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A-king's "temple" near the shore of the Lower Bazaar may have been little more than a shrine. It is probable that a man whose power over the community was based on such activities as gambling, prostitution and piracy did not view temples as an integrative institution necessary for his control of community life. However, since they served this function in China they should not be overlooked among his own sphere of interests.
Within a few years of the establishment of British Hongkong, a temple appears to have become a recognised centre for the Chinese community. This is the conclusion I draw from schedules of Chinese buildings published in the Hongkong Blue Book.
In 1845 and 1846 a “Town Hall" is listed.
I chose to identify this with the Shing Wong Temple which was on the hillside south of Gough Street. Shing Wong was the traditional “city god.” The present Shing Wong Street takes its name from the temple.
The building was pulled down in 1877 when the area in which it was located was cleared in anticipation of the erection of a new building for the Central Government School (Queen's College).
I assume that a notice about Hongkong published in The Chinese Repository of October 1843, refers to this temple: "A new Chinese temple is about to be undertaken. Handbills and placards are out, for the purpose of raising money for the erection of the building."
In the 1847 schedule of Chinese buildings, two town halls are listed. It was in this year that the temple on Hollywood Road was erected, dedicated to the gods of literature and war (Man and Mo). The category of “town hall” does not appear in subsequent schedules.
The Government grant for the land on which the Hollywood Road temple was built was given to the Chinese community in 1847 to be used for educational purposes. But instead of being used exclusively as a school, the building served a number of