The Walled City of Kowloon: Its Origin and Early History Revisited

Guilherme Augusto Laidens Feistauer; Elaine wisbey

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Hong Kong Studies ›› 2024, Vol. 4 ›› Issue (1) : 57-82.

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The Walled City of Kowloon: Its Origin and Early History Revisited

Guilherme Augusto Laidens Feistauer, Elaine Wisbey

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Abstract

At one point considered to have been the most densely populated place on earth, nearly thirty years after its demolition, Hong Kong's Walled City of Kowloon continues to be a topic of significant cultural memorialization and lively academic discussion. Yet despite the researchers' best efforts, its origin and early history continue to be riddled with fundamental inaccuracies. Tracing back to key primary sources, this article upholds that the Walled City was selectively built by the Chinese on empty government land between late 1846 and 1847, systematically arguing that it was therefore not an architectural palimpsest with an undue “centuries-old” history. Seeking to bring clarity as to “why” predominant academic discourses to date have differed, the article scrutinizes two of the most influential published narratives on the topic by Elizabeth Sinn and Julia Wilkinson, demonstrating how a fundamental lack of integration of key primary sources has resulted in the current state of knowledge. Closely aligned with and committed to efforts to decolonize the historical record, the article also proposes that such sources should be made more accessible for proper study, in the hope that narratives about the Walled City's origin and early history take account of the perspectives of those who built it.

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Guilherme Augusto Laidens Feistauer, Elaine Wisbey. The Walled City of Kowloon: Its Origin and Early History Revisited[J]. Hong Kong Studies. 2024, 4(1): 57-82

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