[ { "id": 204415, "series_id": 26, "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine", "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊", "series_use_hku_proxy": false, "document_key": "RAS-1962", "page_number": 47, "title": "RAS-1962", "content_text": "38\n\nHOLMES WELCH\n\nelement of the many-sided popular religion. I shall be talking about the small percentage who were consciously Buddhist.\n\nThe first stage of the Buddhist career was that of a lay devotee, the chü-shih ±. He was someone who was interested in Buddhism, studied it, and perhaps joined a devotees' club, that is, a chu-shih lin ½±✯. There were many such clubs in China, particularly in the large cities. He might attend lectures there once a week, at which an eminent monk would come to talk about the sutras. He might learn from the monk to chant the basic liturgy and to handle the liturgical instruments, the gong, clapper, and so on. He might even learn to expound the sutras himself, although an ordained monk was always supposed to be present to attest to what he said.\n\nThe second stage of the Buddhist career was taking the Refuges, kuei-i. The layman went to a monk and repeated the formula: \"I take refuge in the Buddha, I take refuge in the dharma, I take refuge in the Sangha (i.e., the congregation of monks); and I acknowledge herewith that such and such a monk is my master.\" Afterwards he would get a certificate of this master-disciple relationship. One could take the Refuges over and over again, that is, one could have several masters.\n\n11\n\nThe third stage was to take the Five Vows, shou wu-chieh 1. This was normally done only once, perhaps at a small temple, but more probably at a big monastery in conjunction with an ordination of monks. Sometimes laymen would participate in the very first part of the ordination ceremony, which included the Five Vows, and then they would watch the ordinands go through the rest of it. Taking the Five Vows meant that a Buddhist was probably quite serious about his religion. Specifically it only committed him not to kill, not to steal, not to lie, not to drink wine, and not to indulge in illicit sexual intercourse. But many a layman who had taken the vows would recite a sutra every morning before breakfast in his household shrine, perhaps the Heart Sutra. On the first and fifteenth of the lunar month he would probably abstain from eating meat and he would also fast during the whole of the sixth month. But he was still a layman and likely to remain one.\n\nThe fourth step was to enter the novitiate. This was termed \"leaving home\" ch'u chia. It solemnized the layman's", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1962.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/9s166f47f", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 204416, "series_id": 26, "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine", "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊", "series_use_hku_proxy": false, "document_key": "RAS-1962", "page_number": 48, "title": "RAS-1962", "content_text": "THE BUDDHIST CAREER\n\n39\n\nintention to become a monk under the auspices of a master (not necessarily the same one with whom he might have taken the Refuges). \"Leaving home\" was a simple ceremony. The layman went to a barber, had his head shaved, except for a patch of hair on top, and repaired to his future master's temple, where he burned some incense and kowtowed first to the Buddha image and then to the master. Thereupon the latter shaved off the remaining patch of hair in the presence of witnesses and at this moment the layman became his disciple. There are several kinds of master-disciple relationships, but when a Buddhist monk speaks simply of his \"master\" or shih-fu, he means his tonsure-master, or t'i-tu en-shih #1824p, that is the one who shaved his head.\n\nBy leaving home he became a novice, or sha-mi, which is the Sanscrit word sramanera (not to be confused with a sha-men, that is, the sramana, or advanced monk). Notice that he had not received the novice's ordination (as he would have at this stage in a Theravadin country), but he was already called a novice and lived as one; that is, he wore a monk's robe, ate vegetarian food, and observed all the Ten Vows. These vows are, besides the first five mentioned above, not to attend theatricals or dancing parties, not to wear perfume or adornment, not to sleep on a high or large bed, not to accept gold or silver, and not to take food after noon (this last prohibition was ignored by most monks in China on the grounds that the climate was too cold). The disciple lived with his tonsure master in the latter's small temple for a period of training that, according to the rules, lasted three years, but was often shorter in practice. He learned not only ritual and liturgy, but also what it was like to be a monk. It was a trial period, from which he could withdraw at any time without embarrassment, and some did withdraw. At the end he was taken by his master to a big public monastery, shih-fang ts'ung-lin, for ordination. If he lived in the north, he might go to the Kuang-chi Ssu in Peking. If he lived in the south, he might go to Pao-hua Shan, which is not far from Nanking. These two were very strict and he could be sure that if he were ordained there, it had been done correctly. At Pao-hua Shan four or five hundred novices would come to be ordained every autumn and in the spring another four or five hundred would come. Sometimes as many as a thousand came", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1962.