5. Graffiti of Tsang Tsou Choi (the King of Kowloon) by COOKIE

Content
1. Tsang Tsou Choi
2. Graffiti done by Tsang- Content
3. Graffiti done by Tsang- Place
4. Transformation into symbol of local
5. Reference
6. Question for discussion

1. Tsang Tsou Choi
   *The King of Kowloon
   *Father of Graffiti in HK
   *Age of 35
   *Family ancestral book
   *his ancestors owned most of the land in Kowloon
   *British Crown swallowed up the land without compensation
   *∴Inscribes his claim on street furniture
   *Uses Chinese brush & ink
   
2. Content
   *Pedigree of his clan (族譜)
   *Achievements
   *Titles, names, and living places
   *Emphasizing his position: larger characters "國王" (the King)
   *Unflattering references to the British Queen
   
   *To accuse British Crown of annexing his family land
   *To claim his ownership of the land
   *Lau Kin Wai: To express his remembrance of the past social order and of his deceased relatives
   
   
3. Place
   *Everywhere
   *Everything on the street= canvas
   *High pedestrian traffic: ready visibility
   
   *Political sensitive place:
   *sites of power or the marginal area
   *e.g. surroundings of Vitoria Park, entrance towards the statue of Queen Victoria
   *challenge the British Crown authority
   *surfaces not too sensitive: avoid the immediate clearance
   
   *Pre-handover: shift to symbol of Chinese – Bank of China
   *show the awareness of the changes of power
   
4. Transformation into Symbol of Local
   *Rising Public Attention aided by artists= key of transformation
   
   *Art critic Lau Kin Wai:
   *Wrote articles appreciating Tsang’s calligraphy in 1992
   *Arrange an exhibition of Tsang’s work in the art gallery of the Goethe Institut in the (April-May 1997)
   *controversy: defacer vs artist
   *local press, overseas publications
   
   *HK Fashion designer William Tang: used Tsang’s calligraphy as motif of garments 1997
   *Local brand G.O.D: a line of bed-linen 1996
   *to present the sense of local
   
   *Pre-handover
   *David Clarke: “many in the population at large shared identity concerns”
   *ambiguity of their identities àclarify their identities
   *Distinguish from Chinese/ Mainlander
   *Seek for a symbol of local
   *Transformation into Symbol of Local
   
   *everywhere in HK
   *Already communed with the city and became part of our daily life
   *collective experience
   *+Public awareness of the sense of Localness + rising attention
   *=symbol of Local
5. Reference
   *九龍皇帝登龍門 第十五期《大學線
   http://http://www.com.cuhk.edu.hk/ubeat/9705/15art.htm/ubeat/9705/15art.htm
   *「九龍皇帝」曾灶財去世 2007年7月25日明報即時新聞
   http://www.mpinews.com/htm/INews/20070725/gb31840c.htm
   *David Clark, "The Visual Production of a Transition"
   *Lau Kin Wai, The Street calligraphy of Tsang Tsou Choi , Hong Kong: Kin Wai’s Workshop, 1997
   
   
6. Discussion Time
   10 years passed, everything settled down. The anxiety of identity shared by large population seemed to be faded. Although HK Government promised to preserve Tsang's inscription, some/most of them have been cleared.
   
   Is Tsang's graffiti no longer be valuable?