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who had gone over to the Manchus.1 Its adoption was due to a conviction that Cheng's campaigning against the new dynasty could not be continued if aid and supplies were denied him in this way. As the plan has it, "the end of the enemy comes without war".2
Enforcement of this drastic measure was extended to the Hsin-an and adjacent districts of Kwangtung in 1661. Two inspections determined the areas to be cleared. At the time of the first inspection up to a distance of 50 li from the coast, it was calculated that two-thirds of the territory of the hsien would be affected. A year later the boundary was extended further inland, and what remained of the district was to be absorbed into the adjoining Tung-kuan county. By the 5th year of K'ang Hsi, Hsin-an had ceased to be a separate administrative district.
When the new boundaries were fixed, the inhabitants living outside them were given notice to move inland. These orders were enforced by troops. The result was that whole communities were uprooted from their native place, deprived of their means of livelihood and compelled to settle where they could. The rural people risked their lives if they ignored the government edict to move, or ventured back into the prohibited area. It is recorded that about 16,000 persons from Hsin-an were driven inland. Only 1,648 of those who left are said to have returned when the evacuation was rescinded in 1669.4 The survivors' hardships did not end when they returned to take up their interrupted lives in their old homes, for it is recorded that destructive typhoons in 1669 and 1671 destroyed the new houses in many places.5
This chapter of unprecedented hardship and suffering has had a great impact on the minds of local people and their descendants. It is recalled in the genealogies and traditions of some of the long-settled clans of the district: it is commemorated in the construction and continued repair of temples to the two officials, a Governor of Kwangtung and a Viceroy of the Liang-kuang, who strove to have
1 Hsieh, pp. 565-566.
2 Hsieh, pp. 566 and 580-581.
3 For the local areas to be cleared see Lo, 1963, pp. 94-95. See also Sung 1939, which details some local events on land and sea.
4 Barnett, 1957, p. 262. A supplementary check in 1667 gave 3,667 persons still living within the district; ibid, p. 263. We cannot be sure whether the figures relate to persons or only to males over 16; or whether they are accurate.
5 HNHC 13/3.
THE HONG KONG REGION
119
who had gone over to the Manchus.1 Its adoption was due to a conviction that Cheng's compaigning against the new dynasty could not be continued if aid and supplies were denied him in this way. As the plan has it, "the end of the enemy comes without war'.2
Enforcement of this drastic measure was extended to the Hsin- an and adjacent districts of Kwangtung in 1661. Two inspections determined the areas to be cleared. At the time of the first inspec- tion up to a distance of 50 li from the coast, it was calculated that two-thirds of the territory of the hsien would be affected. A year later the boundary was extended further inland, and what remained of the district was to be absorbed into the adjoining Tung-kuan county. By the 5th year of K'ang Hsi, Hsin-an had ceased to be a separate administrative district.
When the new boundaries were fixed, the inhabitants living outside them were given notice to move inland. These orders were enforced by troops. The result was that whole communities were uprooted from their native place, deprived of their means of liveli- hood and compelled to settle where they could. The rural people risked their lives if they ignored the government edict to move, or ventured back into the prohibited area. It is recorded that about 16,000 persons from Hsin-an were driven inland. Only 1,648 of those who left are said to have returned when the evacuation was rescinded in 1669.4 The survivors' hardships did not end when they returned to take up their interrupted lives in their old homes, for it is recorded that destructive typhoons in 1669 and 1671 des- troyed the new houses in many places.5
This chapter of unprecedented hardship and suffering has had a great impact on the minds of local people and their descendants. It is recalled in the genealogies and traditions of some of the long- settled clans of the district: it is commemorated in the construction and continued repair of temples to the two officials, a Governor of Kwangtung and a Viceroy of the Liang-kuang, who strove to have
1 Hsieh, pp. 565-566.
2 Hsieh, pp. 566 and 580-581.
3 For the local areas to be cleared see Lo, 1963, pp. 94-95. See also Sung 1939, which details some local events on land and sea.
4 Barnett, 1957, p. 262. A supplementary check in 1667 gave 3,667 persons still living within the district; ibid, p. 263. We cannot be sure whether the figures relate to persons or only to males over 16; or whether they are accurate.
5 HNHC 13/3.
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