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/9s166f47f", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 204421, "series_id": 26, "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine", "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊", "series_use_hku_proxy": false, "document_key": "RAS-1962", "page_number": 53, "title": "RAS-1962", "content_text": "44 \n\nHOLMES WELCH \n\nfrom those who knew them best. The leading exponent of the Lotus Sutra might be living in Kiangsu, the leading exponent of the Surangama Sutra in Manchuria, and so on. One went around the country to the famous monasteries, studying at the feet of the famous masters. One's possessions were all in a bag that theoretically weighed only two and a half catties: bowl, robes, and, most important of all, the ordination certificate—so important that one monk I know keeps his in the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank. The ordination certificate was like a Diners' Club credit card. At any big public monastery anywhere in China, the travelling monk had merely to show it to the head of the Guest Department and, if it was in order, he had to be admitted and he could live there as long as he liked unless he violated a rule for which the penalty was expulsion. Under certain conditions it was not necessary to show his ordination certificate to gain admission. That could wait until he applied for a place in the monastic organisation.\n\nDuring his first weeks in a monastery the travelling monk lived in the yün-shui t'ang or “cloud-water hall” (monks were thought to be as unattached as drifting clouds or running water). Then when the next semester2 began, he would enroll in the Meditation Hall, or the Hall for Reciting Buddha's Name, or some other part of the organisation. In general he ascended by one or both of two ladders, the ladder of religious positions or the ladder of administrative positions. In the Meditation Hall, for example, he might first be an acolyte, then record the sayings of Instructors, then handle the liturgical instruments, and finally become the wei-no or head of the Hall. Though I call him “head,” his position was in fact inferior to the Four Instructors Ssu-ta pan-shou, who, in rotation, taught the monks how to meditate. On the administrative side he might begin as a serving monk. (The famous Hsü-yun spent four years as a water-carrier, as a gardener, and waiting on table). Step by step he could rise to be a chief of a department, perhaps of the abbot's personal office, or later of the Guest Department or the Treasury. There was a theoretical total of forty-eight positions and in a big monastery like Chin Shan they were all filled.\n\n2 The year was divided into two main periods beginning on the 16th of the first moon and the 16th of the seventh moon,", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1962.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/9s166f47f", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 204422, "series_id": 26, "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine", "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊", "series_use_hku_proxy": false, "document_key": "RAS-1962", "page_number": 54, "title": "RAS-1962", "content_text": "# THE BUDDHIST CAREER\n\n45\n\nAt the top of the hierarchy was the abbot, fang-chang 方丈. He was chosen in such a variety of ways that I shall only mention two. The first was called selecting the worthy, hsüan-hsien 選賢. It meant that at the end of the old abbot's three-year term (there was a limit of three terms) the head monks of the monastery and the elders of the neighbouring monasteries would consult with one another to decide who would make a worthy successor. It was not easy because someone had to be found who was qualified both as an administrator and as a teacher, and the trouble was that, even when found, he might be unwilling to serve. Very few monks wanted the responsibility of running a big monastery. What they wanted was hsiu-hsing, to practise religious exercises. So if they heard that they were about to be named abbot, they would silently depart by night. As a last resort those charged with finding a new abbot might get half a dozen candidates to draw lots in front of Buddha's image. This way Buddha himself made the selection and there was no escape for the reluctant.\n\n3\n\nA simpler and far more widespread method than the \"selection of the worthy\" was for the abbot himself to decide which of his disciples should succeed him and then to train him for his future responsibilities. In some famous monasteries this would always be one of his dharma disciples fa-t'u 法徒, not a \"tonsure disciple, t'i-tu ti-tzu 剃度弟子\" and, of course, not a Refuges disciple, kuei-i ti-tzu 歸依弟子. A dharma disciple was a younger monk to whom, in theory, the master had handed on his understanding of the dharma in a direct “imprinting of mind on mind, hsin hsin hsiang yin 心心相印.” In testimony thereof the master gave him a dharma certificate fa-chüan 法券 which stated that he, the master of such-and-such a generation, had received the dharma from so-and-so of the previous generation, who received it from so-and-so of the generation before, all the way back through forty or fifty generations to patriarchs like Nagarjuna or Bodhidharma, the founders of the T'ien-t'ai and Zen sects. The dharma certificate was the highest document conferred in the monastic career. It established formally that a monk belonged to a given sect, though there was nothing to prevent him from...