HKAH Fellow Stephen Yiu-Wai Chu, Director of Hong Kong Studies at HKU, on the cultural importance of Cantopop and his receiving The Spirit of Culture Award
November 14, 2019
Academy Fellow Stephen Yiu-Wai Chu 朱耀偉, Professor in The School of Modern Languages and Cultures at the University of Hong Kong and Director of its Hong Kong Studies Programme, tells us about his belief in the cultural importance of Cantopop and the research work which earned him The Spirit of Culture Award in the 2019 Spirit of Hong Kong Awards.
Stephen Chu Yiu-Wai
Cantonese popular song (Cantopop) was once the leading genre of Chinese popular music across the world. As the voice of Hong Kong, Cantopop has given generations of people born in the city a sense of belonging. It went through highs and lows in life with Hong Kong over the years, and it will continue to be an importance source for the city when it imagines a new future. But despite this, it has long been marginalized in the academy.
“ As the voice of Hong Kong, Cantopop has given generations of people born in the city a sense of belonging. ”
A big fan of Cantopop, Stephen Yiu-Wai Chu firmly believes that it is closely related to the cultural identity of Hong Kong. He has been working on this important genre in the past three decades, trying to tell the story of Cantopop, as well as of Hong Kong culture and society per se. He is a staunch supporter of what Kar-Wai Wong presented in the movie The Grandmaster about the importance of inheritance and transmission: “If one keeps something in mind, one can hear its echo sooner or later. While there is even one breath, light a lamp. Where there is a lamp, there is a person.”
In recognition of his work on Cantopop, he was presented the Spirit of Culture Award by the Spirit of Hong Kong Awards co-organized by the South China Morning Post and Sino Group in 2019. It is indeed a big privilege for him to receive this award that honors “an individual who inspires those to preserve Hong Kong’s legacy and/or celebrate its heritage and traditions.”
Watch the video presenting Stephen Chu Yiu-wai as the Winner of the Spirit of Cultural Award here:
Read more:
Hong Kong Cantopop: A Concise History by Stephen Yiu-Wai Chu
Article in the South China Morning Post: "University of Hong Kong professor of local culture hits all the right notes as Canto-pop historian", 28 May, 2019
Stephen Chu Yiu-wai's book Hong Kong Cantopop: A Concise History (published in 2017)
Stephen Chu Yiu-wai's profile on the HKAH's websites
Stephen Chu Wiu-wai's departmental page on the website of the University of Hong Kong
The Hong Kong Studies programme at The University of Hong Kong