RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1968 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/66833948d NOTES AND QUERIES 147 It is in connexion with worship of “Mother” that the lay-out of the shrine rooms in vegetarian halls of the sect is important. Mother must be placed higher than any other deity and should occupy a room to herself (or occasionally shared with Kuan-yin with whom, as we have said, she is sometimes identified). This means that halls of the sect should whenever possible be built on two storeys, with "Mother's" room on the upper storey. This was so in the case of all the halls visited. Usually, one of the popular triads is housed in the main downstairs shrine-room (occasionally one finds an image downstairs of the many-armed Chun-t'i: “Goddess of Dawn" supposedly of Buddhist origin, but she was not present in the halls visited). Upstairs besides the room dedicated to “Mother" there is often a shrine also for the soul-tablets of past members. Members of the Society were fortunately permitted to visit all shrine rooms (some halls do not permit outsiders to enter the "Mother" room). Relations between the Halls and the Ngau Chi Wan Village There is a certain amount of inter-action between the halls at Ngau Chi Wan and the village of this name which, though on the fringe of urban Kowloon and augmented by neighbouring squatter huts and factions, is still largely inhabited by the descendants of founding Hakka families who came to this spot in the mid-eighteenth century and after. The annual festival of the god of the main village temple (said to be a Ch'iu Ch'au deity whose image was brought up from the sea off Ngau Chi Wan by village fishermen a long time ago) occurs on the 25th of the 2nd lunar month. At this time the inmates of the halls visit the opera performance that is held in a matshed on open ground in front of the KAM HA CHING SHE and worship at the portable shrine that is brought on these occasions from the temple half a mile away. Our visit took place just before this festival and already the bamboo structure on which the matshed for the opera was to be built, was being erected. A large temporary cooking stove had also been constructed for the occasion for serving vegetarian food (which Marjorie Topley gathered in conversation with some of the inmates was contracted for by the village temple association from the vegetarian halls). Again, at the Festival of Hungry Ghosts on the 7th of the 7th moon, it is “traditional” practice for about 100 students from the ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1973 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8910rj06r LEGENDS & STORIES OF THE NEW TERRITORIES: KAM TIN 119 crow their feathers all fell down on the earth. Nine suns were shot down, but one was too far away to be reached, and that is the sun that still remains to this day. Ngai was very afraid of dying, and he went to a fairy called Sai Wong Mo (1) who gave him some medicine for long life. Sheung Ngoh stole it, and took it in secret. She became lighter and lighter and eventually floated up to the moon where she became a toad. She had a palace to live in which was called the Shim Kung. Another story tells of a Kwai tree growing in the moon, 5,000 Chinese feet tall. A man called Ng Kong (吳剛), who had been sent to the moon as a punishment by the gods for having committed something wrong when learning to become an immortal, was always chopping it with a large chopper. He never managed to cut it down, because as soon as a cut was made in the trunk, it instantly grew together again. Thus the saying "Shim Kung Chit Kwai" which applied to those who passed the highest government examinations, gradually came into use since the T'ong (唐) dynasty, A.D. 618. There were many Kwai trees on the hillsides of Kwai Kok Shaan, either planted by Tang Foo or someone later, and the teachers are supposed to have sent their pupils out from the school to pluck the sprigs of flowers with the idea of encouraging them to further effort. Another name for the hill is Ngo T'aam Shaan (鵝潭山), turtle pool hill. There is a pool still to be found on the hillside, which, according to one story, used to have turtles living in it. Another story says that it had a rock looking like the head of a large turtle. In olden times all the successful candidates who had passed the government examination, Tsun Sz (進士) went up to the emperor's palace to sit for a further examination named Tin Shi (殿試). Those who passed had their names put in order of merit on a list written on gold paper, and at a ceremony known as Ch'uen Lo (傳臚) the names were read out. The two candidates at the top of the list were led up the steps of the palace by the master of ceremonies, who then presented the first candidate, called the Chong Yuen (狀元) with the list. At the top of the stairs was a turtle carved in stone, and finally the Chong Yuen was caused to stand with his foot on its head. Thus he was known as "Tuk chim ngo t'au" (獨占鰲頭). The scholars at Kwai Kok Shaan when wandering on the hillsides would amuse themselves by standing on the turtle-head rock and shouting “I am the only man to put his foot on the head of the turtle!" ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1974 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/x633mp077 HONG KONG PLACE NAMES S.S. O.S. 57 nim 稔 淰 nhimms 58 nia nriu 59 61 28 60 澳 qou pa 爬耙艳 praahó pai 排排 praayl 62 pak 北 bhak 63 pak 白 braaks 64 pak- 伯公 baakghung kung Meaning or Remarks 149 Dictionaries give 'ripe grain', but the only meaning that seems to fit all cases is 'wet, muddy'. See (51). Said in many places not to mean 'urine'. Is this prudishness, or is niu and its variant liu (35) another alternative for ngau (54), and if so did the name of this tribe in their own language begin with a nasal? A harbour: but often confused with au (2). A reef; a small island. But the many instances where this syllable occurs in mountain villages have yet to be cleared up. Sometimes interchangeable (despite the great difference in modern pronunciation with (63) and (76). See pages 156-157. In some cases interchangeable with (62) and (76) and cannot mean 'white'. See pages 156-157, also (65). A numerous tribe of local gods each of whom is responsible for a path, bridge, gate, mountain pass, etc. Several passes are named Pak-kung Au as a result. The pak-kung ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1974 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/x633mp077 HONG KONG PLACE NAMES 157 word. The word Ngau (54) in local place names is often interchanged with Yau (122) and once with Lau (30). It is possible that this is the word from which the Chinese Yao79 was derived. The word Pak (63) in some local names interchanges with Pui (76). There was a people called the Pak158 in South China, and Pak (63), Pui (76) and perhaps Pa (60) and Pai (61) may be a version of this name. If these people cultivated salt paddy that would explain the term pak-tin (65). Many of the village names that make little sense contain two of these elements, e.g. Ma (42) Niu (58); Ma (42) Liu (35) Shui166; Ma (42) Yau181 Tong (98); Pak (63) Ngau (54) Shek (81); Yau180 Ma145 Tei; Pak (63) Tam172 Au (2). These would mean places where, by agreement, the two peoples could meet peaceably to exchange goods, to draw water, etc., or where cultivated land was shared. The name Shan-lao165, preserved in Chang Wei-yen's134 petition may be that which we have in Sha Lo Tung163 and Sha Lo Wan164. And the name Lung Kwu143 (also Tung Kwu178) and Lung Kwu Tan144 may come from another name for the boat-people mentioned by Mr. Ch'en Hsü-ching135, víz, Lung-hu142 which he says is also pronounced with initial D. NOTES AND CHARACTER INDEX 130 See South China Morning Post, Hong Kong, 9 November 1955. 131 The Reverend W. Stott kindly lent me a copy of his unpublished M.A. thesis on the Nanchao Kingdom with extracts from a fuller text of the Man-shu, I believe from the Library of Congress, U.S.A. No text I could obtain in Hong Kong had half as much material. 132 Cham zram (129 Rem.), 133 Chan crann p. 156. 134 Chang Wei-yen Zheonq Wrayjrann ✯✯✯ pp. 138, 157. 135 Ch'en Hsü-ching Crann Zreoighenq pp. 139, 157. 136 Ching crenq p. 156. 137 Hakka xaakghaahx #, possibly a corruption of a Yao79 word for mountain-dwellers. P. 136 and passim. 138 Hoklo xrokloo ## or ##, a name used by Punti160 and Hakka137 speakers to describe users of MinM dialects from Eastern Kwangtung and from Fukien, who pronounce # something like the Hakka pronunciation of. P. 136 and passim. 139 Hsin-an-chih Shannghonn-zi pp. 138, 150. 140 Lam Tsuen Lrammchynn p. 137. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1977 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/np198x23n 178 DAVID FAURE Table 3. (Translation) Front: Annual festival 19th First Month, 15th Second Month, 23rd Third Month, 5th Fifth Month, 14th Seventh Month, 24th Twelfth Month, Tung Chi in Eleventh Month, Night of 30th Twelfth Month; she t'au (leaders of the she); ALL THOSE WHO LIVE IN PAK KONG VILLAGE HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY TO SERVE THE AFFAIRS AND PUBLIC INTEREST OF THIS VILLAGE; work collectively for the achievements of this village, do not follow the Monroe [Doctrine]. Back: GOLD Cheng Tso On, Cheng Chung, Lok Tso Po, Cheng Woh, Cheng Chan Ip, Lau T'in T'ing; WOOD Lok Shek Kam, Lok T'aai Ts'eung, Lok Shue Kam, Lok Foh Kau, Lok Yau T'aai, Lok Shai Ngau, Lok Tak Kwong; WATER Lok Ting Ngau, Lei Lam, Lei Kau, Lok Kam, Cheng Tso Ning, Lok T'aai Hei; FIRE Lok Tak Lam, Lok Shiu Ch'oh, Lok Lam Kwai, Lok Kam Uen, Lok Chi K'eung, Lok Shang, Lok Uet T'aai; EARTH Lok Fuk Shing, Lei Iu, Lei Kw'ai Cheung, Lok Kau Kei, Lok Tso On, Lei Shek, In a slight variation, in Tai Po Tsai (near Tai Mong Tsai) and Wo Mei, instead of collecting money to buy the pig at the time it had to be slaughtered, villagers bought a piglet at the beginning of the year and participating families took turns to feed it during the year. By the end of the year, it would be slaughtered, and the meat divided. In Wo Mei, the five lineages of the village also gathered into the Ng Woh T'ong for matters that affected the entire village.42 Less formal but not less important were the "marriage clubs" (lo p'oh wooi) found in many villages, such as Mang Kung Uk and Hang Hau, consisting of the unmarried young men of the village. The young men of the club were obliged to help the bridegroom during wedding ceremonies, and they themselves would be helped when their turn came. In general, village ceremonies, not only weddings but also funerals, required the participation of members of the village, including those outside the immediately affected lineage. It was commonly understood that on these occasions members of the village had the right and duty to participate and to help. 43 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1980 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207 208 DAVID FAURE Tseng Lan Shue an on lung ceremony every thirty. Sha Kok Mei also had a regular ta tsiu. * Mr. Yau T'aam Shang 31.7.81, Mr. Chau T'in Shang 9.7.81. The ceremony, taken more as a game of fun, was known as "puk sha ngau tsai". 49 Mr. Lok Kau Kei 26.6.81, Mr. Lei 9.7.81. 