\n\n* i.e., not a monk whose head he had shaved and whom he had trained before ordination,", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1962.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/9s166f47f", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 204902, "series_id": 26, "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine", "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊", "series_use_hku_proxy": false, "document_key": "RAS-1965", "page_number": 10, "title": "RAS-1965", "content_text": "4\n\nof the Editorial Board. It is true to say the Journal is a monument to his scholarship and editorial ability. In recognition of their eminent service to the Society, both Sir Robert Black and Mr. Cranmer-Byng were admitted as the first Honorary Members of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. In the summer, Professor F. S. Drake of the University left the Colony on retirement. He had been a great inspiration to the Society and his inaugural address in April 1960 on \"The Study of Asia: A Heritage and a Task\" as well as his lecture on the Nestorian Crosses and his farewell address on the \"Jewish Colony at Kaifeng\", were memorable events. Before he left, Professor Drake was the guest at a dinner in his honour given by the Council. At the end of the year, we also had regretfully to bid farewell to Mr. Mallory-Browne, who had served on the Council and who had, through The Asia Foundation, given generous support to the Symposium in May, and had obtained another grant of HK$2,850 from the Foundation for the purchase of books for the library. We wish to record our appreciation and thanks both to him and The Asia Foundation for their generous support.\n\nWe have to thank other donors also for gifts of books for the library. Dr. L. A. Khan has presented seven books, mainly on the subject of the Qur'an and the Philosophy of Islam. Mr. F. A. Nixon, presented four rare volumes, bound in sheepskin, entitled The Museum of Antiquities (Astasiatika Samlingarna), being four volumes on East Asia antiquities, published in Stockholm, and dedicated to H.R.H. Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden. Mr. Nixon has also presented to the Society a rare manuscript in Chinese characters, a fragment of one of the sacred books of Mahayana Buddhism, which had been deposited in the rock temples of the Thousand Buddhas at Tun-huang. The manuscript has been examined by the Department of Oriental Printed Books & MSS. of the British Museum and pronounced a genuine document from the Tung-huang Monastic Library of the eighth or ninth century, but certainly not later. This is a very important acquisition for which we are deeply indebted to Mr. Nixon. The gift raises the question of the custody of such a document and of our collection of books, which is now increasing and which should be made available to members. We have, however, no library or reading room of our own and have no funds to rent one. We should like to make an appeal for a", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1965.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s752cj653", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 206631, "series_id": 26, "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine", "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊", "series_use_hku_proxy": false, "document_key": "RAS-1972", "page_number": 179, "title": "RAS-1972", "content_text": "THREE CHINESE DEITIES\n\n173\n\nborn a lump of formless flesh which so horrified his father, King Chou, that he ordered it to be abandoned outside the city walls. The lump was recognised as an Immortal, the caul split open and the child removed. He was cared for by a hermit and brought up and nursed by one of the eight Immortals, Ho Hsien Ku († plikt). When he came of age, Ho revealed to him his identity and that his mother, as punishment for bearing such a \"monster\", had been thrown from a high window. Yin then determined to destroy the Imperial concubine who was the Royal favourite and by her calumnies had caused both the death of his mother and his ejection from the city. Yin was presented with two magic weapons by the Goddess T'ien Fei (Ait), a gold club and battleaxe. After the big battle between the forces of Shang and Chou, Yin destroyed the Imperial concubine and was rewarded by the Jade Emperor for his bravery and for his filial piety with the titles of T'ai Sui and Marshal Yin (†). Yin Ch'iao means \"Yin (who was deserted in) the suburbs\". His child's name, so Doré records, whilst living with Ho Hsien Ku was Chin No Cha (4). This adds further confusion to the legends surrounding No Cha, another deity and one who appears with great frequency in Chinese legends and fairy tales.