RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1961 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/vd6724704 Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch RASHKB and author Vol 1 (1961) ISSN 1991-7295 THE HONG KONG BRANCH was resuscitated as the outcome of a meeting attended by some thirty interested persons, held at the British Council Centre on December 28, 1959. The meeting adopted a constitution approved by the parent Society in London, and formed an interim Council to hold office until a General Meeting should be held. The following were elected to the Council:- President: Dr. J. R. Jones; Vice-Presidents: the Hon. Sir Tsun-nin Chau and Dr. L. T. Ride; Hon. Secretary: Mr. J. D. Duncanson; Hon. Treasurer: Mr. T. J. Lindsay; Hon. Editor of the Journal: Mr. J. L. Cranmer-Byng; other Councillors: Dr. Marjorie Topley and Messrs. James Liu, Holmes Welch, and G. B. Endacott. The Inaugural Meeting of the revived Branch was held on April 7, 1960, in the Loke Yew Hall of Hong Kong University. It was to have been presided over by H.E. the Governor, Sir Robert Black, K.C.M.G., O.B.E., had illness not prevented it. The Inaugural Address was delivered by Professor F. S. Drake, Professor of Chinese at Hong Kong University, on "The Study of Asia: a Heritage and a Task”. On January 23, 1961, Sir Robert Black presided over a meeting of the Branch in his capacity as Patron, and thus restored a tradition after a lapse of a hundred years. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1961 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/vd6724704 Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch RASHKB and author Vol. 1 (1961) ISSN 1991-7295 21 A most odd and interesting bird to be seen around Victoria from Garden Road to the University is the Rose-ringed Paroquet, presumably introduced but now firmly established as a resident. Sometimes parties of up to sixteen birds have been seen. A noisy but seldom seen family are the Cuckoos, who are well represented here, nearly all of them summer visitors. The Indian Cuckoo, or ‘One-more-bottle Bird', the Large Hawk-cuckoo or 'Brain-fever Bird', and the Plaintive Cuckoo or 'Rain-bird', are three summer visitors to certain favoured localities, mainly in the northern New Territories. The Koel is more common and widespread. All these four are parasites of smaller birds, too lazy to make a nest of their own. The Crow-Pheasant and Lesser Crow-Pheasant (which are neither crows nor pheasants!) are also quite common and widespread: both of them are to some extent hill birds, and the former likes more wooded country than the latter. Two species of owl are resident in the Colony, the Barred Owlet, whose bubbling call is heard in the northern New Territories, and the Collared Scops Owl both there and on Hong Kong Island, especially on The Peak. The Savannah Nightjar must breed in the Colony, for its whip-lash call is heard frequently over many open spaces in the New Territories during the spring and summer, but no nest has yet been found. House-swifts nest, several pairs at a time, under the verandahs of shops and houses in at least half-a-dozen towns. Many thousands of these and the Large White-rumped Swift pass through the Colony on migration. The kingfishers are one of the sights of Hong Kong's bird-life. The Common Kingfisher, the one seen in Europe, is here all the year round and almost certainly nests. The White-breasted Kingfisher and Black-capped Kingfisher are both large, very gaily-coloured birds, although the first is much more common than the second. The Pied Kingfisher is confined to the Deep Bay area, where probably only one pair nests, although formerly this species used to be quite common also. The Great Barbet, which as might be expected of a close relative of the woodpeckers is a lover of big trees, may be heard calling its monotonous 'coo-lee-you' from the Norfolk Island Pine in the Botanical Gardens and from several woods in the north-eastern New Territories where it breeds. A small relation, the Wryneck, may be seen in winter, quite frequently in scrubby foothill country. Swallows are a well-loved and common summer visitor to the Colony, and occasionally a few birds may be seen even on the coldest days of winter. Large numbers also come through on passage. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1961 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/vd6724704 Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch RASHKB and author 22 Vol. 1 (1961) ISSN 1991-7295 One of the three best songsters in the Colony is, rather surprisingly, the Rufous-backed Shrike, a common resident. It has an interesting ‘melanistic’ or black variant which can often be seen and is known locally as the Dusky Shrike. One or two races of the Brown Shrike may be frequently observed on passage. They are much smaller than the Rufous-backed Shrike and are rather dull in plumage. A beautiful summer visitor is the Black-naped Oriole, which breeds on Hong Kong Island, near Tai Po, and in Fanling. Its black and gold plumage is a brilliant sight flashing amongst the trees and its flutey whistle is distinctive. Two kinds of drongo are summer visitors to the Colony; the Black Drongo, mainly found nesting on Stonecutters Island with a very few pairs elsewhere; and the Hair-crested Drongo, which is much more widespread although not at all common. These two can be distinguished by looking for the spangled plumage and upturned tail-feathers of the Hair-crested Drongo. The Chinese Starling is a local summer visitor that appears to have almost died out on Hong Kong Island, where it used to be widespread. The Black-necked Starling nests locally in the northern New Territories, frequently in electric pylons. The Crested Mynah is common and widespread (the little tuft at the base of the bill gives it its name) and the Common Mynah is resident, but confined to a very small area bordering the Ping Shan marshes. Considered by many to be the Colony's most beautiful bird, the Blue Magpie unfortunately does not have a nature matching its looks. With its striking blue, black and white plumage and extraordinarily long tail, it is a pity that it must rank with its cousin, the Common Magpie, as the Number One predator on eggs and young birds. Both magpies are residents, and quite numerous locally. The Jungle Crow may be seen all the year round on Hong Kong Island and near Tai Po, but nesting has rarely been proved. This all-black crow has a more attractive relative in the Collared Crow, nicknamed the ‘Parson Crow’ from its white collar. It also is a rare resident, but both species have their numbers augmented by winter visitors. The backbone and mainstay of the Colony's bird population are undoubtedly the bulbuls, and the three resident species may be counted on to appear when nothing else does. The Crested Bulbul is a bird of gardens and village woods, most attractive with its spiky top-knot. The Chinese Bulbul is abundant; indeed it cannot be avoided. The Red-vented Bulbul, a rather cheerful-sounding bird, prefers the more open country, especially hillsides. The Black-faced Laughing-thrush is a common bird throughout the Colony and its nickname of ‘Seven Sisters’ is due to its tendency to move around in a noisy family party. It has a rare ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1961 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/vd6724704 Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch RASHKB and author Vol. 1 (1961) ISSN 1991-7295 23 relative, the Black-throated Laughing-thrush, which is confined to Hong Kong Island and is a handsome bird of black and grey with white cheeks. Not so rare but still uncommon is another relative, the Hwamei. This name means 'Painted Eyebrows', a tribute to the most distinctive part of its plumage, but more than anything the Hwamei is famed for its voice. To hear a chorus of these birds almost any evening of the year, their song rather like that of the European Song Thrush, is an unforgettable experience, and the pity is that this species is only really well known on Hong Kong Island, being very local elsewhere. One of the most charming families of birds to be seen in the Colony is that of the flycatchers, none of which actually breed here, but either pass through on migration or spend the winter. The variety of plumage is quite bewildering and some of the more exotic species, like the Paradise Flycatcher with its eight inches of tail, the black-and-lemon coloured Narcissus and Tricolour Flycatchers, the malachite-green Verditer Flycatcher, the Blue-and-White Flycatcher, and the Robin and Red-breasted Flycatchers are quite eye-catching and endearing to watch as they fly out from a favourite perch to snap at a passing insect. Similarly, the great family of warblers is poorly represented by resident species, although many hundreds of migrants pass through or perhaps stay for the winter. The Deep Bay marshes provide nesting cover for the Fantail Warbler, Yellow-bellied and Brown Wren-warblers, whilst the Tailor-bird, with its neatly-sewn leaf house, breeds commonly all over the Colony. Probably no more than one or two pairs of David's Hill-warbler may nest near the top of Tai Mo Shan. Such permanent residents are far outnumbered by the winter visitors, like the Dusky, Pallas's and Yellow-browed Warblers, and the migrants, like the Arctic Warbler and Great Reed-warbler. Of the smaller thrushes, the Magpie-robin is the only resident, and is common all over the Colony. It is the third of our trio of fine songsters and with its smart pied plumage is an attractive addition to the list. But there are several more chats which are quite common in winter; the Rubythroat, Red-flanked Bluetail, and Daurian Redstart (all described by their names), the Stonechat all over the marshes and paddy-fields, and the Bluethroat on passage near Deep Bay. Among the larger thrushes the Violet Whistling Thrush is the only resident and may be found near most of the watercourses throughout the Colony, from The Peak and Tai Mo Shan down to sea-level. It has a very pretty habit of fanning its tail at rest. Many other thrushes come to the woods of Hong Kong in winter, but are usually shy and difficult to see. The Blackbird is quite common as are the Grey-backed and Grey Thrushes. On the rocky coastline both the Blue and the Red-bellied Rock-thrushes may frequently be seen. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1961 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/vd6724704 Vol. 1 (1961) ISSN 1991-7295 Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch ORASHKB and author 24 The Great Tit, the same bird that is found in Europe although with much less yellow coloration, is a common resident throughout Hong Kong. The Upland Pipit is the only resident member of this family, and it may be found only near the tops of some of our highest mountains, singing a very plaintive song. But Richard's Pipit is represented by one race which spends the summer here, nesting quite widely, and a race which is a common migrant and winter visitor. Both the Indian Tree-pipit and the Red-throated Pipit are often seen in the colder months, although the latter is usually confined to the lower, more marshy areas. The Forest Wagtail is a relatively rare, but attractive passage migrant to wooded parts. Its plumage makes it look as though it had a football jersey on. 'Pied' Wagtails are very common in winter, and in fact have a large roost near the Law Courts in Victoria. The Grey Wagtail is also common in winter, but the three kinds of Yellow Wagtail are rarely seen except in the Deep Bay marshes and then only as migrants and during the winter months. A lovely bird discovered breeding in the Colony for the first time only in 1959 is the Fork-tailed Sunbird. It may be seen in Tai Po Kau and with luck in the University grounds all the year round, an iridescent sheen of green on its upper parts glistening when the sun catches it. Its close but far more common relative, the White-eye, may be found everywhere, often causing confusion of identity when seen in silhouette or brief glimpse. The Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker, perfectly described by its name, is resident, but very local, being found regularly only in the north-eastern New Territories. A winter visitor to many woods in the Colony is the Lesser Black-tailed Hawfinch, with its large, bright yellow bill, black head and prominent white markings in flight. The Chinese Greenfinch, a dully grey-green bird at rest, has a lovely gold wing-bar which shows up well in flight. It is a fairly common resident in many areas. The buntings are a very difficult tribe to study in Hong Kong, for those that are found here are exceptionally shy. Only the Crested Bunting, with its smart plumage of black and chestnut, nests on the hillsides in the New Territories, but the Masked and Grey-headed Buntings are quite common in winter, and the Little Bunting a little less so. The Yellow-breasted Bunting, the 'rice-bird' of gourmets, is an abundant autumn visitor to the Deep Bay marshes and occasionally is seen also in spring. The common sparrow of Hong Kong is the Tree-sparrow. It has all the habits of the Cockney Sparrer, unlike the Tree-sparrow found in England although it is the same species. The Spotted ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1962 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/9s166f47f CHINA'S 35 MILLION NON-CHINESE 65 was contrary to the intention of the cadres. The distribution of confiscated animals among the slaves and bondsmen was at first regarded as a glorious opportunity to have a religious splurge of sacrifices and feasting instead of an investment for production. Sacrifices are required to placate the various spirits that were thought responsible for every evil and ill, from accidents to rheumatism. Winnington found that the Wa or K'a-wa of southwest Yunnan represent a different society, although Hsi-meng district to which he was taken by his Communist Chinese hosts lies only in the fringes of the Wa territory and may not be entirely representative. The Wa inhabit both sides of the south Yunnan-Burma borders and are divided into the "wild Wa" and the Wa tamed by contact with Burmese or Chinese civilizations. The "wild Wa" in British Burma in 1935 were still addicted to headhunting, both on other Wa and on non-Wa people coming into or living near their village areas.15 A Chinese account of the "wild Wa" on the Yunnan side related the headhunting to efforts to ensure good harvests. In any event, the "wild Wa" decorated the approaches to their thorn-fence walled-village with a double column of skulls mounted on posts. A person entered their territory at his peril. In the Sinicized northern part of the Wa territory there is a transition zone of intermixed hill Shan, La-hu and other mountain people as well as of Wa. Slavery here is practised in a very relaxed form, according to Winnington. Slaves constitute only about five per cent of the villagers as compared with over 90 per cent of the population in the Black-bone country. A slave suffers no social discrimination among the villagers and takes part in village and clan ceremonies open to other villagers. He can marry whom he pleases, and when the new couple sets up separate housekeeping, the master is bound by tradition to help them on pain of community criticism for failure to do so. Such a marriage virtually ends the slavery status, although the slave is expected to make payments to his master until his price is paid for. 1 Great Britain Treaty Series No. 80 (1947), Exchange of notes concerning the Burma-Yunnan boundary, 18th June 1941, London, 1947, 4. 16 Li Sheng-chuang, Yün-nan ti-yi chih-pien chü-yü nei chih jen-chung l'iao-cha (Research into the ethnic groups within the First Border Settlement District of Yunnan), Researches on the Yunnan Frontier Problems, Kunming, 1933, 194. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1962 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/9s166f47f 92 J. W. HAYES wrote a prayer for divine help to the city god of Nam Tau after a dark mist resembling the shadow of a black dog haunted womenfolk in the third moon of the third year of Ch'ung-cheng (1630): and the magistrate LI Ho Shing wrote the "Lamentations" or odes and addresses burnt in sacrifice, when a severe typhoon hit the district city in the fifth moon of the twelfth year of K'ang-hsi (1673); this was preserved among the literary works recorded in another chapter of the history. There is no mention of later imitations. Besides this preoccupation with spirits of all kinds and a general disposition to ensure against all possible acts of ill will on their part which was, one almost thinks, a by-product of the bad times and the uncertainties which usually surrounded the Chinese peasant and his city counterpart, there was a regular and intense devotion to the ancestors of the clans which was carried on through the centuries. This, of course, was Confucianist, as opposed to the Taoist and animist forms of religion to be seen inside temples and on the fields and hillsides. There is no doubt that the clans were kept together by the regular attention that was paid to the ancestral duties and the particular reverence accorded to the first ancestor who had settled in the village. I have already explained how, on the material side, management of land by the clan for the clan assisted in keeping both land and people together. On the spiritual plane the ancestral duties had the same effect. At the heart of the clan was the ancestral hall.52 Here the soul tablets of past generations were ranged in rows on an altar: these can still be seen in a few ancestral halls to-day, notably at Ping Shan and Ha Tsuen, two villages of the TANG clan, whose green and gold tablets date back to the Sung dynasty. Most villages in the New Territory, large or small, appear to have had ancestral halls at the time of the lease. Many of them are standing to-day and I have traced the presence of others which have mouldered away since 1898. Each clan had its own hall and here its members gathered to perpetuate its corporate identity on occasions like births, weddings and funerals, and regularly each year at the New Year festival. 53 As an adjunct to the tablets in the ancestral hall, the graves of ancestors were also the subject of regular attention by the villagers, particularly the grave of the first ancestor and his wife.54 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1962 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/9s166f47f 127 ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY HONG KONG BRANCH List of Members at 16th May, 1962. ABRAHAM, R. D. · AIDE-DE-CAMP - ALLEYNE, Mrs. E. L. · BAIRD, John W. BARD, Dr. S. M. BARNETT, K. M. A. BARON, D. W. B. BARR, John S. · BARTON, Hon. H. D. M. BASTO, Gerald De. - - 41, Island Road, Deep Water Bay, Hong Kong. Government House, Hong Kong. University of Hong Kong, Pokfulum, Hong Kong. c/o Jardine, Matheson & Co., Ltd. Hong Kong. Hong Kong University, Pokfulum, Hong Kong. P. O. Box 248, Hong Kong. 361 The Peak, Hong Kong. c/o Chung Chi College, Ma Liu Shui, Shatin. Jardine, Matheson & Co., Ltd. Hong Kong. 604 Fu House, 7 Ice House Street, Hong Kong. BEDWELL, Miss Elizabeth c/o H.K. Housing Authority, G. P. O. BERTUCCIOLI, Giuliano BIRNBAUM, Mrs. Sylvia Daniels BLACK, Donald BLACKMORE, Michael BLUE, A. D. - BLUNDEN, Prof. E. C. BONSALL, G. W. BORGEEST, Gus BRAGA, J. M. - BREUIL, N. du Mrs. BROOKS, D. E. BRUUN, Frederick T. BURKHARDT, Col. V. R. - BYRNE, Desmond J. Building, T/F. · Italian Embassy, Tokyo, Japan. 7, Braga Circuit, Kowloon. Peat, Marwick Mitchell & Co., Alexandra House 8/F. Dept. of History, H.K. University, Pokfulum, H.K. c/o China Navigation Co., Butterfield & Swire. The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulum, Hong Kong. Flat 3, 94-D, Pokfulum Road, Hong Kong. P. O. Box 1058, Hong Kong. P. O. Box 951, Hong Kong. 86, Main Street, Stanley, Hong Kong. Radio Hong Kong, Hong Kong. 908, Takshing House, Hong Kong. 86, Main Street, Stanley, Hong Kong. c/o China Light & Power Co., Ltd. Argyle Street, Kowloon. BENHAM, Miss M. E. M. Harcourt Health Centre, Morrison Hill Rd., Hong Kong. CALCINA, P. G. Commercial Investment Co., Ltd. Union House, H.K. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1963 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/4m90m091v 48 BEK-TO CHIU RHODOLEIA CHAMPIONI, HOOK # 吊鐘花 Family: Hamamelidaceae ### 金縷梅科 Common name: King of Hanging Bells Hooker, who described Rhodoleia from Hong Kong named it championi to commemorate Col. J. G. Champion who was the first to collect this plant while stationed here 1847-1850, as an ensign in the 95th Regiment. Champion wrote on his record “the handsomest of Hong Kong's flowering plants". Hance in 1870 described the flowers as "of extreme beauty and rarity". Justifiable statements to all who are acquainted with the flowers of this plant. Indeed the colour combination of the flowers is uniquely striking and perhaps breathtakingly oriental. The involucre of bracts is of a pale yellow, gold, pink and russet brown; the petals of rose-carmine and the stamens, black. Besides its beauty, the fact that the plant is indigenous and only found on Hong Kong island, is worthy of note. Bentham described the flowers as having "the appearance of a semi-double Camellia". This is so and they particularly resemble Camellia hongkongensis. The apparent flowers are each composed of a cluster of five flowers, aggregated compactly on a recurved peduncle (and hence "hanging" or pendulous) at the axil of the upper leaves of the branches, with the petals of the flowers arranged at the circumference, held at the base by an involucre of overlapping bracts. This unit is in fact an inflorescence of the capitulum type, comparable with that of a chrysanthemum, The shrubs or small trees, reaching up to 20 feet high, are evergreens, bearing coriaceous dark green leaves with a bluish bloom on the upper surfaces. The flowers start to bloom from January to March, being at their best in February, the Chinese New Year time. The fruits are woody composite capsules, maturing at the end of six months, when each dehisces both loculicidally and septicidally, setting free many small winged seeds. Trees of Rhodoleia championi that bloom regularly, are to be found in the New Botanical Gardens, near the Pavilion and in a sheltered valley in Little Hong Kong, off Shouson Hill. The genus Rhodoleia has two other species: one from China and the other from Java and Sumatra. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1963 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/4m90m091v # ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY # HONG KONG BRANCH ## List of Members on the 9th April, 1963 ### Patron: His Excellency Sir Robert Black, G.C.M.G., O.B.E. ABRAHAM, R. D.