60 Before the War, puppet shows were performed at the earthgods' festivals at Sai Kung Market and Pak Tam Chung, and the ta tsiu at Pak Kong and Pak Sha Wan. With the exception of Pak Kong's ta tsiu, which was held once every ten years, these were annual celebrations. See ints. Mr. Kong Hei 21.6.81, Mr. Chau T'in Shang 7.5.81, 9.7.81, Mr. Yau T'aam Shang 8.5.81, Mr. Lok Kau Kei 26.6.81, Mr. Leung Yung Hei 16.6.81, Mr. Lok Tsau On 21.6.81. "1 See, for instance, descriptions of the feasts in int. Mr. Yau T'aam Shang 8.5.81, feast at grave worship in int. Mr. Cheung T'o 15.6.81, at wedding ceremony in int. Mr. Tsang 25.6.81. 52 For general comments see Mr. Tse Wing 9.6.81, Mrs. Lau 21.6.81, Mrs. Tse 21.6.81, Mrs. Cheung née Wan 26.6.81, and for samples of these songs, Mr. Lok Kau Kei 26.6.81, Mr. Ip Wan 2.7.81. 53 C. Fred Blake, "Death and abuse in marriage laments: the curse of Chinese brides", Studies in Asian Folklore 37, pp. 13-33 quotes extensively from a text of Hakka songs found in Sai Kung. The Oral History Project has found records of these songs in other villages, but not in Sai Kung itself. 5 Hong Kong Government Administrative Report 1913, p. N 16. 56 From the Hong Kong Government Administrative Report 1922, the Hong Kong Government Administrative Report 1923, and interview reports, schools were found in Sai Kung Market (Sung Chen and two others) and the following villages (names of schools in brackets): Mang Kung Uk (Ts'ung Kong), Pak Tam Chung, Wo Mei, Ho Chung (Tsik Shin), Tseung Kwan O (Lap Tak), Yim Tin Tsai, Tai Po Tsai, Sha Kok Mei (Yuk Yin), Tai Wan (Sui Ying), Tai No, Nam Wai, Pak Kong (Man Shang), Tai Long, Wong Chuk Yeung, Pan Long Wan, Sheung Yeung (Ling Wan), Ta Ho Tun, Pak Ngah, Kau Lau Wan, Kau Sai, Seung Sz Wan (Wai San), Hang Hau (Man Uen), Tseng Lan Shue (Lung T'ang), Tan Ka Wan (Shung Ming), Yung Shu O, Ko Tong, Tai Wan Tau, Wong Mo Ying, Ma Yau Tong, Man Yee Wan, Nam Shan, Che Keng Tuk, Pak Kong Au, Ma Nam Wat, Siu Hang Hau. 56 Ints. Mr. Lok Shang 21.5.81, Mr. Chan Kei Shang 28.5.81, Mr. Cheung To 29.5.81, Mr. Chan Shau 19.6.81, Mr. Uen Chan Wan 22.6.81, Mr. Cheung Ts'oi 20.6.81, Mr. Wong Yung Ts'ing 20.5.81, Mr. Lam Kaap Shau 8.6.81, Mr. Lai Foh 8.5.81. 57 Mr. Lei Shiu Yam 8.5.81, Mr. Wong Yung Ts'ing 20.5.81, Mr. Kong Hei 21.6.81 went to Sung Chen. Mr. Wong went from Sung Chen to the Roman Catholic School in Wai Chau and then Canton. Mr. Cheng Chung T'ing 21.5.81 went to the Yau Ma Tei Government School, Mr. Uen Chiu Ming 13.2.81 went to the Tai Po Teachers Training School, but did not graduate. The Chans of Ho Chung sent their sons to Nam Tau or Canton; see Mr. Chan P'aang Hing 29.5.81. Mr. Chau T'in Shang's elder brother was educated in Canton, see int. 3.6.81. See also int. Father George Carusso 20.5.81. 58 Mr. Wong Ts'ing 23.6.81, Mr. Tsang Yau 23.6.81, Mrs. Tse née Lau 24.6.81, Mr. Lau Wan Hei 25.6.81, Mrs. Yung née Wan 2.7.81, Madam Chiu I Mooi 18.7.81, Mrs. Yau née Tse 22.7.81, Mr. Chan T'aai ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1980 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207 NOTES AND QUERIES the Chien Lung period, it was turned into a guard-station 143 Villages rebuilt at that time were Tze Tuen Tsuen, Tuen Mun Tsuen, Siu Hang Tsuen, Po Tong Ha Tsuen, So Kwun Wat Tsuen and San Tsuen Wai.12 In the 16th year of the Chia Ching reign (1811), the Tuen Mun guard-station was strengthened. Besides the original garrison, a Pa-Tsung was posted to be the assistant. Five guard-stations, each under a Ngai-Wai with four men, were erected at Shing Mun, Wang Chau, Kwun Chung, Tsiu Keng and Ma Tseuk Leng. They were all under the command of the Tsin-Tsung of the Tuen Mun Guard Station. At that time, villages in that area were all under the charge of the Kwun-Fu-Shi TO: namely: Tuen Mun Tsuen, Tsing Chuen Wai, Tsz Tuen Wai, Siu Hang Tsuen, Po Tong Ha Tsuen, Sun Fung Wai, Chung Uk Tsuen, Nai Wai Tsz Tsuen, San Tsuen, So Kwun Wat Tsuen, Tai Lam Tsuen, Tin Fu Tsai Tsuen and Un Tan Tau Tsuen.4 During the early years of the Tao Kuang reign, a Pa-Tsung and a Ngai-Wai with sixteen men were posted at the Tuen Mun Guard-station, sixty men were placed in the following six guard-stations which were all under the command of the Tuen Mun Guard Station. These guard stations were at Mong Tseng, Wang Chau (ten men), Kwun Chung (five men), Tai Po Tau (fifteen men), Shing Mun Au (fifteen men) and Tsiu Keng (five men).15 This continued until the 24th year of the Kuang Hsü reign (1898), when the Ch'ing Government leased the New Territories and the adjacent islands to the British, after which these guard-stations were abandoned.16 In 1899, the area was divided into the three sub-districts of Tuen Mun, Tai Lam Chung and Lung Ku Tan belonging to the Un Long District. Villages in these sub-districts were as follows:17 Tuen Mun Sub-district:- Chung Uk Tsun, Shun Fung Wai, Tsing Chun Wai, Tsz Tin Wai, Nai Wai, Tun Tsz Wai, Po Tong Ha, Siu Hang, Lam Ti and San Tsuen. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1984 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/5h73wh572 305 THE SOLDIERS AT THE TUNG CHUNG FORT ON LANTAU ISLAND IN LATE CH’ING TIMES JAMES HAYES In the 1968 Journal (Vol. VIII, pp. 165-167) I gave an account of the naval and military garrison at the Tung Chung Fort, taken from an old lady born at Tung Ching in 1877 and married into another village in the area. A few years later I found, and was able to speak several times with, another old lady from the Tung Chung valley. She was born at Ngau Au village in 1879 and like the other had married into Sheung Ling Pei (at age 22 sui). She had this to say about the fort and its garrison, and her account both corroborates and adds to the earlier account. I have run the text of our conversations together, and they amount to the following: "The fort was there to protect us villagers. They were successful in this. When I was young there were no robbers and pirates, though I heard that there had been many before I was born. There were lots of soldiers, about 70 to 80, under an officer called a sau fu (少府). The soldiers wore robes. Their superiors were better dressed and had horses to ride. These officers had some contact with the elders of the villages of Tung Chung area, but did not speak with the younger men or the women. The soldiers' supplies were brought in. There was no need for us to give or sell foodstuffs to them, and the soldiers didn't have to do any cultivation themselves. They were all Kwangtung men and spoke in Punti. Some were even local villagers. The soldiers had many flags, over ten of them at least. The men of the garrison went to worship at our Hau Wong Temple on the 1st and 15th of each month, and joined in the opera show that was held yearly at the temple on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. There were wind and steam driven military vessels in the anchorage, and I remember that some were blown onto the adjoining San Tau beaches in a typhoon." This old lady also had interesting things to say about the temple inside the walls of the fort. It was, she said, a Sham Shing Miu (神聖廟) but only worshipped by the officers and troops of the ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1988 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ft84gb83q 87 and when he died the following year 1662 his son Cheng King (4) continued his attacks on the south coast. The Ts'ing government eventually sent out their navy to engage Cheng's ships, but it is said that the Ts'ing sailors were prostrated by seasickness and were no match for their enemies. About that time an officer from Cheng's forces named Fong Sing Hoi (959) surrendered to the Ts'ing government, and it was from him that the plan of Ts'in Fuk originally came. Having full knowledge of how people living along the coast by their mere presence, apart from their willing help, aided the rebels, he suggested that villagers should be moved inland so that they should no longer be able, willingly or not, to supply Cheng's forces with food. This idea was approved by the Emperor Shun Chi, but the same year (18th year of Shun Chi, 1661) he died. His son, Hong Hei, however, followed up the plan by ordering a personal investigation of the coast to be made by government officials, with a view to finding out which part was most vulnerable to attack, and at the same time to arrange how the people were to be moved inland. The result of this was a report from the P'ing Naam Wong (#E) 平南王 ("Prince who tranquilizes the South") and the Viceroy, strongly advising that the people should not be moved. “All along the coast there are several millions of inhabitants", the report said. "If they are shifted they will all lose their livelihood, which will be a great affliction. We make this piteous appeal and request royal favour to allow them to stay." But this had no effect. The following year in the spring an Imperial decree ordered that everyone living by the coast must move 50 Chinese miles inland. The P’ing Naam Wong with other officials were sent to inspect the coast, and in the 2nd month they arrived in San On district. A boundary on Foo Mun (J21) was set up, ending to the west at Tsun T'au Shaan (111) and to the east at Lin Fa Fung (TEE), the centre station of the boundary being at Ngai Kung Leng (42). At each of these places a flag was erected and more than eighty villages within the boundary were told to move and many lookout posts were built along the hills with soldiers stationed there to watch. Even the rivers had railings built across them to prevent boats going down to the sea. If any one disobeyed these orders they were to be put to death. A month later soldiers were sent to enforce the new regulations. Although notices had been posted up few people could read them and many villagers were quite ignorant of what they were to do. The arrival of the soldiers caused a ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1989 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h 154 19 , at Law Fong) are believed to have entered the area after 1700. See Map of Ta Kwu Ling. It is interesting to note that, of the 21 villages in the Ta Kwu Ling area, seven are purely Punti, nine are purely Hakka (including two of originally Punti but now Hakka speaking Mans), but five are of mixed Punti and Hakka residents, including the large village of Chau Tin (which has only a tiny handful of Hakka residents), Fung Wong Wu, Kan Tau Wai, and Law Fong, and Tong Fong which consists partly of Punti speaking Mans, and partly of Hakka speaking Mans. + 1 Yeung, and Ng, at Fong Wong Wu; Siu, and Ho, at Chau Tin; Wong, at Kan Tau Wai; Pang, and Au, at Tai Po Tin; Fu Lau, (and others) at Wo Keng Shan; Yiut, at Chuk Yuen; Chan, and Yiu, at Law Fong (Luofang); Chau at Wang Kong Ha; Yeung, and Kwu, at Sai Ling Ha (Xilingxia), and others. 21 The temple bell, of Chien Lung 21 (1756) was donated by "all the faithful people of the Ping Yuen Hap Heung... ...to stand for ever before the altar of the Lady Tin Hau*. Faure, Luk, Ng, op. cit., Vol. 3, p. 670. The only earlier dated item in the temple, a Cloud Gong of 1727, was donated by a single family from Ping Che, Faure, Luk, Ng, op. cit., Vol. 3, p. 661. The temple continued to be owned and controlled by this group of villages. Faure, The Structure of Chinese Rural Society: Lineage and Village in the Eastern New Territories, Oxford Univ. Press, Hong Kong, 1986, p. 104 is incorrect in saying that the temple was owned by Ping Yeung. In the Block Crown Lease, the Manager of the temple was Man Shan-fung, of Ping Che. The Tong Fong people, although closely related genealogically to the Ping Che people, were not part of the Ping Yuen Hap Heung, and did not take part in the Ta Tsiu.22 Faure, op. cit., p. 103. + + 23 The four managers at the time of the Block Crown Lease were Tang Hung-wai (a houseowner of