\n\nAnother of the legends in The Deification of the Gods tells of Yin Ch'iao first on the side of his father, the wicked King Chou, and then later, switching sides, and fighting with the good King Wu. Yin Ch'iao was decapitated by a general during the battle after being enclosed by the Buddha Jan Teng () between two mountains leaving only his head protruding. He was deified by Chiang Tze Ya (†††), as described in the 99th chapter of The Deification of the Gods during the general elevation of the gods and also given the presidency of the Ministry of Time. In another novel of the same era as the Deification, the Sou Shen Chi (†††2) the Jade Emperor (11) conferred on Yin the title of T'ai Sui, Marshal Yin (★★K) for his services in combating evil.\n\nYet another story describes a jealous rival of Yin Ch'iao's mother who, as a concubine to the King, caused him to order the execution of Yin Ch'iao, his son, for plotting treason. He was saved by the magic of Ch'ih Tsing Tze (T).\n\n2 Record of Research into the Gods (part of the T'ao Tsang).", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1972.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/gm80qf99h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209789, "series_id": 26, "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine", "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊", "series_use_hku_proxy": false, "document_key": "RAS-1983", "page_number": 48, "title": "RAS-1983", "content_text": "26\n\nthe problem of space was solved and the ancestors acquired additional merit by sharing that gained by the monks' prayers. Thus, the ancestors' hall (1) has become a rich source of revenue in many Hong Kong monasteries. The affluence of the sangha is most easily seen in the many very spacious and ornate temples built or rebuilt in recent years. These magnificent buildings in turn become centres of attraction for devotees and tourists. As we shall see below, these temples do not really serve the direct needs of the sangha, which has diminished in number. (Very often, only a handful of monks live in a monastery which could accommodate hundreds.)\n\nThe affluence of the monks is again seen in the proliferation of small temples and houses of cultivation (#4). There are altogether about 400 big and small temples and the significance of this large number is self-evident if we bear in mind that there are altogether only about 200 to 250 monks and about 1,000 nuns in Hong Kong. It is estimated that there are about a dozen big monasteries each of which holds in excess of ten monks, and a significantly larger number of nunneries containing about that number of nuns. It appears then that a small temple has on the average only one monk or two or three nuns. If a monk is wealthy enough, there is a great attraction for him to own a temple himself, for then he can avoid the difficulties of living in common with other monks or of subjecting himself to an abbot. The impact of this development on the monk's religious cultivation is yet to be investigated.\n\n4.\n\nAnother development during this period was the establishment of Buddhist centres within the urban areas. Many of the small temples mentioned above are situated within high-rise blocks of flats in the crowded areas of the city. Thus, the monks make themselves readily accessible to the populace whether for the purpose of spreading the Buddha's teaching, doing social work, administering to the schools or performing Buddhist ceremonies. The old centres in the New Territories were not given up. With the expansion of the population and the development of new towns, these old centres have in turn become readily accessible. Constant streams of devotees and tourists are a normal happening nowadays. The net effect has been that contact between monks and ordinary people has become very considerably increased.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1983.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/j9607p61v", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209871, "series_id": 26, "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine", "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊", "series_use_hku_proxy": false, "document_key": "RAS-1983", "page_number": 130, "title": "RAS-1983", "content_text": "108\n\nand more than half of them still live within two miles of these ancient sites, which speak of hundreds of years of settlement and progress, before the Han emperors conquered the coast with a fleet and army.\n\nLeaving aside the islands close to Hong Kong, which have little of interest, we next pass the Potoi group off Cape d'Aguilar (named after a Major-General who commanded the troops in Hong Kong in its early years). All are of granitic rocks seamed with dykes of dark green stone which decay more rapidly than the granite and so often form valleys, caves and hollows. All but Potoi itself are barren and deserted, except for the light on Waglan (Wang Lan \"Barrier Fence\"). About nine years ago, the Chinese second officer of a ship distinguished himself by steering straight on to the island, where the ship not unnaturally stopped. There was no discoverable reason for this exploit; it was not bad weather, though dark it was about 2 a.m. and the light showed clearly. A similar but more excusable disaster occurred in 1916 on the east end of the Lema's eight miles to the south on Tam Kon Shan (“Carrying Pole Mountain\"), when the Chiyo Maru, which was a big trans-Pacific liner, ran aground. I believe few or no lives were lost.