* - 41, Island Road, Deep Water Bay, H.K. AIDE-DE-CAMP, The - Government House, Garden Road, H.K. ALLEYNE, Mrs. E. L. - University of Hong Kong, Pokfulum, H.K. ARMERDING, L. E.* - 11, Creasy Road, Jardine's Lookout, H.K. BADAMS, P. W. M. - c/o H.K. & Shanghai Bank, H.K. (Trustee) BAIRD, John W. - Ltd., Shell House, 6th Floor, H.K. BARD, Dr. S. M. - c/o Jardine, Matheson & Co., Ltd., H.K. BARNETT, K. M. A. - University of Hong Kong, Pokfulum, H.K. BARON, D. W. B. - P. O. Box 248, H.K. BARR, John S. - 30 Severn Road, H.K. BARTON, Hon. H. D. M. - c/o Chung Chi College, Ma Liu Shui, N.T. BASHALL, Mrs. C. G. - Jardine, Matheson & Co., Ltd., H.K. BASTO, Gerald De - c/o H.M. Prison, Stanley, H.K. BEDWELL, Miss E. - 604 Fu House, 7 Ice House Street, H.K. BENANZIO, Dr. M. - c/o H.K. Housing Authority, G.P.O. Bldg., Top Floor, H.K. BENHAM, Miss M. E. M. - c/o Italian Embassy, Djalan Diponegoro 47, Djakarta, Indonesia, BERTOVICH, Miss Ruth C. - Harcourt Health Centre, Morrison Hill Road, H.K. BERTUCCIOLI, Dr. G. - c/o The American Consulaic-General, 26 Garden Road, H.K. BIRNBAUM, Mrs. S. D. + - Italian Embassy, Tokyo, Japan. BLACK, D. - 7, Braga Circuit, Kowloon. BLACKMORE, M. - "Hacienda", Crieff, Perthshire, Scotland. BLUE, A. D. - Department of History, The University, H.K. BLUNDEN, Prof. E. C. - "Upper Woodburn", 19 Millig Street, Helensburgh, Scotland. BONSALL, G. W. - The University, Pokfulum, H.K. BORGEEST, G. - Flat 3, 94-D Pokfulum Road, H.K. P. O. Box 1058, H.K. * Life Member Please notify the Hon Secretary of any inaccuracy Page 165 Page 166 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1964 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/qz20zx09r 4 financial basis it is essential that the membership should be considerably increased if the subscription is to remain at its present modest level which, so far as I can ascertain, is lower than that of any Branch of the Society. A serious aspect of the accounts is that out of a total number of 371 members there are 166 who have not yet paid their subscriptions for 1963. The subscriptions are due on the 1st January each year, but a margin of grace is allowed until June 30th. Some of those who have not paid have probably left the Colony; in the case of others it is probably a matter of forgetfulness or procrastination. As I stressed last year the Hon. Treasurer and the Hon. Secretary are both busy people who have neither the time nor the staff to continue to appeal to and to press members for payment and it would greatly lessen their burden if members made their subscriptions payable by banker's order or became life members. The need for an increased membership has recently been emphasized by our Patron, Sir Robert Black, in a message which was authorised for circulation in support of the Society's appeal. A copy of this message, together with a brochure containing a synopsis of the history of the Hong Kong Branch of the Society, is now available to members who are asked to help by recruiting such of their friends and acquaintances as may be interested in the objects of the Society. This month we are faced with a double loss of very serious import. Sir Robert Black who has been our Patron since the Branch was reconstituted will be leaving the Colony at the end of this month. Sir Robert has not only honoured the Society with his distinguished patronage, but both he and Lady Black have shown keen personal interest in the Society and in spite of the heavy calls on their time have been regular attendants at our meetings. They have helped to foster the growth of the Society during the first vital years of its revival and stimulated the interest of the public in the activities. At the beginning of the month Mr. Cranmer-Byng left the Colony to take up another appointment in Canada. He took a leading part in the re-establishment of the Hong Kong Branch in 1959, served on the Council until his departure and above all, it may truly be said that the Journal is a monument to his scholarship and editorial ability. His place will be exceedingly difficult to fill. The Rules of the Society ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1964 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/qz20zx09r 128 BOOK REVIEWS GEORGE CHINNERY 1774-1852, ARTIST OF THE CHINA COAST. By Henry and Sidney Berry-Hill. 61 pages text, bibliography, and 76 pages of black and white photographs. F. Lewis, Publishers, Ltd., England. Price U.K. 10 Guineas, U.S. $30.00. The various phases of the artist's life - early years, the English and Irish periods, the sojourn in India, and the final years in South China are described. The 76 plates of photographs comprise 154 subjects. Since the Arts Council exhibition of 1957 in England and Scotland, there is renewed interest in Chinnery. As information about him is frequently fragmentary, there is definite need for a comprehensive biography. However, enthusiasts and scholars will be disappointed by this book. The approach is lyrical and romantic instead of factual, authoritative, and scholarly. It is all very well to quote the inscription on the silver palette presented to Chinnery by the Artists of Dublin (even though this information appears in Plate 1), but why describe it as “measures 16 inches across and was made by one of the leading silversmiths” when actual measurements, hallmark, date letter, and silversmith mark are all known and recorded.1 To claim Chinnery painted unsigned oils of sporting scenes2 in India on the sole basis of a label admittedly dated at least eight years after he left Dacca, strains imagination to the bursting point. Those who know what Chinnery sketched and painted in India and China - houses, temples, people, domestic animals — all placid scenes - will find it difficult, if not impossible, to accept this attribution. The false alarm of Mrs. Chinnery's prospective arrival in China, amusingly described by W. C. Hunter, intimate friend... 1 Arts Council Catalogue 1957 15" x 13", Dublin hallmark, date letter "E" (for 1801), and silversmith mark "R.W.” (for Richard Whitford). 2 Page 25, Plates 18 and 19. * Page 268, W. C. Hunter Bits of Old China, ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1964 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/qz20zx09r 140 BOOK REVIEWS bill, a useful bit of information often omitted in bird books. Also included are brief sections on Habits (again often omitted in bird books), Voice (if heard in Hong Kong), Habitat, World Range, and Records for Hong Kong (where, when and how frequently seen). A lecture given by Major Macfarlane in 1960 to the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society is reproduced. This shows the distinctive features of Hong Kong as seen by the bird watcher, such as its wide range of habitats within a small area and the fact that being on the northern limit of the tropics it is in a zone where northern birds and tropical birds overlap to some extent. It is also on a migration route and in spring or autumn one may see many species on their way to or from their breeding grounds in the Arctic. The illustrations in black and white by Commander A. M. Hughes are excellent and there is also a useful map at the end showing most of the places mentioned in the book. It is clearly printed on good paper and will fit easily into the pocket. Another very useful feature is a chapter on bird-watching areas by J. L. Cranmer-Byng. It is easy in Hong Kong to walk in the country for some hours and see hardly any birds. One must know where to look and in describing the best areas Mr. Cranmer-Byng makes clear the threat now faced by the ever "encroaching tide of human activities" which has already driven many birds out of places where they were abundant in Dr. Herklots' time. It is suggested that eventually Hong Kong will need to establish a Nature Reserve. Surely the need is for a Nature Reserve now. In a few years' time it may not be possible to find a large enough area which would be suitable. It has been a pleasure to review this excellent little book on which Miss Benham, her collaborators and her publishers are to be congratulated. If you already know something about birds in another part of the world it will enable you to get to know the rich variety of birds to be found in Hong Kong. If you know little about birds but would like to know more it will almost certainly entangle you irretrievably in an absorbing hobby which will give lifelong pleasure. A. ST. G. WALTON. Page 165 Page 166 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1964 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/qz20zx09r 155 ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY HONG KONG BRANCH List of Members on the 30th April 1964 Patron: His Excellency Sir David Trench, K.C.M.G., M.C. Honorary Members: His Excellency Sir Robert Black, G.C.M.G., O.B.E. J. L. Cranmer-Byng, M.C., M.A. Dept. of History, University of Toronto, Sidney Smith Hall, Toronto 5, Canada. Members: ABRAHAM, R. D.* AIDE-DECAMP, The AKERS-JONES, D. ALLEYNE, Mrs. E. L. ANDERSON, H. M. Miss ARMERDING, L. E.* BADAMS, P. W. M. BAHR, Mrs. Kay BAIRD, J. W. BAKER, Mrs. Ann. BAKER, W. E. BARD, Dr. S. M. BARNETT, K. M. A. BARON, D. W. B. BARR, J. S. BARRY, Comdr. R. S. BASHALL, Mrs. C. G. BASTICK, Capt. W. G. BASTO, G. de 41, Island Road, Deep Water Bay, H.K. Government House, Garden Road, H.K. c/o District Office, Yuen Long, N.T. University of Hong Kong, Pokfulum, H.K. 14, Chater Hall, 1 Conduit Road, H.K. 11, Creasy Road, Jardine's Lookout, H.K. c/o H.K. & Shanghai Bank, H.K. (Trustee) Ltd. Shell House, 6th floor, H.K. 4. Abermor Court, May Road, H.K. c/o Jardine, Matheson & Co., Ltd. H.K. 23, Coombe Road, H.K. c/o The H.K. Electric Co., Ltd. P. O. Box 915, H.K. Hong Kong University, Pokfulum, H.K. P. O. Box 248, H.K. 30 Severn Road, H.K. Chung Chi College, Ma Liu Shui, N.T. c/o The Hong Kong Club, H.K. c/o H.M. Prison, Stanley, H.K. Camp Office, Victoria Barracks, H.K. BENANZIO, Dr. M. 604 Fu House, 7 Ice House Street, H.K. c/o Italian Embassy, Djalan Diponegoro 47, Djakarta, Indonesia, * Life Member Please notify the Hon. Secretary of any inaccuracy Page 180 Page 181 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1964 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/qz20zx09r 156 BENHAM, Miss M. E. M. - Harcourt Health Centre, Morrison Hill Rd., BERTOVICH, Miss R. C. BIRNBAUM, Mrs. S. D. BLACK, D. BLACK, Mrs. W. A. BLACKMORE, M. BLATCHFORD, C. H. BLUNDEN, Prof. E. C. BOAK, C. D. BOARD, D. B. M.* BOLLMEYER, Mrs. H. BONSALL, G. W. BORGEEST, G. BOXER, B. BOYD, J. D. I. BRAGA, J. M. BREUIL, Mrs. N. du BROMHALL, J. D. BROOKS, D. E. BROWNE, H. J. C. BRUNN, F. BUCKNELL, P. BYRNE, D. J. H.K. R.D. No. 1, Box 220, Masontown, Pa. U.S.A. 7, Braga Circuit, Kowloon. Long Acre, Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland. 10-A, Stanley Beach Road, Stanley, H.K. Dept. of History, H.K. University, H.K. New Asia College, 6 Farm Road, Kowloon. H.K. University, Pokfulum, H.K. Dept. of Modern Languages, H.K. University, H.K. c/o Education Dept., Battery Path, H.K. 408/9 Yu To Sang Building, 37 Queen's Road, C., H.K. H.K. University Library, Pokfulum, H.K. P. O. Box 1058, H.K. 2, Percival Street, 3rd floor, H.K. c/o Political Adviser, Colonial Secretariat, H.K. P. O. Box 951, H.K. 86, Main Street, Stanley, H.K. Fisheries Research Station, The Fish Market, Island Road, Aberdeen, H.K. Radio Hong Kong, Mercury House, H.K. c/o Butterfield & Swire, Union House, H.K. 908 Takshing House, H.K. Legal Dept. Central Govt. Offices, H.K. BURKHARDT, Col. V. R. 86, Main Street, Stanley, H.K. CALCINA, P. G.* CAMERON, N. CASHMORE, Miss M. CHAN, Fook-Lam CHAN, Dr. Hee Chi P. O. Box 15118, H.K Commercial Investment Co., Ltd., Union House, 12th floor, H.K. 75, Deepwater Bay Road, H.K. 9A, Cameron House, 40 Magazine Gap Road, H.K. 77 Chun Yeung Street, 10th floor, H.K. Bank of Canton Building, H.K. * Life Member Please notify the Hon Secretary of any inaccuracy ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1965 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s752cj653 PRESIDENT'S REPORT 1964 This report covers the activities of the Society during the year 1964, the fifth year since the reconstruction of the Society in Hong Kong. A year ago, H.E. Sir Robert Black, who not only was our Patron but who had followed with great personal interest the growth of the Society, declared, before he left the Colony, that the Society in the four years of its restored existence had fully justified the faith of those who were responsible for bringing it back to life and that it had become established firmly as an important activity in the cultural life of the community in Hong Kong. During 1964 it continued to develop both in numbers and in the range of its interests and activities. Membership has grown from 160 at the end of the first year, 1960, to 386, including 46 life members at the end of 1964. Although during the year 87 new members, including 5 life members, were enrolled, we lost 64 members, most of whom resigned on leaving the Colony or were deemed to have resigned in default of the payment of their subscription, so that the net gain was only 23. In a changing community like Hong Kong it is inevitable that membership should fluctuate. Each year, however, has shown an increased membership which is now approaching the 400 mark. The ten meetings held during the year show that we have a very keen and zealous membership and audiences have uniformly taxed the capacity of the City Hall lecture room. For the lectures, we have been fortunate in enlisting the services of eminent scholars, experts in their respective subjects, including three distinguished scholars from abroad, all of whom we warmly thank. The arrangement of lectures is always subject to the availability of suitable speakers but your Council has endeavoured to cover a wide field within the scope of the objects of the Parent Society and of this Branch, namely, the investigation of subjects connected with and the encouragement of science, literature and the arts in relation to Asia. The lectures given were: ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1965 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s752cj653 into close contact with the people of the rural districts of the Colony. The success of these studies proved so encouraging that we have considered it to be a worthy task to follow up and to record in print all that can be recorded now of the traditional aspects of Chinese life which can still be seen in the rural areas of Hong Kong, but which are in danger of dying and vanishing forever. The results of the Symposium, including the substance of the papers read on the first day, have been recorded in a booklet edited by Dr. Marjorie Topley which will be published in a month or two. It will be the first comprehensive sociological study of New Territories organization. We commend this booklet to members and we hope that we can recoup the cost of its printing. We hope to be able to continue this line of study and research and that it might be of assistance to the Committee of the City Hall Museum, who are considering a project for the inclusion in the Museum of exhibits illustrating the ethnography and history of the native peoples of Hong Kong. A particular feature of the Society's work is the production of its Journal and we may justly feel a sense of pride in the vigorous scholarship exemplified in the first three volumes. Owing to a series of unforeseen difficulties, the issue for 1963-64, which should have been published last summer, has been much delayed. Mr. Cranmer-Byng, the Chairman of the Editorial Committee, who had been mainly responsible for the first three volumes left the Colony early in 1964, and Mr. Talbot, who kindly stepped into the breach, was on leave until the late autumn. The printers also had been unable to obtain the special accented type for the romanization of oriental languages which had been ordered in October 1963. The Journal, however, will, we are assured, be out next month. During 1964 the Society suffered serious and regrettable losses. In March, Sir Robert Black, who had been our Patron since the branch was revived, left the Colony. He was not only our Patron but had enrolled as a life member. He had taken an active interest in the Society and both he and Lady Black, in spite of the many calls on their time, attended most of our meetings. In the same month, Mr. Cranmer-Byng left. He took a leading part in the re-establishment of the Hong Kong Branch in 1959; he was a tower of strength on the Council and was the Chairman ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1965 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s752cj653 127 ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY HONG KONG BRANCH List of Members on the 31st May, 1965 Patron: His Excellency Sir David Trench, K.C.M.G., M.C. Honorary Members: Sir Robert Black, G.C.M.G., O.B.E.* J. L. Cranmer-Byng, M.C., M.A.* Dept. of History, University of Toronto, Sidney Smith Hall, Toronto 5, Canada. Members: ABRAHAM, R. D.* ADDIS, Mrs. Diana - 41, Island Road, Deep Water Bay, H.K. ADDIS, W. S. - Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corp., H.K. AIDE-DE-CAMP, The AKERS-JONES, D. - Government House, Garden Road, H.K. ARMERDING, L. E.* - c/o District Office, Yuen Long, N.T. BADAMS, P. W. M. - 426 La Grande Avenue, Fanwood, New Jersey, U.S.A. BAHR, Mrs. Kay BAKER, Mrs. Ann BAKER, W. E. BARD, Dr. S. M. - c/o H.K. & Shanghai Bank, H.K. (Trustee) Ltd. Shell House, 6th floor, H.K. BARNETT, K. M. A. - 4, Abermor Court, May Road, H.K. BARON, D. W. B. - 23, Coombe Road, H.K. BARR, Miss E. - c/o The H.K. Electric Co., Ltd. BARR, J. S. - P. O. Box 915, H.K. BARRY, Comdr. R. S. - Hong Kong University, Pokfulum, H.K. BASHALL, Mrs. C. G. - P. O. Box 248, H.K. BASTO, G. de - 30 Severn Road, H.K. BASTICK, Capt. W. G. - 78 Robinson Road, H.K. BENANZIO, Dr. M. - Chung Chi College, Ma Liu Shui, N.T. * Life Member Please notify the Hon. Secretary of any inaccuracy ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1965 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s752cj653 128 BENHAM, Miss M. E. M. Harcourt Health Centre, Morrison Hill Rd., BERTOVICH, Miss R. C. BERTUCCIOLI, Dr. G. BEVERIDGE, R. J. BIRNBAUM, Mrs. S. D. + BLACK, D. BLACKMORE, M. BLAKER, D. J. R. - BLATCHFORD, C. H, BLUE, A. D. - T BLUNDEN, Prof. E. C. BOAK, C. D. BOARD, D. B. M.* BODILLY, Mrs. M. BOLLMEYER, Mrs. H. BONSALL, G. W. BORDWELL, J. H. BORGEEST, G. BOXER, B. BOYD, J. D. I. BRAGA, J. M. BRAUN, F. 7 ד BREUIL, Mrs. N. du - BRITTON, Mrs. N. M. BROMHALL. J. D. BROOKS, D. E. BROWN, Miss B. BROWN, Mrs. D. L. + - - + + + H.K. R.D. No. 1, Box 220, Masontown, Pa. U.S.A. Italian Embassy, Tokyo, Japan. University Press, Hong Kong University, Pokfulum, H.K. 7, Braga Circuit, Kowloon, Long Acre, Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland, Dept. of History, H.K. University, H.K. c/o Gilman & Co., Ltd., P. O. Box 56, H.K. New Asia College, 6 Farm Road, Kowloon. c/o World Wide Shipping, Cornes & Co., C. P. O. Box 158, Tokyo, Japan. Merton College, Oxford University, England. Dept. of Modern Languages, H.K. University, H.K. c/o Education Dept., Battery Path, H.K. 12A Mt. Nicholson Road, H.K. c/o W. F. Bollmeyer & Co. (H.K.) Ltd., Rooms 408-9 Yu To Sang Building, H.K. Flat 4-B, 3 University Drive, Pokfulum, H.K. P. O. Box 25, H.K. P. O. Box 1058, H.K. Dept. of Geography, Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, Michigan 48824, U.S.A. c/o Political Adviser, Colonial Secretariat, H.K. P. O. Box 951, H.K, 8 Kotewall Road, 4th floor, H.K. 86, Main Street, Stanley, H.K. 6 Peel Rise, The Peak, H.K. Fisheries Research Station, The Fish Market, Island Road, Aberdeen, H.K. Radio Hong Kong, Mercury House, H.K. Medical Rehabilitation Centre, L. 254 Kun Tong, Kowloon, Chatham Galleries, 103 Chatham Road, Kowloon. * Life Member Please notify the Hon. Secretary of any inaccuracy ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1966 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/bz60k0811 173 BENHAM, Miss M. E. M. Harcourt Health Centre, Morrison Hill Rd., BENT, Miss Dora BERTOVICH, Miss R. C. BERTUCCIOLI, Dr. G. BEVERIDGE, R. J. BIRNBAUM, Mrs. S. D. BLACK, D. BLACKMORE, M. BLAKER, D. J. R. BLUE, A. D. BOAK, C. D. BOARD, D. B. M.* BONSALL, G. W. BORDWELL, J. H. BORGEEST, G. Nethersole Hospital, Bonham Road, H.K. R.D. No. 1, Box 220, Masontown, Pa., U.S.A. Italian Embassy, Tokyo, Japan. University Press, Hong Kong University, Pokfulum, H.K. 7, Braga Circuit, Kowloon, Long Acre, Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland, Dept. of History, H.K. University, H.K. c/o Gilman & Co., Ltd., P. O. Box 56, H.K. Chief Engineer, M.V. "World Yuri", World Wide (Shipping) Ltd., c/o Cornes & Co., C.P.O. Box 158, Tokyo, Japan, Dept. of Modern Languages, H.K. University, H.K. c/o Education Dept., Battery Path, H.K. Flat 4-B, 3 University Drive, Pokfulum, H.K. P. O. Box 25, H.K. P. O. Box 1058, H.K. BORRELL, Rev. Bro. O. W. St. Francis Xavier's College, 45 Sycamore Street, Kowloon. BOXER, Prof. B. BRAGA, J. M. BRAUN, F. BREUIL, Mrs. N. du BRITTON, Mrs. N. M. BROMHALL, J. D. BROOKS, D. E. BROWN, Miss B. BROWNE, H. J. C. BRUCE, Robert BRUUN, F. BUNGER, Dr. Karl Dept. of Geography, Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, Michigan 48824, U.S.A. P. O. Box 951, H.K. 8 Kotewall Road, 4th floor, H.K. 86, Main Street, Stanley, H.K. 6 Peel Rise, The Peak, H.K. Fisheries Research Station, The Fish Market, Island Road, Aberdeen, H.K. Radio Hong Kong, Mercury House, H.K. Medical Rehabilitation Centre, L254 Kwun Tong, Kowloon. c/o Butterfield & Swire, Union House, H.K. The British Council, Gloucester Building, H.K. 908 Takshing House, H.K. Consul General, Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany, 1, Duddell Street, H.K. * Life Member Please notify the Hon. Secretary of any inaccuracy ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1967 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/0c488p70g 32 JEN YU-WEN Comparing this map with two others (Military Survey Map 1902-03, GS3749, and Map of Kowloon, 1960, Sheet 2) and checking it with my personal observation in the old and new roads around that area, I found that the original site of the village was directly west of the southern foot of the former Sacred Hill, about 1,200 ft. distant from it (see map). The northern tip of the Two Emperors' Palace Hill has been levelled leaving a high cliff there.16 As to the precise boundaries, population and number of houses in the former village, there is no way to ascertain this, although the military map of 1902-03 shows only a very small number of houses in comparison with other villages in Kowloon. VII, THE MA-TAU-WEI TEMPLE We should note one more, the last, historical site in this area. It is the Ancient Temple of Shang-ti (Shang-ti Ku-miao1) situated on the western side of the present Lomond Road, behind the St. Theresa Hospital (see map). The original temple was near the former Ma-tau-wei Village directly east of the present site. When the villagers were evacuated by the government and the whole village was levelled to construct new roads and buildings in 1927-28, the temple was destroyed and a new temple was constructed at the present site.17 Later on, the new temple was also demolished but the stone gate was preserved, the name of the temple remaining. The idol worshipped there represents the God of the Black (Northern) Heaven (Hsuan-t'ien Shang-ti✯AL) which is identical with the Northern God (Pei-ti). According to Chinese ancient mythology, North has been considered as the centre of water, symbolized by the colour black. Hence, it became the patron deity of the people living along the seacoast, and almost every coastal village had such a temple wherever there were fishermen or seafarers. There are still some temples of the Northern God in Kowloon and elsewhere. Some years ago the Hong Kong Government accepted my suggestion and preserved this stone gate. Moreover, the piece of ground was converted into a small garden. Mr. Jao Tsung-i of the Chinese Department of the University of Hong Kong was asked to prepare the Chinese text which is engraved on a tablet erected by the side of the gate. Work was completed in 1962. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1967 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/0c488p70g 132 REV. MR. KRONE To the left of the temple of Confucius, is the temple of “Kwan-kung”關公—the God of War; and on the right another one dedicated to "Man-tai", the God of Literature. Behind the latter is the hall Ning-lun, in which the public examinations are held. The literati and elders meet here on special occasions. In the vicinity of these edifices is the temple of “Sha-nung”神農—the God of Agriculture; and before it extends a piece of ground, on which the chief magistrate has to plough a few furrows at the beginning of spring, in accordance with an ancient custom. Near the sea-shore is a large space of ground, which serves for drilling the military, and on which the military examinations are also held. On it also a hall is erected for the accommodation of the officers. Not far from this place is a Buddhist temple, which contains images of the three Buddhas, and of the eighteen Lo-hou, which are Buddhist demi-gods. In front of the three Buddhas is a tablet, before which the devotees worship the reigning dynasty. On this tablet is the inscription "Ten Thousand years!" Farther above this is another tablet with the characters "Protect my black-haired people." The chief magistrate is obliged to repair here once a month, and to prostrate himself before these tablets. Other edifices worthy of notice are, a five-storied pagoda, a temple to the well-deserving mandarins Wong and Lau, and an altar to the Gods of Land and Grain. Outside the town is the execution ground, and here, in 1854, many rebels were decapitated, and there might be seen at times the heads hung up in baskets as a warning to the people. The fort and city of Kowloong are sufficiently known, and there is but little to say of them. The low walls and miserable forts have often been visited by foreigners. The environs of Kowloong contain some curious mementoes of history, of which the rest of the district is destitute. Ping-tai, the last of the Southern Emperors of the Sung dynasty, fled with the remnant of his faithful adherents to the province of Canton. Near Kowloong he attempted to build himself a palace, which however he was unable to complete, and the situation is now marked by a temple to "Pak-tai”北帝—the God of the North. One of his high officers died here, and his tomb is situated on a hill, which is called to this day Sung-wang-tai. These three characters are engraved on + ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1967 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/0c488p70g 190 BENHAM, Miss M. E. M. - Harcourt Health Centre, Morrison Hill Rd., H.K. BENIANS, S. M. BENNETT, Frank C., Jr. - BENT, Miss Dora BERNADETTE, Sister Maura BERTUCCIOLI, Dr. G.* BIRNBAUM, Mrs. S. D. BLACK, D. BLACKMORE, M. BLAKER, D. J. R. BLUE, A. D. BOARD, D. B. M.* BONSALL, G. W. BORDWELL, J. H. BORGEEST, G. BOXER, Prof. B. BRAGA, J. M. BRAUN, F. + BREGMAN, R. U. BRIGGS, G. G. - + + + - + BRITTON, Mrs. N. M. BROMHALL, J. D. BROOKS, D. E. BROWN, Miss B. BROWNE, H. J. C. BRUCE, Robert BUNGER, Dr. Karl + + - - - c/o Jardine, Matheson & Co., Ltd., Jardine House, H.K. c/o United States Consulate General, Garden Road, H.K. Nethersole Hospital, Bonham Road, H.K. The Maryknoll Sisters, Waterloo Road, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon. Lungotevere delle navi 30, Roma, Italy. 7, Braga Circuit, Kowloon, Long Acre, Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland. Dept. of History, H.K. University, H.K. c/o Gilman & Co., Ltd., P. O. Box 56, H.K. Chief Engineer, M.V. "World Yuri", World Wide (Shipping) Ltd., c/o Cornes & Co., C.P.O. Box 158, Tokyo, Japan, c/o Education Dept., Battery Path, H.K. Flat 4-B, 3 University Drive, Pokfulum, H.K. P. O. Box 25, H.K. P. O. Box 1058, H.K. Dept. of Geography, Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, Michigan 48824, U.S.A. P. O. Box 951, H.K. 8 Kotewall Road, 4th floor, H.K. University Surgical Unit, Queen Mary Hospital, H.K. The Supreme Court, H.K. 6 Peel Rise, The Peak, H.K. Fisheries Research Station, The Fish Market, Island Road, Aberdeen, H.K. Radio Hong Kong, Mercury House, H.K. Medical Rehabilitation Centre, L254 Kwun Tong, Kowloon. c/o Butterfield & Swire, Union House, H.K. The British Council, Gloucester Building, H.K. Consul General, Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany, 1, Duddell Street, H.K. * Life Member Please notify the Hon. Secretary of any inaccuracy ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1967 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/0c488p70g 192 COOKE, Miss M. B. CORBALLY, E, COSTANTINI, G* COWPERTHWAITE, Mrs, S. M. CREMA, Mario - CRONE, Dr. D. L. CUMINE, E. CUMMING, M. S. DAIKO, P. DANSEY-BROWNING, Lt. Col. G. C. DANSEY-BROWNING, Mrs. S. M. - + DAVIS, Dr. S. G. H.K. Medical Rehabilitation Centre, Kwun Tong L254, Kwun Tong, Kowloon, c/o Central Magistracy, Albert Road, H.K. c/o Italian Consulate General, Room 705 Chartered Bank Building, H.K. 45 Shouson Hill Road, H.K. c/o Italian Consulate General, Room 705 Chartered Bank Building, H.K. Flat 2B, 1 Middleton Towers, 140 Pokfulum Road, H.K. 14, Embassy Court, H.K. c/o Messrs. Butterfield & Swire, Union House, H.K. P. O. Box 201, H.K. Government Ophthalmic Centre, Arran St., Mongkok, Kowloon, c/o P. O. Box 5096, Kowloon. Dept. of Geography & Geology, The University, H.K. DAWSON, Prof. John L. M. Dept of Philosophy & Psychology, The DEANS PEGGS, Dr. A. DENNEY, Miss D. R. DJOU, G. G. DRAKE, Prof. F. S.* • DRAKEFORD, L. S. - DRURY, Miss Kathleen - DUNCANSON, J. D.* DWYER, Prof. D. J. EDWARDS, O. P. - EITZEN, Mrs. J. ENDACOTT, G. B. - - EUSTACE, Col. F. A. - - ► + - • University, Pokfulum, H.K. c/o Education Department, Battery Path, H.K. Officers Mess, R.A.F. Kai Tak, Kowloon. c/o American International Assnce. Co., Ltd., 12-14 Queen's Road, Central, H.K 'Lincot', Stoke Road, North Curry, Taunton, Somerset, England. 12+ Miles, Clearwater Bay Road, Kowloon. Nethersole Hospital, Bonham Road, H.K. 26 Leinster Mews, London W.2, England, Dept. of Geography & Geology, The University, Pokfulum, H.K. c/o H.K. & Shanghai Banking Corpn. H.K. 22 Magazine Gap Road, Hong Kong. Robert Black College, The University, Pokfulum, H.K. c/o Hong Kong Sea School, Stanley, H.K. * Life Member Please notify the Hon. Secretary of any inaccuracy ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1968 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/66833948d 70 W. SCHOFIELD granite quarrying was in progress. The characters probably are the trade-marks of the sub-contractors to whom the quarry owner assigned the different boulders for cutting up. There were many other 'inscriptions' on and near the No. 1 inscription, but they were all written with ink and brush, not carved, and some were in poetry, but none were recorded by the writer. They were usually patriotic reflections on the fall of the Sung dynasty. Pottery, etc. found on the site This falls into three groups: 1. Surface finds on the hill, and three objects found in shallow diggings. 2. Finds from the south-east of the hill, on the beach. 3. Finds, mostly small fragments, from a cutting made through the southern end of the earthwork, apparently by a Government department. 1. Two small pieces of pre- or proto-historic pottery were found. One bore the familiar mat pattern found on most of the hard pre-Han ware in Hong Kong; the other, a thick fragment with a very tough pinkish body, was full of quartz grains: one side seems to have a few grooves and shallow pittings. The material of the body is probably local, and there is no slip or coating. In a small pit dug for a seedling pine, 20 metres north-west of the rock bearing inscription 1, and 12 metres below the level of its summit, was found a much rusted piece of iron, use uncertain. Two pottery fragments came from depths of 30 cm. in small cuttings on the west side of the hill: a gray unglazed curving piece like the edge of a candlestick foot, and part of the lip of a thin stoneware bowl with fine pinkish-buff body and gray slip covering the inner surface, but extending less than 1 cm. down the outer: its date could be as early as the T'ang dynasty. Other surface finds on the hill include two fragments of modern burial jars known as 'Kam T'ap'; two much weathered and probably old pieces of the same kind; a sherd from the edge of a greyish-white porcelain bowl with black floral painting under the glaze of the outer surface, not earlier than Ming; a piece of a large cooking utensil with blackish-brown slip and incised ornament. Page 75 Page 76 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1970 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ww72j0241 The Society was, however, very fortunate from the start in the support given by the British Council and its representative Mr. R. E. Lawry who later became the Hon. Secretary and also Vice-President of the Society and to whom the Society owes a great debt of gratitude. It was in the rooms of the British Council that the Society held its meetings until the City Hall became available. It is in the Council's rooms that the Council still holds its meetings and that a great part of the Society's books are kept ready for members to consult or take out. Each of Mr. Lawry's successors, including Mr. Bridges to-day, has become a member of the Council, and it has been the British Council that has provided the successive Hon. Secretaries—Mr. Lawry, Miss O. Michaeliones, Mr. T. H. Thomas and now Mr. J. L. H. Webster, C.M.G. The Society has no home of its own, and ever since its revival the British Council has been the base of its operations; and now after ten years of such continued support it is difficult to express in adequate terms our gratitude to the British Council and its Representatives in Hong Kong. The Society was also fortunate in the full support given by its Patron, Sir Robert Black, who in spite of his arduous and manifold duties as Governor of Hong Kong rarely missed a meeting of the Society together with Lady Black and his family and staff and often took part in the Society's activities. Sir Robert is now an Honorary Member and still takes a keen interest in the affairs of the Society. Two other keen supporters and regular attendants were Sir Michael Hogan, the Chief Justice, one of our founder members, and also the late W. G. C. Knowles who was also a founder and life member both of whose support was much appreciated and both of whom are greatly missed at our meetings. During the year the Society met twelve times at which addresses of a high standard and of great variety and interest were given. And in the last two months not less than seven meetings were held including the lecture by Commander Warrington-Strong on porcelain, that of Professor Frank Chippindale on the Chinese Influence on Chippendale's Designs, that of Capt. Roger Pineau on Commodore Perry's Japan Expedition, the tour of Tsun Wan Temples under Mr. Graham Johnson, the Week-End Symposium on the Vegetation of Hong Kong conducted by Professor Thrower ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1971 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/z029vt43g 227 BARD, Dr. S. M. BARNES, Mrs. A. M. BARR, Miss E. c/o University Health Service, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulum, H.K. Mercantile Bank Ltd., Bombay 1, India. 80 Robinson Road, H.K. BARRETT, Rev. Cyril, S. J. c/o Wah Yan College, Queen's Road, East, H.K. BARRY, Cmdr. R. S. BASHALL, Mrs. C. G. BEDLINGTON, Mrs. M. BELL, G. J. BERKOWITZ, Dr. M. I. BERTUCCIOLI, Dr. G.* BEVERIDGE, R. J. BIRCH, Dr. A. BIRNBAUM, Mrs. S. D. BLACK, D. BLACKMORE, M. BLAKER, D. J. R. BLUE, A. D. BOARD, D. B. M.* BOEHMKE, Mrs. A. Karl BONSALL, G. W. BORGEEST, G. BOXER, Prof. B. BRAGA, J. M. BRAUN, F. BRIDGES, G. A. BRIGGS, G. G. BROOKS, D. E. c/o Hong Kong Club, H.K. c/o H.M. Prison, Stanley, H.K. Unknown. c/o Royal Observatory, H.K. Unknown. Lungotevere delle navi 30, Roma, Italy. c/o 4A, Horsburgh Grove, Armadale, Melbourne, S.E. 3, Victoria, Australia. c/o Dept. of History, University of Hong Kong, H.K. 7, Braga Circuit, Kowloon. Long Acre, Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland. Unknown. c/o Gilman & Co., Ltd., P. O. Box 56, H.K. 15, Lansdowne Crescent, Edinburgh, Scotland. c/o Education Dept., Lee Gardens, Hysan Avenue, H.K. 4, Shouson Hill Road, A-2, H.K. c/o Hong Kong University Press, Pokfulum, H.K. P. O. Box 1058, H.K. 167 Laurel Circle, Princeton, New Jersey 08540, U.S.A. c/o National Library of Australia, Canberra, Australia. 8 Kotewall Road, 4th floor, H.K. c/o The British Council, Gloucester Building, H.K. c/o The Supreme Court, H.K. c/o Radio Hong Kong, Broadcasting House, Broadcast Drive, Kowloon. Life Member Please notify the Hon. Secretary of any inaccuracy ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1972 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/gm80qf99h 176 KEITH STEVENS cyclical characters of the year." Hodous appears either to be confusing T'ai Sui and Kou Mang, or to be giving T'ai Sui yet another alias. In T'aip'ing in Malaya two images of mud bulls are to be seen standing on a pile of paper hell money on the altar beside T'ai Sui. The reason for their inclusion on the altar was not known by the temple keeper nor by the devotees who said that they had always been in that position as far back as anyone could recall. (See Plate 15). The Rev. Wm Milne4 in Ningpo in the mid 1840s noted "the festival of the Beating in of Spring" when on the first day of spring the Chief Magistrate of the city beat the "god of spring", a multi-coloured paper ox, which was then torn to pieces by the crowd, for luck. Milne claimed to have seen this same ceremony elsewhere in Central China, and said that in some districts the bull is made of mud. “The colouring varies as laid down in the Peking annual book of ceremonies. The variations in colours such as red horns, black tail and feet, white body, blue head and neck are regarded as prognosticating the portents of the coming year. The amount of black signifies sickness, blue winds, white rain and floods, red fire and yellow the fruits of the earth. There are also a number of smaller mud oxen mainly sold for household good fortune.” The Rev. Milne also reported that “the "god of spring" was seen in the shape of a youthful human image, the son of an early Emperor. He too is attired in a fashion prophetic of the fortune of the coming year: bareheaded predicted cold weather, and white robe augurs a dry year etc." This youthful image is almost certainly T'ai Sui. In all temples where he was observed in the "scroll or bell-holding" two-armed version, his image was seen very frequently to be balanced on wads, sometimes very high wads, of hell money. This is the paper money purchased from temple keepers to be burnt by devotees for the use of deceased members of the family in the Underworld. This custom is usually only to be seen in temples under wealth gods, but in the case of T'ai Sui, the wads are offerings to T'ai Sui for protection and not for transmission by burning to deceased relatives. Shyrock in his Temples of Anking says hell money is burnt for use by ancestors and is never presented to Gods. It would appear to be otherwise in Central and South China. 4 Milne, W. C., Life in China (London, Routledge, 1857). ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1973 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8910rj06r 16 H. A. RYDINGS 6th August 1845. DILL, Francis “A brief account of the nature, causes, symptoms, treatment and morbid appearance of the fevers incident to Europeans in the Island of Hong Kong" p. 29-41. 7th Oct. 1845. BARTON, George K. “On diseases of the liver as observed amongst Europeans resident in India and China, with remarks upon their comparative infrequency in the latter country" p. 45-56. 3rd March 1846. BARTON, George K. "On some cases of varolous and vaccine inoculation in conjunction" p. 63-66. These papers were each followed by discussions, which are briefly recorded. There are also records of other meetings which consisted mainly of case studies. It will be noted that there is a concentration upon Europeans as patients, presumably because hospital facilities (other than the mission ones) were provided principally for the European community, and also because the Chinese would prefer to consult their own doctors. However, there are mentions of Chinese patients on p. 61 and in the second of Dr. Barton's papers. It is appropriate that dysentery should have been the subject of the first paper, delivered by Dr. Little, since this has already been mentioned as the most prevalent disease. The interest in India has also been alluded to, and can easily be understood when one looks at the catalogue of books available in the Society's library (Transactions, p. 78-9): out of 24 periodicals no less than 7 originated in India. Some or all of these had probably been received on an exchange basis. The East India Company apparently first established medical facilities in China, primarily for the benefit of its own personnel, with the appointment of Thomas Arnot as resident surgeon at the factory in Canton in 1758 (13). It was therefore natural for the first medical men in Hong Kong to look to their colleagues in India for advice and exchange of publications. Apart from the clinical studies listed above, another matter of interest is an investigation into the nature of mineral waters from Foochow. On p. 57-8 of the Transactions is transcribed a letter from Rutherford Alcock, H.B.M. Consul at Foo-chow-foo, dated September 13th 1845, to the Secretary of the Society, in which he promises to send samples of two different kinds of hot spring waters, the first odourless, tasteless and about 120°, which Alcock likens to those of Wildbad in the Black Forest; the other sulphurous, ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1973 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8910rj06r 174 BOOK REVIEWS of a mask, they painted the features of the masks right on the face. The mask cannot change its expression, it lacks the spirit of the eyes and is lifeless, it hinders the speech and even more the singing, as is the case in the stagnant Japanese Noh-play. Mr. Scott does not give any background at all, but names the 15th century as the beginning of painted faces and gives them as the origin of the Japanese Kabuki make-up. He also says that their design is according to the Chinese rules of physiognomy. The subject of painted faces is very extensive: a book published in Tai-wan a few years ago contains a thousand varieties of painted faces*. Turning to other aspects, the Peking Opera stage is empty except for a table and 2 chairs. If a chair is placed on a table, it means a mountain, and can be used to indicate, for example, a general addressing his army. Rain, wind and storms are indicated by black or blue flags of thin silk, which are carried over the stage. Carrying a horsewhip means that this person is riding, a military order is indicated by a small triangular flag, 2 square flags with a wheel-design indicate a carriage and so on. Both authors describe in more or less detail the system of the Peking Opera schools. It is surprising how few people know that we have such a school here in Hong Kong. 40 children are trained in this school, some as young as 6 years old. They get up early to train their voices, then comes the teacher for acrobatics, then opera parts are rehearsed. In the afternoon, they study general subjects, and in the evening they go to the Lai Chi Kok amusement park to give their daily performance. If you want to take the chance, which is so easily available, to see this intriguing type of opera, you should also spend a few hours with Elizabeth Halson's short guide. This book really does fill the newcomer's need for a comprehensive, well-ordered, introduction enabling him to enjoy and appreciate what he sees in the opera; though not yet what he hears, like Chinese enthusiasts who go to the opera in order to hear it. Hong Kong, 1973. HELGA WERLE Chang Pe-chin: Chinese Opera and Painted Face, Taiwan, Mei Ya Publications, Inc. 1969. Page 180 Page 181 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1974 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/x633mp077 CRAFT OF GOD CARVING IN SINGAPORE 73 15). This is sand-papered to produce a finish but not to eliminate all the cut marks of the blades which will be obliterated by the next process. A bowl of rich golden yellow paste is prepared from a small quantity of powder from a crumbling block bought many years ago from China which the carvers call "yellow mud" (huang ni) and an oily substance which presumably is casein based. One coat of this mud bonded with tiny strips of rice paper is brushed over the image patch by patch, the small two-inch squares of rice paper being placed over the bare wood to fill in gaps and cover knots (Plate 16), and allowed to dry overnight before being rubbed down again with sandpaper (Plate 17). This primer of "yellow mud" and rice paper dries hard and unglossy, and even fifty to a hundred years later, images accidentally chipped will reveal the hard dull yellow without revealing the bare wood. The next stage is the administration of the raised decoration. The most delicate part of the god-making operation is the decoration, the fine definition of armour, the head-dress, the shoulder epaulettes, and the badges of rank worn across the chest by the civil and military mandarins. A mixture of a strong-smelling viscous black-blue wax (tang shan chi), incense ash, and ground charcoal is prepared by rubbing and