[ { "id": 212362, "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-1990", "page_number": 304, "title": "RAS-1990", "content_text": "281\n\nSee P.H. Hase “The Cheung Shan Kwu Ts'un: an Ancient Buddhist Nunnery in the New Territories, and its Place in Local Society”, in Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. 29, 1989, pp. 121-157.\n\nJournal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. 7, 1967, pp. 104-137, reprinted from Transactions of the China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. 6, 1859, pp. 71-105.\n\nDer Evangelische Heidenbote, Jan. 1862.\n\nSee also P.H. Hase \"Ta Kwu Ling, Wong Pui Ling, and the Kim Hau Bridges\" elsewhere in this issue.\n\nKrone, loc. cit. says that missionaries were usually treated as neutral and ignored in fighting.\n\nDer Evangelische Heidenbote, Feb. 1906.\n\nSHA TAU KOK IN 1853\n\nThe Rev. Carl Smith drew my attention some time ago to the wealth of material available in the Basel Mission Archive on Sha Tau Kok in the middle of the nineteenth century. Through the courtesy of the Mission Archive, photostats of a number of documents were received and studied. Among them was a most interesting general description of the District and Market at Sha Tau Kok dating from 1853. Given its general interest, a translation of this document is printed below. Comments in square brackets are editorial clarifications.\n\n\"Tungfo.\n\nTungfo* | Tung Wo, 41, the formal name of Sha Tau Kok Market station is situated in the Province of Quang-tung [Kwangtung], in the District of Sinon [San On #1. The southern border of this District is formed by the China Sea, whereas, to the east and west, the borders are formed by inlets of this sea. The western inlet is the larger, although it is too small to be called a gulf. The English call it the \"Canton River\". The city of Canton is situated on this estuary. Because of the Canton River, traffic between Canton and Hong Kong is very easy, and\n\n* All placenames in this document are given in the original Hakka transcription. Placenames in Hong Kong are also given in square brackets according to the Gazetteer of Place Names in Hong Kong, Kowloon and the New Territories; placenames in China are also given in square brackets in Cantonese transcription and characters.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1990.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212363, "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-1990", "page_number": 305, "title": "RAS-1990", "content_text": "282\n\nevery week two or three ships travel via Macao to Canton and back again. The small eastern inlet is called Mirs Bay. The western coast of this bay is very broken and rugged. About half way along, a stretch of water shaped like an arm leads off to the west, with fingers which seem to stretch out in different directions (Tolo Harbour). The mainland to the north of Mirs Bay acts like a dam, so that the water cannot penetrate further in that direction; it is forced to turn west where it peters out into sandbanks. This inlet to the west [Sha Tau Kok Hoi] is only used, in practice, by Chinese passenger ferries, cargo ships, and fishing boats.\n\nBetween these two inlets, the Canton River and Mirs Bay, lies the Sinon District, which stretches for a distance equal to about 12-13 hours' walk towards the north from the sea. The width of this District differs from place to place because of the irregular coasts of Mirs Bay to the east and the Canton River to the west. At its widest, the District is 14-15 hours' walk wide, whereas at its narrowest it is only 2-3 hours' walk wide. The inhabitants of the region are mostly Hakkas, but you can also find Puntis, who form a majority especially in the north-western part of the District. Two of the towns are seats of Mandarins, that is, Kaulung [Kowloon] and Namtao [Namtau]. Kaulung is a fortress, situated on the mainland, just opposite Hong Kong. It is occupied by a Mandarin of a lower rank. The Mandarin who is in charge of the whole of Sinon District resides in Namtao, a place on the east coast of the Canton River.\n\nTungfo station is situated in the north-eastern part of Sinon District, on the northern coast of the previously mentioned arm of Mirs Bay, where the waters are turned west and come to an end. The geographical position is, according to mathematical calculations, about 131°54' east longitude, and 22°33′ north latitude. It is 9-10 hours' walk from Hong Kong, and lies in a northerly direction from there. The station can be reached from Hong Kong by two routes only. One route is by water, the second mostly by land. If you choose to travel to Tungfo by the water route, you have to travel first by the China Sea, and then, for", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1990.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212364, "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-1990", "page_number": 306, "title": "RAS-1990", "content_text": "the second half of the journey, through Mirs Bay, where The station is to be found on the western coast. With a favourable wind and a good boat the trip can be completed in a day. Should the conditions be unfavourable, however, it is very difficult to estimate the time. In addition, you have to consider that Chinese waters are very often unsafe because of pirates, and travelling this route you are continuously exposed to danger. Use of small boats is perhaps safer.