Preserving critical moments : narrative landscape for military conservation

Abstract

Addressing the ontology of historical conservation in relation to landscape, this thesis scrutinizes the significance of temporality in civilization development so as to justify the value of forgotten or painful military landscapes in heritage conservation which presents the landscape as a facilitator to the present generation for self-reflection of living, existence and identity. By locating the research framework in WWII Hong Kong, the thesis selects the critical temporal point in a highly localized historical context, i.e. the disused war trenches in Shing Mun Redoubt was considered as a significant battlefield in the Battle of Hong Kong. The historical site is then proposed as a research prototype to argue for the setup as a pioneer local war history experiential memorial on the country park for civilian education.