Reconnecting to the Great Civilisation: The Strategy of Revitalising the Hakka Unicorn Dance in Hong Kong’s Hang Hau through the Intangible Cultural Heritage System

Abstract

The Hakka unicorn dance, with reference to mythical animals in the great Chinese tradition, was developed by the Hakka people in Guangdong for religious and societal purposes. This dancing tradition was brought by Hakka migrants to Hong Kong in the eighteenth century. Most Hakka villages established their own unicorn dance troupes to serve the needs of their local village communities. Since the 1960s, however, this local tradition has been under the threat of vanishing due to the loss of young players and the rapid urbanisation process. With the Hakka unicorn dance in Hang Hau, Hong Kong, being named as an item on the Chinese national list of intangible cultural heritage in 2014, an opportunity to conserve the unicorn dance became available to the villagers. In the process of revitalisation, the Hakka villagers emphasised the authentic cultural meanings of their unicorn dance and defined their tradition as an inherently Chinese one that aligned with the national framework.