26
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
the same time as the first Cantonese, or even before. The Cantonese were the more successful settlers, however, and in the areas where both groups live side by side the Hakka are always found upstream, along foothills, and in general on the worse land. At an early stage they seem to have become dependants or serfs of the powerful Cantonese families. The balance was restored later by heavy immigration from the East River districts in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and the Hakka are now almost exclusive possessors of the Sha Tau Kok, Sai Kung and Hang Hau peninsulas, and of the foothills of Tai Mo Shan. They are the majority community in Tai Po, Sha Tin and Tsuen Wan, and on the islands of Tsing Yi and Ma Wan.
The origin of the Hakka is unknown. They have contradictory traditions pointing to both a northern and a southern origin, and, while the greatest numbers of them are found in eastern Kwang- tung, there are many in Kiangsi and some in Szechuan and Taiwan. In the New Territories there are certain villages which show indications of being of non-Chinese origin; such villages are invariably Hakka-speaking. Both Cantonese and Hakka are lan- guages of the Yueh group, presenting features characteristic of the standard speech of the early Tang dynasty (seventh century); and Hakka, while closely resembling Cantonese in most respects, preserves a few even earlier characteristics.
In Kwangtung for many centuries there was strife between Cantonese and Hakka, culminating in a war in the early nine- teenth century which required the intervention of the Manchu Government. They are now at peace and inter-marriage, formerly unknown, is now not unusual. Some villages are peacefully shared between the two groups and most Hakka people can speak Cantonese, except in the remotest areas.
The Hoklo have frequented the area since time unknown. They are traditionally boat dwellers, but in some places they have been settled ashore for several generations. There are influential land communities of them on Cheung Chau and Peng Chau. Their name suggests that they originated from Fukien Province (Hok- kien), but this is probably a misnomer, Fukien being only one of their places of origin. Their language belongs to the Min group, found all along the South China coast from Fukien to Hainan Island. The more primitive types of Hoklo dwelling are