porcupines and barking deer flourished there. During holiday times, many persons visited the island for shooting excursions. In 1923, a Mr. Chan came to hunt. He noticed that there were human remains on the hills, lying on the surface. Moved by compassion, he contacted our local headman, Mr. Tang Yuen-kwun. It was then established that these bones were the remains of former villagers of this island. However, it seemed either that no one looked after them, or else the persons concerned were miserably poor. Willingly, Mr. Chan raised the necessary funds and entrusted Mr. Tang Yuen-kwun to construct a charitable grave to re-bury the remains, so that local villagers could worship there. This happened over 50 years ago.
Women's Graves
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Females' graves should not be excluded from this survey. From the evidence available from the Tsuen Wan district, there can be no doubt that some women were greatly honoured. This was particularly the case with the wives of founding ancestors. Many old graves containing the remains of such persons have been buried and reburied over the centuries by their descendants. Single burials of married, and often elderly women are also common, again in formal graves and often repaired many years later. Sometimes these women are not first but tin fong wives, married after the death of a first wife. Also when, as sometimes happened, it was decided to erect a clan grave, the remains exhumed and brought from elsewhere included just as many women's as men's. In recent times, when development required the removal of many old graves, those of women as well as men's or married couples' were reprovisioned by descendants.
It is difficult to establish why women were so well favoured in this respect. Some women were revered by husbands and family because of their noble character and capabilities at home and in the family, and this is sometimes stated on the inscribed tablet at the grave. Others may have been buried in style because of the general respect shown for age and the high status of a wife and mother who had become head of the family on her husband's death. Some inscriptions would reflect truth, others would be more eulogistic than factual, reflecting the family's desire to gain face from giving the deceased formal burial. Whatever the reasons, the fact remains that the hillsides contain many formal graves where the sole occupant is a female.
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