The 1997 handover created demands for teaching Chinese culture at and above college level, including those being trained to be teachers. There have been debates on Chinese culture texts and relevant parts of the up-coming high school liberal studies syllabus. The criticisms reflect worries about indoctrinating patriotism and occasionally, losing the right to interpret Chinese culture to the national political centre. While using international scholarship in anthropology and other disciplines might answer some of these concerns, "internationalizing" alone does not help foster participation in interpreting Chinese culture or build a sense of community with alternative voices in the mainland. This paper describes attempts to introduce the work of mainland scholars in anthropology and other disciplines which transcend the tradition-versus-modernity and Chinese-versus-foreign dichotomies. As many of those authors do some of their writings for the mainland reading public, address current issues in mainland China, and often are concerned about empowerment through understanding marginalized traditions, the inclusion of more of their work in teaching Chinese culture in Hong Kong could help nurture "non-official" concepts of being Chinese without opting out of a sense of community that can benefit many on either side of the Hong Kong – mainland divide.
