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HENRY D. TALBOT
The lines of soundings indicate the tracks of ships and we are entitled to assume that, although they were probably not hydrographic survey ships, they are likely to have been annotating their charts to improve the depiction of the coast-line at the same time as plotting the position of the soundings.
Most of the names given are romanized versions of Chinese names, presumably written down by a European sailor from the words spoken by a Chinese person on board. This would explain the b/m confusion in the case of “Botae Island" (both are bilabials) and the n/l confusion in the case of "Lammon" (both are alveolar).5
The misnaming of "Peng Chau" as "Tay Pak" and "Siu Kau Yi" as "Sui-pak" can also be explained if the islands were seen from the east; on having them pointed out to him the Chinese person mistook the places indicated and gave the names of the villages on the coast of Lantao directly behind them.
The most extraordinary feature of the map is the fact that Hong Kong Island is shown as split in two parts with a waterway apparently running from the present Aldrich Bay (Shau Kei Wan) to Tai Tam Bay. A glance at the topographical and geological maps of the island shows that it is quite impossible that such a waterway could have existed at this time. The only feasible explanation is that at the time the ship was passing north of the island the visibility was so bad that the hills were not visible and that there appeared to be a strait at this place.
The name "Fan-Chin-Cheou” is surprising as it does not appear in other sources as a name of Hong Kong Island. The last syllable "Cheou" presumably represents the well-known word "chau" meaning "island", as in "Cheung Chau" and "Peng Chau”. No obvious meaning for the first two syllables is apparent, although it is tempting to suppose that "Fan" might mean "Foreigner". "He-Ong-Kong" is probably a mistaken transcription of "Heong-Kong", the equivalent of the modern name.
A close examination of the shape of Lantao on the chart shows that this, too, is very badly distorted, especially on the eastern side. The bays such as Silvermine Bay are completely lacking, while the peninsula north of Chang Cheou Is. (Cheung Chau) is shown as a separate island.
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