RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1970 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ww72j0241 15 to 94 (bound in 75). New exchanges were initiated during the year with the Historical Society of Dan Kook University, Seoul, and the Hong Kong Archaeological Society. As the result of an appeal to members for issues of the Hong Kong Naturalist to complete our set, two missing issues were acquired from the Diocesan Girls' School. We are very grateful for these, but we are still looking for some 17 other issues. Shortage of accommodation for the Library of the Branch remains a problem which threatens to become increasingly serious as the stock grows. Not only does the University of Hong Kong Library house the overflow of books and periodicals which cannot be accommodated at the British Council in Gloucester Building, but also the large and growing stock of back numbers of the Branch's journal are stored at the University. This cannot continue indefinitely, and it seems probable that the Branch will have to make alternative arrangements within two or three years. Use of the Library continues to be relatively light, though some slight improvement has been observed. Also some of the books kept for the Branch at the University Library were consulted. As it is intended to produce a complete, revised catalogue of the contents of the Library during the coming year, no supplementary list of publications is included with this report. Hong Kong, 11th May, 1970. Dear Mr. Hayes, H. A. RYDINGS, Hon. Librarian. Now I have received your photostat copy of the Diary of Events and Progress on Shameen. As I suspected, the diary of events is compiled by H. Staples-Smith, who was for many years one of the leading members of the Firm of Deacon & Co., Shameen. I knew him when I first came out to Canton. He was a devoted member and churchwarden of Christ Church and I used to have breakfast in his house after the early service in days soon after I was ordained. He was always most interesting about the early days in Shameen, and I am very glad to have this record. It is of course only a very small side-light on the history of Canton as a whole, but it is well worth having because these memories soon fade and much of the material is probably unobtainable elsewhere. Again with many thanks for your help. Yours very sincerely, GILBERT BAKER, Bishop of Hong Kong and Macao. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1971 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/z029vt43g ترا 11 May 22 June Dr. Hu Shiu-ying "Flowering Plants of Hong Kong.” Dr. Chiu Ling-yeong +4 Two Views on the Modernization of China." 21 September Mr. Kwok On 7 November 12 December (Talk, Demonstration and Performances) "Puppet Show." Mr. James Hayes (Organiser) Excursion to Tung Lin Kok Yuen, the Tam Kung Temple, Happy Valley and the Tin Hau Temple, Causeway Bay, Mr. David Gilkes (Organiser) Excursion to Tao Fong Shan, Shatin. (The Christian Mission to Buddhists). Taking into consideration the variation in the popularity of subjects and in the availability of lecturers, the lectures last year were on the whole as well attended as could be expected, and this raises two points of special interest to our Society. One is the availability of suitable halls at the times we want them, and the other the choice of subjects. Regarding the former, it is becoming more difficult to make short-notice bookings of lecture halls in Hong Kong and this is due partly to the increasing demand and partly to long-term block booking by some organizations. This is going to remain a permanent difficulty, and an increasing one too, and the only answer I can see to it is the ultimate acquisition of our own premises, which incidentally would solve one of our library problems as well. Regarding the choice of subjects, popularity of the subject is not the only point taken into consideration by your Committee when arranging the lecture programmes. Our chief aim is to cater during each year for as many tastes among our members as possible, and hence variety of subjects, rather than popularity, is the main criterion. A glance at the above list will, I think, convince you that that is what we are achieving. Your Committee would therefore welcome suggestions or requests from members ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1975 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/j0995146d 300 NOTES AND QUERIES J. A. Prescott H. A. Rydings C. T. Smith Photographers South China Athletic Association, Photographic Group: Butt Chak-yu 畢澤宇 Hoh Wing-chan 何永燦 Jimmy Kwok 郭天志 Lai Yat-fung 賴一峰 Lau Cho-chak Tam Yee-yin 譚以仁 Tong Wai-hang Royal Asiatic Society: H.A. and J.W. Rydings H. Werle Hong Kong, 1975. H. A. RYDINGS BOAT PEOPLE'S CEREMONIES OBSERVED AT ISLAND HOUSE ON 5TH AND 31ST JANUARY, AND 16TH NOVEMBER, 1975* The following notes were provided by Mr. David Akers-Jones, Secretary for the New Territories and a member of this Society, whose residence is at Island House, Tai Po. The island Yuen Chau Tsai (AMA), connected by causeway to the main road, has long been a centre of the boat population. Ed. (I) 5th January, 1975 A motorized sampan motored slowly round Island House from the bridge to the shelter used by the small in-shore fishing boats on the other side of the Island House causeway. On board a group of six young women were pretending to pole the boat along, wearing plaited red wheel-hats. Another girl was beating a gong, creating a tremendous noise, another standing in the bow facing aft was beating a drum in a frenzied manner, and on the roof of the Plate 18 illustrates these notes. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1976 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/hq382988q # SAI KUNG, THE MAKING OF THE DISTRICT AND ITS EXPERIENCE DURING # WORLD WAR II ## DAVID FAURE'* ## INTRODUCTION The traceable history of Sai Kung District begins in the eighteenth century. At that time, the whole of Hong Kong, * ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This article records and analyses the findings of a research project into the oral sources available for the history of Sai Kung, conducted by members of the Oral History Project Team of the Centre for East Asian Studies of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Thanks are due to many people for the successful completion of this project. Mr. Colin Bosher, former District Officer, Sai Kung, suggested it in the first place, and Mr. S.J. Chan, the present District Officer, gave his advice and encouragement most generously. Professor Chen Ching-ho, former Director of the Institute of Chinese Studies, Chinese University of Hong Kong, took a most understanding attitude towards research on local history, and his kindness made possible not only this project, but also several other projects concerning the history of the New Territories. At every stage, the staff of the Sai Kung District Office and members of the Sai Kung Rural Committee helped in many and varied ways. The kindness of Miss Carrie Tsang, Miss Joyce Nip, Mr. Lei Yun Shou, J.P., Mr. Chung P'oon, Chairman, Sai Kung Rural Committee, and Mr. William Wan, must be especially acknowledged. Between November 1980 and August 1981 many residents of Sai Kung and neighbouring districts kindly agreed to be interviewed by the research team and their student assistants. For the record, their names and the dates of these interviews are appended to this report. As always, Dr. James Hayes and Dr. Patrick Hase offered kind and sound advice, and made available their own research notes for consultation. Father Sergio Ticozzi provided information on the history of the Roman Catholic Church in Sai Kung. Mr. K.M.A. Barnett generously gave us his time to discuss numerous issues that arose in the interviews. Thanks are also due to the Sai Kung Rural Committee and the Chinese University of Hong Kong for providing financial support for this project, and to Mr. Deacon Chiu, whose generous donation to the University made its grant possible. At different times, the following students at the Chinese University assisted: Cheng Shui Kwan, Kwok Po Nei, Lam Loi, Lau Kwan Yau, Lee Lai Mui, Lui Shuk Yee, Ngo Yin Ling, Tang Chan Yiu, Tsui Lai Yi, and Wong Yue Leung. Miss Cheng Shui Kwan and Miss Lee Lai Mui worked on this project from the start to its completion, and their contribution to the project is immense. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1977 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/np198x23n 122 GREGORY E. GULDIN of Fujianese attending the Yueh Fei temple gradually rose until today perhaps 70-80% of the worshippers there are Fujianese. Even so, the temple is not a Fujianese temple; both the people who run the temple and the deity itself are Guangdongese. This arrangement was less than satisfactory to the Fujianese. Since Fujianese and Guangdongese ritual practices and religious concepts are not always isomorphic, arguments over what food was properly offered to Guan Yin (Kuan Yin) or what was expected of a medium, etc., frequently erupted. Such disputes, complicated by the language barrier, made many Fujianese feel uncomfortable about worshipping in a "barbarian"-run temple. Ten years ago this situation began to change as the Cultural Revolution in China increased attacks on the old religious organizations back in Fujian. Temple personnel such as Buddhist monks and nuns began to arrive legally and illegally in Hong Kong and served to staff a new type of temple, a form particularly suited to Hong Kong's crowded situation. Apartments were rented to serve as temples in many of the apartment buildings which contained a heavy Fujianese population. North Point branches of Sai Ying Poon temples were likewise also begun in this manner. Each apartment-temple is dedicated to a particular god; sometimes it is a pan-Chinese spirit such as Guan Yin but it can also be a specifically local one such as Sheng Gung of Fujian Province's Nan An county. Sheng Gung's original temple is now in disrepair back in Nan An but the god's statue and objects were brought to Hong Kong a few years back. Hong