Florence and the Power of Culture
The example of Florence illustrates how powerful culture can be over a city. Hong Kong can explore more on the adaptation of Chinese culture to modern society and the integration of Chinese and Western cultures, which will surely strengthen Hong Kong’s status as an international city.
Author: GUDORDI | 2023-01-26
What inspiration does Florence from the 14th to 16th centuries have for the future development of Hong Kong? (Shutterstock)
Continuing from the above: 〈The essence of human beings should be like a tree? ──The future of Hong Kong legend〉
Whereas the foremost man of all this city, the recently deceased Lorenzo de’ Medici, did, during his whole life, neglected no opportunity of protecting, increasing, adorning and raising this city, but was always ready with counsel, authority and painstaking, in thought and deed; shrank from neither trouble nor danger for the good of the state and its freedom….. it has seemed good to the Senate and people of Florence…. to establish a public testimonial of gratitude to the memory of such a man, in order that virtue might not be unhonoured among Florentines, and that, in days to come, other citizens may be incited to serve the commonwealth with might and wisdom.
──The Signoria and Councils of Florence
In the last chapter, “Should the essence of man be like a tree?” 〉At the end of the article, the author begins to talk about a series of issues related to Chinese culture, including what exactly is Chinese culture? If the “Book of Changes” is the beginning of the group of scriptures and the origin of hundreds of schools of thought, then from the perspective of the “Book of Changes”, what is the role of man in the heaven, earth and sky? If Fuxi is the wise ancestor of the Chinese nation, then what does the ideal society of the Chinese nation look like in his conception? After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Confucianism became part of the imperial ruling policy. Is Confucianism from then on the same as the Confucianism founded by Confucius? There is no doubt that Confucianism is an important strand of Chinese culture, but is it enough to fully represent Chinese culture?
The integration center of Chinese and Western cultures is a direction worth exploring in Hong Kong
These are some questions that can be very profound. These issues are very important, but we do not seem to see any organization or city that will try to deal with these issues in a systematic way. Does this mean that if a city can make an important contribution in this area, or if it only makes some attempts in this area, the value it can create is already huge, not to mention the relevant value. The source of it is not limited to the Chinese, but can be spread across all mankind.
A bold point made by the author is that in addition to being an international financial center and an international city, Hong Kong can also make some explorations as a center for the integration of Chinese and Western cultures. I believe that such development will only affect Hong Kong’s status as an international financial center and international city. position is beneficial. It is worth noting that, according to the articles at the beginning of this series, the emergence of Hong Kong was an “accident” caused by the collision of Chinese and Western cultures. If the DNA of Hong Kong is accident and cultural conflict, perhaps it is worth trying to explore in this direction.
The case of Florence is worthy of reference
Looking back suddenly, Florence from the 14th to the 16th century had a pivotal position in the history of Western and global civilization, which was arrogant to its peers, or even enough to remain famous for eternity. The city of Florence is the cradle and palace of the European Renaissance. It gave birth to many great artists and thinkers. More importantly, it inspired the entire European society’s yearning for Greek civilization; its passion for art, beauty, and humanism. The pursuit of freedom enabled European society to free itself from the shackles of the Middle Ages and the Church, release a large amount of people’s creativity and imagination, and then enable European society to reach a new peak in economy, thought, and art.
But it is worth noting that before the Renaissance, Florence did not necessarily have any special cultural soil. An important reason for the subsequent changes was the emergence of the Medici family, who opened The Medici Bank in Florence and made huge wealth.
They love art and philosophy. Take Lorenzo Medici mentioned at the beginning of this article as an example. He studied under the famous philosophers Marsilio Ficino and John Argyropoulos and had great influence on Greek civilization and art. , has great love, so he invested a lot of money to promote the development of Florence in this direction, and sponsored many architects, artists, and painters, including Brunelleschi, Leonardo Da Vinci, Michaelangelo, etc., the praises quoted from The Signoria and Councils of Florence at the beginning of the article are believed to be well-deserved.
The power of culture can be extremely huge
The example of Florence illustrates how powerful culture can be over a city. If you think about it deeply, how Chinese culture adapts to modern society has been a problem that has troubled the Chinese nation for nearly 200 years. Perhaps Hong Kong can try to explore this issue and the integration of Chinese and Western cultures? Perhaps Medici may have only invested the equivalent of hundreds of millions of dollars today, but he could achieve glory for Florence for at least a thousand years and an irreplaceable position in human history.
The return on investment is actually extremely impressive. Regardless, culture can be a huge industry. There was a time when Hong Kong’s popular culture was second to none in the Chinese world. If Hong Kong continues to explore and experiment in this area, it is not impossible or unimaginable that it will eventually produce an industry more powerful than Korean pop culture.
In any case, the author believes that Hong Kong is worthy of considering developing in the direction of integrating Chinese and Western cultures, and the progress Hong Kong has made in these areas, no matter how limited, will only enhance and consolidate Hong Kong’s status as an international financial center and international city. Historical experience is that for cities with vitality, their business, finance, culture, art and other links often develop together, promote each other, and complement each other. We’ll talk about that next time.
“Hong Kong’s Legendary Future” Series 19
Contact the author: Gudordi@proton.me
