香樂思(G.A.C. Herklots)早在1951年就已經出版 The Hong Kong Countryside Throughout the Seasons，當中收錄了他於香港的自然觀察及體現。年前，彭玉文先生更譯註新版本，是為《野外香港歲時記》。熟悉早期香港風土歷史的彭，於上月舉辦的「追憶的風景—香港自然寫作對本土的定位」講座中，介紹了數位與香樂思同期，或接續紀錄香港本地旅遊的寫作者，有興趣由早期著作，了解昔日風光的朋友實在不容錯過。
旅行救國
黃佩佳及吳灞陵於1930年代組成行山隊，與眾人在香港到處遊玩，並撰寫1930年代本地行山的報刊專欄及周刊。在1979年成立郊野公園之前，香港已有一系列的文章描述大家熟知的西貢、新娘潭或大嶼山等地。黃在描述風景之餘，亦不忘社會參與，稱「旅行救國」。曾寫道「呢陣中原多難，要抵抗橫蠻。你亦一個國民，點好話唔赴國難？鍛煉吓精神體魄，好去保護鄉關。」
昨日的明日大嶼願景
而黃佩佳的好友吳灞陵，比時任特首更早50年提出「明日大嶼願景」。他於1963年出版《今日大嶼山》一書，詳細分析大嶼山地理環境及其發展潛力。半世紀前的「今日」變成昨日，大嶼山早就發展成為一個國際交通樞紐之處。愛好自然風光，心心念念大嶼山，並外號鰲洋客的他，若知道即將於海洋之上建成萬億人工島，不知道反應如何？
延伸閱讀：
Travel to Save our Country? The Vision of Lantau Tomorrow from Last Century
In 1951, Geoffrey. A. C. Herklots published The Hong Kong Countryside Throughout the Seasons which recorded his observations of the nature in Hong Kong. Last year, Mr PANG Yuk-man translated this classic to Chinese with up-to-date references (Chinese title : 《野外香港歲時記》). Pang who is familiar with early day Hong Kong culture and history, hosted a talk in April titled "Chasing our Memory: Nature Literature in Hong Kong and positioning of localism" introducing a few writers from the same period of Herklots who specialised in local tourism.
Travel to Save the Country
Led by WONG Pui-kai and NG Ba-ling, a hiking group was formed in the 1930s which explored the countryside of Hong Kong. They also started writing columns for newspapers and magazines on hikings, creating a collection of articles of the countryside, including places like Sai Kung, Bride's Pool and Lantau, long before the Country Parks were set up in 1979. Wong did not just write about the scenery of Hong Kong, he was also very involved in social movement and coined the term "Travel to Save the Country" . He once wrote ‘The mainland is under attack and need to defend herself from invasion. As a citizen, how can you not join forces to save the country? It is important for one to get physically fit to protect our home country.’
Lantau Tomorrow Vision of Yesterday
As for Ng, he proposed the Lantau Tomorrow Vision 50 years before the current Chief Executive did. Ng who loved the natural environment and had a close tie with Lantau, published a book titled "Lantau Today" in 1963. In the book he analysed the geography and discussed the potential for development of the island. Half a century has passed, Lantau has long evolved into an international transport hub. One wonders what Ng would have thought had he known about the multi-billion dollar plan to build man-made islands off Lantau?