Kong may thus have the only Sheng Gung temple left functioning in the world. "I have visited this little Temple, or joss-house, and have discussed its history with one of the local Kaifong, Mr. Lo Ho Ching, of 129 Electric Road, Ground Floor. "The little Temple is dedicated to the God of Warriors, Ngok Fei, and has been in existence about 40 years. According to Mr. Lo it was built by the late Kwok Shut Ting, Compradore of the Asiatic Petroleum Company (A.P.C.), at the time when the A.P.C.'s installation at North Point was built. At present the little Temple is looked after by an old woman appointed by the Kaifong. "The little Temple is a picturesque little structure, half embedded in a large boulder and covered by a tree. The Kaifong and I too would be reluctant to see it removed, but if it has to be removed I do not think the Kaifong will object provided that an alternative site for it can be found in the vicinity and if it is re-erected by Government at the time when the new Police Station at Bay View is built." This information was provided by the Hon. Editor of this Journal. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1978 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8g84t8593 210 NOTES AND QUERIES fort in 1923. However, it is now ruined. The whole area is covered with shrub and mangrove. Before the Ming Dynasty, there was no military post on the island. It was not until the late Ming Period that a guard-station or shuen, which was administered by the commander of the Nam Tau Walled City, was set up.2 Before then, the area had only patrol-boats, probably stationed at Tun Mun.3 During the early Ch'ing Period, because of the increased strength of the pirates along the coast, more forts and guard-stations were set up. The Fat Tong Mun Fort on the Tung Lung Island was erected during the K'ang Hsi period (1662-1727)3, and a garrison of 25 soldiers under one pa-tsung or sergeant Tai Pang Battalion✯ was stationed there.6 The fort remained a strong outpost along the east coast of Hong Kong for nearly a hundred years. Then, in the 15th year of the Ch'ia Ching rule (1810), the fort was evacuated and finally abandoned.7 A new fort was built at the place of the present Hong Kong Marine Police Headquarters at Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. The fort remains in ruins till now. Hong Kong, 1979. SIU KWOK-KIN NOTES 1 See note 4 of Mr. JAO Tsung-i's Kowloon in Historical Records of the Sung Dynasty九龍與宋季史料, 饒宗頤著 2 Chapter 8 of the San On Yuen Chi, K'ang Hsi edition, records, "In the 19th year of the Man Lik Period of the Ming Dynasty, guard-stations were established at Fat Tong Mun, Tor Ling Ngor Kung O, Kowloon, Tun Mun, Kap Shui Mun, Tung Sai Chung, Ngor Kung Tau, Chak Wan, Lo Man Shan and Long Pak." In the same chapter, it is also recorded, "Six guard-stations were set up during the Ming Dynasty. They were Fat Tung Mun, Lung Shun Wan, Lok Kat, Tai O, Long To Wan, and Long Pak. These guard-stations were administered by the commander at the Nam Tau Walled City." Thus, we know that the Fat Tong Mun Guard Station was established in the 19th year of the Man Lik period of the Ming Dynasty; but the fort must have been built at a later time. 3 Chapter 5 of the Cheong Wu Chung Tuk Kwun Mun Chi records, "Patrol boats from Nam Tau were stationed at Tun Mun. Some sailed through Fat Tong Mun to the region as far east as Tai Pang." The book was completed in the 32nd year of the Chia ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1979 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2801w5938 208 NOTES AND QUERIES (b) Holy Mother Yiu Temple (*****) This temple was first established by persons from Pok Law district (###) of Kwangtung who came here immediately after the war in search of work and shelter. It was first established in a squatter area at Ma Sim Pai () but was later moved to its present location in Fu Yung Shan (*) overlooking the town. Here we have a Kwangtung worthy! The goddess after whom it is named was a famous woman inhabitant of Kwangtung who lived in the Han Dynasty nearly 2,000 years ago. This person received an entry in the Kwangtung provincial gazetteer (1822 edition) which reads as follows: "Lady Yiu's temple () is in Mok Tsuen (#) in the east of the Pok Law District. In the Ho Ping reign period of the Former Han, 28-24 BC, there lived a chaste and virtuous woman named Yiu who was praised by the local people. After her death they erected a temple to her memory at Pun To Wan (#), and the worship there is in the name of ‘Our Lady Yiu'.” Another old account has the following quaint story: “Lady Yiu Temple. During the Han dynasty, a lady named Yiu of Pok Law county was renowned for her virtues. After her death, a temple was erected to offer sacrifices to her. Chen Yao-tsao† accompanied by Hsu Shen,‡ a Chiu Chow scholar, departed for Pok Law to take up the post of Sub-Prefect of Chiu Chow. On their way, they moored the boat to the bank on a certain night. There they heard several horsemen addressing them in a dignified tone: "The Prime Minister and