78
CARL T. SMITH
for the surname is, but the English in Hong Kong spelled it Tso, while the Portuguese in Macao used Chow. Thus in Hong Kong records a name is likely to appear spelled one way and in Macao yet another. For the period covered in this study, there was no officially approved system of Romanization in Hong Kong. Romanization was also influenced by the dialectal variations in the Chinese language itself: the spelling of a name might vary according to the place of origin of the individual, whether Hakka, Tiuchau, Fukienese or Cantonese. The sources often have a number of variations in the Romanized form of a name. I have used the form that occurs most commonly. The Chinese characters have been given wherever they are available, but they are not given on all source documents or other records.
GOVERNMENT AND THE ÉLITE
In China there was traditionally a close connection between the government and the élite group. With the introduction of the imperial examination system the élite or gentry were recruited from the ranks of the scholars. Success in the examinations, appointment to government office, and the accumulation of capital and economic power were usually concomitants.
Obviously this relationship could not be duplicated in Hong Kong. In the years following the establishment of the Colony, there was a radical hiatus between the Chinese population and the colonial government. Their points of contact were few. As long as the Chinese did not create trouble, the Government was content to let the Chinese community manage its own affairs: the hope being, of course, that the management would be in the hands of responsible leaders. However, the social and economic conditions within the community, both before and after British seizure of the Island, mitigated against control being exercised by responsible individuals.
Official government structures on the local level were at a minimum before the arrival of the British. Hong Kong was one of many "barren rocks" on the edge of San On (later called Po On) District, one of the least important in the Kwang Chau Prefecture. Originally San On had been a part of the Tung Kwun District but it had been separated in 1573. The separation left it small and insignificant. The limited exercise of government
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78
CARL T. SMITH
for the surname is, but the English in Hong Kong spelled it Tso, while the Portugese in Macao used Chow. Thus in Hong Kong records a name is likely to appear spelled one way and in Macao yet another. For the period covered in this study, there was no officially approved system of Romanization in Hong Kong. Ro- manization was also influenced by the dialectal variations in the Chinese language itself: the spelling of a name might vary accord- ing to the place of origin of the individual, whether Hakka, Tiuchau, Fukienese or Cantonese. The sources often have a number of variations in the Romanized form of a name. I have used the form that occurs most commonly. The Chinese characters have been given wherever they are available, but they are not given on all source documents or other record.
GOVERNMENT AND THE ÉLITE
In China there was traditionally a close connection between the government and the élite group. With the introduction of the imperial examination system the élite or gentry were recruited from the ranks of the scholars. Success in the examinations, appointment to government office, and the accumulation of capital and economic power were usually concommitants.1
Obviously this relationship could not be duplicated in Hong Kong. In the years following the establishment of the Colony, there was a radical hiatus between the Chinese population and the colonial government. Their points of contact were few. As long as the Chinese did not create trouble, the Government was content to let the Chinese community manage its own affairs: the hope being, of course, that the management would be in the hands of responsible leaders. However, the social and economic conditions within the community, both before and after British seizure of the Island, mitigated against control being exercised by responsible individuals,
Official government structures on the local level were at a minimum before the arrival of the British. Hong Kong was one of many "barren rocks" on the edge of San On (later called Po On) District, one of the least important in the Kwang Chau Prefecture. Originally San On had been a part of the Tung Kwun District but it had been separated in 1573. The separation left it small and insignificant. The limited exercise of government
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