HONG KONG BEFORE THE CHINESE
47
by a very powerful clan surnamed Mo. This clan fell foul of authority early in the Sung132 Dynasty and several slightly different accounts of their misdeeds and eventual extermination are preserved in three different clans, one of which claims descent from the sole posthumous survivor of the massacre. The latest edition of the San On Yuen Chi123 has only a brief mention, but earlier editions may have dealt with the subject more fully. The next clan to settle on the swamp land in these parts was surnamed Chan and I have not been able to find any of their descendants. In the wake of the Mo9s catastrophe came the very successful clan of Tang44 whose branches by the end of the Sung Dynasty132 appear to have held most of the best land in several parts of the territory, including some near Tsuen Wan2 from which they have since vanished. When I mentioned that the Chan1 clan had disappeared I do not wish to indicate that there is no evidence to support the tradition that a group with this surname were among the early Chinese settlers. There are several small families found here and there, often in close association with the Tang:44 but none of them has preserved a tradition connecting itself with these early settlements.
The Puzzle. I must here leave the subject of the earliest Chinese settlers, since my main theme is what they found when they first arrived. I have mentioned these details generally to indicate the strength of the tradition which indicates that the present Deep Bay152 extended over the Yuen Long" Valley, up to Sheung Shui130 and over Laffan's Plain.27 On the other side of the territory the sea has been gaining; therefore it is much more difficult to be sure of the original coastline, since when the sea gains, sections of submerged land are often churned away to some depth by wave action, whereas when the sea recedes the contours do not otherwise change. However, we do have the evidence of the cadastral survey completed in the New Territories shortly after the British occupation I believe it began in 1902. Comparing this survey with what is now to be seen sixty years later testifies to three instances (one on Discovery Bay,32 Lantao; one on Tolo Harbour;3 and one on Plover Covel) where the sea has not merely encroached but churned away substantial pieces of arable land leaving in their place fairly deep water. They also testify to the obliteration of three villages106 and thus afford