the Commissioner for Grain Transport are sojourning here tonight." On the next morning, Chen and Hsu visited the place and found there a Lady Yiu Temple. Later, they were in fact promoted to the two posts respectively. †I have mislaid my reference to this source, but my friend Mr. Anthony Siu Kwok-kin of Hong Kong has traced the story further back to a Sung book (與地紀勝卷九十九廣東南路惠州博罪官吏) which dates the incident to the 2nd year of Hsien Ping in the Sung Dynasty **** (999 A.D.). †陳堯佐 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1979 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2801w5938 4 NOTES AND QUERIES Work of the Association in its early years 217 Soon after the port of Hong Kong was opened [again] in the last year of the reign of Hsien Feng in the Ch'ing dynasty (1860-61), there used to be a Nam Pak Hong Street (later renamed Bonham Strand West). At this favourable location our predecessors set up firms dealing in native products from south and north China. The following firms were among those then established one after another: the Kwong Mau Tai Hong and the Woo Kee Hong of Mr. Chiu Yue-tin, a celebrity of Kwangtung origin, the Hau Fung Hong of Mr. Lo Chor-san, the Hop Hing Hong of Mr. Lau Lo-tak, the Siu Fung Hong of Messrs. Fung Ping-shan and Kwong Tsz-ming, the Kwan Mau Hong (in Wing Lok Street West) of Mr. Li Sau-hin, the Wah On Hong of Mr. Chan Yue-fan, the Yue Wo Loong of Mr. Chan Sik-nin, the Yuen Fat Hong of Messrs. Ko Mun-wah and Chan Chun-chuen, celebrities of Chiu Chau origin, the Yuen Sing Fat Hong, the Kam Yue Fung Hong and the Kam Sing Lee Hong of Mr. Choi Si-kit, the Yue Tak Sing Hong and the Kwong Tak Fat Hong of Mr. Chan Tin-san, the Kin Tye Lung of Messrs. Chan Wun-wing and Chan Tsz-tan, the Ng Yuen Hing Hong of Mr. Ng Lei-hing, a celebrity of Fukien origin, the Chui Tak Loong Hong of Messrs. Wu Ting-sam and Wong Ting-ming, the Hau Tak Hong of Mr. Kwok Yim-sing and his brother(s), the Yi Tai Hong and the Lee Yuen Cheung Hong of a business group of Shantung origin. With the exception of Messrs. Chan Yue-fan, Chan Sik-nin and Kwok Yin-sing, all the aforesaid gentlemen have now deceased. In 1868, with the concerted initiative and efforts of the said Messrs. Chiu Yue-tin, Chan Chun-chuen, Fung Ping-shan, Choi Kit-si, Chan Tin-sau and Wu Ting-sam, the Nam Pak Hong Association was founded in Bonham Strand West near its junctions with Wing Lok Street and Queen's Road. Then the objectives of the Association were to promote members' welfare and market prosperity, to assist the police in the maintenance of law and order in the neighbourhood and to formulate plans for the prevention of fires and alleviation of disasters. On the first floor of the Association building was the office, where regulations and business rules of the Association were decided, Directors and Managers of the Association mutually elected, and monthly meetings held. For the first term, the Chairman of the Board of Directors was Mr. Chiu Yue-tin and the Manager was Mr. Lau Lo-tak. The latter mana- ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1980 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207 PRESIDENT'S REPORT FOR 1979 (Covering the period March 27, 1979- March 23, 1980) I am pleased to report tonight on your Society's activities over the past year and on our ongoing projects. During the period we organized twelve lectures which, because so many members and most of your Council are away from Hong Kong in the high summer season, were arranged mainly for the Spring and Winter months. There were two overseas excursions and one local tour. Let me briefly review the lecture programme first of all: Talks to the Society In April 1979 two lectures were given. The first had Dr. Margaret Ng as our speaker: well-known in Hong Kong for her newspaper column, and also as a social philosopher concerned with different facets of the Chinese world-view. She spoke on "A Chinese theory of Discontent". The other speaker in April was Professor Rulan Chao Pian who talked to us once before, in 1975. She is presently visiting professor in Music at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and her talk, entitled "A Musicological trip to China”, was related to a recent visit to China where she had lectured to the National Academy of Musicology at Peking. In May Mr. Leonard Rayner lectured on "Communism in the Association of South East Asian Nations”. Mr. Rayner who moved to Hong Kong from Singapore a few years ago is a journalist and perhaps best known to us for his regular column in the South China Morning Post. In June Professor D. W. Y. Kwok, who has been Director of the Asian Studies Programme at Hawaii for the past six years, spoke on "The New Culture Movement in China”. Also in June, Dr. John Young of the Extra-Mural Studies Department of Hong Kong University, lectured on "The Hong Kong-Canton Connection, 1905-1925”, at the same time sharing his experience with us of a research trip to Canton and pointing out the archival research opportunities which exist in that city. In October Rev. Carl