Customary and customised: nation-building at the Hong Kong Palace Museum

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM) is the first museum dedicated to orthodox Chinese history in Hong Kong. Opened in July 2022, the HKPM emerged amid an accelerating integration of the city with mainland China and closely adheres to Chinese nationalist ideologies. However, among museums in Hong Kong and mainland China that foster nation-building, it features conventional yet distinctive presentation strategies. We critically analyse the objects displayed, the textual evidence from labels and panels, and the spatial arrangement of the opening thematic exhibitions to deconstruct the nationalistic agenda embedded in the narrative. On one hand, the HKPM guides local visitors to (re)imagine the Chinese nation based on a flourishing, continuing, Confucian-centric, and culturally diverse Chinese civilisation, following customary nationalistic narratives. On the other hand, the HKPM customises its narrative to legitimise Hong Kong’s unification with China and affix Hong Kong’s past, present, and future to the development of the Chinese nation. Together, the exhibitions attempt to bolster visitors’ sense of belonging to the nation through cognitive and affective means, while invoking a sense of obligation to contribute to the nation.