Loi Tung), Chan Shing-pong, called a houseowner of Ping Yeung in a District Office report of 1979), Man Ying-shau (probably a villager of Ping Che, a relative of the houseowners Man Ying-kei, Man Ying-wai, and Man Ying-fat), and Chung Choi-wah (a houseowner of Man Uk Pin). These died in 1938, 1926, 1925, and 1942 respectively, according to a report made to the District Office in 1979. The abbess, Wong Tik-yuen, was appointed a manager in 1926, but she died in 1931. After the War, the lack of managers caused trouble on a number of occasions. A temporary manager was appointed in 1968. In 1979 the Chairman of the Sha Tau Kok Rural Committee and others were appointed as managers, although he, as a Lin Ma Hang villager, had no connection with the nunnery. This seems to have been with a view to rebuilding the nunnery. This proposal has led to a string of vigorous complaints from the elders of the six villages with shares during the last three years, but the situation remains, at present (1991), unresolved. 24 See Faure, The Structure of Chinese Rural Society, op. cit., pp. 100-127, for a discussion of the Yeuk. 25 The only alternative was a dangerous, difficult, and often impassable waist-deep ford, as the 1896 Kwong Fuk bridge tablet makes clear. See Faure, Luk and Ng, Historical Inscriptions of Hong Kong, op. cit., Vol. 1, p. 298. 26 See Robert G. Groves, "The Origins of Two Market Towns in the New Territories", Aspects of Social Organisation in the New Territories, Royal Asiatic Society, Hong Kong Branch, Symposium Report, 1964, pp. 16-20, and Alice Ng Lun Ngai-ha, "Xianggang Xinjie xushi zhi xingqi yu shuailao: Dabuxu yanjiu" [The Foundation and Decay of Market Towns in the New Territories of Hong Kong: A Study of Tai Po], in Chinese Studies, Vol. 3, No. 2, 1985, pp. 633-655. The very widespread support for the Tsat Yeuk can be gathered from the list of donors shown on the Kwong Fuk bridge tablet, Faure, Luk and Ng, loc. cit. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1989 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h 397 the Yuen Ka Walled Village E, Mui Wo, Shek Pik, Tong Fuk 塘福,Shek Mun Kap 石門甲,Shui Hau 水口, Shek Lau Hang 石榴坑, Ngau Au 牛凹, Sha Lo Wan, Shek Tau Po石頭莆,Yi O 二澳 and Yau Ku Long. Also, Hakka villages were found at Tai Ho, Pak Mong, Wang Long and Ling Pei Walled Village at Tung Chung." The population on the island increased, and they depended on fishing and farming. Nowadays, Mui Wo, Pui O, Shui Hau, Tai O and Tung Chung have developed into towns; Shek Pik Village has been removed, and a reservoir built on that site. However, many villages founded in the Ching Dynasty still remain with little development. NOTES ANTHONY SIU KWOK-KIN 1 The inscription of the 42nd year of Chien Lung (1777) on the stone tablet in the Hau Wong Temple of Tung Chung bears the name "Tai Hai Shan". 1 See Chapter 19 of Kwong Yu Kei, Ming edition. 1 1 See Chapter 2 of Yuet Man Chuen See Kei Leuk, 1684 edition. See Chapter 7 of Lin Tien-wai and the writer's Essays on the History of Hong Kong Prior to British Colonisation, Commercial Press, 1984. It is now known as Lantau Island, and in some newly published maps of Hong Kong, it is also known as Tai Ho Island. + See S. G. Davis and May Tregear's Man Kok Tsui, Archaeological Site 30, Lantau Island, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Univ. Press 1961; and “An Archaeological Site at Shek Pik”, Journal Monograph I, Hong Kong Archaeological Society 1975. 7 See Chapter 29 of the Tung Kwun Yuen Chi 8 See Chapter 1 of the Tung Kwun Yuen Chi, 1464 edition. 非 See Tsang Yat Man's "Hai Nam Chaak, an old Salt Pan on Lantau Island" 大嶼山鹽田學, No. 284, Cosmorama Pictorial, Hong Kong. 9 As Note 8. See Tsang Yat Man's "A Textual Research on the Ins and Outs of the Rebellion of the Natives of Tai Hsi Shan – Now Tai Yu Shan of Hong Kong - in the third year of Ching Yuan of Emperor Ning Tsung of South Sung Dynasty" 南宋寧宗慶元三年, Chu Hai Journal No. 11, October, 1980. 12 See Chapter 67 of the Kwangtung Tung Chi, 1558 edition. 13 See Tai Hai Shan 大箂山 in Ng Loi 吳榮's Nam Hoi Ku Chik Kei 南海古鏞記, Chapter 61-1 of Su Fu, Shun Chih edition. 14 See Chapter 12 of the Kwangtung Tung Chi, 1697 edition. + 15 As Note 4. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1996 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/3n209j641 Ngau Liu SK 5 14 35.7** Chuk Yuen SK 3 9 33.3** Chuk Kok SK 4 11 36.4* Heung Chung SK 4 16 25.0** Che Ha San Tsuen SK || 30 36.7** Tai Wong Chung SK 3 8 37.5** Sheung Yeung SK 34 85 40.0* Tai Wan Tau SK 53 117 45.3 Tseung Kwan O SK 90 193 46.6 Yau Yue Wan SK 53 116 45.7 Ma Yau Tong SK 60 131 45.8 Tseng Lan Shue SK 124 276 44.9 Mok Tse Che SK 20 51 39.2** Tai Po Tsai SK 77 172 44.8 Wo Mei Ho Chung Pak Kong SK 30 66 45.5 SK 159 418 38.04* SK 75 190 39.5** Sha Kok Mei SK 152 346 43.9 Nam Shan SK 36 86 41.9 Wong Chuk Yeung SK 15 83 30.1** Shan Liu SK 33 73 45.2 Lung Shuen Wan Pak A SK 76 164 46.3 Chuk Hang San Wai TP 7 18 38.9** Tai Wo Yuen TP 3 9 33.3** San Uk Pai TP 3 9 33.3** Tai Hang San Tsuen TP 3 9 33.3** Uk Tau TP 10 27 37.0** Tu Tan TP 12 35 34.3** Nam Shan TP 9 26 34.6** Nai Tong Kok TP 19 49 38.8 Che Ha TP 33 73 45.2 Ma Kwu Lam TP 27 63 42.9 Tai Po Tau TP 50 112 44.6 Shek Kwu Lung TP 30 72 41.7 Ha Wun Yiu TP 26 60 43.3 Lai Chi Shan TP 40 97 41.2 Sheung Wan Yiu TP 53 129 41.1 Wong Yi Au TP 43 114 37.7** Hang Ha Po TP 99 246 40.2 Tong Sheung Tsuen TP 46 131 35.1 Tai Ming Tsai TP 36 86 41.9 Shui Wo TP 41 92 44.6 Pak Ngau Shek Ha TP 22 53 41.5 Tsai Kek TP 51 129 39.5 Tai Om Shan TP 30 72 41.7 Tai Om TP 74 162 45.7 Lung A Pin TP 40 90 44.4 Tin Liu Ha TP 74 177 41.8 79 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1996 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/3n209j641 87 under the Au Tau Enumeration District, and