Smith talked on "The Amateur Dramatic Club (founded 1860) and the early history of Dramatic arts in Hong Kong. Since the new year we have had a relatively full programme. In January there were two lectures: one by the Rev. Father Harold Naylor who spoke on "Wah Yan College; a case study of an Anglo-Chinese school directed by an Irish Jesuit". Father Naylor has X ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1982 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/mk61z420p # SAI KUNG, THE MAKING OF THE DISTRICT AND ITS EXPERIENCE DURING # WORLD WAR II ## DAVID FAURE'*' ## ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This article records and analyses the findings of a research project into the oral sources available for the history of Sai Kung, conducted by members of the Oral History Project Team of the Centre for East Asian Studies of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Thanks are due to many people for the successful completion of this project. Mr. Colin Bosher, former District Officer, Sai Kung, suggested it in the first place, and Mr. S.J. Chan, the present District Officer, gave his advice and encouragement most generously. Professor Chen Ching-ho, former Director of the Institute of Chinese Studies, Chinese University of Hong Kong, took a most understanding attitude towards research on local history, and his kindness made possible not only this project, but also several other projects concerning the history of the New Territories. At every stage, the staff of the Sai Kung District Office and members of the Sai Kung Rural Committee helped in many and varied ways. The kindness of Miss Carrie Tsang, Miss Joyce Nip, Mr. Lei Yun Shou, J.P., Mr. Chung P'oon, Chairman, Sai Kung Rural Committee, and Mr. William Wan, must be especially acknowledged. Between November 1980 and August 1981 many residents of Sai Kung and neighbouring districts kindly agreed to be interviewed by the research team and their student assistants. For the record, their names and the dates of these interviews are appended to this report. As always, Dr. James Hayes and Dr. Patrick Hase offered kind and sound advice, and made available their own research notes for consultation. Father Sergio Ticozzi provided information on the history of the Roman Catholic Church in Sai Kung. Mr. K.M.A. Barnett generously gave us his time to discuss numerous issues that arose in the interviews. Thanks are also due to the Sai Kung Rural Committee and the Chinese University of Hong Kong for providing financial support for this project, and to Mr. Deacon Chiu, whose generous donation to the University made its grant possible. The research team included David Faure (co-ordinator), Lai-hung Kwan, Bernard H.K. Luk, Yue-him Tam, and Barbara E. Ward. At different times, the following students at the Chinese University assisted: Cheng Shui Kwan, Kwok Po Nei, Lam Loi, Lau Kwan Yau, Lee Lai Mui, Lui Shuk Yee, Ngo Yin Ling, Tang Chan Yiu, Tsui Lai Yi, and Wong Yue Leung. Miss Cheng Shui Kwan and Miss Lee Lai Mui worked on this project from the start to its completion, and their contribution to the project is immense. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1983 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/j9607p61v of the charitable work done by the Kadoorie family in this field. A cheque for $500 was sent in appreciation to Mr. Horace Kadoorie on behalf of the Society. K 26th November 1983 about 35 members took part in a visit to the Soo Kon Poo district of Hong Kong Island where we visited the Buddhist Memorial to victims of the Race Course fire in 1918, the Tung Wah Eastern Hospital and the Confucian Middle School. December 1983 and March 1984 - two separate groups of members visited the Narcotics Museum of the Narcotics Bureau, RHKP, in Police Headquarters, Arsenal Street, under the kind arrangements of Mr. K. W. J. Lloyd, Chief Inspector of Police. 28th January 1984 about 70 members went by boat to the Ch'ing Dynasty fort on Tung Lung Island, and passed by the Tin Hau Temple at Fat Tong Mun and the former Chinese customs station at Junk Island on the return journey. Lectures 29th March 1983 Mr. Nigel Cameron, the author and art critic, gave an interesting illustrated talk on "Hong Kong Art: the Quiet Revolution". 14th April 1983 — Ms Elizabeth Sinn of the Department of History at the University of Hong Kong spoke about "The Strike and Riot, Hong Kong 1884", an interesting local side effect of the Sino-French war over Vietnam. 25th April 1983 Professor Daffyd Evans, Head of the Department of Law, University of Hong Kong, spoke about the wills made by some Chinese in early British Hong Kong in an interesting talk entitled "Fearing Verbal Words, or Chinese Testaments in British Hong Kong". 