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| Guan Yu joins the Umbrella Revolution, illustration by Kenneth Wong |
The movement began as a series of protests by the Hong Kong Federation of Students to express their unhappiness with China's attempt to restrict the pool of candidates in the 2017 election of Hong Kong's Chief Executive. Borrowing elements from the preceding Occupy Movement, Hong Kong protesters launched the Occupy Central with Love and Peace campaign.
Even if episodes of violence proved unavoidable on the ground, it's worth nothing the OCLP's comprehensive policy of nonviolence. Their online Manual of Disobedience states:
Insist on the use of non-violence means
- Insists on the use of non-violence means.
- Do not bring any weapons or anything that can be used as weapons.
- Be bold in the face of violence. Do not hit back.
After weeks of protests, there's (thankfully) no sign that the umbrella-carrying dissidents of Hong Kong would meet with the kind of bloody crackdown suffered by those at Tiananmen Square in 1989. It shows Beijing Government recognizes Hong Kong's special status, even as it strives to rein in the region through legislative maneuvers and political pressure.
The shelter of the umbrella, however, doesn't extend to Mainland China. For example, a Beijing poet who showed his support for Hong Kong protesters by posing with an umbrella was recently taken into custody, according to New York Times. Among the items confiscated were the poet's computer, his internet router, and his light blue umbrella. The same article states, "a group of artists who attended a poetry reading inspired by the protests in Hong Kong" were also arrested.
I wrote this poem for the protesters within and without the umbrella's protection.
The Ballad of the Umbrellas
Long ago
The Poet Li Po
Used an umbrella
To scoop the moon’s reflection
Out of Pearl River.
Long before that
Guan Yu used an umbrella
To hold back the tanks from Cao Cao’s army
Rolling into Tiananmen Square;
To fend off the terracotta warriors in riot gear
Advancing under the cover of a gas cloud
Manufactured in a Special Economic Zone.
Years later
A tofu seller from Mong Kok
Used his umbrella to strike down
The mosquitoes and the tigers,
And a banker
Trapped in a 23-story birdcage in Causeway Bay
Hit himself in the head with his to wake up
From the Dream of the Red Chamber.
Today
Scrawny geeks and bookish nerds
Gather in a peach garden and take an oath
To raise their umbrellas higher than the Great Wall,
To block out the breath of the dragon,
The wrath of the emperor,
And the shadows of the crows
That flew in from Beijing.
Gather under a million umbrellas
Where all men are created equal;
Where Joshua Wong, Min Ko Naing,
Liu Xiaobo, and Aung San Suu Kyi
Speak the same provincial dialect;
Where the yellow ribbons of Hong Kong,
The red shirts of Thailand,
And the saffron robes of Burma
Beckon a new dawn;
Where bowls of noodles cooked in old men’s sweat
And sweet milk tea flavored with a sidewalk vendor’s hope
Fuel a new day.
Don’t forget your umbrella!
It is
The Warrior God’s halberd,
The Monkey God’s staff,
Ai Wei Wei’s paintbrush,
Bruce Lee’s fist of fury,
The vermilion sword in Jin Yong’s wuxia,
The five-petal orchid blossom
That smells like freedom,
And grandma’s chopsticks —
Always reaching for the best piece of dim sum
At the far end of the table.
(for the people of Hong Kong)
Kenneth Wong
October 19, 2014
San Francisco, California
Footnotes:
Li Po (425-742), a wandering poet from the Tang Dynasty, made moonlight and drinking regular features of his poetry. Oral tradition held that he died from falling overboard when he tried to embrace the reflection of the moon in the river. Though highly improbable, the apocryphal story gave Li Po's fans a picturesque death that reflects the wild poet's character.
Guan Yu and Cao Cao are characters from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, an epic inspired by the historical events of China's Warring States Period. Guan Yu is depicted as the model of loyalty and courage, and Cao Cao as a cunning, Machiavellian military leader. Over time, Guan Yu became deified as a warrior god. In paintings and statues, Guan Yu is often depicted holding a halberd, his weapon of choice.
The phrase "mosquitoes and tigers" is from Chinese President Xi Jinping's speech declaring war on corruption. Vowing to clean up the Communist Party's rank and file, Xi vows "to target not just 'mosquitoes' (minor officials) but also 'tigers' (top officials)," according to a CNN report.
The Dream of the Red Chamber is a Chinese classic from the Qing Dynasty. The sprawling novel with a large cast of characters depicts daily lives in an aristocratic family with ties to the Emperor.
The peach garden oath is a popular Chinese saying derived from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The novel's three main protagonists -- Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Liu Bei -- forged an alliance in a peach orchard. The phrase became synonymous with fraternal devotion and loyalty among allies.
The Monkey God, or Sun Wukong, is the protagonist from the Chinese classic Journey to the West. He wields a magical staff, weighing more than 13,000 jin (or 8 tons). In Wukong's hands, the weapon is as light as a needle.
Hong Kong novelist Jin Yong (1924-) is a master of the Wuxia genre, which revolves around chivalrous swordsmen, martial arts masters, and heroic exploits.
Hong Kong's flag is decorated with a five-petal orchid.
Do
not bring any weapons or anything that can be used as weapon - See more
at:
http://oclp.hk/index.php?route=occupy/eng_detail&eng_id=28#sthash.uulieewK.dpuf
Insist
on the use of non-violence means. In the face of law enforcers and
anti-Occupy Central demonstrators, never hurt anyone physically or
mentally, or damage any properties.
2. Be brave in facing the authorities and accept the responsibilities of civil disobedience. Do not use any masks to cover faces.
3. Do not bring any weapons or anything that can be used as weapons.
4. When facing arrest, form a human chain and lie down to show our non-cooperation. Do not struggle hard so as to avoid injury.
5. Be bold in the face of violence. Do
- See more at: http://oclp.hk/index.php?route=occupy/eng_detail&eng_id=28#sthash.uulieewK.dpuf
Insist
on the use of non-violence means. In the face of law enforcers and
anti-Occupy Central demonstrators, never hurt anyone physically or
mentally, or damage any properties.
2. Be brave in facing the authorities and accept the responsibilities of civil disobedience. Do not use any masks to cover faces.
3. Do not bring any weapons or anything that can be used as weapons.
4. When facing arrest, form a human chain and lie down to show our non-cooperation. Do not struggle hard so as to avoid injury.
5. Be bold in the face of violence. Do
- See more at: http://oclp.hk/index.php?route=occupy/eng_detail&eng_id=28#sthash.uulieewK.dpuf
Insist
on the use of non-violence means. In the face of law enforcers and
anti-Occupy Central demonstrators, never hurt anyone physically or
mentally, or damage any properties.
2. Be brave in facing the authorities and accept the responsibilities of civil disobedience. Do not use any masks to cover faces.
3. Do not bring any weapons or anything that can be used as weapons.
4. When facing arrest, form a human chain and lie down to show our non-cooperation. Do not struggle hard so as to avoid injury.
5. Be bold in the face of violence. Do
Do not bring any weapons or anything that can be used as weapon
Hello
ReplyDeleteyeet
ReplyDeleteWow, such inspiring poetry you have! I now understand what happened in Hong Kong and the corruption of china. Thank you for unfolding the truth!
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