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February 2, 1898.]
enough to send me a copy of his lecture, with a view, I suppose, that I should use it. I did not read it for three reasons,First, because I have every confidence in Mr. Machell; secondly, be- cause I would rather learn what his lecture is from his own lips; and, thirdly, because I am quite sure that that is your opinion also. (Laughter). I do not consider it any part of the duty of a Chairman to dull the edge of curiosity in a lecturer, any more than it is for an indiscreet and loquacious friend to tell you the story of a novel, the reading of which you are looking forward to spending a pleasant evening.
Mr. Machell then delivered his address on the traditions and historical associations of the Hongkong Chinese. He said :--
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This is not an attempt to make a history of Chinese Hongkong, and much of at I shall say is not original. All I have hoped to do is so to bring together a few points of historical interest that the ramblers among our local hills and coast villages may know where to look for the few interesting relics of our little outpost's past. Several ways of dealing with the subject occurred to me and I have chosen that of order of time as at once the most interesting and best to be understood: In speaking of history as existing locally I am greatly encouraged by the fact that the few points I shall refer to are history in the accepted sense of trustworthy records of actual occurrences.
Where I use tradition I would ask you to bear in mind that memorials such as the Pyra- mids are not found in all lands, and that the Great Wall is the only great relic of human labour or art in China. Tradition is not the less authentic in. that it is some- what difficult proof a remark I have felt forced to make, when a hypercritical bore who had been taken over old camp sites and told of the terrible mortality in them when occupied prior to 1862 said, "But where are the graves If I go further and use conjecture, I do it but to interest you, and surely a mild conjecture is not inadmissible, when built on data quite as ample as those which led Dr. Legge to the very reasonable conjecture that the present Chinese are descendants of settlers, who came through Central Asia, along the Takin Valley, and across the Desert into the province of Kansuh, about B. C. 22001
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT. this record of its saddest hour, and memorial of a melancholy close is exceptionally sacred. 1t was an unfortunate wait that sojourn of the boy Emperor and his forces, on and around the hill by Matauchung. They waited for news of the Mongol movements, and for help from Canton. News came that that city had gone over to the Mongols, and the Sung sailed at once to the south. The treacherous surrender of Canton had, however, enabled the Mongols to equip and organise a fleet, which cut off and "hemmed in the fugitives on the West River S.W. of Macao. All being lost, the boy Emperor and his Prime Minister threw themselves overboard and perished, ending life, dignity, and dynasty together. To add, if pos sible, to the halo of romance woven by the literati round this tragic close of what to them was the dynasty, they are able to point to the expulsion of the Mongols 89 years later, and the establish- ment of a native Ming, or "the Bright' Dynasty, as indicating that Heaven resented de usurpation of the Mongols and punished their unworthiness. This scene of earliest au- thentic local history is easy of access. A good path leads from Hunghom through a series of coast villages, and past typical quarry out lets. Part of the way is along a stone road characteristic of China, and the creek at the foot of the hill is crossed by an interesting old bridge. The whole rente is practicable for. chairs and its surroundings very satisfactory from a sanitary point of view. In the cool season, notably in December and January, the trip is delightful and easily managed between tiffin and dusk.
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Province) and spokeja different dialect to that of the Cantonese or Panti settlers. They were charcoal burners, grass outters, quarrymen, or blacksmiths, as opportunity offered, hardy, good natured, honest race who lived and thrived on the hill side patches and swamps. neglected by the Pantis. This race deserves our special notice. From our first appearance in China till to-day they have been our staunch supporters, our mainstay in fact, wherever hard work and great risks were needed. The Chinese coolie-corps of 750 Hakkas, organised in 1857, did splendid service to our troops in the war. As the Puntis have ever been our enemies so have the Hakkas ever been our friends.
Later than the Hakkas came a fierce and daring race-the Hoklos-dreaded to this day for their exceptional daring and ferocity. They were sailors to a man, natural smugglers and pirates and the terror of the Chinese coast guards. Shaukiwan; Tokawan, Hunghom, and Yaumati were their early settlements, places that have a somewhat sinister repute even yet. These settlements still show well marked indications of the racial characteristics of their early founders. In six large villages the active, cunning, and smart Punti still predominates; in eighteen hill and quarry hamlets, the sturdy Hakka; in four fishing centres, the truculent Hoklo.
To these, but centuries later, came the Tanka, or boat people, the pariahs. of South China has periods of fable, of legend, of
China, always the trusty allies of foreigners, chaotic record. What nation has not? The
and a Jack-of-all-trades race. It would be hard early accounts of every nation must necessarily
to conjure up a more utterly banned race than be obscure and doubtful. National vanity and
this. They may neither settle on shore, nor a love of the marvellous influence them all. I History, even authentic tradition, now for compete at examinations, nor intermarry with start with records uninfluenced by aught of centuries says little of what is now the Crown the rest of the people. In the days of the Can- ton factories the Chinese authorities warned this, in times when history, "the art preserva- colony of Hongkong. This dot on the ocean tive of all arts," was a trustworthy record of and its peninsular dependency were too insig foreigners by annual proclamation against the leading events and changes that have local in-nificant to call for notice. But for the fact that demoralising influence of the Tanka. To this terest.