25th May 1983 Professor Daniel Kwok, professor of History at the University of Hawaii and visiting professor, Centre of Asian Studies, University of Hong Kong, gave a stimulating talk entitled "Confucianism and Modernization: Reflections of Antipathies and Sympathies". This dealt with ix ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1983 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/j9607p61v 126 matters only. It was not a kaifong that looked after the general affairs of the area. This duty seems to have been performed in the early period by a committee of merchant and trade guild elite figures drawn from a wider area. This body sat in the Man Mo Temple in nearby Hollywood Road, and a special kung sor (kung so) or 'public affairs office' was built for its meetings in the first year of the T'ung Chih reign (1862-1863). This is the date of the inscription above the door of the building, which is still in existence. This Kaifong was later (from 1871) effectively subsumed in the Tung Wah Hospital Committee.”1 The Earth God Shrine at Li Po Lung Path, Kennedy Town There was another, lesser Fuk Tak Kung shrine in an adjoining, equally old urban area at Li Po Lung Path, Kennedy Town. When I made enquiries in 1974, no one could tell the whole history of the shrine or in which year it was established. According to an old kaifong Mr. Chow Kwok-kwan, one of the former managers of the shrine, who was 90 years old in 1974, the shrine was already located on the slope behind 14 Li Po Lung Path when he first came to live in the district in 1914. At that time the shrine was only a wooden hut measuring about 12' x 5' with a height of about 8'. He was told by some elderly kaifongs that the shrine had been there for more than twenty years, which may link its origins to the great plague of 1894, as with the altar at Sheung Fung Lane. At first the shrine only housed the Sam Shing Kung, the deities representing Heaven, Earth and Man, the three Powers of Nature; another deity was added to the shrine: the Fuk Tak Kung or earth god (To Tei) who is responsible for the peace and prosperity of the district. Finally, an image of Kwun Yam, Buddhist Goddess of Mercy, was also placed there. In view of its shabby state, Mr. Chow himself reconstructed the temple as a brick structure of more or less the same size about the year 1940. Later In June 1966 it was destroyed by torrential rain, but up to 1974, when I made my enquiries, none of the interested parties had come forward with a reconstruction or resiting project. Since 1940, it had been the regular practice for the residents of Kennedy Town to celebrate at the shrine annually, usually on... ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1990 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299 18 children with skill and patience. Being a teacher, he was dutiful to his parents and respectful to the elders, thereby setting a good example to his fellow villagers. Thus, being virtuous himself he caused others to establish their virtue also. **35 The inscription ends on this note: "It was little expected that Mr. Chan should die from an illness last year. Upon hearing the news of his death, many persons expressed their condolences. Being sincere and virtuous, he should have enjoyed a long life. It is deeply regretted that we have lost such an honourable leader. In order to sustain the traditional morals, and to commemorate his virtuous acts, I have composed this elegy." Notice here how the traditional morals are to be maintained through recording the virtuous conduct and attainments of a revered public figure. The only other public memorial of such a character seen to date in Tsuen Wan is that to Yeung Kwok-shui of Yeung Uk Village (1871-1940), Ch'ing dynasty scholar of the hsiu tsai degree, graduate of the Kwangtung Senior Teacher's Training College, village teacher, leading prewar elder and a founder member of the Heung Yee Kuk. His photo-memorial, which hangs in the office of the Tsuen Wan Rural Committee, was composed and written by another surviving hsiu tsai and senior rural leader of his day, the late Li Chung-chong of Kuk Po, North District. It is recorded that one of his funeral elegies contained the phrase, "He deserved to be called The Perfect Man of the New Territories" **36 Other reminders of how deeply the Confucian virtues were esteemed and honoured, illustrating how obligations to the family and the community were keenly felt and sometimes fully honoured, are to be found in a few of the inscribed tablets at the older ancestral graves of the District. One of these, located in the Shing Mun area on the slopes of Tai Mo Shan, is of special interest in the context of virtuous reputation and its ongoing influence among descendants. The person buried there had been born about 1710 and the reburial in 1884 was carried out by all three branches of the family then living. However, retained on the new tablet, were the names of the elder brothers of the deceased who had been responsible for the initial burial at this site 37 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1990 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299 G. Knapp, The Chinese House: Craft Symbol, and the Folk Tradition (Hong Kong, Oxford University Press, 1990). Knapp does not cover the paintings and stucco work that were a marked feature of the Kwangtung architectural