HONG KONG BEFORE THE BRITISH
175
the Tsing dynasty (from the 17th century until modern times) continued to be bound up with coast defence.
The Tanka were still a source of disorder during the whole of this period. Their chief centres appear to have been Tai O and Tung Ch'ung on Lantao Island. One of the differences between this period and earlier ones is that in their attacks on shipping in the Canton estuary they were helped by the Hoklo boatmen whose migration to centres in the west such as Heung Shan and Hainan Island had been under way for some centuries.
The disorders, however, should not be exaggerated just because they figure large in the official history. The Tanka and Hoklo were for the most part fishermen and those who took to piracy were probably forced to do so from distress. The peasants and traders on shore were without doubt a peaceable population as they are now, whose greatest desire was to avoid trouble and to carry on their industrious occupations.
But from the very beginning of the dynasty the coastal population was looked upon by the government with extreme suspicion. They were accused of being in sympathy with the cause of the Ming dynasty which was still being kept alive in certain centres along the coast. The Manchu government was never able to muster a good enough fleet to defeat the Ming remnants. Just as at the end of the Sung dynasty the coastal shipping had been the last refuge of the defeated dynasty, the last hope of the Ming dynasty was centred in a fleet which they based at Formosa where they were entirely independent. It occurred to the Manchus that the only way to avert the danger was to move the entire population of the China coast inland and to fortify the coast more completely. This colossal undertaking was put into practice without much organisation and without a thought of the suffering it entailed. The official reason given was the danger of pirates and the necessity of protecting the population against them, but a courageous official called Wang Lai-jên pointed out in a petition that the evacuation only increased piracy:
"I have been two years in my post", he wrote, "and have never heard of any piracy. It has arisen only since the evacuation. If the people are allowed to return the so-called pirates will sell their swords and buy cows." He added “It
Page 180
Page 181
HONG KONG BEFORE THE BRITISH
175
the Tsing dynasty (from the 17th century until modern times) continued to be bound up with coast defence.
The Tanka were still a source of disorder during the whole of this period. Their chief centres appear to have been Tai O and Tung Ch'ung on Lantao Island. One of the differences between this period and earlier ones is that in their attacks on shipping in the Canton estuary they were helped by the Hoklo boatmen whose migration to centres in the west such as Heung Shan and Hainan Island had been under way for some centuries.
The disorders, however, should not be exaggerated just because they figure large in the official history. The Tanka and Hoklo were for the most part fishermen and those who took to piracy were probably forced to do so from distress. The peasants and traders on shore were without doubt a peaceable population as they are now, whose greatest desire was to avoid trouble and to carry on their industrious occupations.
But from the very beginning of the dynasty the coastal population was looked upon by the government with extreme suspicion. They were accused of being in sympathy with the cause of the Ming dynasty which was still being kept alive in certain centres along the coast. The Manchu government was never able to muster a good enough fleet to defeat the Ming remnants. Just as at the end of the Sung dynasty the coastal shipping had been the last refuge of the defeated dynasty, the last hope of the Ming dynasty was centred in a fleet which they based at Formosa where they were entirely independent. It occurred to the Manchus that the only way to avert the danger was to move the entire population of the China coast inland and to fortify the coast more completely. This colossal undertaking was put into practice without much organisation and without a thought of the suffering it entailed. The official reason given was the danger of pirates and the necessity of protecting the population against them, but a courageous official called Wang Lai-jên pointed out in a petition that the evacuation only increased piracy:
"1 have been two years in my post", he wrote, "and have never heard of any piracy. It has arisen only since the evacuation. If the people are allowed to return the so-called pirates will sell their swords and buy cows." He added “It
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