\n\nIf using the other route, you first of all cross to Kaulung, which lies immediately opposite the island of Hong Kong. From there you cross the mountains until you cross the first range running west from Mirs Bay. At the village of Saten [Sha Tin] you can get a passenger ferry, or hire a boat, in order to reach Wo-Ang-Tschung (Wo Ang Chung, Wan, today called Chung Mei) to the north. Now you have a strenuous hike over the mountains before you reach that arm of Mirs Bay (Sha Tau Kok Hoi) which stretches to the west. Having reached the village of Kiuk-pu [Kuk Po] you have to take another boat. In about 20 or 25 minutes the sea has been crossed and you have arrived at Tunglo. This journey can be completed, if all goes well, in a day. It is a difficult journey, but avoids the perils of the sea. But where in China is there a route free of difficulties and dangers?\n\nIf you look down on Tungfo from a high place, you can see, in the first place, the sea to the south and east, whereas to the north and west you see a narrow strip of cultivable land, while, further away, the horizon is limited in all directions by mountains. The range to the north stretches from the east to the west and bends round in a bow shape to the south. This mountain range forms the border of the strip of cultivable land to the north and west, with the other sides being open to the sea. This range has no collective name, whereas the individual mountains that appear within it carry names, which it can be of very little interest to mention here. The highest of them, which is also the highest point in the Sinon District, is called Ng Thung San [Ng Tung Shan, #1]. Its height is, according to the measurements of English technicians, 3095 feet. It is\n\nPage 283", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1990.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212369, "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-1990", "page_number": 311, "title": "RAS-1990", "content_text": "288\n\nand so I would prefer to say no more on this subject.\n\nIn the village of Tungfo, \"Eastern Peace\" [Tung Wo means Eastern Peace], there are no family houses because this place is a market. All the buildings are used as shops and workshops. Amongst them are six pharmacies. In total there are fifty such shops, large and small, which are all built closely together, and form two east-west streets running parallel to each other. The whole place would look like a square if the second street were as completely built up as is the first.\n\nSuch a shop is narrow and dark. During the day it is aired through the open door, which is as wide and high as the shop itself. In front of the door is a row of round posts which are fixed into the beams of the roof, and, at the bottom, into the stone. During the day, the middle ones are removed in order to make an entrance to the shop. Just behind the row of posts is the door, which consists of movable wooden planks, which fit into a slot. At dusk the posts are put back, the movable planks moved forward into place, and barred from the inside with a cross-bar.\n\nInside the shop the goods are piled up on one or both sides on shelves, just as in European shops. Across the middle stands a long counter [with drawers] used as a cash-box on which the goods are weighed and measured. From the roof of the house some paper lanterns hang down which light up the shop during the night. Most of the shops are groceries and general goods shops. Most do retail business. Only a few of them have significant trade.\n\nThe owners of these shops and stalls do not live in the town, but in neighbouring villages, and only come here for business and trade, or have it conducted by a substitute/manager. All who take part in this market have united into an association, which is called the \"Market Association\". This consists of eleven small associations to which belong 45 smaller and larger villages. The owners\n\nPage 31\n\n \n2", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1990.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212371, "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-1990", "page_number": 313, "title": "RAS-1990", "content_text": "290\n\n1853] and the owner of our house are people who have gained that title. People of this rank can be found in the vicinity of Tungfo. The second rank are the arable farmers. The third rank are the artisans, and the fourth are the merchants.\n\nOne must note that these ranks are not separated like castes which would imply that one rank of employment would exclude others. In fact the reverse is the case. There is complete freedom, and it often happens that a literati can be a merchant, and a prosperous farmer who works his land can also deal in trade. Boat-people, coolies, farmhands, and servants do not belong to these ranks.\n\nAs honour and \"face\" are important for the Chinese, rich people buy for themselves a title of honour if they are not able to gain it by talent or merit. These are called in Hakka dialect Lau Tea or Lau Je, which means \"Old (or Honourable) Father\". However, this kind of bought title means less than a gained title, which is called Siu Tshoi. If a rich Chinese has, besides this title, also numerous offspring, he is taken to be a particularly happy man. An important name, prosperity, and many offspring, are taken as the highest felicities of life. Additional to these are the felicities of virtue and long life.