The Five Great Clans
41
inside their walled village, and the Hau installed cannon in three of their villages and bombarded Sheung Shui. At the same time one of their literati with contacts in Nam Tau,118 the district capital, arranged for the Imperial troops stationed there to be brought in on the side of the Hau Clan. The Lius got to hear of this, and used their contacts in the provincial capital to have the troops stopped. It is said that on being told of this Liu countermove the leader of the Hau "spat out blood and died of rage". The dispute was settled eventually by arbitration.
VI
I have tried to show that these five clans controlled the more important part of the area which is now the New Territories, and that they derived their power and wealth from the land. My field-work was concerned with only one of these five, and the information which I have given above was largely gathered as incidental to my own study. I feel that a worthwhile project would be a study of just such a group of clans, to find answers to such questions as: exactly how much power they did wield; how much they were able to disregard the central government and the provincial authorities; what connections they had with each other at what levels; how much they inter-married, and whether marriage patterns changed significantly according to the rise of disputes; exactly why certain clans allied with others; and how spheres of influence over smaller clans came about. There is the question also of the position of some of these clans as tax-lords120 acting as tax agents for the government how they obtained the privilege and how they used it. The study could be brought up to date with an enquiry into the way in which the power of the five clans is being lost as educational, economic, and governmental changes bring about a levelling of opportunity in the New Territories. Perhaps this brief introduction will serve to point out the need for such a study.
THE FIVE GREAT CLANS
41
inside their walled village, and the Haus installed cannon in three of their villages and bombarded Sheung Shui. At the same time one of their literati with contacts in Nam Tau,118 the district capital, arranged for the Imperial troops stationed there to be brought in on the side of the Hau Clan. The Lius got to hear of this, and used their contacts in the provincial capital to have the troops stopped. It is said that on being told of this Liu countermove the leader of the Haus "spat out blood and died of rage". The dispute was settled eventually by arbitration.
VI
I have tried to show that these five clans controlled the more important part of the area which is now the New Territories, and that they derived their power and wealth from the land. My field-work was concerned with only one of these five, and the information which I have given above was largely gathered as incidental to my own study. I feel that a worthwhile project would be a study of just such a group of clans, to find answers to such questions as: exactly how much power they did wield; how much they were able to disregard the central government and the provincial authorities; what connections they had with each other at what levels; how much they inter-married, and whether mar- riage patterns changed significantly according to the rise of disputes; exactly why certain clans allied with others; and how spheres of influence over smaller clans came about. There is the question also of the position of some of these clans as tax-lords120 acting as tax agents for the government how they obtained the privilege and how they used it. The study could be brought up to date with an enquiry into the way in which the power of the five clans is being lost as educational, economic, and governmental changes bring about a levelling of opportunity in the New Ter- ritories. Perhaps this brief introduction will serve to point out the need for such a study.
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