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Goddess of Mercy, with her vase containing the dew of compassion and her enigmatic smile. Kwan Yin helps souls in distress. The inside of the Temple was blackish from the smoke of countless burning candles and joss sticks. This added to the atmosphere. There were other minor gods. In frenetic Hong Kong visiting the Temple and taking part in the pastimes described helped people stay sane.
One 70 year old Chinese, afflicted with diabetes, began to find it more and more of an effort to struggle up Hatton Road which he dubbed, (Long Life Road). Nonetheless he was determined, come what may, not to give up his daily, what he believed to be, health-giving ascent.
Many of us knew that the Temple complex was no architectural masterpiece and was not fit to be graded by the Government Antiquities and Monuments Office let alone be designated as a monument. It had grown like ‘topsy' and, in parts, could even be described as 'grotty'. Yet it played an important part in the daily routine of many local, regular early morning walkers. Some Hong Kong European residents, when visitors came from overseas, the Temple was one of the places to which they would take them. There they could absorb local colour.
How long had the Temple been there? When I asked the temple folk I usually received evasive answers, such as, in Cantonese, 'Several tens-of-years.' Others said it was 30 years old. I know the latter was not true because I visited the Temple in the mid-1960s and it gave the impression, even then, of having been established for some long time. It is likely that this Temple complex developed, as did several others, from a small shrine. I have no proof of this.
Although no Chinese members of the Temple community that I spoke to were in favour of a 'sanitised' country park the Government demolition team moved in at the end of November 1999. Work went on for several weeks. In addition to pulling down the Temple, craftsmen constructed a pavilion and a few useful shelters as well as a long, part stone, part crazy-paving concrete path up over the foothills. These are well constructed. The pack of 'wild dogs' consisting partly of escapes and partly releases, although some puppies had been born in the wild were rounded up by a Government dog-catching team. There was, however, trepidation among members of the unit. Some believed that, with reincarnation, the souls of some Japanese soldiers
277
Goddess of Mercy, with her vase containing the dew of compassion and her enigmatic smile. Kwan Yin helps souls in distress. The inside of the Temple was blackish from the smoke of countless burning candles and joss sticks. This added to the atmosphere. There were other minor gods. In frenetic Hong Kong visiting the Temple and taking part in the pastimes described helped people stay sane.
One 70 year old Chinese, afflicted with diabetes, began to find it more and more of an effort to struggle up Hatton Road which he dubbed, (Long Life Road). Nonetheless he was determined, come what may, not to give up his daily, what he believed to be, health-giving ascent.
Many of us knew that the Temple complex was no architectural masterpiece and was not fit to be graded by the Government Antiquities and Monuments Office let alone be designated as a monument. It had grown like ‘topsy' and, in parts, could even be described as 'grotty'. Yet it played an important part in the daily routine of many local, regular early morning walkers. Some Hong Kong European residents, when visitors came from overseas, the Temple was one of the places to which they would take them. There they could absorb local colour"
How long had the Temple been there? When I asked the temple folk I usually received evasive answers, such as, in Cantonese, 'Several tens-of-years. Others said it was 30 years old. I know the latter was not true because I visited the Temple in the mid-1960s and it gave the impression, even then, of having been established for some long time. It is likely that this Temple complex developed, as did several others, from a small shrine. I have no proof of this.
Although no Chinese members of the Temple community that I spoke to were in favour of a 'sanitised' country park the Government demolition team moved in at the end of November 1999. Work went on for several weeks. In addition to pulling down the Temple, crafts- men constructed a pavilion and a few useful shelters as well as a long, part stone, part crazy-paving concrete path up over the foothills. These are well constructed. The pack of 'wild dogs' consisting partly of es- capes and partly releases, although some puppies had been born in the wild were rounded up by a Government dog-catching team. There was, however, trepidation among members of the unit. Some believed that, with reincarnation, the souls of some Japanese soldiers
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