RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1999 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s178b887x foundations, and were wide enough, and high enough, to be a real defence. The walls were all single about twelve feet high: since the village houses were all single-storied, with the eaves at about ten feet above the ground level, only the roof-ridges of the houses could be seen from outside the walls (a very accurate and detailed drawing of the village and its environs, made in 1846 by Lt. Collinson from the summit of Sha Tin pass, shows several houses outside the walls, but within the walls only the roof-ridges appear: see copy attached). The walls here, as elsewhere in the New Territories, were formed of carefully mortared blue brick walls to front and rear, with rubble infill between them, set in mortar. Each of the four corners of the walled enclosure were defended by towers. These towers stood some twenty-five feet high, and were two-storied. They had flat roofs, reached by ladders from within the structure. The towers protruded into the moat on both sides. According to the elders, the village had six guns - small iron cannon and brass jingals. Each corner tower had one, and the gun-chamber over the gatehouse had two. The guns at the gun-chamber were, it is believed, cannon, while the guns at the corner towers were jingals. The gun-chamber had two round gun-ports for the cannon to fire through, and the cannon here were permanently mounted. Gunpowder was stored behind the guns in this chamber. The jingals were usually dismounted, and stored in the gun-chamber with their ammunition. They could be mounted at short notice, if needed1. The enclosure was carefully set out to the optimum Fung Shui direction, facing nearly south-southeast. With the heavy development of East Kowloon in the last half-century, it is no longer possible to be certain what the Fung Shui factors were which led Lai Po-yi to set the village out to this direction. Within the walled enclosure, six cross lanes were set out along the width of the enclosure, and three transverse lanes, one just inside the north and south walls, and the third as a spinal lane down the centre of the enclosure. The first and last lanes run through to dead ends against the inner face of the walls. These lanes were very narrow (only just wide enough for two people to pass in the centre lane, and even narrower in the other lanes). Off these lanes there were, in 1902, some 140 houses or house-sites plus the temple and Village Office (some ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1999 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s178b887x 61 See) Hong Kong 1987, WW#ENS "明 (*1##AB) (Forts and Batteries Coastal Defence in Quangdong during the Ming and Qing Dynasties), Urban Council, Hong Kong, 1997, A Lui Yuen ching Forts and Pirates A History of Hong Kong, Hong Kong History Society, Hong Kong, 1990, p 29 5 On the foundation of Po Kong, see Jen Yu wen, "The Southern Sung Stone-Engraving at North Fu Tamg" Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Hong Kong Branch, Vol 5, 1965, pp 65-68 The founder was the great grandfather of a significant local leader in the Kowloon area in 1274, the man responsible for managing the rebuilding of the Tin Hau Temple in Joss House Bay in that year Given his local standing, it is likely that this man was in his 50s or 60s in 1274 This being so, his great-grandfather was probably born in the period 1120-1140, and a foundation date for Po Kong in the 1160s would therefore seem very likely E 6 On this incident see Jen Yu wen, "The Travelling Palace of Southern Sung in Kowloon" Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Hong Kong Branch, Vol 7, 1967 pp 21-38, Jen Yu-wen, ed , Hong Kong, 1960, , Hong Kong, 1959, #M, (R), op cit, Chapter 4, 蕭國健,“香港王廟奉[楊大王]”in <香港前代史論集> ed 國健 and 大厅, Taipei, 1985 7 Jen Yu wen, "The Travelling Palace of Southern Sung", op cit p 33 8 * The young princess was drowned at sea, and the body was lost the grave had buried in it, to represent the deceased, a golden figurine the grave was known locally as the 'Grave of the Golden Maiden' ፡፡ "Some scholars doubt this ascription (for instance, in his "FAI PREFLEX", op cit) but the identification seems certain to me The identification was first made by the eminent late Ching scholar, Chan Pak-to (B) in a tablet he placed in the Hau Wong Temple, Kowloon City, in 1917 (the text is to be found in 科大,陸鴻基,吳倫霞<香港碑銘彙編> (D Faure, B Luk, A Ng, The Historical Inscriptions of Hong Kong), Hong Kong, Urban Council, 1986, Vol 2, pp 446-449) I find the reasons given by Chan Pak-to and Jen Yu wen (loc cit) on this very compelling 10 In 1846, as shown by the drawing of that date by Lt Collinson, the market comprised just the one main street, and the pier had not yet then been built The ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1999 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s178b887x Live A Drawing of the Nga Tsin Wai Area From Sha Tin Pass, 1846 Lt W. Collinson : Ma Tau Kok The Po Kong Feng Shui HIA " (The Village is out of sight on the steward side) Fort of 1811 Kowloon Market Sha Po The Sacred Hill!!! (Sung Wong To) Kowloon City (The Wall were – built in 1847) Kak Hang Village Fung Shai Trees Nga Tsin Wai and its Mont Tsim Sha Tsui Ma Tau Wai Village Ta Kwa Leng Village Fung Shui Trees The Kwun Yam Temple, Tin Wan Shan Footpath to Sha Tin 79 ================================================================================