the navigation routes of the south-west coasts already more than sufficient brand of iniquity of China lay of necessity from Foochow, Amoy, they added by, acting as pilots and provision and Swatow, through Lyemoon and this harbour caterers to our war-vessels and merchantmen, by way of Kapshuimoon to Canton, we should when death was their inevitable fate if captured. probably know nothing more till the British They are still pilots, the crews of ships, fish and occupation. Steady tradition avers that Hong- cattle dealers, and have a great tendency to kong was a great bane to this coast trade. It settle ashore and become absorbed in the mass was a pirate haunt, dreaded by peaceful traders, of the Chinese population. That the village and all but independent of Imperial control. communities of these greatly differing settlers Shaukiwań and Aberdeen were the chief settle- were large and flourishing we have fortunately ments of these plunderers, ostensibly fishermen,& record in the period of British occupation, whose race is by no means extinct yet. From when the census of 1841 gives the land popula- about 1640 to about 1650 these gentry were tion at 3,650. Of these 2,550 were villagers and content to levy a small toll on trading craft, a fishermen in some 20 localities-Shaukiwan and moderation which we may feel assured their Wongneichung leading as to numbers. Anent descendants copied and practised. The Ming this last village there is a curious tradition, or dynasty fell before the present and at first very say superstition, that Happy Valley was energetic and capable Manchus in 1644, when meant to be the business centre of Hongkong, the enlightened Emperor Kanghi encouraged but the Chinese traders strenuously contended foreigners to come to his court and systemat- that its fungshui was malignant and wholly.. ically favoured foreign trade. With the unacceptable. Far back in the Ming dynasty Authentic history begins locally about 1278 decay of Manchu vigour, their piratical rapacity: (1468-1628) Puntis formed the settlement of A.D. Kublai Khan the Mongol had then re-appeared.
Wongneichung. May, we not assume that overthrown the Sung Dynasty, and his forces During this period-the Ming and early Ta their inordinate greed re price of land were hounding down its last Emperor, Ti Ping, Tsing (or Manchu) Dynasties the actual originated the bad "fungshui" story. You look a mere boy. This boy had coasted along from settlement of the island took place. Kowloon in vain for many of these villages now-their obliterated in most cases. Foochow till his fleet entered the waters of peninsula first, then later. Hongkong, were sites even are Hongkong. Here for a few months the peopled by peaceful rustics from the adjoining Looking at the temporary structural elements of latter day unwalled villages, this vanishing is Imperial Court rested. Just within the present Tungkoon district. Kowloon City, as we now boundary of British Kowlooù is a long double call it, was peopled by Cantonese settlers. These not a matter for wonder. They much less topped hill, the base of one of its summits took up all the available arable land, and as their their ruins-would not greatly alter the washed by the sea, the base of the other summit numbers grew, the eastern half of Tungkoon contour of our island slopes or beaches. Old among the swampy ground between Matauchung. was constituted a separate district, called Sun lines of British military cantonments, or of (Br.) and Kowloon City (Ch.) Across the dip | On,t the capital of which was, and is, Sun On, or pirate holds, are, on the contrary, easy to trace. between the two summits runs the path-road it | Namtau (a duplicate of Kowloon City as to South of Mount Bremner in the direction would be called in China-from Hunghom(Kow-walls, &o.,)" on "the Canton river. (This little of Wongneichung Gap is a large area loon Dock) to Kowloon City. South of the walled town was taken by assault by us in 1858 very similar to that once forming Chang Pao's path is the seaward summit of the hill, still The supplies of food and servants had been hold at the Peak. This area must have once marked by embankments and trenches and stopped by the mainland mandarins, and a boat been the site of an important settlement, the orowned by immense blocks of rock, the largest from one of Her Majesty's ships had been fired ruins of which were very distinét 12 years ago. of which bears an inscription consisting of on. when delivering a proclamation, under à May not this have been the twin-hold of Ching three Chinese characters. These read Sung flag of truce, to the mandarin at Sun, On, ie., Yih, the daring coadjutor of Chang Pao, those Wong Tong (hall of a King of the Sung). Namtau. The result of this spirited action, two worthies-for so they are rated in local The Chinese regard this as a genuine inscrip- agreed upon by General Straubenzee and Com-tradition-who so terrorised Kwangtung, and tion, some 600 years old, and in 1807 the char-modore Stewart, was an immediate and satis- successfully defied an allied force of Portuguese acters were renewed, by order of the Viceroy factory change of attitude in the mandarins. and Chinese in 1810. Even Shap Ng-tsai and of Canton. The date of this renewal is given The second bombardment was in 1859). The Chui Apou of 1849-51 may have found this Domesday Book, or land register, was however valley admirably adapted for convalescent and in a second inscription, by the side of the an- cient record. Excavations and quarrying were still kept at Tungkoon, which yamen took up recruiting purposes. prohibited under the severest penalties, and the taxes, whilst the harbours and bays were the Chinese Government specially stipulated, policed by the coast guard from Taipang, a walled when ceding the locality to us,, that the rock, town on Mirs Bay some 40 miles from Hongkong, inscription, and entire hill should remain un- but, since the British occupation, from Kowloon touched. The genius and philosophy of the City. This first settlement of the land by scholars of the Sung Dynasty made it one of honest, industrious folk was barely an established the greast dynasties of the Middle Kingdom, fact, when the Hakkas appeared. These came and in the eyes of Chinese officials and literati from the hills of N. E. Kwangtung (the Canton
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:
Actual history comes in again about the close, of the Panti, Hakka, Hoklo Settlement. That period of comparative peaceful progress was. followed by one great unrest.
In 1628 the Ming Dynasty had its death blow. Its scattered army yet hoped for a turn in for- tan's tide, and full of this hope, chose the island of Hongkong as their rendezvous about
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