\n\nnets.\n\nPotoi has a small but good harbour, very popular with boat people, and with a handsome temple. There are a few shops, and its economic centre is Stanley. The beach is used for drying. Once in 1930 an ingenious fellow tried to monopolize the beach by applying for a matshed site right in the middle of it. I saw the place, saw through his game, and turned him down. Up in the hills are three tiny hamlets, living on the scanty crops their fields produce, and probably selling to the boat people as well; their names mean \"Long Stone Ridge\", \"Cow Lake\", and \"Mountain Hut\" 27.\n\nTo the north, at the entrance to Junk Bay, known in Chinese as \"General's Haven\" (Tseung Kwan O), is an island called Fat or Fu Tau Chau (“Buddha's or Tiger's Head Island\"). It was the site of one of the \"Blockade of Hong Kong\" customs stations; the station is in ruins, although the island has a few inhabitants.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1983.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/j9607p61v", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209872, "series_id": 26, "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine", "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊", "series_use_hku_proxy": false, "document_key": "RAS-1983", "page_number": 131, "title": "RAS-1983", "content_text": "109\n\nNam Tong Island (“Southern Hall Island\"). This island is large and mountainous. Military defence work is currently going on there. It was formerly cultivated, but in 1929 the cultivated area was abandoned. There is an Aga light on the southern point. The channel to the north of this island is \"Buddha's Head Pass\". The harbour within this channel is well sheltered: there is a big temple on the mainland to the north of the channel. The chief place of interest on this island is the old fort near the north point, with a south wall thickened, apparently for mounting cannon. This fort is probably Chinese, perhaps built by pirates.\n\nHere we leave the islands of the South District, and enter the North District as we pass into Port Shelter. The interest of this place lies in its extraordinary geography and geology, and its wonderful beauty. The surf which beats on the high pillared cliffs of High Island, Bluff Island, and Basalt Island dies away as your launch passes into the long calm channels, and under the hills of the mainland there is perfect shelter, though I do not think the anchorages are good. Grassy hills come down to the waters' edge, and near Saikung the sea is studded with diminutive islets.\n\nThe soil of these islands appears extremely barren, as the population of the islands is very small. Fishing seems the chief occupation. Settlements are few. Yim Tin is named after some abandoned salt fields a little to the south of the (Roman Catholic) mission church: Kau Sai (\"West of the Channel\") explains itself. There is also a group of settlements in the southern part of High Island. These have the remarkable names of \"North Fork\", \"Tribute Rice Junks Bay\", and \"White Insect Wax\",32 This group and Yim Tin are the only places in these islands where cultivation is of any extent. \"North Fork\" is a most remarkable place. Someone has lavished money on it, the houses and the ancestral temple are well built, a high platform held up by a big masonry retaining wall stands in front of them, and a small stream by the village is crossed by a fine three-span bridge all of stone: it is the sort of stream for which the rest of the Territory think six stepping stones are ample. I have no idea how these names originated, except that the bay may have been an anchorage for junks carrying the tribute rice north from Canton to Peking.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1983.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/j9607p61v", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211389, "series_id": 26, "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine", "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊", "series_use_hku_proxy": false, "document_key": "RAS-1988", "page_number": 105, "title": "RAS-1988", "content_text": "81 + trying to find food and help. At last they came to a grasscutters path which they followed. After walking about ten miles they heard the sound of monastery bells and smelt the fragrance of burning joss sticks. Filled with hope they knelt and prayed to Buddha to bring them to safety. Then they came to a monastery, large and beautifully decorated, and saw ten or more priests outside, but coming nearer they found that they were made of stone. The travellers were amazed, and being afraid began to pray to be forgiven their sins. In the distance they heard a voice shouting to them, and searching in the direction of the voice they came across another priest, but found he also was made of stone. Many times they heard voices calling them, but could find nothing but some stone figures. Then they said to each other, \"Those are all Saints, we are unworthy wicked men, so how can we see them\", and they knelt down and prayed very earnestly for forgiveness. When they had finished praying they looked up and saw a real priest coming towards them, who welcomed them kindly and brought them into the monastery. A meal was set before them, all the dishes were ordinary vegetables such as Buddhist priests eat, but they smelt very fragrant, and tasted delicious, and the travellers had never tasted anything as good before. When the meal was over, they asked the priest how to get to the capital city, who answered, \"From here to the capital is more than 200,000 miles, but do not worry, make up your mind to go and you will reach there quickly\". Then he asked Chuc, \"Do you know Pooi To?