style. For examples of this fine traditional decorative work, see Rural Architecture in Hong Kong (Hong Kong, Government Information Services Department, 1979). In the Hakka villages of the Tsuen Wan district, this "animal" was always a unicorn. In Cantonese villages the lion was usual. However, their purpose and motivation was clearly the same. Informants said there were differences in the dance performances of lions and unicorns; unicorns "crept, bobbed and weaved", whereas lions would "stand up and prance". The musical accompaniment, drums and gongs, was the same, and previously firecrackers had been an indispensable part of any performance by lions or unicorns. Hugh Baker mentions that the Liaos of Sheung Shui were known throughout the New Territories for their unicorn dance team. See the interesting information given in his Sheung Shui, A Chinese Lineage Village (London, Frank Cass & Co., Ltd., 1968), p. 193. See my "Notes on Temples and Shrines on Hong Kong Island" in Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. 27 (1987), p. 287. Monlin Chiang, Tides from the West (New Haven, Yale University Press, 1947), p. 9. John Francis Davis, The Chinese, A General Description of the Empire of China and its Inhabitants (London, Charles Knight, 1836) Vol. 2, pp. 29-30. From the memorial tablet to Mr. Chan Wing-on, Chairman of the Tsuen Wan Rural Committee and Chairman of the 18th Term, New Territories Heung Yee Kuk 1950-52, at the Wing On Pavilion, Fu Yung Shan, Tsuen Wan. Mr. Chan died on 15 October 1956; see Annual Departmental Reports, District Commissioner, New Territories, (1953-54 para. 56, and 1956-57 para. 119). From a “Short History of Yeung Uk Village" (in Chinese), published at the time of the village resiting in 1965 and written by Yeung's eldest grandson, Mr Yeung Cho-ling. According to the commemorative tablet, the grave was repaired on a lucky day in the middle month of the autumn season in the 10th year of Kuang Hsu, that is in September-October 1884. 1736; but in fact the ping-san year is the 1st year of Ch'ien Lung's long reign. There was probably another, less altruistic factor at work here too: since it was believed that the graves of good people have a beneficial effect on the fortunes of their family for generations to come. It is implicit in this case that the good influences of the grave were not yet spent. For a more recent example from Tsing Yi Island, see my Rural Communities, op. cit., p. 143. Contents more than values, I suggest? Wolfram Eberhard, Cantonese Ballads (Munich State Library Collection) (Taipei, The Orient Cultural Service, 1972), p.2. R. David Arkush, "Orthodoxy and heterodoxy in Twentieth-Century Chinese Peasant Proverbs" at pp. 310-335 of Kwang-Ching Liu (ed.) Orthodoxy in Late Imperial China (Berkeley, University of California Press, 1990). Helen Kwok and Mini Chan, Fossils From a Rural Past, A Study of Extant Cantonese Children's Songs (Hong Kong, Hong Kong University Press, 1990), pp. 17, 29. Lucien Bianco, Origins of the Chinese Revolution, 1915-1949, (Stanford, Stanford University Press, 1971), successively pp.126, 94-95. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1995 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/95941j25g 37 This passage was one of the two extracts from Command paper 403 quoted in Appendix 10 to the Committee Report, 1953, and was considered by the Committee to be still relevant (Chap II para 39) See also the Explanation in Appendix 22 to that Report at pp 313-315 101 Wilson's notes. This was the type of land which gave rise to one of the two reported cases dealing with land in the New Territories viz. TANG CHOY HONG vs TANG SHING MO & OTHERS (1949) 33 HKLR 58, See also the decision dated 30th January 1950 of the land officer in Ping Shan Land Case No. 233/75B/48, LEUNG MUN TONG & OTHERS vs WONG KAM KWAI (unreported) - “It is an almost universal custom throughout the New Territories that land which is reserved for ancestor worship, commonly known as "Ching Sheung" land, may not be sold " (On appeal - Civil Appeal No. 9 of 1950 (also unreported) the order only was varied by Williams Ag CJ) The English Rule against Perpetuities probably does not apply to gifts of ancestral land in the New Territories - vide intra under “Succession” and note 137 Cap 153 10 vide Committee Report, 1953, Chap III para. 39 and Appendix 10 as to money loan associations see below 106 vide s. 19, New Territories Ordinance (Cap. 97) 107 Committee Report 1953, para. 1.3 10 Mr PC Woo, whose views on Chinese custom were highly valued by the 1948 Committee has informed me in a private communication that these terms are not proper legal ones but are slang used by villagers op cit para 19 Report, DCNT, 1950-52, para 37 1 (1950) 34 HKLR 297 at pp. 304-306 112 Tsun po Land Court Case No. 4 of 1950 (unreported) per Mr B D Wilson in Ping Shan Case No. 45 of 1954, TSING KAN & OTHERS vs LAI CHEUNG (unreported) the appeal against this decision Civil Appeal No 17 of 1954, LAI CHEUNG vs THE KWOK YUEN (unreported) - was dismissed by Reynolds J