the Shing Mun villages are similarly separately enumerated under the Tai Po Enumeration District. The villages of the "Stone Hill" - Ngau Tau Kok, Sui Cho Wan, Cha Kwo Ling, and Lei Yue Mun - are enumerated separately, under Kowloon City enumeration district. * Census Report, 1911, Tables XIV, XV. * Census Report, 1911, page 6. * On Lammia, 18 villages, population 826 (perhaps 3.6 villages, 181 people per day), in Au T'au, 62 villages, population 1873 (perhaps 1 village, 181 people per day), Sha T'au Kok, 67 villages, population 8570 (perhaps 1 village, 143 people per day), Ping Shan, 74 villages, population 10797 (perhaps 1 village, 190 people per day), Sai Kung, 126 villages, population 9243 (perhaps 2 villages, 154 people per day). * Census Report, 1921, pages 159-160, Para 1. * Census Report, 1921, page 160, para 6. * Census Report, 1921, page 151, para 4, 6. * Census Report, 1921, page 152, para 9. * Census Report, 1921, page 152, para 9. * Census Report, 1927, pages 166-167, paras 5, 7. 12 In 1921, Tsuen Wan district had only 135 boat people; if, as is likely, the numbers of boat people there were the same in 1911, then the boat people were only 5% of the population of Tsuen Wan. * Preliminary Census Report (23rd June 1921), op cit, para 4 - 5, Census Report, 1921, page 155, para 9, page 160, para 3, 4, page 162, para 13, Table XI. 14 Preliminary Census Report (23rd June 1921), op cit, para 4, Census Report, 1921, page 160, para 1. 15 Taken from Census Report, 1911, Table XXI, and Census Report, 1927, Tables IX, XIV. 47 That the figures in 1911 are the result of under-reporting of young boys can be seen by checking the figures in the 1921 Census for boys aged 10-14 and 15-19. Since the Northern District population was basically static, these are largely the same group as those aged 0-4, 5-9 a decade earlier. The Census gives 4146 and 3479 for these two groups, thereby confirming the under-reporting of 1911. * Preliminary Census Report (23rd June 1921), op cit, para 3, Census Report, 1921, page 156. * Census Report, 1927, page 161, para 9, page 162, para 1. However, see also note 65. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1996 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/3n209j641 156 In recent years, mass emigration to the cities has further weakened the lineage tradition at some villages. Only the Mos at Mok Ka and the Los at lower Shek Lau Po seem to have maintained the status of their lineages. As the strongest lineage in Tung Chung, the Mos managed to rebuild their ancestral hall, the Mo-yu-t'ang, and continue to visit the graves of their focal ancestors collectively. As for the Lo lineage at lower Shek Lau Po, the reconstruction of their ancestral hall, the Lo-yu-chang t'ang, in the 1970s, as a centre for ancestor worship, contributed to the reinforcement of lineage identity. Nevertheless, the majority of Tung Chung's villagers worship their ancestors inside their family halls. The worship of the earth god in Tung Chung also occurs on a small scale. Symbolically, the earth god stands for the spirit of the village at which he is located, and is represented usually by a rock at an open-air shrine or by an old banyan tree. Variously known as Ta-wang (great king) or Po-kung (lord or paternal great-uncle), the earth god guards a village at its entrance or rear. As a guardian deity at the basic level of rural organization, the god helps to mark the territorial line between villages. In Ngau Au, for example, four Po-kungs are located there at both the entrance and the rear of the village. Three of them, as a village elder confirmed, are more than three hundred years old. At Mok Ka, earth gods are enshrined, two by the stream and one at the village entrance, and one at the rear of the village. As the oldest village, Shek Mun Kap has the largest earth god, represented by a giant boulder. On the 1st and 15th of every lunar month, during the major festivals, and on the earth gods' collective birthday, Ta-wang or Po-kung are offered sacrifices. On auspicious days of their choice, villagers also come to pray for the god's blessings and repay his protection. The ceremonies concerned include the display of wine and animal sacrifices in front of the shrine, the spraying of the wine on the ground, the burning of paper offerings, and kowtow to the god. Compared to ancestor worship, the earth god worship functions more directly to enhance the village identity, especially among individual members of a mix-lineage community. In Tung Chung, however, the ceremony has never taken the elaborate form of the tso-she (doing the she), i.e., special collective rituals and celebratory activities consisting of a feast in honour of the neighbourhood god at various times of the year. Being ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1996 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/3n209j641 158 of Ta-shih-wang E, the keeper of ghosts who maintained order, provided food and clothing to the hungry ghosts, and then took them back to the netherworld." Vegetarian fast was required during the chao period of three days and four nights. Puppet shows were also performed for several days to entertain both human and divine participants. Chanters hired from outside were responsible for the liturgy, which included scripture reciting, praying, and the burning of paper offerings. As for local villagers, they mainly came to enjoy the free vegetarian feasts and puppet shows. As pointed out by David Faure, the festival is an occasion for popular entertainment, as much as for worship." An important ritual of the chiao ceremony was a gala parade called hsing-hsiang † (walking through a neighbourhood of villages) held on the third day. The image of Houwang was carried in the procession led by