\" The minister answered, \"Yes, I know him well\". Then the priest pointed to the north wall and showed him a cloth sack, a tall Abbot's staff, and a priest's alms bowl hanging there. He said, \"Those are Pooi To's things. I beg you to give him back this alms bowl when you see him, and this letter that I will give you. And here is a green bamboo stick, which when you get back to your boat, throw into the water in front of the boat and shut the windows of the boat and sit quietly. You need not trouble to row or sail, for you will arrive at the capital very speedily.\"\n\nThey all said goodbye and a young priest took them to the monastery door and showed them a path to follow which would bring them back to their vessel quickly. Once more on board they did what they had been told, and soon found to their amazement that the boat had left the water and was sailing over the tops of the trees. After three days of this novel means of travel, they reached the Waai river (17) and arrived at a place named Chue Tseuk (k) not far from the capital. Here they\n\nPage 105\n\nPage 106", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1988.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ft84gb83q", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 216205, "series_id": 26, "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine", "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊", "series_use_hku_proxy": false, "document_key": "RAS-2002", "page_number": 504, "title": "RAS-2002", "content_text": "438\n\nto the spot where he died, by some French missionaries in the 19th Century. Father Kane referred me to Father Antonio Tam in the Macau Jesuit Residence who, despite being elderly, still travelled regularly to St Johns, and was leading a Taiwanese group there the following month. He recommended the services of the Religious Affairs Bureau rather than China Travel to organize our trip, so that we would gain a better insight into the history of Christianity in the area. This proved more difficult than it sounded, but China Travel came to the rescue with a reasonable-sounding itinerary.\n\nOur trip eventually took place in the first weekend of November 2002. China Travel suggested a suitable package tour for five adventurers - Patricia Bierregard, Anna and Michal Niewiadomski, Jenny Wu and myself, Chris Bailey - members of the HK Branch of the RAS. We had planned a varied itinerary including St Francis' Church on the island, Flying Sand beach, Big Buddha and Nine Dragon's cave - with the firm CTS instruction: No missioning! We caught the 8:30 am ferry to Gong Yi from the China Hong Kong Terminal. The sea journey was quite rough until we reached Macau, where a right turn along a Pearl River tributary took us back through time for a pleasant 3 hours viewing village life along the river banks (having upgraded ourselves to the upstairs first-class cabin). The rice-fields at harvest time were particularly splendid and the hamlets looked inviting, with interesting watch towers.\n\nWe disembarked at around 1 pm at the small port of Gong Yi and were met by Roger, our excellent CTS guide who escorted us to the town of Tai Shan for an elaborate lunch. We caught the 4 pm boat for another rough trip across the muddy waters, but in less than an hour were rewarded with the splendid sight of our goal - a white church on the hillside - as we arrived at the island, dominated by a large PLA base. Roger could not tell us how many military personnel were stationed at the base and we glimpsed only a few blue and white uniformed sailors walking along the streets.\n\nThe day's end was approaching and Roger speedily herded us into another vehicle for the short drive to the church, and the resident caretaker opened the gates - we finally climbed the stairs to the recently redecorated church and entered its large wooden doors. The interior was well-kept and featured a large central \"tomb\" with paintings along", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2002.