on grounds that the Court had no jurisdiction, see also almost identical wording by same land officer in Ping Shan Land Case No 5 of 1953, TANG CHING LOK TSO vs TO HOP CHOI (unreported), the appeal in this case - Civil Appeal No 15 of 1954 (unreported) was similarly dismissed by Reynolds J ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-2002 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/mp4901278 457 Road. That is the supermarket and estate agency at No. 44. Now, many of the buildings flanking Conduit Road top 30 or 40 storeys blocking their neighbour's view. Certainly today barking deer can no longer be heard calling from Victoria Peak. But, proving the location is still peaceful, Realty Gardens does have its own flock of pigeons and it is not infrequently visited by a destructive, gregarious group of sulphur-crested cockatoos. Nevertheless the pattern of nature does change. In the 1970s crested-mynah birds were common in the grounds at Realty Gardens. Nowadays, you seldom see them. Snakes are not uncommon. But much of the wild life on the slopes of the Peak itself is nocturnal and limited. However I did see dead ferret badgers and masked-palm civets, in the 1990s, which had been run over by vehicles. Although rare on the Peak, one can occasionally even see fresh-water crabs and blue-tailed skinks. The latter is Hong Kong's most attractive lizard. Although customs have changed one can still sometimes see and hear street criers in Conduit Road. They vary from the itinerant, tiny, wizened old sharpener of knives and scissors to the trader who buys odds and ends of scrap metal. There is also the old man who sells lengths of bamboo. These are used for hanging out the washing to dry when it is euphemistically called "flags of all nations." In the mid-1950s, I remember there was a peddler with a pet monkey. Certainly if the present old, worn, steps, which are original, which Han Suyin and her boy friend once trod in the film shot at Realty Gardens, together with the original balustrades and the heavy, battered, gravity retaining walls which still exist today, could talk, they would have wonderful tales to tell. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author gratefully acknowledges the assistance given by Mrs. Betty Chiu, long-time resident of Realty Gardens, in the writing of this paper. The author is also grateful to Mr. David Roads, Honorary 'The picture in the Hong Kong Museum of Art, of 41 Conduit Road, is a watercolour on paper titled, Fairview, Conduit Road 1926', by Alfred Lane, reference AH72.1. It was donated to the Museum of Art by Mr. Kwok On. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-2003 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2v242g390 Existing Honorary Members have all welcomed this change, and are happy with the change in title. It is Council's aim to extend the status of Honorary Fellow to two or three people every year, and I hope that an announcement of additional Honorary Fellows will be made to you within the next month or two. Council Our Programme Co-ordinator, Dr Janet Scott, is retiring shortly from Hong Kong, and has indicated that she will have to give up her position as Co-ordinator as from the middle of the year. I would like to take this opportunity of thanking her for all the huge amount of time and effort she has put into arranging the Programme over the last few years, and wish her the very best in her retirement. Council is actively considering who might take over the arduous post of Co-ordinator after Janet leaves, and will inform Members in due course when someone suitable has been found. During the year, Council co-opted a significant number of members, to broaden the base of Council's Membership, and to ensure that Council continues to have access to a wide range of experience and advice. Among those co-opted is Chan Kwok-shing, who represents on the Council our sister Society, the Chinese-language South China Research Circle. It is my very real hope that this will lead to continuing deep and close relations between the two Societies. I hope that soon there will be announcements in the Newsletter of joint events to be held with the Circle. Of those thus co-opted, Mr David McKellar has agreed to take over the role and position of Honorary Secretary of the Society, and I would recommend this to you all. I am glad to say, however, that Mr Peter Stuckey has agreed to remain on Council as a Member, subject to your agreement. Mr Robert Nield, our Vice-President and Honorary Treasurer, has asked to step down from his position as Honorary Treasurer, and to hand this over to Mr Philip Stockton, another of the newly co-opted Members, retaining his position as Vice-President, so that he can devote more time to the position of Vice-President. I recommend this change to you as well. All the others co-opted during the year Council proposes to co-opt again for this next year. I will shortly ask you to indicate your agreement with this proposal. ================================================================================