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The population of the district was already large by an early date. The census for 1858 lists 7,261 males and 4,338 females; of whom were presumably children. By 1891 the population had risen to 31,302 persons. It was a mixed group, as in the Ap Lei Chau case, but very much larger.
some
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The persons providing the information that follows had lived in the area for 33 and 41 years respectively when I discussed the shrine with them in 1966. The first, a woman, was the chairman of the 1960 committee. The second, a man, had attended to the shrine since 1954 and had been secretary to the committee since then.
As at Sheung Fung Lane, puppet shows were given each year in the first moon in the pre-war period and after; but since 1954 they had been replaced in Tai Ping Shan with performances of Cantonese songs (...). Again, as with the other shrine, it has long been the custom for pau wui (...) from in and outside the Tai Ping Shan district to worship there on the god's birthday. In 1961 there were nine of these wui in attendance, consisting of groups from associations of vegetable hawkers, fruit hawkers, fish dealers and hawkers, florists, construction workers, catering workers, carpenters, traders, and even workers from a funeral parlour. Many of these groups were regular annual visitors.
The committee comprised about thirty local residents. Each contributed an agreed amount sufficient to cover the cost of the worshipping and puppet or singing performances; no subscriptions were solicited from local people or from the worshippers, though it seems to have been customary for the pau wui to make contributions.
The selection of managers seems to have been conducted along the same lines as at Sheung Fung Lane. Lots were drawn before the image of the god to determine the managers. On another occasion, those selected drew papers among which three were marked for the senior management positions. The rest were marked tai kat, as at Sheung Fung Lane. The two-stage election was probably held here pre-war also.20
As with the body that looked after the shrine at Sheung Fung Lane, the Tai Ping Shan committee was concerned with religious