chanters and followed by male villagers. Firecrackers were set off to clear the road and when passing a village, joss sticks, candles, and paper offerings were burnt to expel all ghosts and leave the local population safe and flourishing with Houwang's blessings. "As the principal local deity, Houwang obviously played a crucial role during the chiao festival. Deities from other districts, such as the Empress of Heaven from Ma Wan Island or Chak Lap Kok, were not invited to the ceremony." Thus, the parade embodied the strong territorial sense of the community, publicly affirming the hsiung as a neighbourhood of specific villages. Villages passed by paraders, including Shek Mun Kap, Mok Ka, Shek Lau Po, Ngau Au, Nim Yuen, San Tau, Ma Wan Chung, Ma Wan, Ling Pei, Wong Ka Wai, Lung Tseng Tau, and Ba Mei, were all considered members of the Tung Chung community. While village representatives took charge of preparations for the chao days, a body called the Chieh-fang-chu-hui (Neighbourhood Association) was assigned responsibility for the preparatory work for Houwang's Birthday Festival. From the mid-1920s, however, the Neighbourhood Association had to also assume responsibility for preparations for the chiao festival, replacing the village representatives. Concomitant with this change, Tung Chung Street, where the number of shops had increased with time, replaced Shek Mun Kap as the local social and economic centre. Various goods, including groceries, medicinal materials, cooked food, coffee and tea, coffins, and even opium, were now sold on Tung Chung Street. "As the position of Shek Mun Kap and the role of village representatives in the chiao festival declined, 36 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1996 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/3n209j641 165 55 representatives of the rocket associations bid for the rockets Physical violence is avoided, but competition remains keen among bidders who strive to show superiority over each other in terms of wealth and power' To decide who in the winning group can take the representation of the god home, another ceremony should be held whereby the temple keeper, after placing on the temple altar a list of members of the rocket association and reciting a “song to invite the god" (#), casts the divining blocks thrice for each member The winner is he who passes the divination three times in a row. 1 50 In addition to the representative associations from villages such as Mok Ka's Yu-ch'ing tang W, upper Ling Per's Ch'un-ying t'ang #*, Ngau Au's Ch`un-lu t’ang San Tau's Ch'un-ch'ing tang # , and so on, other units such as social clubs and recreational societies also form their own rocket associations. According to Hayes's observation in the 1960s of the concomitant celebration of the Houwang feast day and the reopening of the Houwang Temple after the first major repair in 1909, among the rocket associations, two were fishermen's groups, (one from Tung Chung and the other from Tai O) and one was formed by the Seamen's Union from Hong Kong which came to Tung Chung for the festival for many years." Many native Tung Chung seamen had joined the union. By forming the associations and attending the festival, members of the same profession can also exchange information and news of their trade. In this sense, the festival functions tend to promote solidarity not only among villagers, but also among colleagues. For local residents of different surnames and various social backgrounds, the Houwang worship and its all-pervasive influence provide them with the social bond of union and the ideology of territory identity, through which the Tung Chung community seems to have become a culturally self-sufficient entity Even the fishermen settled in the district seldom visit the Empress of Heaven Temple at Chak Lap Kok or Ma Wan. Like other Tung Chung villagers, they pay homage mainly to the Houwang, the principal deity of the locale, and participate quite actively in the “bid-for-rockets” contest during the annual feast day festival. The Houwang's Birthday celebration also provides the local community with an opportunity for contact with the outside world. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1996 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/3n209j641 168 recording a list of money donors who sponsored a reconstruction project then, those who served as Directors of the renovating work or donated the largest sums of money were the K'ungs from the Tung-yuan t'ang and shopowners from the Hsi-yuan t’ang They were apparently Tung Chung's social leaders. Elderly people testified that the K'ungs from lower Ling Pei and the Hsiaos from Ngau Au were the largest landowners in the area, renting out their plots to tenants at neighbouring villages. They also ran commercial businesses on Tung Chung Street. The Ta-sheng t'ang Store, owned by the K'ungs, and the Yao-ho Store, by the Hsiaos. As the most influential people in the community, they naturally became the managers of the temple reconstruction project. With their economic power, they were able to act as sponsors of large-scale religious functions, which in turn legitimized their status as cultural and sociopolitical élites of local society. Their role in the annual festival commemorating the Houwang's feast day made their social position even more conspicuous. Before the War, it was the Neighbourhood Association which took charge of the preparation for the Houwang's Birthday Festival. The association was formed by shopkeepers who were elected by all shops on Tung Chung Street. Members would take turns in leading the association for a term of three years. Making arrangements for the annual festival stood out as the most important job for the association and its leader who, after