in his cohort,” Hui points out. “Some of them moved to Taiwan, some of them stayed China. They may have had their own diaries but they’ve vanished due to various political movements… We interviewed a direct descendant of one officer, and he told us his father also wrote diary during their time in the UK, but it was confiscated during the Cultural Revolution. That’s why Mr Lam’s is now the only known resource for that period. And it demonstrates how special Hong Kong was for people who decided not to choose a side. It illustrates how it was a haven for a lot of people, reflects their history, and that history reflects the broader historical context.”
The movement to this kind of heritage preservation really kicked off in 2000s – after the prism for what was deemed “important” shifted when the British officially left and when the determination of what popular history of collective memory should embrace shifted to a generation that came of age in the 1980s. “Their past becomes what they want to reminisce about,” says Mak with a chuckle. How else can you explain a sequel to Ghostbusters? Suddenly, old restaurants, old shops, signage and symbols take on new meaning; M+ was built on it. It’s an evolving process, one that Mak thinks has yet to fully embrace the micro as well as the macro. History is not just 150-year old buildings or 800-year old vases; it’s personal accounts (which may not be paper journals in 3… 2…) that anyone can dig up on their own. “Rather than say history should be preserved I would say it should be promoted. Preservation doesn’t help you connect the story with the with the larger picture, or make it relatable to average people,” Mak says. Which doesn’t mean you should send Hui and Mak your grandparents’ junk box.
Born in Indonesia, Lam served in China until the civil war, went to Britain for training, fought at D-Day, and eventually became a Hong Kong resident. He married a Japanese woman in the 1960s, emigrated to Brazil and finally passed away on the east coast of the US. Hui and Mak eventually found some of his descendants, but too late to include any information in the exhibition at CUHK. As luck would have it, Lam’s connection to Europe will send D-Day Hong Kong to Portsmouth naval base, London and possibly Paris, which will include updates.“He’s about the only person I’ve ever met, or heard of in my life, who literally travelled to all the world’s continents,” finishes Mak. And he’s still getting around.
D-Day Hong Kong
Where: University Library, Chinese University of Hong Kong
Hours: Through January 24, 2025, daily 11am-7pm
Closed: December 25, 26, January 1
Details: Free admission. Details at CUHK, or D-Day Hong Kong