The Travelling Palace of Southern Sung
27
height. The character toi was in a variant which has been mistaken by many people for tang (). Later, a further seven characters were added, vertically, on the right side, recording that repairs had been carried out in the ting mau year of the Ch'ing Emperor Chia Ch'ing (A.D. 1807). Of course, this means the re-engravement of the three original characters, for there was otherwise nothing to be repaired. The character wang (£) "king" should be huang (§) which stands for "emperor". It was first intentionally inscribed in that erroneous form in the history of the Sung Dynasty compiled by the Yuan officials where it was recorded that there were two Sung "Kings", implying that they were not recognised as Emperors perpetuating the Sung dynastic throne. This was a grave mistake subsequently pointed out by many Chinese scholars. We should use the character huang for "Emperor" instead. The naming of the Sung Huang Tai Garden and Sung Huang Tai Road by the Hong Kong Government is therefore correct.
The precise meaning of the name Sung Wong Toi is not easily ascertained. It has been alleged that the boy Emperor Tuan Tsung used to rest in the cave beneath the great rock and sometimes played hide and seek there with his small brother. The mound has been likened to a toi, a terrace or high building. One historian has asserted that a watch tower was built on the top of the mound to look out for the advent of the enemy, hence its name. This last theory is not credible since the mound itself was already high enough for watching over the sea to the east without the superstructure. In my own research work, a line has been found in the Hsin-an Gazetteer which gives a very useful hint for the interpretation of the name. It reads: "There were three characters 'Sung Wong Toi', on the great rock which was beside the Toi".12 In reverse the last part can be read "the Toi was beside the great rock". Therefore, neither the great rock nor the hill itself can be identified as the Toi. The logical conclusion cannot be anything but that a separate toi must have been constructed near the foot by the side of the hill and the big characters were later engraved on the great rock merely as an indication of the historic spot commemorating the visit of two Emperors. It might have been a real watch tower, for the rocky hill was not easy to climb for military purposes. But where exactly was the toi or tower is a problem which remains to be solved.
THE TRAVELLING PALACE OF SOUTHERN SUNG
27
height. The character toi was in a variant which has been mis- taken by many people for tang (). Later, a further seven characters were added, vertically, on the right side, recording that repairs had been carried out in the ting mau year of the Ch'ing Emperor Chia Ch'ing (A.D, 1807). Of course, this means the re-engravement of the three original characters, for there was otherwise nothing to be repaired. The character wang (£) "king" should be huang (2) which stands for "emperor". It was first intentionally inscribed in that erroneous form in the history of the Sung Dynasty compiled by the Yuan officials where it was re- corded that there were two Sung "Kings", implying that they were not recognised as Emperors perpetuating the Sung dynastic throne. This was a grave mistake subsequently pointed out by many Chinese scholars. We should use the character huang for "Emperor" instead. The naming of the Sung Huang Tai Garden and Sung Huang Tai Road by the Hong Kong Government is therefore correct.
The precise meaning of the name Sung Wong Toi is not easily ascertained. It has been alleged that the boy Emperor Tuan Tsung used to rest in the cave beneath the great rock and some- times played hide and seek there with his small brother. The mound has been likened to a toi, a terrace or high building. One historian has asserted that a watch tower was built on the top of the mound to look out for the advent of the enemy, hence its name. This last theory is not credible since the mound itself was already high enough for watching over the sea to the east without the superstructure. In my own research work, a line has been found in the Hsin-an Gazetteer which gives a very useful hint for the interpretation of the name. It reads: "There were three characters 'Sung Wong Toi', on the great rock which was beside the Toi".12 In reverse the last part can be read "the Toi was beside the great rock". Therefore, neither the great rock nor the hill itself can be identified as the Toi. The logical conclusion cannot be anything but that a separate toi must have been con- structed near the foot by the side of the hill and the big characters were later engraved on the great rock merely as an indication of the historic spot commemorating the visit of two Emperors. It might have been a real watch tower, for the rocky hill was not easy to climb for military purposes. But where exactly was the toi or tower is a problem which remains to be solved.
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