[ { "id": 204760, "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-1964", "page_number": 63, "title": "RAS-1964", "content_text": "52 \n\nK. M. A. BARNETT \n\n(which would be amusing if it did not add so much to the difficulty of gathering information) where a district representative at a public function used in his speech a name for a certain mountain and ten minutes later, in conversation, denied ever having heard the name. For many years, while I was still adding to my field notes on the subject, I refrained from naming in any published material the villages where I found positive evidence of the former cult of Pan-ku. But now that I have applied the test to every village I do not think that future workers will be seriously hampered if I now disclose the result. The test is positive, on this score, for only three out of nearly a thousand villages. They are the sub-village of Tsau Uk160 on Ping Chau Islandt09 in Mirs Bay,41 where the stone associated with Pan-ku is in a small grove of trees immediately east of the village; the village of Pak Mong5 on the north shore of Lantao Island, where it is behind the village on the southwest side, but I could not get my informer to take me to the actual place; and in the village of Nam Shan Tung97 on the north side of the Saikung126 peninsula, where the grove is said to have been behind the present village of Pak Sha O,7 half a mile down the hill to the northeast. If to these three villages we add the villages still identified by the name of yonge we have positive identification for a little over 1%. Identification by the word kan53 is inconclusive, as the word has been borrowed into both the local Cantonese and the local Hakka dialects, but the abandoned village of Shek Shui Kan129 in the Sha Tau Kok114 peninsula, from what I might call its \"anti-fung-shui\" location seems unlikely to have been a Chinese site. \n\nAnother word which is definitely identified by Chinese books of reference as having connexion with the Yao is che.19 Though a recent change in Cantonese pronunciation has now obscured the fact, this word was unique in both local dialects and therefore was evidently taken into Cantonese and Hakka without substantial alteration, and was also given a character of its own, which is not to be found in the Kanghsi Dictionary150 but is to be found in the Tzu Yuan24 and Tzu Hai,25 where the meaning assigned is hill-land cultivated in the manner I have described. Hill paddy is also known to Chinese agriculturalists by the name of che10,21. Locally however the word che has been given a new meaning, being used by all our farmers to mean that type of terraced land", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1964.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/qz20zx09r", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 204762, "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-1964", "page_number": 65, "title": "RAS-1964", "content_text": "54 \n\nK. M. A. BARNETT \n\npreviously described, no longer carries water, and part of which is still used to supply irrigation water to a village. The ancient grave at Lo-A-Tsai on Lamma Island is made of similar stones; and I am inclined to associate also with these people a number of high standing stones, some of which are still cult objects, of which one stands above Bowen Road, another overlooking Sha Tin115 is known to Europeans by the unnecessarily sneering name of the \"Amah Rock\". A stone of this type, standing above a rock pool which looks as though it had been artificially enlarged and made circular, stands between the deserted village of Pak Koks at the south-western tip of Shek Pik Bay128 and the new village to which the ancient Fung2 clan of Fan Puisi were moved to make room for the Shek Pik Reservoir. Another overlooks Long Harbour, and about this one there is some mystery, since every year at approximately the date of the Mid-Autumn Festival a considerable number of women can be seen flocking up the hill to this stone, but all villages within walking distance flatly deny knowledge of any such celebration. This is at best negative evidence, and may not indicate the persistence of a pre-Chinese tradition; for a similar reticence regarding religious celebrations by women is observed at the great Nu-kwa102 temple on Honam Island154 \n\nopposite Canton, which men are seldom allowed to visit. I am trying to plot the positions of all these stone works and believe that when the list is finished, it will arrange itself into three circuits on Lantao Island, one on Lamma Island, two on Hong Kong Island, two on the Saikung126 Peninsula and three or four in the rest of the New Territories. This work might well be taken in hand by someone younger, but it must be someone who is fond of walking; and walkers have a peculiar blind spot when it comes to the collection of this kind of evidence, for I have often had to draw the attention of my walking companions even to the most obvious systems of stone walls which they have been walking right past, or even over, without noticing. The Lo-A-Tsai grave is situated close by a path and the first time I passed it, in the company of five villagers, I asked them what it was though most of them used that path nearly every day, none had ever before noticed the grave! \n\nA piece which is of vital importance and may indeed be what holds the rest of our jigsaw puzzle together is the correct identification of occupied sites on the seashore. There are many", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1964.