rolling until it is sufficiently malleable. The god carvers said that the wax was obtained from the sap of an unnamed tree in Fukien and in its raw state will burn the flesh on contact. The mixture is placed, squeezed, or pressed onto the image very carefully and gently. Long threads of rolled wax (Plate 18) are guided into position by the deft fingers of one craftsman who holds a spatula in his left hand; where the threads cross, they are carefully pressed into each other to avoid bumps. Other fine lines are squeezed from a bag, like icing (Plate 19), and pellets of wax are precisely placed in their correct positions (Plates 20, 21, and 22) to depict buttons or parts of the decoration. The wax sticks to the mud-covered image without further adhesive. Once the wax is thoroughly dry, usually after forty-eight hours, it is painted with a white primer. The colouring stage is now ready to begin. An entirely different team is employed here, usually the females of the family. The colouring nowadays consists either of modern commercially produced paints or the application of gold leaf. The paints are applied with ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1974 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/x633mp077 FR. ERNESTO GHERZI, S.J. 87 discussed his impressive character. For example, Sir Francis Chichester in his book The Lonely Sea and the Sky (1964) tells of his early flight from New Zealand to Japan in August 1931 and of his visit to Zikawei to ask Fr Gherzi when it would be safe to proceed to Kagoshima. "... I waited in a cool, silent, stone hall, while a priest went to find Father Gherzi. He was a thin tall man with slender high-browed head, and a narrow black beard. He wore a long black robe under which appeared two enormous black boots. He was impatient, impetuous and clever. In a rapid, emphatic way, he said that there was a typhoon centred east of Formosa, that it was travelling fast straight for Shanghai, that it was impossible for me to leave for Japan because of a 35 mph head wind, and that I must secure my seaplane at once. After my experience the day before with the emphatic reporter in the sampan, I started cross-examining Father Gherzi about this weather. He showed clearly that he resented this, and that he thought me a fool.... In the afternoon Father Gherzi said that I must not leave before he had the Japanese reports at 8.30 in the morning. That meant a 9.30 start, which was later than I liked, but what could I say to a man who was taking so much trouble for my safety? There was something fine about that dark impatient man, and he was good; each time I parted from him, I had an impulse to live a better life.' His 'enormous black boots' were sometimes the butt for humour by his more youthful and disrespectful colleagues, one of whom spoke of the 'longest feet in Asia protruding from beneath a long black cassock'. A WRITER OF MANY PUBLICATIONS Apart from his annual reports and papers, Fr Gherzi wrote the following books on the distribution of the meteorological elements in the Far East: Rainfall (1928), Winds and upper air currents (1931), Temperature (1934), Humidity (1934) and an Appendix on Rainfall (1937), all published by Zikawei Observatory. He was particularly interested in microseisms and was the first (1923) correctly to attribute the source of a certain type of microseism to the central region of typhoons but he thought, incorrectly, that they were caused by barometric pulsations of the central atmospheric column. He presented his case in a number of journals (e.g. 1932) and for the rest of his life, he continued to argue for this cause of typhoon microseisms. Indeed, the journal which carried notice of ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1975 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/j0995146d INCIDENT: H.K. MERCHANTS & B.E.I. CO. 57 your Hoppo, but I will make him a bow while you knocky head.” With this, after some communication between the Mandarins and the security merchants, they appeared satisfied. I now found they were in earnest as to my seeing the Hoppo, and there was much bustle in the palace; they were, however, determined I should not imagine that I had forced an interview, as I was given to understand that the Viceroy was going to pay his colleague, the Fyane, a visit, and that I should see him as he went out. At this time there were in the great hall thirty or forty Mandarins of various ranks, all the security merchants, Mr. Perry, and myself, with many other persons belonging to the palace,—in all I should suppose, about a hundred and fifty in number. The doors were shortly thrown open, and we observed a procession issuing from another large house, and crossing a court to the hall we were in; the guard passed on, and presently there appeared the Hoppo, borne in a most magnificent state chair by sixteen men richly dressed; the chair was very splendid, and the Hoppo one of the finest and noblest-looking Chinese I had ever seen, with a remarkably fine black beard. The moment he entered the hall, every person, except Mr. Perry and myself, threw themselves down as if they had been shot through the head, touched the ground with their forehead, and were up again in a moment, even my old friend Mowqua, though so advanced in years, was down and up again as nimbly as a boy; on my remarking this to him after the interview was over, his reply was, "Mister Commodore, I very much long time do that custom." As the Hoppo approached to Mr. Perry and me, we made him a low bow. I then advanced, with my petition in my hand, to his chair, when he desired his bearers to stop, and, having called Mowqua, he required by him of me what I wanted? I said I had a petition which I was desirous of having the honour to deliver into his own hand. He asked if it was written in Chinese? I replied it was. He then put out his hand and took it from me, saying he was going to visit the Fyane, and that I should have an immediate * The Fyane. Lindsay made another mistake here. The Viceroy was not involved in this particular incident. When Lindsay mentions the Viceroy he is muddling him up with the Hoppo. In this particular incident the Hoppo received the memorial and then took it to the Governor (Fyane= Fu-yuan Governor). ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1977 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/np198x23n 20 LEIGH WRIGHT several other rivers or streams flowing in, cause a muddy deposit, on which the houses are built. At high water they are surrounded; at low water, stand on a sheet of mud. On nearing it, we were encompassed by boats which preceded and followed us, and we passed the floating market, where women, wearing immense hats of palm-leaves, sell all sorts of edibles, balanced in their little canoes, now giving a paddle, now making a bargain, and dropping down with the tide, and again regaining their place when the bargain is finished. The first impression of the town is miserable. The houses are crowded and numerous, and even the palace does not present a more captivating aspect, for, though large, it is as incommodious as the worst. We had been seated but a few minutes when Pangeran Usop arrived, and directly afterwards the Sultan. He gave us ten leaf-cigars, and sirih, and, in short, showed us every attention; and, what was best of all, did not keep us very long. Our apartment was partitioned off from the public hall, a dark-looking place, but furnished with a table brought by us, and three rickety chairs, besides mattresses and plenty of mats. We were kept up nearly all night, which, after the fatigues of the day, was hard upon us. Further observation confirmed us in the opinion that the town itself is miserable, and its locality on the mud fitted only for frogs or natives; but there is a level dry plain above the entrance of the Kiangi river, admirably suited for a European settlement; and across the Kiangi is swelling ground, where the residents might find delightful spots for their country-houses. The greatest annoyance to a stranger is the noisome smell of the mud when uncovered; and all plated or silver articles, even in the course of one night, get black and discoloured. The inhabitants I shall estimate moderately at 10,000, and the Kadien population are numerous amid the hills. And yet another graphic picture of the city of Brunei written in the early part of the present century. This is an observation by C. A. Bamfylde, an officer in the service of the Raja of Sarawak, Charles Brooke,11 It may be as well here to give a description of Brunei and of its Court. The Brunei river flows into a noble bay, across which to the north lies the island of Labuan. Above the town the river is ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1977 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/np198x23n STANLEY INTERNMENT CAMP, HONG KONG 1942-1945 35 dishes". After a few months she was allowed out of the camp in the care of this Swiss national. She then sent parcels to friends in camp. Among other things she bought bottles of vinegar, emptied out the vinegar, refilled the bottles with gin and sent them to camp! The Hong Kong News of April 16, 1942 reported that 300 parcels for Stanley were received by the Foreign Affairs Section of the Japanese government in the HK & Shanghai Bank. Still, few internees received parcels from the city, although one man was said to have received so many that he got a hernia carrying them up the hill to his room. More internees benefited from the Camp Canteen, which first opened in February 1942. Like most things in camp, it took a while to get the canteen running smoothly. At first it was first come, first served; later, a tab system was organised and this resulted in a more equitable chance for the internees. On one occasion in February 1942, the Americans bought the entire stock of the canteen. This was hardly popular with the British or the Dutch. It was, however, explained by the fact that only the Americans had the necessary small notes. Large notes, such as $500 notes, were rapidly depreciating in HK and were refused by the canteen operator. As for Red Cross parcels, they were delivered to Camp on three occasions: November 1942, September 1944 and March 1945. Containing clothing, tinned food and bulk supplies like sugar and coffee, the distributions of parcels were exciting events, not only for what was received but also for showing that the internees were not forgotten by the outside world. In regard to supplementing the Camp food with vegetables from Camp gardens, a few internees began gardening soon after being interned, but most did not, because they did not expect to be in Camp long enough to justify the work involved. Gardening on a large, communal scale did not begin for nearly two years, in 1944. The Black Market was an outstanding feature of Stanley Camp outstanding because of its magnitude. Food, the main item of trade, of course, was brought into Camp by the guards for sale to the internees, and valuables of the internees were sent out for sale in the city. Most transactions were made via internee-traders who acted as go-betweens. One unusual feature of the Black Market in Stanley Camp was that internees could “buy” yen by writing sterling ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1977 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/np198x23n 98 K. G. STEVENS charm papers, some new, but mostly faded and tattered. The temple keeper said that supplicants had stuck these on to ward off demonic influences, each being a plea to Chao to order his tiger to devour baneful demons. This image is not in the Disaster Altar but its function is exactly as though it were. According to the temple keeper it is an old image, pre-1840. The cut-out red and green charms, called Green Horse and Nobleman, should not be confused with yet other red paper charms with cut-out holes in them, which are pasted annually on lintels of altars, temple doorways and shrines, thus reconsecrating them. These are called slips (piao) (*) and come in three sizes, small, medium and large (1-✯✯). Most of them bear a small square of gold paper pasted on them. Although only Taoist popular religion temples have Under Altars, there is also a Buddha who comforts “in time of calamity”, Yao Shih Fo (***) (whose full title includes the phrase “disaster” “Hsiao Tsai Yen Shou” (5* £**). He never appears in Under Altars. Another "Under Altar" Another small inset Under Altar at ground level, which is nearly always central under the main altar, is the altar to the tutelary deity of the temple, Ti Chu Fang (H). It is often called the Prosperity Hall and is unconnected with our study. It consists of a tiny open fronted "box”, lined with red or orange paper, containing only one or two small red plaques dedicated to the tutelary deity (£* 五土龍神;護廟地主財神),(五方五土地主財神) or (前後地主 神財). In one temple only, in Wanchai, a second altar under yet another side altar, contains a large image of the local Earth God (No2) which is normally on a side altar or beside the temple entrance. Behind him is pasted an orange paper bearing black characters describing the Earth God as the Controller of Wealth, and naming in a parallel row of characters the other major Cantonese Wealth God "Ts'ai Po Hsing Chun" (# $ £*) who is not represented by an image in this instance. This is a rogue disposition, doubtless ordered by a well-meaning but ignorant temple committee. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1977 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/np198x23n 132 W. J. HINTON exposed side and stretches along the sheltered bay, while the wind whistles over the roofs of the house to fill the sails of the junks and sampans in the harbour. The ridge is more or less covered with drifts of coarse quartz crystals from the two beaches but the decomposed granite of which it is made bears fresh water and several wells are sunk there. The "bells" of the dumbell are much eroded masses of decomposed granite thickly strewn with massive black boulders, and patched with occasional slopes of bare rock on which huge fragments are balanced precariously. Where dykes and bands of more soluble or softer rock have been the hills are deeply trenched, and the narrow glens end in little coves with beaches of coarse quartz sand. Little watercourses make the bottoms of the glens swampy, where they have not been cleared, but in most there are deep pits dug to trap the water, and channels to conserve the flow. There is not enough water to cultivate rice and in the dry season every drop must be saved in the pits, and mingled there with manure to be carried in watering cans and sprayed over the carrots and cabbages in the midst of clouds of flies. Natural vegetation is sparse on the whole. The sheltered parts of the glens bear thin woods of China pine, good only for fire-wood, and this has been cut for that purpose in most of the valleys. It is now preserved and planted by the Colonial Government. On the higher slopes wild guava and various myrtles and camellias are the most conspicuous shrubs. There is a coarse tufted grass partly covering the harsh soil, and affording fodder and fuel. In the glens are bamboos near the pools and watercourses, and flowering trees like the Persian Lilac. Here in spring a breath of sweetness meets the visitors sickened by the noisome fluid for ever being poured on the little terraces. Near the houses are groves of fruit trees, papayas, oranges or bananas. The climate is of the usual South China type. That is to say rather like Florida. A hot summer with a weak Southerly monsoon, on which fierce typhoons come riding at intervals, advancing no faster than a ship can steam, but whirling madly at a velocity of over a hundred miles an hour. Woe to the junks who do not get the news in time of their approach to run for shelter! ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1977 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/np198x23n NOTES AND QUERIES Plate 4. A-Lichen Aspicilia sp. (ca. natural size) B-Lichen Xanthoparmelia sp. (ca. natural size) C The grasshoppers Gastrimargus sp. and Patanga sp. The body of Patanga (r.h.s.) is about 6.5 cm long; the yellow and black pattern on the hind-wing of Gastrimargus (l.h.s.) is characteristic of the genus. Plate 5. A-terraces on slopes above the Kadoorie Experimental and Extension Farm. B-view of the stone retaining walls; note that the terrace is not flat but slopes from rear to front and from one side to the other. Yuen Long Shek Kong Air Strip & Camp Old Shek Kong Camp Kadoorie Exp. & Ext. Farm 1958 300 900 800 0480 700 + 600 500 Points visible from Stop Deep Bay old S.K. Summit of Kadoorie Airstrip Camp & Exp. & Ext. Farm, and Terraced Hill-sides Lan Tau Island Tsing Yi Island Castle Peak Tsing Yi Island ·Route Twisk Tsuen Нап Town/ -Tarık Farm 300. P Tai Po via Lam Tsuen Valley Kowloon Kn. + N Figure 1. Sketch map of Tai Mo Shan complex, showing the contours in metres. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1978 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8g84t8593 ALTER IMAGES FROM HUNAN AND KIANGSI 47 identified as those of the long-face northern Chinese, with narrow almost closed eyes, a furrowed brow and a black pointed beard resting on his upper chest. The rest of the images, all with empty back cavities, consisted of one man similar to the first above, six women seated, dressed in robes, with their right hand carefully holding the edge of their robes and their left hand concealed, similar to the second of the six images described above, and one other Kuan Yin with an empty cavity in her back." One slip only of the seven suggests that the Yin family placed an image on a family altar of a standardised, impersonal image of a female named Jen (perhaps the deceased wife of Mr. Yin). Perhaps it was the practice to place such standardised images of deceased relatives on family altars in Hunan? Cantonese god carvers in Kowloon were all quite positive that such a custom is not observed in Hong Kong, nor in their memory was it performed in Kwang-tung province. Several said that they understood that the Fukienese, and in particular the people from around Amoy, customarily placed stylised ancestral figures of old men and women on personal altars but never on temple altars. They also said that there is the well-known custom of the Boat People of South China, of placing standardised images of all deceased members of the family on the family altar irrespective of the age at death. (See my article on "Soul images and Gods of the Boat People" in Arts of Asia, volume 7, Number 6, Nov/Dec 1977). Regrettably, Hunan was ill-served by foreign travellers and writers, particularly about its temples and gods, and so no collateral information would seem to be available. A photograph taken in the sixties in the entrance hall to Mao's birthplace near Chang-sha in Hunan province, shows the family altar, with Chao Kung-ming the wealth God and Kuan Yin both easily identifiable, the remainder being indistinguishable. None, however, look like the images described above. An example of the Fukienese custom is the lady, Madam Hsieh (###), from a family household shrine in Singapore. The image, carved in 1931, some six inches high (see Plate 10) is again a standard, impersonal likeness of an elderly dowager. She is recognisable as an ancestral image by the white duck(?) under each of her bound feet. Otherwise, she is dressed in elaborate robes, ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1979 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2801w5938 92 REVS. J. SMITH AND WM. DOWNS to begin at St. Stephen's was called off at the last moment by the authorities. 7-Language classes resumed after the Easter Holidays. Meeting of the American community at 2:00 p.m. The cooks, after airing their grievances, decided to continue. Had they really resigned, I think few tears would have been shed, though it would have been a problem to find volunteers for their places. The Dollar Line officials in Camp were called up for inoculation—does this also mean repatriation for them? 8-Meals improving a little; less rice, with a little more fish, meat, and vegetables, but we are still hungry after each meal. Also one piece (small) of black bread, the first issued in many days. A prevalent question these days is: "How much have you lost?" Or, "how much do you weigh now?" Still trying to get the Japanese to give us better food. 9-EXTRA! Four Britishers escape from the Camp during the night!! Result: extra Indian guards all around the Camp, with a small guard house perched on every little eminence along the rocky coast of the sea. And the Camp confines are being gradually made smaller. At first, we were permitted to walk down the main road almost to Stanley village, but that was shortened; then the road along the western end of the Camp along the sea, skirting the St. Stephen's College football ground, was declared out of bounds, and we were kept to the top of the hill. Also, possibly as a result of the escape, we receive orders to surrender and hand in all tools, garden as well as small tools. Speaking of garden tools, this reminds me of the fact that the Americans had begun a small vegetable plot, as have some of the British Blocks, over near the Prison, and we have been hoping to add to our meager rations from this plot. But now, we have to hand in all tools! Brother Thaddeus is in charge of some of this garden work. 10-Since we came to Camp, many of the internees have tried to turn their individual talents to some practical use, though tools and materials are very conspicuous by their absence. Nevertheless, it has been surprising what articles have been made, proving the truth of the adage that "necessity is the mother of invention." So today, in the American section of the garage (we seem to have a predilection for garages these days), an exhibition of Stanley-made ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1979 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2801w5938 254 OVERSEAS LIFE MEMBERS ACORNE, Capt. Michael J., 505 Broadway, PETALUMA, California 94952, U.S.A. ARMERDING, Mr. Ludwig E., P.O. Box 1349, HONOLULU, Hawaii 96807, U.S.A. BAKER, Dr. Hugh D. R., BLACK, Sir Robert, Mapleton House, Ashampsted Common, Nr READING, Berks, ENGLAND. BLAKER, Mr. D. J. R., 80 Eaton Square, LONDON, S.W.1. ENGLAND. CAPLAN, Mr. Michael, c/o School of Oriental & African Studies, Malet Street, London, W.C1 ENGLAND. 