Hua Song Museum

The Hua Song Museum in Haw Par Villa is another attempt at preserving the life of Chinese in the early days, perhaps 50 years ago. It was an interesing sight, as we saw how the lives had been so difficult and be filled with wonder of how they had managed to survive and thrive in those insane conditions. A wave of new appreciation of the comforts of life we have now.

But oddly, I can't seem to connect with the past as well as I thought I should. The relics and reconstructions of the past are impressive, but are just like exhibits. I can't help but wonder - how much would the common people understand and identify with these? Are they only of value to curious Chinese students from all over the world, or the professional academia?

Museums cannot reach out to the public well, but can our culture be retained by the rich historical sites around China for example?

Many of the places of great historical values have been commercialised into tourist attractions. These include places like the Forbidden Palace, Yi He Yuan, traditional living quarters like Si He Yuan and Sam Tung Uk... These have all been "reconstructed and refurbished" for the comforts of the tourists, but in doing so, has the cultural meanings been lost? The palace was supposed to be a place of reverement, a place only for the emperor and privilleged ministers - now it's trampled by thousands of tourists every day, and dozens of shops have sprung up in the scared grounds in place of the old imperial rooms. I wonder what the average tourist would learn from it.

This brings me to wonder - can culture be preserved? Are we "keeping our heritage" and "discovering our roots", or are we trying to keep a portion of the past that is no longer relevant? Can it co-exist with the current global culture?



Hua Song Museum