\n\nIn the surrounding area, tilling the fields is the main source of food and subsistence. The only sad thing is that there is not enough soil to use. Agriculture is in all respects very backward here because they do not have the right tools to work the fields, and also because they do not know how to work them rationally, like they do in Europe. They are far behind Europe. However, they try to make up for it with diligence and effort to get the best possible harvest.\n\nTo make a few remarks about the field tools, the Chinese plough consists of three components. The lowest part is the sole-beam, to which the ploughshare is fixed. The sole-beam bends up at the back to form the handle, which can only be held with one hand. The second component [the brace-bar] is fastened in the middle of the sole-beam; it is short, and runs obliquely upwards. To this is fixed the", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1990.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212373, "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-1990", "page_number": 315, "title": "RAS-1990", "content_text": "292\n\nbe pointing to the beginning of such a period, but still, at the right time, thanks be to the Lord, He sent blessed rain and thus turned away from us the calamity of hunger.\n\nBy the end of July the first rice harvest has been brought in. As soon as heavy rain has watered the fields you can see the ploughs in the fields again. As soon as the plough has broken up the ground for the second sowing the women are ready, waiting in rows, standing in the mud of the ploughed field in order to plant out the rice seedlings. The present crop will be ready for harvest in October, and, after that, barley will be planted. In Spring the barley will be ready for harvest. Thus, three harvests, but, nevertheless, so much poverty and want. The reason for this is, on the one hand, the large population, and, on the other, the fact that the Chinese eat a lot of rice, therefore they need a lot. The rice is immediately threshed on an open place in the field or in front of the houses because the Chinese have neither cellars nor barns where they can collect their produce.\n\nBesides the already-mentioned rice, they also plant wheat, yams, sugar-cane, and hemp, a certain oil-plant, and [sweet-] potatoes. The potatoes are sweet, watery, and stringy, and are therefore not healthy, but they are used by the Chinese in different ways, and made edible. They do not pay any attention to the cultivation of fruit-trees, and fruit-trees do not seem to grow in this region. Thus, fruits like pineapples, oranges and mangoes, do not grow here.\n\nBesides the already mentioned resources from which the inhabitants of the area surrounding Tungfo gain their livelihood, a number of people find a sparse income by way of fishing. They either sell the fish immediately or they dry them first in the sun, and then salt them, which is a method of preserving them for a longer time, and then sell them as salt-fish. The smell of fish prepared in this way is very unpleasant; nevertheless, the Chinese like to eat them, and it seems to represent a substantial and regular part of their meals.\n\nThe Chinese are a very diligent people, that one has to\n\nPage 315\n\nPage 316", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1990.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212377, "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-1990", "page_number": 319, "title": "RAS-1990", "content_text": "296\n\nIn the middle of the year [1848] Brother Hamberg was able, by God's gracious protection, to pass in a small boat through the pirates and so to arrive at Tungfo. There a respected man, Ho, a Siu Tsai [Sau Tsoi, graduate of the lowest class], rented him a dwelling, and Ho's father-in-law, Jap (Yip), took him under his protection.\n\nTungfo is a great market, quite given over to trade, newly built, and bustling with business. It is built in a closed-in valley, where the people are still simple and uncorrupted.\n\nThe missionary was soon quite well-known to the sick, especially to those with eye diseases, who could be seen coming in droves, demanding treatment.... The centre of Brother Hamberg's work was the free treatment of the sick, of whom many were, by God's foreseeing, available for him. As a still unmarried man, however, Brother Hamberg was unable to do anything for the women.\n\nBrother Hamberg considered that it would be easy to establish a school in Tungfo. Hundreds of people had come to his house which he had called \"The Gentle House of Healing\" within a short time. The old man, Jap, had brought the elders of the villages to visit, and he had come many times, and listened to the preaching....\n\n―\n\nThis was the position in August of last year [1848], when Brother Hamberg was struck down with a serious disease. He had to leave damp Tungfo, surrounded by its rice-fields, with the utmost speed, and make his way to Hong Kong, in part by land over the mountains, in part by sea on a small boat. There, thanks to good care, he recovered completely, ... and resolutely determined to return, in the name of the Lord, to Tungfo ...\n\nBrother Hamberg decided to stay another year in that place, and to leave his house better organised. To this end he surrounded himself with the best and most trustworthy of his helpers, and opened a school. By January", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1990.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299", "rank": 0 } ]