3 Margalit Street, Haifa, ISRAEL. BAKER, Mr. William E., Old Quarry, Blackberry Road, Felcourt, EAST GRINSTEAD, Sussex RH19 2LH, ENGLAND. BALL, Mr. John M., Thanya Building, 11th Floor, 62 Silom Road, P.O. Box 1923, BANGKOK, THAILAND. BARNETT, Mr. K. M. A., "Bishops Nympton", Devonshire Avenue, AMERSHAM, Bucks, ENGLAND. BENNISON, Mr. Larry L., Honam Oil Refinery Co. Ltd, C.P.O. Box 2467, SEOUL, KOREA. BERTUCCIOLI, Dr. Giuliano, Lungotevers Delle Navi 30, ROME, ITALY, BLACKMORE, Mr. Michael, "Baytrees", Padleigh Hill, BATH, BA2 9DW, Somerset, ENGLAND. CLARKE, Rev. Cyril S., "Farthings", Highlands Avenue, UCKFIELD, Sussex, TN22 5TD., U.K., COCKELL, Miss June V., 1 Compton Court, Upper Edgeborough Road, GUILDFORD, Surrey, UNITED KINGDOM. COLLIN, Mr. P. H., 31 Teddington Park, TEDDINGTON, Middlesex, UNITED KINGDOM. COSTANTINI, Dr. Giulio, Via del Tiglio, 13, 6900 LUGANO, SWITZERLAND. COSTANTINI, Mrs. G., Via del Tiglio, 13, 6900 LUGANO, SWITZERLAND. CRANMER-BYNG, Prof. J. L., M.C., 190 Glengrove Avenue W., TORONTO, 12, CANADA. CUMMING, Mrs. Dorothy M., Orchard Cottage, Inveresk Village, By Musselburgh, EAST LOTHIAN, EH21 7TE, SCOTLAND. U.K. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1980 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207 CHINESE MONASTERIES, TEMPLES, SHRINES, ALTARS 23 of deities. It is now only three storeys high though originally it had, according to differing legends, four or seven storeys.23 Internal Decoration Popular religion temples vary from the traditional old, often magnificent buildings with carved and gilded panels and beams, furnished with rich embroideries, bronze and pewter vessels and numerous personally-donated items all of which enhance local pride in the temple, to the new jerry-built squatter constructions with ramshackle altar tables littered with tins, boxes and bottles, with one or two litho reproductions only to enliven the walls. Some of the rural traditional temples are bereft of much decoration due, in all probability, to the poverty of devotees, The range of stylistic variations that emerged as temples evolved in Hong Kong and Macau, shows an essentially conservative character, although the inner decoration of traditional temples does vary from area to area. Some temples have a frieze of panels carved or sculpted in relief above or in front of the altar tables depicting birds and animals, court scenes with generals flanked by soldiers and scholars, and scenes and characters from Chinese myths and legends. Some temples have long red (occasionally black) boards inscribed with auspicious phrases in black or gilded characters, concealing the pillars of the main hall, and some have richly decorated lintels. Most however are relatively bare. Inside, the structure of beams, brackets and roof tiles are more often than not blackened with soot from incense smoke. Apart from the strikingly rich crimsons on and around the altars, there is little colour in Daoist folk religion temples and the murk and dust tends to overshadow what little colour there is. Courtyards, paved with stone, are usually calm, shaded areas of green and blue, with little decoration apart from the murals which may have been preserved, painted over doorways. Temple and monastery murals and decorative wall carvings, particularly in Daoist and folk religion temples, are so complicated in detail and pattern, and contain such a wealth of allegory and legend that non-Chinese visitors are either completely bewildered or overwhelmed by detail that usually they see little of the mural. Paintings and sketches of scenes involving numerous Immortals and deities defy identification, even though the main character may ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1980 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207 CHINESE MONASTERIES, TEMPLES, SHRINES, ALTARS 25 Several temples have large stone lions outside the entrance or just inside the main doors to guard the temple from demons. Boat Peoples' land temples used to have a pair of masts more than twice as high as the temple with a small red wooden crow's nest on each, some six feet from the top24. These are said to be the repository of the spirit of the dragon of the nearby hill or island peak which protects the local inhabitants from the depredations of evil spirits. Nowadays, only one temple seems to have them, the Hong Sheng temple at the old landing stage on Ap Lei Chau. Large triangular and colourful flags flown outside temples tend to identify the temple as a Chaozhou community temple. These flags bear the title of the main deity, the name of the temple and a spirit medium operates there, another flag in grey and black is flown, bearing an Eight Trigram diagram together with magical signs and symbols. Dating of temples About the only way that temples can be dated with any reasonable accuracy is from the plaque near the entrance listing the subscribers to the initial construction, from the temple bell inscription25 or from the dates on the ancestral tablets of the founders of the temple on the temple altar. From a very general examination of bells and chimes, several dozen bear dates between 1700 and 1840, that is post-Ming dynasty but pre-British occupation. One or two bells date back to the period immediately post-Ming and a further couple are dated within this century. The older traditional temples were probably rededicated post-Ming, or were built and dedicated post-Ming, mainly in the period following the rescinding by the Kang Xi Emperor of the order enforcing the removal of all who lived within 50 li (18.3 miles) from the coast during the period of intense pirate and anti-government activity along the China coast in the 1660s.26 Probably the earliest recorded date for the construction of a temple is the stone carving dated AD 1274 behind the Tian Hou temple in Joss House Bay. In AD 1012 Lin Daoyi, a trader from Fujian province, wrecked during a storm, was washed up on Tung Lung Island and built a temple dedicated to Tian Fei (as Tian Hou was then called) in thanksgiving. The temple was destroyed by a... ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1982 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/mk61z420p demand by other cultural societies like ourselves. St. John's Cathedral Hall was used occasionally but is not very satisfactory for our purposes for acoustic and other reasons. Towards the end of our year we were most fortunate in obtaining permission from the Government Information Services to use their excellent and very comfortable theatre. I express our great appreciation of this facility: long may we continue to enjoy it. Publications During the year papers from our 1980 symposium at Robert Black College entitled "The New Territories and its Future" were published by the Society. Dr. Alan Birch, who organised the symposium, was also the editor. Mr. Rydings, our Hon. Librarian, produced a second edition of the library catalogue and I take this opportunity to thank them both for their efforts on behalf of the Society. Mr. Rydings has tabled his separate library report but I would like also to thank those who have donated books during the year: Dr. James Hayes, who has given us many books in the past as well as those during this year, and also purchased several volumes to add to the library; and Lady Maclehose, who presented a rare 1933 tourist guide to Kashmir and seven old and also very rare maps of India and Kashmir. In October, our 1981 Journal, edited by Dr. David Faure (currently on sabbatical leave in Cambridge), was published and distributed to members. Publication of the 1980 Journal was still beset with problems, this time on the printing side and because of changes at our printers, Ye Olde Printerie. This volume, the last to be edited by Dr. James Hayes, is now in the process of being printed, I am happy to say, and should be distributed shortly. I said last year that the 1980 Journal would probably be the last to be printed under the personal supervision of Mr. Y. F. Lam of Ye Olde Printerie, and indeed this is to be the case, and I repeat our thanks to him for his devoted interest over the past twenty years his firm has undertaken our printing. Photographic Survey Work on the photographic survey has been in abeyance for most of this year as Tony Rydings and Ian Diamond, who have X ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1982 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/mk61z420p ADDRESS BY DR. JAMES HAYES, AT THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, 17TH FEBRUARY 1983 Dr. Topley, ladies and gentlemen, According to p. 4 of Vol. 1 (1961) of the Journal of the Hong Kong Branch, Royal Asiatic Society: "THE HONG KONG BRANCH was resuscitated as the outcome of a meeting attended by some thirty interested persons, held at the British Council Centre on December 28, 1959. The meeting adopted a constitution approved by the parent Society in London, and formed an interim Council to hold office until a General Meeting should be held. The following were elected to the Council:- President: Dr. J. R. Jones; Vice-Presidents: the Hon. Sir Tsun-nin Chau and Dr. L. T. Ride; Hon. Secretary: Mr. J. D. Duncanson; Hon. Treasurer: Mr. T. J. Lindsay; Hon. Editor of the Journal: Mr. J. L. Cranmer-Byng; other Councillors: Dr. Marjorie Topley and Messrs. James Liu, Holmes Welch, and G. B. Endacott. The Inaugural Meeting of the revived Branch was held on April 7, 1960, in the Loke Yew Hall of Hong Kong University. It was to have been presided over by H. E. the Governor, Sir Robert Black, K.C.M.G., O.B.E., had illness not prevented it. The Inaugural Address was delivered by Professor F. S. Drake, Professor of Chinese at Hong Kong University, on "The Study of Asia: a Heritage and a Task". On January 23, 1961, Sir Robert Black presided over a meeting of the Branch in his capacity as Patron, and thus restored a tradition after a lapse of a hundred years.' ** As incoming President, it is my honour on this occasion, twenty-three years later, to make a presentation to Dr. Topley on your behalf, in recognition of her work as President of the Society from 1972 onwards. But first I wish to speak about her own contribution to the formation of our Society and its work over nearly a quarter of a century. xiv ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1989 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h 31 aides and guardians. His two major aides, according to a Taiwanese temple keeper, are major deities in their own right: T'ai I Chiu K'u T'ien Tsun (AZREF) and Lei Yin P'u Hua T'ien Tsun (LEO). He has a senior deity as his personal messenger, Teh Chih Chiangchun (特赤將軍) A Buddhist priest guiding a visitor around his temple in Chia I county in Taiwan, in which the Jade Emperor was the main deity on a side altar in a side hall pointed out that he had four bodyguards: The Marshals Wen (溫), Ma (馬), K'ang (康) and Chao (趙) with blue, white, red and black faces respectively. The full title of the Jade Emperor is: Hao T'ien Chin Kuan Yu Huang Shang Ti (昊天金阙玉皇上帝) or T'ien Ti San Chieh Shih Fang Wan Ling Chen Tsai (天帝三界十方万灵真宰). This is possibly best translated as The True Lord of Heaven, Earth and Mankind, in all areas and of the Mystical Spirits. The following are the short titles by which the Jade Emperor is known: Yu Ti (玉帝) Yu Huang T'ien Kung (玉皇天公) T'ien Kung (天公) T'ien Kung Tsu (天公祖) T'ien Kung Yeh Yeh (天公爷爷) T'ien Shang Ti (天上帝) Tien Ti (天帝) He is also known as: Yu Huang Ta T'ien Tsun Hsuan Ch'iung Kao Shang Ti (玉皇大天尊玄穹高上帝) Yu Ch'ing Shang Ti (玉清上帝) Hao T'ien Shang Ti (昊天上帝) Shang Ti (上帝) Lao T'ien Yeh (老天爷) North China ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1989 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h 220 R: In the advertisement it was stated that tickets could be obtained from Messrs Lane, Crawford & Co, G.A. Bretts' Auction Room and Astor House Hotel. Lane, Crawford was a general store that had been established in Kiangsi Road (ex Church Street) since June 1862. The Astor House Hotel was situated in Hongkew (see also Survey). 17.6.1864 (Fri) Performance by Messrs J.R. Black and Marquis Chisholm (piano) TH: N.N. (H) N: Benefit for Mr. Chisholm R: John Reddie BLACK (1827-1880) was born in Scotland, but went to Australia to earn a living as a singer in the goldfields. After arriving in Japan, 1861, he became the editor of some English newspapers and from 1876-1880 he edited several papers in Shanghai. In 1864 he still managed to combine his two vocations. His entertainment was "composed of songs interspersed with anecdotes and conversation of the most lively description which he varied every evening. He has a splendid voice and sings with great taste and feeling" (NCH 4.6.1864). His accompanist on the piano was Mr. L.C. PHILIPPS (cf. 1.4.1864), but the latter died of cholera and his place was taken by Mr. Marquis CHISHOLM who was no newcomer to the Shanghai public. On June 17 he played a fantasia on Japanese airs, composed by himself. As a matter of coincidence there was "an absence of ladies, many of whom are at present rusticating in Japan", but for the other evenings "the audience has always comprised the majority of the ladies resident in the Settlement". Evidently this had come to be considered as most desirable, perhaps to lend an air of respectability to the performance. (NCH 11, 18.6.1864). 22.6.1864 (Wedn) H.J. BYRON: "Il Treated Il Trovatore" (1863) T: Burlesque extravaganza (1 act) C: Shanghai Amateur Burlesque Company F: Music by the Rhenish Band Th: Olympic Theatre (H) + R: The first night of a new company, the "*Shanghai Amateur Burlesque Company" and, if we may believe the Herald, the Shanghai world "was completely taken by surprise. So minute an acquaintance with stage proprieties was shown that many of the audience were disposed to believe that they were witnessing a display of professional talent”. (NCH 25.6.1864). 29.6.1864 (Wedn) H.J. BYRON: "Ill Treated 11 Trovators" (1863) T: Burlesque extravaganza (1 act) T.H. LACY: "A Silent Woman" (1835) T: Farce (1 act) C: Shanghai Amateur Burlesque Company F: "New burlesque music" by the Rhenish Band Th: Olympic Theatre (H) R: This is one of those increasing occasions in which only a short summary was published in the Herald, while the full report had appeared in the North China Daily News, no longer extant for this year. In any case the hope was expressed that more would be seen of the company "as soon as the cool weather sets in" (NCH 2.7.1864). According to the advertisement, tickets were obtainable from Lane, Crawford & Co (see 13.6.1864), Hall & Holtz (Ship chandler, general store and bakers; at the corner of Foochow Road (ex Mission Road) and Kiangsi Road (ex Bridge Street); MacKenzie & Co (shipchandlers, general store and general agents on the Yangkingpang in the French Concession); the Astor House Hotel; and Phillips Restaurant (Phillips, Moore & Co, Nanking Road-ex...) ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1989 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h 227 A. DUMAS: "Camille" T: Drama C: Lewis A.D.C. Th: Lyceum Theatre (1) R: The drama Camille, an English adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' "La Dame aux Camélias" was, in the eyes of the Commercial Record (5.5.1865) "singularly unfitted for the powers of the performers. Miss Rose EDOUIN acted with her usual ability but as the heroine is a character almost impossible to render we must not object where we cannot praise”. Miss Jenny NYE starred in the farce Which is Which? written by a member of the company, Mr. GILL, who himself was a “capital low comedy actor”. 28.3.-5.4.1865 J.B. BUCKSTONE: "The Flowers of the Forest" (1847) T: Musical drama (3 acts) J.B. BUCKSTONE: “Isabella or Woman's Life" (1834) T: Drama (3 acts) D.W. JERROLD: "Black-eyed Susan" (1829) T: Musical drama (3 acts) T.J. WILLIAMS: "Nursery Chickweed" (1859) T: Farce (1 act) "Kenilworth", possibly by A. HALLIDAY and F. LAWRANCE (1858) T: Burlesque "Mr. and Mrs. Peter White", anon. (1854) T: Farce (1 act) "Rob Roy”, Numerous pieces with this title are listed in HED. i.a. by W.H. MURRAY (1818) and C.H. HAZLEWOOD (1864). C: Lewis A.D.C. Th: Lyceum Theatre (1) R: More than the Herald, the Record went into a rather detailed description of the Lewis season. Thus about Flowers of the Forest it wrote that there was "an energy of revenge predominating all through the play while the occasional glimpse of pathos, combined with the jovial jocularity of the gipsys, tone down the otherwise tragic situations. Miss Rose EDOUIN, Miss NAYLOR and Mr. CRESWICK acted with power and well restrained manner“, Mr. CRESWICK “possesses great dramatic force and expresses himself well. His manner is somewhat stiff, but appearances before larger and more requiring audiences will obviate this habit", "His voice is good but somewhat monotonous of lone" (SCR 5.5.1865). 8.4.1865 (Sat) W. BROUGH: "Perdita" (1856) T: Burlesque (1 act) J.B. BUCKSTONE: "A Lesson for the Ladies” (1838) T: Comedy (3 acts) C: Lewis A.D.C. Th: Lyceum Theatre (1) N: Rose Edouin's benefit R: NCH 22.4.1865: no review, 11.4.1865 (Tue) J.B. BUCKSTONE: "A Dead Shot" (1827) T: Farce (1 act) J. KENNEDY: "Sweethearts and Wives” (1856) T: Burlesque (3 acts) C: Lewis A.D.C. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1989 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h 237 COYNE, Joseph Stirling (1803-1868) "Binks the Bagman" (13.12.1843). P: 8.10.1857 "Duck Hunting" (29.9.1862). P: 30.3.1864; 4.4.1865 "The Infanticidal Farce or Did you ever Send your Wife to Camberwell?" (16.3.1846). P: 21.2.1856 **Urgent Private Affairs** (7.1.1856). P: 5.5.1858 CROSS, John C (d 1810?) The Golden Farmer or Harlequin Ploughboy (28.6.1802). P: 8.10.1857 DANCE, Charles (1794-1863) **Delicate Ground or Paris in 1793** (27.11.1849). P: 13.2.1864 "The Dustman's Belle" (1.6.1846). P: 9.2.1858 DANVERS, Henry (??) **A Conjugal Lesson** (3.7.1856). P: 26.3.1857 DIBDIN, Thomas John (1771-1841) **The Birthday** (16.3.1799). P: 9.2.1858 DUMAS, Alexandre fils (1824-1895) "Camille" (English adaptation of 'La Dame aux Camélias') (1852; London: 1858). P: 27.3.1865 EDWARDS, Henry Sutherland (1828-1906) **The Goose with the Golden Eggs** (with A. Mayhew) (1.9.1859). P: 13.2.1863 FITZBALL, Edward (1792-1873) "The Daughter of the Regiment" (30.11.1843). P: 15.4.1865 GILL, W.B. **Aurora Floyd Burlesqued**. P: 19.4.1865 "Which is Which?". P: 27.3.1865 GORE, Catherine Grace Frances (1799-1861) **A Good Night's Rest or Two in the Morning** (19.8.1839). P: 21.2.1856 HALLIDAY, Andrew (1830-1877) "The Area Belle" (with W. Brough) (7.3.1864). P: 30.9.1865 HARDWICKE, Pelham: See C. Mathews HARRIS, Augustus Glossop (1826-1873) "The Rose of Castille" (Music by M.W. BALFE) (29.10.1857). P: 8.10.-14.10.1864 HAZLEWOOD, Colin Henry (1823-1875) ? "Aurora Floyd or the First and Second Marriage" (21.4.1863). P: 26.11.1864; 17.4.1865 ? "Lady Audley's Secret" (25.6.1863). 142 P: 28.12.1864 "Rob Roy" (19.6.1864). P: 28.3.-5.4.1865 JERROLD, Douglas William (1803-1857) "Black-eyed Susan or All in the Downs" (8.6.1829). P: 28.3-5.4.1865 JERROLD, M. William Blanchard (1826-1884) ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1989 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h 241 Aurora Floyd Burlesqued: W.B. Gill; 19.4.1865. The Babes in the Wood: J.H. Byron; 17.4.1865. A Bachelor of Arts: P. Hardwicke; 10.2.1858, 8.5.1865. Betsey Baker; J.M. Morton; 23.3.1853. Binks the Bagman: J.S. Coyne; 8.10.1857. The Birthday: T.J. Dibdin; 9.2.1858. Black-eyed Susan: D.W. Jerrold; 28.3-5.4.1865. Bombastes Furioso: W.B. Rhodes; 28.1.1851, 5.5.1858. The Boots at the Swan: C. Selby; 14.12.1865. Box and Cox: J.M. Morton; 15.5.1854, 18.2.1857. The Bride of Abydos: H.J. Byron; 22.10.-28.10.1864. Bullrick at Kroll: N.N.; 28.3.1864. Camille: A. Dumas Jr; 27.3.1865. A Capital Match: J.M. Morton; 23.4.1857, 3.12.1864. Charles the Second: J.H. Payne; 16.3.1858. Cinderella: H.J. Byron? T. Taylor?; 12.11.-18.11.1864, 28.4.1865. The Colleen Bawn: D. Boucicault; 25.4.1865. A Conjugal Lesson: H. Danvers; 26.3.1857. Conrad and Medora: W. Brough; 12.E.-18.E.1864. Cool as a Cucumber: M.W.B. Jerrold; 26.3.1857, 30.3.1864, 4.4.1864. Crinoline: R.B. Brough; March 1863; 16.3.1863, 1.4.1864. The Daughter of the Regiment: E. Fitzball? 15.4.1865. A Dead Shot: J.B. Buckstone; 11.4.1865. The Debut: N.N.; 1.4.1864. Delicate Ground: C. Dance; 13.2.1864. Diamond cut Diamond: W.H. Murray; 12.12.1850. Done on both sides: J.M. Morton; 10.2.1858. The Dragon of Wantley: H. Carey & J.F. Lampe; 26.1.1852. Duck Hunting: J.S. Coyne; 30.3.1864, 4.4.1864, The Dustman's Belle: C. Dance; 9.2.1858. Faint Heart never won Fair Lady: J.R. Planché; 8.10.-14.10.1864, 14.12.1865. A Fast Train! High Pressure!! Express!!!: J.M. Maddox; 8.3.1854. A Fearful Tragedy in the Seven Dials: C. Selby; 15.2.1860. Fitzsmythe of Fitzsmythe Hall: J.M. Morton; 26.3.1863. The Flowers of the Forest: J.B. Buckstone; 28.3.-5.4.1865. Fra Diavolo: H.J. Byron; 15.10.-21.10.1864. The Frantic Husband: N.N.; 26.4.1865. The Golden Farmer: J.C. Cross? B. Webster? 8.10.1857, A Good Night's Rest: C.G.F. Gore; 21.2.1856. The Goose with the Golden Eggs: A. Mayhew & H. Sutherland; 13.2.1863, 17.2.1863, 26.4.1865 The Governess (Die Gouvernante): T. Körner; 28.3.1864. Grimshaw, Bagshaw and Bradshaw: J.M. Morton: 2.6.1859. The 'Green' Bushes: H.J Byron: 30.9.1865. A Hard Struggle: J.W. Marston; 12.11.-18.11.1864. The Harvest Home: A.F.F. von Kotzebue; 28.3.1864. The Haunted Inn: R.B. Peake; 6.5.1852. The Heir at Law: G. Colman the Younger; 21.4.1851. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1990 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299 94 city, which is some eleven miles in circumference; that was before it was included in the prohibited areas. Now concrete machine-gun loopholes peered at you from various angles; and towards the great gate, where the wall made its nearest approach to the Yangtze, the fortifications were believed to be particularly heavy and well provided with deep dugouts to serve as battle headquarters in time of need. We heard that even the German officers, who advised on how these concrete emplacements should be constructed, were not allowed to know the actual details of their location, and we used to think how ungrateful and suspicious it was of the Chinese to act thus. However, subsequent events have surely justified the Chinese attitude. Near the gate, at intervals, the older houses of the foreign business community, sited along Socony ridge, stare out over the long squat wall of the city at the Yangtze, and the intervening mile of pond, field and shack: but the last house turns its back to the river, straddling a narrow spur, an offshoot from the main ridge. Set in a pattern of mellow brick, our windows faced Nanking and Purple Mountain beyond. From the small lawn in front we could look down on the familiar landmarks of the city, the hillock of the Northern temple, the ancient Drum Tower, the hard concrete lines of the sumptuous International Club, and the salmon-pink walls of the New Metropolitan Hotel, so soon to be painted a hideous black. From the verandah of this house we were to watch the flash and smoke of the bursting bombs of many an air raid. This August the discussion of the trivialities of a daily routine had continued against a background of mounting tension. How exercised we were to find a method of circumventing a malignant crack through which the water of our small swimming pool sought to escape down the hill! At the bridge tables of the Bungalow Club, at dinner parties, dancing at the International Club, amidst the humdrum of everyday life, there was a mystery of 'phone calls, a whispered exchange of latest information, the question of increasing urgency **Is it war?