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9781009202947

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'Multiracial Britishness is the first book-length work that examines the political, cultural, and social milieu of Britishness in Hong Kong. It is innovative, important, and original in a number of ways - in its focus on Hong Kong, in its effectiveness at centering colonial subjects in the making of empire, and in its introduction of a diverse cast of historical actors, many of whom came from spaces outside of the formal empire.' Charles V. Reed, author of Royal Tourists, Colonial Subjects, and the Making of a British World, 1860–1911 'A most timely book. Vivian Kong shows that Britishness in mid-20th-Century Hong Kong not only involved race but was a kaleidoscopic device/concept that encompassed legal status, cosmopolitan sensibility, convenience, privilege, imperial instrumentality, cultural attributes and a rhetoric to steer Hong Kong away from anti-colonialism. Her analysis is particularly relevant to Britain today.' Elizabeth Sinn, Author of Pacific Crossing: California Gold, Chinese Migration, and the Making of Hong Kong 'Conceptually broad and empirically rich, Multiracial Britishness unpacks the complexities and contradictions of a more capacious Britishness in Hong Kong's uniquely urban, cosmopolitan and diasporic historical setting - with enduring implications, not just for the strained civic fabric of Britain's former colony, but also that of Britain itself.' Stuart Ward, author of United Kingdom: A Global History of the End of Britain

'Multiracial Britishness is the first book-length work that examines the political, cultural, and social milieu of Britishness in Hong Kong. It is innovative, important, and original in a number of ways - in its focus on Hong Kong, in its effectiveness at centering colonial subjects in the making of empire, and in its introduction of a diverse cast of historical actors, many of whom came from spaces outside of the formal empire.' Charles V. Reed, author of Royal Tourists, Colonial Subjects, and the Making of a British World, 1860–1911 'A most timely book. Vivian Kong shows that Britishness in mid-20th-Century Hong Kong not only involved race but was a kaleidoscopic device/concept that encompassed legal status, cosmopolitan sensibility, convenience, privilege, imperial instrumentality, cultural attributes and a rhetoric to steer Hong Kong away from anti-colonialism. Her analysis is particularly relevant to Britain today.' Elizabeth Sinn, Author of Pacific Crossing: California Gold, Chinese Migration, and the Making of Hong Kong 'Conceptually broad and empirically rich, Multiracial Britishness unpacks the complexities and contradictions of a more capacious Britishness in Hong Kong's uniquely urban, cosmopolitan and diasporic historical setting - with enduring implications, not just for the strained civic fabric of Britain's former colony, but also that of Britain itself.' Stuart Ward, author of United Kingdom: A Global History of the End of Britain 'This well-researched book provides important perspectives on the construction of power and belonging in Hong Kong from 1910 to 1945. … Recommended.' G. W. McDonogh, CHOICE 'A thought-provoking exploration of the deceptively simple question it opens with, 'What does it mean to be British?' … academically rigorous yet eminently readable.' Bernard Z. Keo, H-Diplo 'This book tackles a difficult subject, but one which remains very relevant as the colonial period is not yet thirty years behind us … an interesting and thought-provoking work.' Tony Banham, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong 'By juxtaposing the concepts of race, nationality, and citizenship, Kong offers a fresh perspective on the historiography that frames colonial Hong Kong as an in-between place on borrowed time … groundbreaking …' Huei-Ying Kuo, American Historical Review

'Multiracial Britishness is the first book-length work that examines the political, cultural, and social milieu of Britishness in Hong Kong. It is innovative, important, and original in a number of ways - in its focus on Hong Kong, in its effectiveness at centering colonial subjects in the making of empire, and in its introduction of a diverse cast of historical actors, many of whom came from spaces outside of the formal empire.' Charles V. Reed, author of Royal Tourists, Colonial Subjects, and the Making of a British World, 1860–1911 'A most timely book. Vivian Kong shows that Britishness in mid-20th-Century Hong Kong not only involved race but was a kaleidoscopic device/concept that encompassed legal status, cosmopolitan sensibility, convenience, privilege, imperial instrumentality, cultural attributes and a rhetoric to steer Hong Kong away from anti-colonialism. Her analysis is particularly relevant to Britain today.' Elizabeth Sinn, Author of Pacific Crossing: California Gold, Chinese Migration, and the Making of Hong Kong 'Conceptually broad and empirically rich, Multiracial Britishness unpacks the complexities and contradictions of a more capacious Britishness in Hong Kong's uniquely urban, cosmopolitan and diasporic historical setting - with enduring implications, not just for the strained civic fabric of Britain's former colony, but also that of Britain itself.' Stuart Ward, author of United Kingdom: A Global History of the End of Britain 'This well-researched book provides important perspectives on the construction of power and belonging in Hong Kong from 1910 to 1945. … Recommended.' G. W. McDonogh, CHOICE '[A] thought-provoking exploration of the deceptively simple question it opens with, 'What does it mean to be British?' … academically rigorous yet eminently readable.' Bernard Z. Keo, H-Diplo

Author Information

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Vivian Kong is Lecturer in Modern Chinese History and Founding Co-Director of the Hong Kong History Centre at the University of Bristol. She has published on diasporas, civil society, and press debates in interwar Hong Kong.

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