taking up the post of Chief Director, would serve as the head leader of the festival. A red paper with this title would be put on his shop's signboard. The festival was thus an opportunity to show off one's wealth and power and to increase one's influence within the community. This function is especially significant to multi-surname villages where no single lineage dominates the situation. Common practice requires that every household member makes a donation to support the festival activities. The amounts of their donations are publicly detailed on a wall bulletin called "the long paper in red". In the pre-War period, when Tung Chung Street became a local commercial centre, the list was posted on the exterior wall of the Yao-ho Store, one of the largest shops on the street. A few outside donors, from Tai O and Bak Mong, for example, would also volunteer to support the function. Because of substantial expenses involved, Page 195 Page 196 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1996 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/3n209j641 169 however, donations from ordinary villagers (about HK$0.3-0.5 per person) always fell short of the demand. It was almost inevitable that the head leader of the festival would be called upon to contribute a large amount. For instance, he would donate HK$500, whereas each of the other members of the Neighbourhood Association would contribute only HK$100. In addition, the head leader would pay HK$600-700 in advance, for matshed construction and opera troupe hiring. He was also responsible for miscellaneous expenses of the temple “To assume this heavy responsibility required substantial wealth. Stores on Tung Chung Street, such as the Yao-ho, Te-ho, Ching-ho, and Kuang-hsing, etc., were among the chief members of the Neighbourhood Association in charge of festival preparations. In this sense, Tung Chung Street, the local business centre, also became the centre of social power in the territory. The most influential power holders were, of course, the storeowners who became chief directors of the Neighbourhood Association. As they had to shoulder the heavy financial burden of sponsoring the festival, only the richest could afford the positions. In the 1920s, it is remembered, first Mr. Kuan from lower Ling Pei, owner of the Te-ho Store, and then Mr. Hsiao from Ngau Au, owner of the Yao-ho Store, served as head leaders of the Festival 70 Mr. Kuan, who had a little knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine, sold medicinal herbs and sundry goods at his store." Mr. Hsiao, as the largest landowner in Tung Chung, was especially qualified for the post. The Hsiaos derived their wealth from landholding, mostly at Ngau Au and some at Ling Pi, and from business. On the one hand, they rented out land to tenants, who were easy to find as not many non-farm jobs were available then. On the other hand, the Hsiaos' grocery store on Tung Chung Street also engaged in moneylending on security." With their business diversified into rent collecting, shopkeeping and moneylending, the Hsiaos managed to establish their social power, based on wealth, and played a significant role in patronizing local religious activities. Under his leadership, both the Houwang's feast day celebration and the chiao ceremony in the 1920s were conducted. Since the War, the Houwang's Birthday Festival has been extended in scale and its rituals have become more elaborate and ceremonious. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1998 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794 21 But, while comparing Chinese and western humour, with the latter propagated by television, radio and other forms of the mass media, it has to be borne in mind that the peoples of many countries are changing their way of life. The world is fast becoming a global village. Amusement in language In the mid-1950s, the author recalls, a fashionable colour in Hong Kong was described in Cantonese (a vibrant, vivid language) as ‘duck's excreta green'. This tickled foreigners but was (and still is) good descriptive, serious stuff to our Chinese friends. They never seem to realise, however, that any of their own surnames, such as Mr Wu, Mrs Ma (meaning horse), Mrs Lung (meaning dragon) or Miss Ng (which is difficult for some Europeans to pronounce), may strike the average Westerner as funny. Yet the author has never really understood why his family name, 'Waters' (which hardly ever strikes Europeans as comical) (probably meaning his forebears lived near a river or a lake), is often considered amusing by Chinese. A Chinese physician once wisecracked: 'Dan Waters, please pass some water;' while a Chinese architect quipped, 'Dr Waters has been inspecting waterworks structures all morning.' In other examples just the mention of the name Green, Whalebelly or Goodbody strike many Chinese, understandably perhaps, as comical. We British have become accustomed to such names. However, the countless Chinese firms with names like Lee Kee Motor Boat Service, No-Squeak Wong the cobbler and Au-Choo the medicine shop, do strike the average Westerner as good for a chuckle. There is a Chinese saying which, when translated, goes something like this: Walking we will not change our family name. Sitting we will not change our given name. It really implies we are digging our heels in and sticking to our principles. Nevertheless, Sir (now Lord) David Wilson did change his name when he came back to Hong Kong to become Governor in 1987. He had served in Hong Kong before and his Chinese name had previously been romanised as Ngai Tak-ngai (Spurr, 1995;246). The Chinese, however, who read far more into a name than the average European, ================================================================================