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/qz20zx09r", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 204769, "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-1964", "page_number": 72, "title": "RAS-1964", "content_text": "HONG KONG BEFORE THE CHINESE \n\n61 \n\nD \n\n27 Now known as Daar-gwuur-Irerng, , an odd name for a valley. \n\n28 dheng, $7. \n\n29 dheonn, *. \n\n30 Dhung-chung, kia. \n\n31 Dhung-gwuurn, **, previously Dhung-gwhuunn, ★T. + \n\n32 Discovery Bay is the bay NW of Peng Chau109 on which stand the villages of Tai Pak, Yi Pak, Sam Pak and Sz Pak,35 \n\n33 Draai-bou or Draai-brou, \n\nthat the latter pronunciation is \n\nthe original is shown by the Hakka Thay-puuh, not -bhuuh. \n\n34 Draaibou-traw, \n\n. \n\n35 Draai-braak, ē, Jri-braak, \n\nSei-braak, N‘. \n\n36 Draai-brou-xoe, ★#* - \n\n, \n\nShaamm-braak, and \n\nDraai-durng-shaann, AB4 or Draai-dungv-shaann, tu see 37. \n\n37 Draai-jryr-shaann, ★★λ, formerly Draai-xray-shaann, ★★; the name Lantao appears to be of Portuguese rather than Chinese origin, like Lamma, Lema etc. The two peaks are Frungwrong-shaann, ABEL and Draai-durng-shaann, AB or Draai-dungv-shaann. ★ikus, . \n\n38 Draai-laarm, £. \n\n39 Draai-mrou-shaann, ★Ḭu, or ★# + \n\n40 Draal-prang, see the section on sea defence in the San On Yuen Chi,123 The fort so named was originally on the Saikung126 Peninsula, then shifted to its present location N.E. of Mirs Bay, \n\n41 Draaiprang-whaann, ★★. The English name is a corruption of Ma Shi Wan,92 \n\n42 Draaltraw-shaann, AML, formerly Sreoi-jran **. Draai-xray. shaann, i see 37. \n\n— \n\n43 Draan-ghaah, . There have been many attempts to prove that these people are anything but what they clearly are the original inhabitants of the South China coast. \n\n44 Drang, B. \n\n45 Druk-ngrow-gorng, H¶4. \n\n46 drungv,, a word repeatedly used in the Histories to denote different Man88 tribes. \n\n47 Dryn . \n\nF \n\n48 Farn-Irearng, \n\nFhann-Irearng, \n\n(formerly Fhann-Irearng, $4). \n\nsee 48. \n\n49 Fhukgin-saarng, No★★. \n\n50 Fhukzhaw, 15M -", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1964.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/qz20zx09r", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 205824, "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-1969", "page_number": 130, "title": "RAS-1969", "content_text": "124\n\nSOME NOTES ON ETHNO-BOTANY IN THE NEW TERRITORIES OF HONGKONG\n\nARMANDO DA SILVA*\n\nThere is an old Cantonese proverb that goes \"Kau shan yak shan, kau shui yak shui, (*****). When translated it means \"When in the hills, live off the hills, when on water, live off the water\". In many of the smaller villages of the New Territories, and especially among the more isolated coastal ones, this maxim is still practised to some extent in everyday life. Most of the older villagers possess an intimate knowledge of various qualities of common plants. Many plants that thrive in the neighbourhood of settlements owe their survival because they have some useful or medicinal qualities to offer, which distinguish them from mere brushwood destined for the kitchen stove.\n\nA source of income for coastal settlements derives from economic activities related to the use of beaches by Tanka and Hoklo fishermen for careening their boats. These fishermen also use the beaches to dry and mend their nets. As these tasks must be done frequently to prevent rot and tear, many villagers often find it profitable to provide services for the fishermen. Large vats are installed so that salt can be boiled out of the nets. Other vats are used for dyeing and for applying net preservatives. Most nets are made from imported ramie or coconut coir fibers. However, a plant common to many coastal villages is often used to make fibers for fishing nets. This is the Agave, called by Tanka and Hoklo fishermen poh lo ma (\"pineapple hemp\"). It is also known by its other Chinese name of lung sit lan (⃧ \"dragon tongue orchid\") because of its high flowering stamen. The Agave thrives on drier sandy soils near beaches and does not seem to be affected by salt water spray. After the spines are removed from the plant, fiber is extracted by pounding and retting. The juice is often used as an insecticide and the saponin content as a form of soap for washing clothes.\n\n* Mr. da Silva has a Master's degree from the University of California at Berkeley and is presently with the Department of Geography, University of Hawaii. His article \"Fan Lau and its Fort: an Historical Perspective\" appeared at pp. 82-95 of last year's Journal. Mr. da Silva states that the present article refers, in particular, to some coastal settlements in Lantau and the Saikung Peninsula where he spent much time visiting and observing people and things from October 1962 to September 1963, and again in the summer of 1964.