Since the launch of the "13th Five-Year Plan" in 2016, the construction of the "Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area" has become one of the most important development priorities, and in recent years, the concept of the "Literary Greater Bay Area" has emerged. Currently, the literary community is focusing on compiling and introducing works by writers from the "Greater Bay Area" in recent years as a collective body. This study, however, seeks to approach the topic from a more academically valuable perspective, arguing that the origins of the "Literary Greater Bay Area" can already be traced back to the 1980s. By examining records in literary magazines from that period, this research explores the literary exchange activities between editors and writers from Guangdong and Hong Kong, investigating the circulation of texts, the editorial selection criteria, and Guangzhou writers' perceptions of Hong Kong. It highlights Hong Kong's intermediary role in the "Literary Greater Bay Area." This paper takes the "Guangzhou Conference" organized by Flower City magazine in 1979 and the "Hong Kong Visit" column in Zuopin magazine in 1981 as the case studies. Through these examples, it aims to supplement previous discussions that generally labeled Hong Kong as a "cultural desert" or focused on the "Southern Literati," instead emphasizing Hong Kong's influence on Guangzhou's literary development.

Authors:
Man Fung Kwong, Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Hong Kong

About the Presenter(s)
Dr. Kwong Man Fung is now a senior lecturer in Hong Kong Metropolitan University. He is now working on his research project about travelogues in the 1980s in different Chinese literary magazines.

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