Modes of historical view among young citizens in Hong Kong before the changeover of sovereignty

Nietzsche's original thesis concerning the service and disservice of history to life is subject to empirical scrutiny in the present study. To Nietzsche, healthiness and vitality in human life necessitate both the historical and ahistorisal standpoints, and also depend on a balance among the monumental, antiquarian and critical modes of historical view. Utilizing the conceptual apparatuses of Nietzsche, a questionnaire was administered among the young citizens in Hong Kong (N=643) before the city returned to Chinese sovereignty on 1st July, 1997. Through specific item-design of the questionnaire, the relations among: different modes of historical view, quantitative state of memories and striving attitude in life were explored. A positive striving attitude for personal and for collective causes was found to be significantly related to the extracted Factor one (reflecting monumental and antiquarian views on personal history, family history and Chinese cultural tradition). For all types of personal and collective memories, the group which scored one standard deviation below means (reflecting a state of frequent remembering) also scored significantly higher on Factor one. Results of the study indicated important divergence from Nietzsche's thesis. Regarding the complex subject matter of history and life, empirical research extended to other regions and populations should be implemented before any conclusive remark can be made.