** Already in July members of the various embassies had begun to return from the summer seaside resorts in the north, where the storm was brewing, following the Marco Polo Bridge incident on July 7th; and a trickle of refugees came in from Tsinanfu. But in Nanking the cinemas remained open, the tennis tournament continued, and I remember an entertainment which was given towards the end of the month to the twenty-four Chinese students, who had been ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1990 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299 157 Encephalatus. The path brings us into the avenue, through which we now pass under the lofty trees. Here we get a good view of the college, which is a pretty specimen of Tudor architecture, and appears to be built of “Freestone" outside, although it is chiefly of granite. The hall and porch is straight before us. On each side of the entrance are vases, etc., with various plants. Over the centre of the porch is a gilt mitre, the episcopal symbol. We go up the flight of steps and ring the bell. We are admitted through the large glass doors into the Hall; thence we go along the verandah, and look out through the Venetian shutters all round. Just a look at the Bp's drawing room as we pass. It is a fine room, well furnished, and doubtless very comfortable. Here I shall come of an evening and spend the time with the family. In the centre of the verandah before the Tower Room is a billiard table. This game is very popular as it affords good indoor exercise. Most houses here contain one. As we come back we look into the dining room, and see the folks at dinner, with the punkah swinging overhead. A string passes outside by which a coolly [sic] moves it. Passing through the passage, with a hasty glance at the servants' room and pantry, we enter the instruction room. At the further extremity stands the Tutor's desk, a large and very suitable affair, about the best of the kind I ever saw. The desks are arranged in two rows, which extend down the room. At the opposite end is the headmaster (Hah Shoe's) desk, and a table where the Chinese classical master officiates. There are two black-boards, two book cases, and a supply of maps. The latter, as well as the books, are all to pieces and have been shamefully used. I will soon teach them better manners! There are large windows, or rather glass doors at each end, which are opened in summer. Adjoining is the chapel, a neat little place, with an altar, pulpit and reading desk, and accommodation for the whole household, and plenty of visitors. There is a service held in it every Sunday afternoon in Chinese. I have had the harmonium moved into it, and use it as often as I can, although there are not enough to muster a sing. I have generally to conduct the prayers twice a day. Now and then Mr Beach comes in. I get through it something as old Bobby used to do at Highbury, only I do not wear the gown, although I have one in my charge, in my dressing room. Page 180 Page 181 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1991 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/k356gt84j 110 buildings, traffic congestion and increased costs, erecting stagings became impracticable. With the advent of death the 'blue lantern' used to be hung outside the house. This corresponded to the matt black 'mourning boards' that were fixed outside a home in Britain. The latter went out of fashion in the early part of this century. The three important events in a Chinese life are birth, marriage and burial. If a person is not 'buried well' he may suffer in the next world. A great deal of money can be expended on a funeral and giving a parent a good 'send off' epitomises filial piety. Relatives are unlikely to haggle over cost. Although the undertaking profession has few bad debts, and is said to enjoy a profit margin of from 30 to 45 per cent, it is not seen as a salubrious occupation: 'Such men are bad luck and their touch is very filthy.' Misfortunes of the deceased can be transmitted to the toucher. In slang, a corpse is known as 'salt fish' (MA). The Day Before the Funeral In sub-tropical Hong Kong there used to be a 48-hour limit for storing corpses. With refrigeration and 70 to 80 per cent of bodies being embalmed, which includes injections, this is no longer so. A cadaver can be kept for two months. The ceremony in this study took place seven days after death and close relatives arrived at the 'Hong Kong Hotel' (slang for funeral parlour where a funeral is known as the 'complete menu') the day before, at three o'clock. A multi-storey funeral home contains many halls to cater to both Christian and (like this one) non-Christian funerals. Two large 'blue lanterns' hung outside the hall. These are in fact white, with the family name in large, purple (at a Roman Court this was the royal or imperial colour) characters and the deceased's age in smaller red characters. On that day and the day of the funeral close relatives were 'not allowed to kill'; namely to eat meat, fish or eggs. Also, sexual intercourse should not take place during the mourning period. In addition to the deceased's 16 by 20 inch photograph, incense was burning on the altar. Western candles (candles are normally burnt in pairs) symbolised Christianity and Chinese candles Buddhism, another example of hedging. Also on the altar were tasty snacks that the dead person ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1991 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/k356gt84j 111 was especially fond of like homemade, western-style cookies. There were traditional offerings such as roast duck, rice wine, fruit, cakes, cooked vegetarian food and chopsticks. Ancestors must be provided with sustenance. Even with Christian services food is still sometimes 'offered up' on the altar, for example for 'divided families'. Although not all mourners approved, because the deceased enjoyed smoking, cigarettes were placed on the altar. During the proceedings a butt was found in an ash tray which some were convinced had actually been smoked by the dead woman. Objects once placed on the altar should not be touched. Although the deceased was a humble housewife, 37 suit lengths and blankets were draped on special fixtures around interior walls of the hall. These practical gifts from friends were overlaid with gold, red or white paper characters proclaiming slogans such as: 'Everlasting life in heavenly kingdom'; and another, 'Picture of her will live in minds of women', There were 114 wreaths, many on eight-foot or so high bamboo frames each with a banner, sometimes black with white characters, giving names of donors and slogans. The family cobler who owned a small street stall sent a wreath. Immediately after the ceremony these bamboo frames were appropriated by outsiders and reused for making wreaths for other funerals. After encoffining, the body, lying in state with face heavily made up and looking peaceful, was placed behind a glass partition in a small adjoining 'farewell room' off the back of the hall. So that a person is in the 'mainstream' it is necessary the body be positioned in the centre of the coffin. The air was oppressive with candle smoke and incense, one of the main ingredients of the latter being sandal wood." The deceased wore four dresses and three pairs of trousers (for a man it would have been four and four). With "foo" being a homophone for both 'riches' and 'trousers', an odd number of pairs are worn by females and an even number by males. No fur, leather or rubber are used for fear of reincarnation as an animal. The feet are tied together with hemp cord supposedly to prevent jumping if tormented by ghosts. Feet of corpses in England are also bound, to keep them together before rigor mortis sets in, when a body is ‘laid out'. This seems a more plausible reason. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1991 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/k356gt84j 115 manifestion of poverty to symbolise the family has sold everything to pay for an elaborate funeral. Two hanging bands of the attire are left of different lengths to imply the mourner is distraught and does not know how to tie it properly. Women do not make-up. For Chinese Christian funerals family mourners wear black gowns, but it is not a 'good' colour as it absorbs bad luck. When Chinese wear a black necktie they often remove it as soon as they can after the service. The dead person in this study, who for major events such as birthdays used the Chinese calendar, knew she was born in the year of the ram but she was never sure in which year of the western calendar she was born. Because she used Chinese reckoning she was one year 'older' than if she had used the Gregorian calendar. In addition, on death, three years are usually added, 'one each for heaven, earth and mankind (天 · 人 · 地). A little subterfuge regarding age seems justified. It increases importance at one's destiny. Emphasis is placed on prolongation of age and symbols of longevity are many. They include the peach, crane and tortoise. The God of Longevity is sometimes depicted riding a deer. Because in this study the deceased was around 70 it was described as a 'happy funeral' (喜事). By midnight all had left the funeral parlour except the three daughters, two granddaughters and two amahs (maids) who kept vigil, taking naps on the floor or on chairs. In the past gongs were banged throughout the night to keep away evil spirits. Noise restrictions today prohibit this. Although all-night vigils are not common in England now, they are still practised in eastern European countries and among those, for example, of Lithuanian descent in Scotland. Wakes are also held in Ireland, often accompanied by card playing, drinking and jollifications in an adjoining room. Funeral Day The same as the previous day visitors paid respects, some early, shortly afterwards leaving for work. Later, the hall filled for the service. Day and time were important, as with other events concerning mourning. The Chinese Imperial Calendar and Almanac (usually known as Tung Sing(通勝) meaning 'know everything book') was consulted. Some editions of this sell a million copies a year. Dating back before 2205 BC, it is said to be the oldest, continuous publication in the world. Page 135 Page 136 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1991 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/k356gt84j the Buddhist hall. After this was finished close mourners changed into everyday, brightly coloured clothes. A meal was held in a restaurant. There were seven courses. About 50 people attended. Meat was served. The immediate family members then went home and took a second bath with pomelo and wampee (variant spelling wampi) leaves to purify the water. Lucky packages were opened. Besides money they contained pieces of hibiscus, foo paak (†), a homonym also meaning wealth or riches. Another packet contained, in addition to money, a needle and thread, and a lady's hairpin, described as kat lei ( ). This is interpreted as pierce or sharp, also as lucky or profit. Anything that could bring bad luck, such as black objects, had been burned. Things that were brought home, for good luck, included white mourning shoes and white attire. These were known as tsoi paak (ĦĦ ), for ‘good luck'. The large photograph used at services was later hung in the dead woman's home. Some maintain it should be packed away or it can bring bad luck. Ashes The day after the fifth tsat the immediate relatives went to the funeral parlour to collect the ashes. Everyone expressed pleasure that these were 'fairly white'. They are often blackish. There was a short ceremony. Joss sticks and ‘gold bars' were burned, together with a rosette made up with yellow papers with blessings printed on them. At Ching Chung Koon (Temple) permission to enter was requested from the two door (earth) gods. Everyone bowed three times. An orange was placed on each shrine. The niche selected two weeks earlier to hold the ashes of the dead woman, together with another alongside for her husband, was not too high so it was accessible. His remains were moved from another niche. The cost for each, in 1988, was $10,800, increased from $600 in 1966. (Business is thriving and extensions are continually being built to the columbarium.) The mother's niche number is '17' which can be interpreted, 'certainly you will get it.' The father's niche is '18', read as 'definitely will prosper'. The mourners bowed three times to 'spirit neighbours' of father and mother and burned single incense sticks in all vases in that room. An effort was made not to offend and not sit on ledges in front of other ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1991 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/k356gt84j 126 There are different versions." Leung suggests that the sharing of pork between ancestors and descendants renews the symbolic union in two worlds. The living know that to receive blessings they must continue to worship. Some do not share ritual pork with outsiders thus redefining membership of clan or family. In this study, even after mourning ended there were visits. These could be to the temple where the ashes are kept, at Ching Ming ('Chinese Easter'), the day for grave cleaning in the spring; or at Chung Yeung, the ninth day of the ninth moon (in Hong Kong, until 1967, when graves were visited firecrackers were let off to frighten away malevolent spirits). Visits were also made by the family to the soul tablet at the Buddhist Hall in Kowloon, or to the shrine at the second daughter's home. Visits took place on her sz kei (FEE), the anniversary of her death, and her shaang kei (EE), the anniversary of her birthday. On one visit to the second daughter's home she recited a Buddhist prayer 80 times over water which was later drunk by all present. The eldest daughter was still unsettled, unable to sleep at nights and not feeling secure when watching television alone. Apprehensive about accidents, she instructed the maid to wash the car with water over which she had said a Buddhist prayer. The deceased herself used occasionally to attend seances of foo kei (AL) seeking guidance at a small Buddhist Association hall in Western District. In this Chinese version of 'planchette' a spirit medium receives messages from the dead. These are written with a pointed willow stick in a bed of sand or sawdust." Foo kei is also practised at the temple where the ashes of the deceased lie. However, relatives have not so far tried to contact the dead woman using divinatory means. Dreams Dreams played an important part in this study. The third daughter had given her mother a jacket and, after she died, the daughter retrieved it. The following night a friend dreamed the deceased complained of feeling cold. The jacket was promptly returned and hung in mother's wardrobe. An associate dreamed the face of the deceased was black, covered with soot and her right arm was red like raw meat. It was concluded the dead person's spirit tablet in the temple was too close to the furnace ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1991 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/k356gt84j Maymyo 1941 GUERILLA TRAINING* P. H. MUNRO-FAURE 135 The shortage of British shipping along the China coast became more marked during 1940 and 1941. The vessels built for this traffic, generally between three and four thousand tons in measurement, with comparatively shallow draft, were particularly suitable for use in the Persian Gulf and along the shores of North Africa. Many had been taken to serve as transports in those seas. Moreover, the Admiralty, sensitive to the dangers threatening the peace of the Far East, had directed such larger ocean-going vessels as still were available not to proceed west of Singapore. Consequently there was pressure on the remaining cabin space, and I was fortunate to obtain a berth in a small coaster, which took seven days to reach Hongkong from Shanghai, as against the usual four. Hongkong was very quiet, a state of affairs not to be attributed to an entire absence of females. It was remarkable how many had succeeded in avoiding the order to leave the Colony. I had to wait a whole week for a passage to Singapore, where formerly berths on a dozen different ships would have been offered in the time. This gave me an opportunity to look around. Friends took me out to Deep Water Bay, where we sunbathed on the beach, and drank our tea on the club verandah, looking out over the little golf course. High up on the hill towards Wong Nei Chong Gap I could see the green tiled roof of the house where my wife and I, only three years previously, had been caught in the rain. I wondered whether the lady of the mansion was one of those who had contrived to remain behind. In the evening we drove round to the next bay and bathed from the Lido, a steel and concrete building of pleasing design housing a restaurant, and bathing booths. The hot weather had set in, but here a cool breeze blew down a gully on the hillside into the windows. I had always liked the place because of its informality. You could eat your dinner, and dance and talk, in shorts, and so keep cool, as compared with the stricter etiquette of the Gloucester and Hongkong Hotels, or the Repulse Bay Hotel, or even the Peninsular Hotel across the harbour, where several nights a week you were required to don “black ties”. *This is the third part of the Memoirs of Col. P H. Munro-Faure. See Editor's Note, p 61, vol. 29, and Plate I ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1992 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/qf85tx75x ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY HONG KONG BRANCH PRESIDENT'S REPORT FOR 1992/93 In the Society's journal Volume I (1960-61) you will find that the then president wrote these words 'It is with great pleasure that I submit a report of the activities of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society for the first year of its existence after its revival in December 1959.' That was just over thirty-three years ago, at the time of the resuscitation of the Society, as a result of the enthusiasm of a small band of interested members led by our late president, Dr. J.R. Jones. The first meeting took place on 28 December, 1959, when the present constitution was adopted and the inaugural meeting was held on 7 April, 1960 in the Loke Yew Hall of the University of Hong Kong. It was to be presided over by the then governor, Sir Robert Black, had illness not prevented it. The inaugural address was delivered by Professor F. S. Drake, Professor of Chinese at the University of Hong Kong and was entitled 'The study of Asia: a heritage and a task.' You will notice that the word 'resuscitated' is used because the original Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society was founded in 1847 (the parent company was founded in 1823), but primarily due to personal animosities prevalent in Hong Kong in the early days it collapsed in 1859. We, to-day, having survived for 33 years are clearly more enlightened and harmonious. Some of you here this evening will be fully aware of these facts; for those who are not you will find them all and much more in that first journal. My reason for drawing your attention to them, besides encouraging you to buy this back journal and all the other journals to improve our finances if nothing else, is to focus your attention on the historical mission of the Society, and to bring out that we have now been in existence for a very long time in the context of the history of Hong Kong. And in to-day's context, where the changes in Hong Kong are so apparent, where there is a charged political atmosphere, and where there is a feeling of uncertainty for the future, a Society such as ours, small as it is, can continue to play an enlightening and a stable role for Hong Kong. We are not of course a political society, nor would we ever wish to be one, but clearly we need to remind ourselves that academic freedom must be seen to be preserved, and not just paid lip service to. Vil ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1994 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/zk522640g 69 the views expressed right at the start of this paper by Dr Ernest J. Eitel, sometimes titled Hong Kong's first historian and for some time a Hong Kong civil servant, were by no means unusual. Today, far more empathy is shown towards Chinese culture in general by Westerners. For instance, many Caucasian firms believe aquariums enrich the fung shu of an office. It is not just Chinese who can relax, Westerners will tell you, when they lie back and watch fish swimming. It gives everyone a special feeling and lowers their blood pressure by a few degrees. Of course, certain rules have to be followed. The number of fish kept is often six or nine. Three multiplied by three equals nine (a lucky number); and a homonym of three, in Cantonese, sounds similar to the character meaning 'lively'. Because of colour symbolism, one fish may be black (a Black Molly), another reddish (a goldfish), and the rest any other colour. Because the fish are supposed to act as a shield against bad fung shui, sometimes a fish dies. But better a dead fish than a dead customer. Higher up the hill above Central District, at the Albany in Albany Road, residents were concerned about the 70-storey, new, People's Republic Bank of China Building 'giving off vibes'. They feared the sharp edges of its structure with their negative forces would menace the abode of some of Hong Kong's rich and famous. In the West, the new Bank of China building would perhaps be described as 'ominous', 'overshadowing' or 'overpowering'. Many Chinese, however, liken the sharp edges of the Bank of China to a knife pointed at, or arrows cast at, Government House and Central Government Offices, namely, the heart of the British Colonial Administration. These 'weapons', together with the flyovers close to Government House, tie the decision-making hands of the British Governor and threaten the prosperity of Hong Kong. The fung shui 'dragon vein', with the dragon's head turned to face its ancestors, serpents down from Victoria Peak, close to the Albany, concealed by a carpet of vegetation. It passes close to the Albany apartments. The dragon thrusts and turns as the topography changes. The earth surges with natural energy. Chinese dragons are more serpent-like and sinuous than those in the West. And, as the vein gathers strength, it proceeds