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/mp4901278", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 216308, "series_id": 26, "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine", "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊", "series_use_hku_proxy": false, "document_key": "RAS-2003", "page_number": 67, "title": "RAS-2003", "content_text": "16\n\nappear during the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1126). In the year 1066 the Northern Song Emperor Ying Zong (1063-1067) built a new Big Buddha Hall (Da Fo Dian) and the New Precious Pagoda (Xin Bao Ta) on this same site. Although at that time it was named Kong Xiang Si, it is from this date that Longhua Temple's history can accurately be traced through a continuous progression of events up to the present day. In fact, it is even possible that the 11th Century Xin Bao Ta is the same pagoda which still stands today, albeit after having been repeatedly repaired and restored countless times.\n\nDuring the Li Zong reign (1224-1264) of emperor Zhao Gui Cheng at the end of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), four boundary stones were erected in 1262, one in each of the four corners of the temple's property. Two of these supposedly still exist today, and one of them can actually be seen in the Mu Ta Yuan, lying on the ground beside the Tao Ming Chan Si Mu Ta.\n\nIn the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) the temple was given several land grants which added considerably to its territory. However, at the end of the Yuan Dynasty the temple buildings were completely destroyed during a battle, except for the Bao Ta pagoda, which is recorded as somehow miraculously surviving the conflagration, as it supposedly would in many similar situations throughout the temple's history.\n\nThe third Ming Emperor Yong Le (1403-1424) completely rebuilt the temple from the ground up between 1410-1416, and also changed its name from the Northern Song Dynasty name of Kong Xiang Si to the present day name of Longhua Si. Later, the Shan Men front gate was built between 1506 and 1521.\n\nThe structures built by Yong Le importunely had a short life span of only 140 years as the whole temple was destroyed during an invasion by Japanese Wako pirates in 1553. Nonetheless, after the destruction of the Wako pirates, the Ming Dynasty began a reconstruction project which lasted for about ten years, from 1563 to 1574. However, during the late Ming Dynasty the temple suffered from neglect and only one new hall, the Scripture Storage Pavilion (Cang Jing Ge), was built in 1611. A Cang Jing Ge is used by a temple to store the Tripitaka (San Zang) scriptures.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2003.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2v242g390", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 216309, "series_id": 26, "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine", "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊", "series_use_hku_proxy": false, "document_key": "RAS-2003", "page_number": 68, "title": "RAS-2003", "content_text": "17\n\nIn the early Qing Dynasty Longhua Temple received considerable attention in the form of repairs to the existing buildings and construction of new ones. A major construction project started in 1647 resulted in the completion of the Abbot or Temple Master's Room (Fang Zhang Shi) and the Wei Tuo Hall (Wei Tuo Dian), as well as the repair of the Scripture Storage Pavilion (Cang Jing Ge).\n\nIt will be recalled that during the Yuan Dynasty the temple experienced a massive expansion in the size of its territory, if not its actual structures. In 1672 the Qing authorities measured the size of the immediate area around the temple halls as occupying 93 mu of land, plus an additional 74 mu of open land in the surrounding area which was used to plant vegetables. It was this later open space which gradually evolved into first Longhua Park, and then the present day Martyr's Cemetery.\n\nDuring a 155 year period in the middle of the Qing Dynasty, from 1672 to 1827, no new construction, reconstruction or repairs were recorded. This begs the question as to why the temple was dormant during such a long period of time. Was it lack of imperial sympathy for Buddhism in general, or simply the absence of wars and destruction requiring later rehabilitation during this relatively peaceful time?\n\nAfter a century and a half of dormancy, the Taiping Rebellion finally provided the opportunity or the need for new construction and repairs. Between 1860 and 1862 the Taiping rebels attacked Shanghai three times, during which records say vaguely that most of the Longhua Temple buildings were destroyed. On August 18, 1860 the Taipings captured Xu Jia Hui, and it was probably then when the nearby Longhua Temple was destroyed. Although no list is provided of exactly which buildings were destroyed, we can infer from later lists of the structures rebuilt afterwards that this included the Great Sadness Hall (Da Bei Dian), the Precious Hall of the Great Hero (Da Xiong Bao Dian), the Heavenly Kings Hall (Tian Wang Dian), the Three Gods Hall (San Sheng Dian), the Maitreya Buddha Hall (Mi Le Fo Dian), the Drum Tower (Gu Lou), the Bell Tower (Zhong Lou), and the Big Buddha Hall (Da Fo Dian). Basically every previously existing key structure is mentioned as having been rebuilt after this period of destruction, with the exception of the die-hard Precious Pagoda (Bao Ta) and the Master's Room (Fang Zhang Shi), raising the possibility that the two structures which stand today are both authentic originals.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2003.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2v242g390", "rank": 0 } ]