By Zhao Xu (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-04-03 09:16

"Many buried here became known as members of the Freemasons only after their death," says Ting.

On the day of our visit, the sun was shining brightly. From behind the identical tombs for members of the Hong Kong Police Force, it cast deep shadows on the ground. Of equal length and in neat rows, the shadows, like the tombstones themselves, resembled soldiers in formation.

But they were no more symbolic than the tomb for Yang Quyun, a revolutionary who helped overthrow the Qing government, before fleeing to Hong Kong where he was assassinated by the Qing government in 1901. His tomb carries not a single word and is marked only by a crack running through the middle - a poignant reminder of a life tragically cut short.

According to Ting, the Hong Kong Cemetery is the final resting place for many who were involved in uprisings in the late 19th and early 20th century, including the Boxer Rebellions and the Xinhai Revolution. Some of them were close acquaintances of Sun Yat-sen and had been instrumental to his cause.

Sir Ho Kai, a prominent leader of the local Chinese society and teacher of Sun, is also buried here, together with his two wives.

Despite being Christians (with some converting to Christianity after arriving in Hong Kong), many of the Chinese incorporated traditional elements into their final resting place. There is one Chinese tomb that resembles a pagoda, with the epitaph written in the form of couplets.

Also buried in the cemetery is Sir Robert Ho Tung (1862-1958), the richest and most influential Chinese businessman of his time. Today, his legacy endures in the form of his grand-nephew Stanley Ho Hung-sun, "The King of Gambling" in Macao, whose grandfather was Ho Tung's younger brother.

Located directly opposite the main entrance to Hong Kong's Happy Valley Race Course, the cemetery seems the ideal place for the tomb of a man who always led a privileged life. His tomb is in white marble instead of the widely-used granite - a reflection of the owner's status.

Rich or poor, English, Chinese or Russians, the people whose tombs are located in this cemetery paint a colorful picture of the multi-ethnic, international city that is Hong Kong.

My most recent visit to the tombs was in late March. The warm air was perfumed by roses in deep, velvety red that seemed ablaze in front of the tombs. There were a reminder that the Qingming Festival - a day for the Chinese to remember their dead - was around the corner.

(China Daily 04/03/2008 page19)

 

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