Modes
of Historical View among Young Citizens in Hong Kong before the
Changeover of Sovereignty
W.-C. Wong & H.-F. Sun |
Nietzsche's
original thesis concerning the service and disservice of history
to life is subject to empirical scrutiny in the present study. To
Nietzsche, healthiness and vitality in human life necessitate both
the historical and ahistorical standpoints, and also depend on a
balance among the monumental, antiquarian and critical modes of historical
view. Utilizing the conceptual apparatuses of Nietzsche, a questionnaire
was administered among the young citizens in Hong Kong (N= 643) before
the city returned to Chinese sovereignty on 1st July, 1997. Through
specific item-design of the questionnaire, the relations among different
modes of historical view, quantitative state of memories and striving
attitude in life were explored. A positive striving attitude for
personal and for collective causes was found to be significantly
related to the extracted Factor one (reflecting monumental .and antiquarian
views on personal history, family history and Chinese cultural tradition).
For all types of personal and collective memories; the group which
scored one standard deviation below means (reflecting a state of
frequent remembering) also scored significantly higher on Factor
one. Results of the study indicated important divergence from Nietzsche's
thesis. Regarding the complex subject matter of history and life,
empirical research extended to other regions and populations should
be implemented before any conclusive remark can be made. Key wards: Historical views, personal memory, collective memory, life attitude |