vigorously on to the 'dragon sites' such as the home of the Governor and down to the Hong Kong Bank. It then dips into the harbour, the 'dragon's lair'. Although now the slope up the Peak is largely obscured by high-rise buildings, on some hills and 70 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1994 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/zk522640g 181 off and strike the Emperor dead – But the minister's wife mourned for only six days. At the end of that time, being very exhausted, she dozed off, and her head fell forward, and her nose touched the tree. Immediately, a sprig of the tree flew off. However, because the time was not enough, the sprig did not have enough power, and, although it flew into the Emperor's presence, it fell to the ground. The Emperor saw that the name of Ho, the Minister of the Left, was written on the sprig; as a result, the Emperor decided to destroy all the Fung Shun sites of the Ho family. Fuk-sham had heard that the grave of Ho, the Minister of the Left, was on the hill opposite the Yuen Tan Temple at Shek Mun Kap (FIGZ Biff 1). Another site was at Tei Tong Tsai (HUMPKT-(BUL)). The Emperor ordered that these sites be controlled. However, whatever was cut down by people today, grew back three-fold tomorrow. A small-minded man advised that the blood of a black dog be sprinkled at the head of the grave - this would be sure to destroy the Fung Shui. The Emperor took this advice, and, as a result, the Fung Shui was destroyed. When the Fung Shui was destroyed, for seven days and seven nights blood flowed out. NOTES ■ Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Hong Kong Branch, Vol. 28, pp. 198-203, Vol. 29, pp. 188-189 2 [Editor's Note] Any further material relating to folk-tales on Ho Chan would be welcome. Page 195 Page 196 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1995 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/95941j25g 192 Another claim suggests that Ch'iu was the adviser to the Yuan emperor Shih Tsu [better known as the Great Kublai Khan] though as Ch'iu is said to have died in AD 1227 this would be impossible; yet another claim which is again fanciful, Ch'iu is said to have been the author of the dramatic version of the "Journey to the West" the well-known story in which Monkey [Ch'i-t'ien Ta-sheng] aids a famous monk to carry Buddhist scriptures to China from India. His mausoleum was in the influential Taoist White Cloud Monastery, the Sect centre, in Peking. Temple records in the Pai-t'a Dagoba in the Pei Hai in Peking noted that he died at the age of 80 in AD 1227. His image is to be seen on two altars in Hong Kong, both in Taoist monasteries where he is portrayed as a seated Taoist figure dressed in robes, blue in one monastery and golden in the other, with a black beard. He is wearing the tiny Taoist crown and holds a fly switch in his right hand. He has no unique identifying characteristics, though in private images he is often depicted with his blue robes decorated with pa-kua signs. His image, in both monasteries, is on a secondary altar in a main hall dedicated to Wang Ch'ung-yang, with Lu Tung-pin being the sole deity in the other secondary altar. These three Immortals are known collectively as the Three Generations, with Lü the eldest, Wang the second generation and Ch'iu the third generation and the junior. His great weakness, which he had to overcome, was his impatience. He was renowned for his propensity to butt in and offer his opinion, often after reaching conclusions prematurely. In Peking, his image in the Tan-chi Kung depicted him as a young man without eyebrows or whiskers and with a whey-coloured face. In Singapore, his old gilded image stands on an altar in an old temple in Telok Blangah where he shares a shrine on an altar with Lu Tung-pin, one of the Eight Immortals, with the other shrine occupied by images of Ho Hsien-ku, another of the Eight Immortals, and Sun Fu-jen, an unidentified matron. Ch'iu was deified by the Yuan dynasty emperor Shih Tsu [Kublai Khan, ca AD 1260] as: Ch'ang-ch'un Yen-tao Chu-chiao Chen-jen (MIÈ3⁄4Ç^). Later, at the time of Yuan Wu Tsung [ca. AD 1308], ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1996 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/3n209j641 IMPERMANENCE OF IMAGES IN CHINESE POPULAR RELIGION TEMPLES KEITH STEVENS 235 At first glance the images of the deities on the altars in Chinese popular religion temples would appear to be permanent fixtures, as indeed is the relative position of images. And so they are in a great number of places. However, changes for several reasons do take place, the main one being the addition of a further deity to the temple altar and the balance of seniority requiring marginal movement to take place. Another factor is the change in or deletion of images due to the decisions of temple committees following some incident, often a devotee's dream, such as those requiring the addition of a further deity. We are not looking here at the Lieh-shen T'an1, often the extreme altar stage right in the main hall, a conglomerate of unconnected deities, where all donated images are placed. The movement of images here is commonplace as more and more images over the years are donated usually by the relatives of dead devotees as a means of disposing of personal household images without upsetting anyone's feelings. To notice change, long term observation, over a matter of decades rather than years, is essential, with the greatest change usually taking place during the rare refurbishment and redecoration of a temple. As an example we shall look at the Temple of the Lord of T'ai ShanA in Tainan city in southern Taiwan. This old temple until the late 1980s was an extremely eerie and awesome place. The grime of centuries, the dim and poorly illuminated halls with the almost black images standing on the shadowy altars and against the side walls, provided an atmosphere approximating the role of the deities, the bureaucrats and enforcement agents of the Afterworld, whose images fill the temple. This has radically changed since the redecoration. Statues on the major altars were well nigh impossible to discern through the grimy glass windows fronting the main altars. All now tends to be clean, bright and much more airy, with modern strip lighting eliminating most of the shadows. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1996 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/3n209j641 236 The rituals performed by both the 'red hat' and the 'black hat' professional religious specialists, often connected in one way or another with mortuary rites, continue as before. The difference being that before redecoration the ritual performances in the half light, by 'red hats' in particular, accompanied by the boom of their ox horns blown at intervals during the rituals, provided an even more exotic and eerie scene. The former layout of the temple consisted, as you entered the temple from the street, of the main hall dedicated to the Lord of T'ai Shan. This led through to the rear hall dedicated to the Saviour of the Underworld, the Buddhist deity, Ti-tsang Wang, with a long and comparatively narrow annexe running down the sides of the whole length of the two halls. On the other side of the halls were large rooms dedicated to the ritual services. The usual images one would expect in the halls of both the Lord of T'ai Shan and Ti-tsang Wang stand either before or beside the altars, and lining the walls. Many are tamed demons such as Horse Face and Buffalo Head, and the Short Black and Tall White Demons who seize the souls of humans on their due date of death, dragging them before the City God for their primary interrogation. Others include the City God himself and the Goddess of Maternity, Chu-sheng Niang-niang, both of whom occupied their own secondary altars flanking that of Ti-tsang Wang; the Judges of the Ten Courts of the Underworld; and the Civil and Military Secretaries to the Lord of T'ai Shan. and they have been However, since the refurbishment of the temple, which took some two and a half years, the images down the side annexe which used to stand each in its own shrine have been relocated. The comparatively large image of the local tutelary deity, the Earth God, now has a shrine of his own in the Ti-tsang hall and the other two major images, of the Lord Protector of the Realm, Hu-kuo Tsun-wang Immortal Celestial Physician, Tien-i Chen-jen moved to the Ti-tsang Wang hall where they now sit on the main altar but in front, one on either side of the altar, both newly repainted. These two deities have borne these titles for at least thirty years and during that time the temple staff who appeared to be quite knowledgeable explained that the images down the side wall of the annexe had been brought in from other temples when the latter had been demolished for one reason or another, and their identities had been lost over the years. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1997 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/wp98g7579 5.00 RC DIAPHRAGM INSPECTION SPACE WEDGE Detection testing pipe ROCK FILL THAT GALLERY BLOCK PITCHING 1½ THICK 50 100 150 FEET Cross section of Gorge dam Gorge Dam Cross-section, Shing Mun Reservoir, 1936 Binnie Consultants Ltd/Binnie Black & Veatch STONE TOE 38000 131 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1998 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794 70 the primary one in China being as the Lord of the Underworld known as Yen-lo Wang. In later Brahmanist mythology he is one of the eight Lokapalas, the guardian of the south and judge of the dead. He was the son of the sun, with a twin sister Yamuna - regarded by some Hindus as the first human pair. An image of Yama is present in both the Pi-yun Ssu and the Ta Pei Ssu. In northern China images of Yen-lo Wang have been noted in several old temples where he is portrayed as a benign elderly human, dressed in court robes and cap of dynastic China. In the Kuan Yin Hall of the Ta Pei Ssu in Peking his image depicts him thus, with his hands held palms together before his chest. He has no unique characteristics and is known simply as Yen Mo Lo. He is referred to by the temple staff as Yama and appears to have no other title and is looked upon by the monks as the Lord of the Underworld. In the Pi-yun Ssu he is a general wearing armour under his colourful robes and has an axe clutched in his right hand. His left hand is held across his body pointing with two of his fingers. He has dark skin, round eyes, a short black beard and moustache and a scarf swirling behind his head hanging down in front of his body. There is also Yen-mo Hu-fa, a Lama Buddhist [Tantric] deity, whose image stands in the Lama Temple in Peking. It is typical Tibeto-Mongol iconography, swathed in silken robes obscuring the body leaving only the fierce head and the raised right arm visible. The head, which looks somewhat like a blue pig with gold eyebrows and red mouth, has a row of skulls across the top of the head mounted on a coronet, with a fiery nimbus behind that. He is holding in the air in his right hand a short rod [a heavenly cane] with a miniature white skull mounted on the top. Without the silken robe the deity is revealed standing on a blue horse or mule which, in turn, is prostrate on a naked human. The deity has another small blue-skinned demonic figure standing before him, facing him and holding its hands up towards the deity in supplication. 14] Sagara known in Chinese as P'o-chie Lung-wang and P'o-chie-lo Sagara is the Naga King of the Ocean Palace north of Mount Meru, ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1998 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794 73 large, wide, gaping mouth has but four small teeth showing, these being normal human-size incisors top and bottom. Finally, he has three small white skulls across his forehead held in place by a pink band. 19] Gandharva known in Chinese as Kan-t'a-p'o The Gandharva are one of the eight classes of supernatural beings referred to in the Lotus Sutra. They are Indra's musicians and also in the retinue of Dhrtarastra [they are the same as or similar to the Kinnaras]. They do not eat meat nor drink wine but feed on incense and fragrance. An image of the Gandharva is in the Ta Pei Ssu but not in the Pi-yun Ssu. His image portrays him standing, dressed in multi-coloured robes over armour, a helmet over black spiky hair, and is clean shaven. His face is semi-demonic, with large protruding eyes. He has no unique characteristics. 20] Nanda Upananda known in Chinese as Nan-t'o Pa-nan-t'o 跋難陀 Little seems to be known about Nanda Upananda apart from being a protector of Magadha [near Bihar]. His image has only been seen in the Ta Pei Ssu and not in the Pi-yun Ssu. It depicts him as an elderly man but with a semi-demonic face. He has round eyes, small ugly protrusions on his cheeks, a gaping mouth and fang-like eye-teeth, no moustache but a short pointed beard, and is wearing decorated robes and cap. His hands are held together as if holding a tablet [which may well be missing]. 21] Skanda, Viharapala or Veda' known in Chinese as Wei T'o #BE Wei T'o, a Hindu deity, the Deva Protector of the Dharma, guards the sanctuary of virtually all Chinese Buddhist temples. He stands with his back to the main entrance in the inner temple hall facing the main altar and back-to-back with the Laughing Buddha of the Future, Mi-lo Fo, who greets visitors with his smiling welcome. Wei T'o is also to be seen guarding many a folk religion temple, though only very rarely does he appear on a household altar. Because of the prayers offered to ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1998 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794 138 Legends surrounding the birth, life and death of Xu Sun are numerous, complicated and tangled stories. Just before his birth his mother is said to have dreamed that a golden phoenix dropped a pearl from its beak into her hand. A popular story claims that he was born either in Henan province or at Nanchang in Jiangxi, ca AD 240 where he lived out his life as a saintly doctor. Xu Sun passed the imperial examinations, became a prefect of a district and distinguished himself by his benevolence. According to some versions, his popularity was due to his power and ability to heal diseases using secret preparations. Others claim that he was an official who, having served in Sichuan province, died in about AD 293 or AD 374 when still only in his fifties. In another version, a typical mythological finale to a virtuous and extraordinary life, he died at the great age of 134 and was borne off to Heaven 'together with his wives, children, dogs, chickens and beasts'. Members of the Daoist Jingming sect claim that he was the founder of the cult with its centre at the temple dedicated to him in Nanchang city. This no longer exists; however, a temple dedicated to him in the small town of Xi Shan [Western Hill] some twenty miles south-west of Nanchang, is the present cult centre. A large notice before his altar in the temple informs devotees that he lived during the Eastern Jin [317-420 AD] and during a twenty year struggle managed to solve the problem of annual flooding in the province and that he should be revered mainly for his success in water conservancy in northern Jiangxi, particularly around the Boyang Lake. The notice also claims that he lived for 136 years. His cult centre in Xi Shan is now a bustling temple complex with two main halls and some four lesser halls set in large grounds. The two large main halls, side by side, are dedicated one to Xu and the other to the Jade Emperor. The inside walls of the hall dedicated to Xu are lined with some twenty or so anonymous minor perfected lords whilst the Jade Emperor's hall is lined by sixteen guardian generals, again unnamed. The Jade Emperor is flanked by four major Daoist deities, the philosopher Lao Zi; the founder of the Heavenly Master sect Zhang Daoling; the doctor of the Eight Immortals Lü Dongbin and the Northern Emperor, Zhen Wu. The main altar in Xu's hall bears two images of Xu, one tall gilded statue of Xu standing, and a smaller, portable image of him sitting swathed in red robes. Neither has any unique characteristic and he is depicted with a black beard, pink face and holding a tablet in both hands before his chest. He is attended by two youthful attendants. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1998 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794 337 is good and allows for reasonably fast travel; the journey took about three hours. I had suggested to the guide beforehand that perhaps a stop along the way for "refreshment" would be in order. The bus pulled into an establishment that looked for all the world like a desert caravanserai, or some hostelry from the Wild West. The only commodity of any sort on sale was a type of large black mushroom, and a tea-like drink made from it. Our main interest, however, was with the toilet facilities - until we saw them, that is. A few of us were in enough need to make the considerable effort to go inside. Others decided to cross their legs for another couple of hours. I can only presume that German influence had not spread this far north. On the way into the city of Yantai a large street-side sign was spotted saying "No Whistling within the City Boundary". Nobody could explain the purpose of this, unless it was a reaction to endless British tourists whistling Colonel Bogey. The first point of interest in Yantai was the Fujian Hall. This was not in keeping with the colonial flavour of the trip, but was relevant to us southerners as being an outpost built in the north by the Fujian community that had been very active in business in the early days of Chefoo. Most of the old British remains are concentrated in a fairly small area - from the promontory of Yantai Hill east along the sea front to the former Chefoo School. Yantai Hill is the place that once housed the British and other foreign consulates. It is very pleasant to walk the narrow roads and paths in this small area. A number of buildings remain, although very few are still used. Some are boarded up, and some remain only in the form of their foundations. It is not clear which was which, even with the benefit of old maps from the last century. However, a clear impression can be had of the peace and tranquility that still reign here, and of the commanding position that the residents must have had. I could almost hear a scratchy wind-up gramophone playing and the chink of ice in glasses of G&T. To the west of the hill is the port, and there are still a number of small dock-side buildings that might date from the 19th century, but ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1999 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s178b887x 50 better wooded - seven hundred years of cutting fuel by Nga Tsin Wai villagers on Lion Rock had left that mountain rather bare of wood). Their mountain could not supply all the fuel the village needed, given its bareness, and the villagers had to buy fuel in Kowloon Market from the hillside villages in Sha Tin which brought it there for sale. When the British closed the hills to wood and grass-cutting after the Lease, in order to undertake a major programme of re-afforestation (several hundreds of thousands of new trees were planted in the Kowloon Hills), this caused major problems to the villagers, since they now had to buy all their fuel (each village was given a fuel reserve to cut fuel from, but these had to be left until the trees there had grown). Illegal fuel gathering was endemic, and led to brawls between villagers and Forest Warders. One villager, at Ngau Chi Wan, according to the Ngau Chi Wan elders, shot and killed a Forest Warder who interrupted him while he was illegally cutting wood - the village, with considerable trepidation, decided to fee an expensive European barrister, who, to the village's vast delight managed to get him off (the village is still speaking of this 80 years later). Villagers often went down sick (the average age of death in the New Territories in 1911 was about 20 years of age, and those who survived to 16 could expect to die by about 45-50). There were several dozen doctors in Kowloon City, but they were very expensive, and the villagers rarely used them. The Lok Sin Tong would give free medicine as a charitable act in certain circumstances, and the villagers would sometimes go there, but usually the villagers used their own village remedies, using herbs from the hills, which were boiled up to make medicinal teas or used to make medicinal washes or baths. Not all the village families knew which herbs to pick - village families with this knowledge kept it secret as it represented good income. Some village remedies were fearsome - a tea made from boiling up bat-dung scraped from the floor of the Ancestral Hall was used to cure certain childhood fevers, for instance, and a split pod of wild black pepper was bound round the wrist of children seriously ill with malaria, and left there until it had eaten its way deeply into the flesh. Witchcraft, involving secret prayers and incantations, and strange ritual acts, was often used as well - there were several village women who knew how to "call the spirits" in this way. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-2000 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/nk328168n 116 which tends to bewilder foreigners is the lone deity representing Taisui on one altar and images of his sixty forms on another. This appears to be due to a policy decision by the temple committee which decided that in addition to a lone Taisui, the whole group of sixty would be more appropriate and rather than replace the lone image they added the sixty on another altar. In other temples the Taisui group is represented merely by sixty almost identical heads affixed to individual wooden blocks that are covered in red paper or swathed in red ribbon. The range of images is quite wide with, for example, in a temple on Hong Kong island one of the sixty is an aged man with a long white beard. His image has as its neighbour a standing youth with one arm raised holding an axe. The only image of the sixty which would seem to have a unique and extraordinary characteristic is the primary one of the sixty, Jiazi. It consists of two small arms in addition to his normal pair which emerge, one from each eye-socket, and stretch a short distance in front of his face with the forearms turned upwards at their elbows and the hands poised as if about to grasp something. Although his unique feature is to be seen in sketches in several 19th century western books, such as DuBose in 1885, his image depicted with his extraordinary feature has only been noticed on altars in three temples. All three are popular religion temples where all sixty images are arrayed along the walls of their side hall. In Pudong, across the river from Shanghai, he is portrayed as an ordinary male sitting on a bench, dressed in gilded robes, holding a small lion cub in his right hand. He has a black beard and eyebrows and with his unique feature. The Jiazi Taisui in the Taisui Hall in the temple at Song Shan in Taipei is wearing a blue outer robe decorated with gilded Daoist signs, and two large red roundels on his knees bearing the character Fu, for good fortune. He is holding two peaches in his left hand symbolising longevity, rather than a lion cub. An almost identical image is the initial Taisui of the set of sixty in the Taisui hall of the third temple, the Taipei Fazhu Gong Temple. However, this time the tiny arms and hands emerging from the eye sockets are much smaller than elsewhere. Nonetheless, the two sets in these Taipei temples have only been installed within the last decade and both sets appear to have been ordered from and carved on the mainland, possibly near Shanghai. These unique Taisui are obviously blind having these miniature arms and hands taking up their eye sockets, and temple custodians have no idea what these miniature arms signify. However, DuBose writing in ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-2000 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/nk328168n 120 disasters.' She is portrayed as a Daoist deity sitting cross-legged on a lotus, with gilded robes and a small crown, and with eight arms and three faces. Flanking her are two demonic, black-skinned deities standing, each with six arms and dressed in armour, holding weapons and charms in each of their hands. They are her attendants known here as Gnasher, Qiechi J, and Biter, Yaoya, titles not encountered anywhere else. The sixty Taisui images stand on lower tiers in two groups in five rows, either side of a space between the groups leading from the main entrance to the main deity on the top tier. But before the main deity on the second tier is a lone Taisui, the Taisui of the current year, changed annually at the Lunar New Year. Finally, the sets of double doors to the hall are decorated with depictions of the deities of the Twenty-eight Constellations +, the Ershi ba Xiuxing each deity having a 'human' form and its own attributes. The second temple is some fifteen miles from Nanchang, the provincial capital of Jiangxi province in mainland China. Once more there is a separate hall but here dedicated to the wife of the main deity of the complex, the major medical god Xu Zhenjun. In the centre of the Hall is a large rectangular altar with the sixty Taisui ranged on all four sides along two tiers, with the image of Xu's wife and her two attendants positioned on the top of the third tier where she is identified merely as 'Xu's wife,' furen A. Her Hall, the Furen Gong, has stood within the temple complex since at least 1820 though it, together with the other temple halls, has been destroyed three times. Once apparently by accident in 1820, once by the Taiping iconoclasts in 1856 and finally by the Red Guards in 1966. However, it has only been within the last century that her hall has had images of the Taisui added to the gods within the complex and placed on the lower tiers of the plinth of her altar. The temple custodian did not know who decided on this addition, why or when. In both of these temples, as in a number of other temples, the images of the sixty Taisui are portrayed as individuals with unique characteristics. A few look demonic, the majority are normal humans, with or without facial hair, young and old, and all are seated and dressed in a wide range of robes. Some are soldiers, some elderly mandarins - and although from lists provided in temples they all have individual personal names, none apart from the President, Yin Jiao, would appear to be recorded in legend or myth. However, several god carvers in ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-2000 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/nk328168n 123 scroll stands in the centre and is flanked by two images each with his right arm raised holding a bell. The faces are one red and one black, and the pair are known as the Red Taisui and the Black Taisui, all three functioning as one deity. A six-armed image of Taisui in the side hall of the Penang City God temple shares the main altar with Guan Yin and the Great Saint [Qitian Da Sheng - though better known as the Monkey God]. In Cholon, Saigon, three separate deities are portrayed on one altar, each with Taisui added to his title. These are Ziwei Xingjun, Wenchang and Xuantan, the first being a stellar deity whose likeness is pasted or nailed to doors as a popular charm to ward off demonic attack, the second is the God of Literature and the third, a Wealth God. This nomenclature would appear to be a local whim, not seen nor heard of elsewhere. Only in very few instances does Taisui have any assistants. Several temple keepers in Taiwan and Singapore explained that Taisui, like so many protective deities, has Five Demon Armies under his command. These he despatches to cope with recalcitrant humans who fail to honour Taisui properly or who have insulted him in any way. When humans come under any form of demonic attack the cause and source of the attack is usually revealed to them by mediums, who are then in a position to advise the individual what should be done to counter and ward off the evil effects, particularly so when the attack is mounted by tamed demons under the control of a deity, Taisui. They advise the human to immediately propitiate him and request him to call off his demonic forces. In several novels Taisui is described as having ten assistants the last four being the gods of the year, the month, the day and the hour. All were described in the Deification of the Gods as having been slain at the famous battle between the good and evil forces at Wan Xian Chen and have been named as: Li Bing 李丙 Huang Chengyi 黃丞乙 Zhou Deng 周登 Liu Hong 劉洪 In a temple in Kalgan, a city known today as Zhangjiakou in the Chinese province of Inner Mongolia, Yin Jiao's second brother, Yin ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-2000 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/nk328168n 161 and the Fulu particular of two opera companies, the Xipi Pai and Erhuang Pai [or Fi Pai], the latter, the northern school, being especially dedicated to woodwinds3. In legend he is said to have had an emotional reunion with the soul of his dead concubine, Yang Guifei, in the palace of Guanghan on the Moon. 4 A tablet on a minor altar at the rear of a secondary hall in the temple of the City God in Hsinchu in northern Taiwan refers to him as Tang Xuan Zong, whilst his usual title in Taiwanese temples of the Lord of the Western Qin, Xi Qin WangyeE is not usually understood beyond Taiwan. There is no image, whereas in the Ma Tsu temple in Taipei a side altar is dedicated to him and his image, portraying him as a standard scholar-official with a black beard, is flanked by two very elderly male aides. In South-east Asia images of the emperor have been seen in temples in Seremban and Ipoh in Malaysia, and in Singapore, in some of which he is simply referred to as Zunzhu Mingwang, the Lord Prince Ming, 尊主明王, An image seen on the only altar in a side hall of the temple on Miaofeng Shan in Beijing's Western Hills and identified as Tang Ming Huang, is better known in the temple as the God of Happiness, Xi Shen [Photograph 2]. He is referred to as Liyuan Shen, and is portrayed as a smiling figure with beard and moustache, standing with his hands in a theatrical pose. His modern image is dressed in imperial yellow robes decorated with a large dragon and the whole body of the image is swathed in a red robe placed there by devotees. Disappointingly, there appears to be no image of the Concubine Yang on any altars. However, a modern [1996] tableau in an old temple, now converted into a theme-park, depicts in a series of life-size plaster images scenes ranging from the Tang Ming Huang's first sight of the Concubine Yang bathing, progressing through stages of his infatuation though ending before her death and his overthrow. This can be seen on a low hill overlooking the bend in the Yellow River at the south-western tip of Shanxi province, at a place known as Yang Guifei's pool. The main altar has the Tang Ming Huang and the Concubine sitting with her pouring wine for him. Before the altar stand three incense pots, a container holding fortune spills and plastic fruit as an offering and before ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-2000 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/nk328168n 169 the hills. In temples in and around Hsintien and Mucha Wang Gong is revered as the protective deity (with the pair being revered in a few places but still known as Wang Gong) with his [their] annual festival celebrated on the 10th day of the fourth lunar month, but largely without the great majority of devotees realizing the original identity of the deities. Wang Gong A is also referred to as Weng Gong and Huang Gong A, both of which are almost certainly erroneous titles due to mistaken homophones. In and around Hangzhou they are known together as Er Da Ming Huang [The Two (Generals) of Tang emperor Ming Huang]. A fierce image of Zhang, with his mouth wide open used to stand on a minor altar in a small temple near Donghu, a city some sixty miles upstream from Hangzhou. Devotees there believed that pain could be cured merely by touching the abdomen of the image whilst throwing a few coppers into its mouth. Two large images of Zhang and Xu in an old temple some fifteen miles east of Hangzhou, destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, have been replaced with modern images with the image makers being guided by the elderly from memory. This temple stands out in the countryside with the nearest village some half a mile away and with the catchment area for contributions for the rebuilding extending some ten miles in all directions. The refurbished temple has yet [early 1994] to have the two dozen aides flanking the side of the main hall completed, though the images of their main deities and their consorts have been finished. They are regarded as the local protective deities. In 1963 in Hong Kong, in a Chaozhou community squatter-shack temple on Lion Rock hillside above Kowloon [now long demolished], the two deities, represented on a framed paper icon on the main altar as two relaxed, seated mandarins in floral robes, were first identified as "The Two Loyal Dukes" or "the Two Loyal Saintly Lords". The two deities were later identified by several devotees as Wang Zhang Ek and Wang Xu Elf. The two mandarins, with long black beards, were identical and were prayed to as the patron deities and protectors of Chaozhou people. In 1927 Goodrich in Beijing recorded seeing images of “two famous generals of the Tang dynasty, Zhang Xun and Xu Yuan” in the Dongyue Temple to the east of the city.13 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-2001 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/zg651950g 69 examination candidates, he also became an entrepreneur in and around the port of Xiamen [Amoy] at a time when taking part in foreign trade was illegal. He owned a fleet of cargo junks known as 'ferryboats' in order to circumvent the law. His supercargoes contracted business for him, in particular in South-east Asia, and he became sufficiently wealthy to ignore the law forbidding trade with foreigners and contacts with local coastal pirates. d] The Saintly Lord of the Dragon's Tail, Longwei Shenggong has only been seen on the altar in two temples both Hainanese and both in Singapore where he is said to be prayed to for protection and general benefits. However, several devotees claimed that a medium had discovered that Longwei Shenggong should be specifically approached by those whose parents are thought to be suffering in Hell as the deity had proved to have contacts and had even succeeded in being their saviour. He appears to have no personal and unique legend. His image portrays him as a standard seated mandarin with a wispy black beard but no unique characteristics, and is either the main deity on a secondary altar or a minor deity on the secondary altar, co-located with Shuiwei Shengmu in one temple, and in another he was accompanied by his consort, Longwei Furen AA. e] An image of Hai Rui, another minister banished to Hainan, has only once been noted on a temple altar, a side altar in a small coastal temple in Singapore dedicated to the Nine Emperors, and run by and for Chaozhou Chinese. His image, which depicts him as a standard seated mandarin without any unique characteristics, is attended by aides. Hai Rui, also known in temples as Hai Rui Gong was a Ming official whose reputation as a just and impartial magistrate was based on his belief that laws should be enforced at all levels irrespective of rank or blood, and his criticisms of extortion and abuse of public revenue made his name a slogan for immeasurable honesty for later generations. He is the hero of a lengthy novel 'The Story of the Scarlet Robe' in twenty volumes. Hai Rui was born in Qiongzhou [Kiungchou] in Hainan and died a natural death at the capital, Nanjing in 1587. His tomb is in the western suburb of the northern port of Haikou, at Pintian on his native Hainan where he is still revered and offered supplicatory prayers by devotees. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-2001 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/zg651950g 75 souls (that is the Second to the Ninth as the First and Tenth Courts are basically administrative.) c] Yinya Ya Shuai The Silver Tooth Vice-marshal, P, has been noted only in one temple, a popular religion rural shrine in a Hainanese community in Paya Lebar in Singapore now long gone due to urbanisation. It is a unique image, a stark and fierce black-faced soldier holding two magic “swords" (whips) one in each hand and sitting astride a mythical animal, possibly a Qilin. He is portrayed as demonic and may well be an aide to a major deity, the main deity on the altar being Lei Zu. He was not venerated in his own right, though devotees did place incense before his, and every other image in the temple. The Silver Tooth Vice-Marshal is co-located in several Hainanese temples with the White Tooth General, Baiya Zhongjiang, who is also a minor deity, an assistant and escorting-general to Doutian Yuanshuai (Lei Zu) and also known as Baiya Jiangjun. His image has been noted only in Singapore and Seremban on folk religion altars where he is portrayed standing on one foot, with his right foot raised behind as if running, and holding a flag bearing the character, ling [By Order] in his left hand. He has a stark white face. His image in a Hainanese community temple in Payar Lebar Crescent, now long removed for a housing development scheme, was referred to together with the Silver-Tooth Vice-Marshal as one of the pair of deputies to the main deity on the altar, Doutian Fushuai. In another temple, he was co-located on a Hainanese community altar with Wantian Zhushuai who was less starkly white-faced. His image, primarily revered in Henghua Hokkien communities in Singapore and Malaysia, was portrayed as the main deity in the Under Altar at the side wall of the main hall of the Nine Carps Temple [Jiuli Xian] in Singapore as a seated scholar dressed in a white robe and scholar official's cap, holding a triangular flag in his right hand and a red globe in his left. The temple custodian knew nothing of the origins or legends of either the White Tooth Marshal or the Silver Tooth Vice Marshal. 7: Deified Locals a] Two separate women have been individually revered on altars ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-2002 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/mp4901278 indicated the establishment for the battery observation post (BOP), battery plotting room (BPR), and Eastern Fire Command. A total of 88 officers and soldiers were proposed. 30 December 1936 The 12 Heavy Battery dismantled the 9.2-inch gun at Gough Battery (The two 9.2-inch guns at Pottinger were left for the moment). 23 October 1937 1939/1940 Joint Overseas and Home Defence Committee considered re-fortification or de-militarisation of Hong Kong, assuming that it took 90 days for the fleet to relieve Hong Kong. Bokhara Battery constructed. 1940 The guns at Pottinger Battery removed. A Japanese military map shows the details of defence deployment at Devil's Peak. It states that for the Devil's Peak defence works, "underground passages have been altered and barbed wire added." 12 December 1941 During the early hours, the 5/7 Rajputs and 1 Mountain Battery took up positions at Devil's Peak. The six 3.7-inch howitzers of the 1st Mtn Bty fired 400 rounds at the advancing Japanese, who were at Black Hill. The 5th Anti Aircraft Regiment also moved to Devil's Peak with 6 Lewis Guns At 1800 hours, the garrison received orders to withdraw to Hong Kong Island. The evacuation took place the next morning. Rollo, 1992, p.119 2 Rollo, 1992, p.113 Rollo, 1992, p.120, p.201 Empson, 1992, p.146 (Plate 2-12) The arcs of fire of Devil's Peak's batteries can be found in Rollo, 1992, at p.123 Rollo, 1992, p.130, p.171, 173 PRO 16947 PRO 17849 15 December 1941 13 December 1941 Coast defence batteries on Hong Kong Island shelled Devil's Peak, now in Japanese hands. Pak Sha Wan Battery hit by Japanese light artillery fire from Devil's Peak. Rollo, 1992, p.131 18 December 1941 Pak Sha Wan Battery fired at Devil's Peak Village. 1944 A USAAF aerial photograph shows Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, including the Devil's Rollo, 1992, p.133 Rollo, 1992, p.135 132 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-2002 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/mp4901278 362 May 1859 after the departure of Sir John Bowring, but was revived with the approval of the parent Society in London and reconstituted as the Hong Kong Branch in December 1959 under the active patronage of the Governor, Sir Robert Black. It is currently very active and is in a sound financial position. The Library Similar to other branches, the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society set up a collection of books within its field of interest, relating to Asia and its culture. As a result of the merger with the Medico-Chirurgical Society, it had the benefit of inheriting all the books from this Society. The Society in Hong Kong was not as fortunate as its Shanghai counterpart where the Government, in 1868, provided a site for its building at a nominal rent and later granted it in perpetuity to the Society.2 For many years, the Hong Kong Branch did not have any permanent site, and thus its collection moved from place to place. In the early days, in 1849, as allowed by the then governor Sir S. G. Bonham, the collection was housed in a room at the Supreme Court building where the Society had its meetings. In 1859, when the Society ran into difficulties, the, by now, valuable collection of 400 books was placed in trust with the Morrison Education Society (formed in Canton in 1835) which, from 1855, had also kept its library in the Supreme Court house. In November 1869, when the Duke of Edinburgh visited the Colony to open the first City Hall, the Morrison Education Society presented its own library as well as that of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society to the first City Hall Public Library to serve as the reference collection. This laid the corner stone for the future relationship of the Society with the Hong Kong Public Libraries which eventually would become the permanent home for the Society's collection. In fact, following the resuscitation of the Hong Kong Branch in 1959, the President's first annual report stressed the need for ‘a meeting place of our own where we can build our Oriental library which should fill a special need'3 and expressed the hope that some accommodation could be made available in the City Hall. However, this was not realized until after several movements of both the Society and the collection. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-2003 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2v242g390 23 The second courtyard is flanked on the left side by a two-story wooden Drum Tower (Gu Lou) and on the right by the matching two-story wooden Bell Tower (Zhong Lou). On the first floor of the Zhong Lou is a glass case holding a golden effigy of Kshitigarbha (Di Zang). Dizang is the bodhisattva who has the special power to rescue departed souls from Hell, and thus plays an important role in Buddhist funeral ceremonies. Upstairs on the second floor is the bronze bell which can be rung for a fee of 50 Rmb. On New Year's Eve this bell is rung 108 times at midnight. It is considered good luck to be there to hear it ring, and even better luck to be the one who rings it. The Zhong Lou was rebuilt by Qing Emperor Guang Xu in 1895, following the Taiping destruction of the temple in 1860-1862. The bell itself was made in 1894, during the 18th year of the Guang Xu reign of the Qing Dynasty. Beside the Zhong Lou is a Ming-style stone stele with a partially legible inscription which has been damaged. On the first floor of the Gu Lou is a glass case containing a golden effigy of Guan Yu, the God of War. In the Ming and Qing dynasties Guan Yu had temples dedicated exclusively to him in every city in China. The former Guan Di Miao can still be visited in Shanghai's Nanshi District. The second floor of the Gu Lou cannot be ascended, and it no longer seems to contain a drum. Beside the Gu Lou is a Ming-style stone stele with a lengthy inscription in very good condition. The present Gu Lou dates from an 1895 reconstruction, following the Taiping destruction of the temple in 1860-1862. Across the second courtyard from the Mi Le Dian is the Hall of the Four Heavenly Kings (Si Tian Wang Dian). This hall dates from an 1881 reconstruction, when it was rebuilt to replace an earlier structure destroyed during the Taiping rebel attacks on Shanghai in 1860-1862. The hall was last restored in 1981. The hall contains enormous gilded wooden statues of all four kings, two on each side of the hall. All four wear crowns on their heads and are dressed in heavy armor. One holds a four-string guitar and has a light green face, another holds a sword in his right hand and has a black face, a third holds an umbrella in his right hand and a small stupa in his left hand, and has a white face, while a fourth holds a snake and has a black face. This depiction is somewhat different than in the past. In the centre of the Tian Wang Dian are two glass cases containing golden effigies of two rather obscure Buddhist deities. Tian Guan Mi Le, a variant incarnation of Mi Le Fo, is depicted. ================================================================================