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1969.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/9g553n20d", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 205830, "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-1969", "page_number": 136, "title": "RAS-1969", "content_text": "130\n\nARMANDO DA SILVA\n\n5I saw bits of red paper tagged to certain bushes attributed with medicinal properties at Ma Nam Wat, Saikung peninsula on Chinese New Year, January or February 1963. The man who placed the red paper tags explained to me the significance of the tags. I do not know how widespread this custom is. It could be an isolated incident but I personally don't think so and I believe this custom to be widespread, at least in the past.\n\nIt was seeing this act of consecration to plants that aroused my curiosity about useful and medicinal plants around and about coastal villages.\n\n6 The Chinese botanical reference book I used for plant identification is Chik Mar Hok Tai Tsz Tin published in Shanghai, 1918. Unfortunately Chinese plant names in that book are of North Chinese reference only, and are not applicable to South China or the Hongkong area. The modern Chinese reference work on \"koon yeuk\" medicine I consulted is Chung Wa San Yeuk Mat Hok Tai Tsz Tin published in Tientsin, 1934. Again, plant names and treatments described in that book are not applicable to South China and the Hongkong area.\n\nAll of the Cantonese terms and characters were supplied to me by shang choi yeuk collectors at Mui Wo, Lantau. These collectors were seen (in 1963) at Mui Wo ferry pier returning to Hongkong with their loads of shang choi yeuk plants. I am sure that even now (1969), you can also with patience encounter shang choi yeuk collectors at Tai O, Taipo or Shatin. At Cheung Chau, in 1963, there were even a few professional seaweed collectors still left! A common seaweed collected there is a Gelidium called shek fa choi (stone flower vegetable). It is the chief jelly ingredient in the preparation of the Cantonese jelly dessert called \"pak leung fun\", and it is the demand from restaurants in Hongkong and Kowloon that makes seaweed collection profitable for the handful of seaweed collectors left.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1969.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/9g553n20d", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208129, "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-1977", "page_number": 168, "title": "RAS-1977", "content_text": "152\n\nW. SCHOFIELD\n\nused by villagers occurred in 1931, when a man applied for a matshed permit for a small area in the middle of the beach at Tai Wan village on Po Toi. I took a launch there to see the place and found he had picked the centre of an area on which were a large number of poles used by the villagers to support bamboos for drying nets and similar purposes: so after a few enquiries I told the applicant he could not have that place. (That was the day I found a fine shouldered stone adze-head on the path above the village at the 150 ft. contour). Another very different case was that of a house built on a levelled site on a low hill above Muk Min Ha, Tsun Wan: the contractors mishandled the levelling so badly that the earth fill was nearly all washed down into the village and raised its lanes by 2 or 3 feet, making a fearful mess: this was about 1926.\n\nDuring my term of office the resumption of the Shing Mun Valley for reservoir construction was carried through, the D.O. North doing the actual negotiation, which was long and difficult. The problem was where to resettle the five displaced villages, and before a site was found enquiries were made in all directions, even as far afield as North Borneo. Some village elders were sent there to see the area offered, but their report was very adverse; there were too many corrupting influences there to suit their people — all Hakkas — who naturally wished to bring up their children in proper surroundings, not among brothels, opium dens and spirit shops.\n\nOne of the quietest parts of the District was the area of the Lyemun and Hang Hau peninsulas, where the traditional ways of life were kept going, and people rarely dealt in land, or brought their disputes to me. Hang Hau peninsula was served by only two good lines of communication; the Hang Hau ferry from Shaukiwan, connecting with a launch that ran from the east side of the Hang Hau isthmus to Saikung, and a solidly built Chinese paved road running along the ridge north and south down the peninsula. On Nam Tong, by the Fat Tau Mun, stands a fort with a gun platform on the south rampart for light artillery; this was said to have been a pirate stronghold originally. West of this fort lay some old deserted fields, which at the time of my visit were being tilled by a squatter. I suggested to him that he might become a regular land-owner and start paying Crown rent, but apparently the rent suggestion frightened him off, for next year the land was deserted.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1977.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/np198x23n", "rank": 0 } ]