RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1964 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/qz20zx09r HONG KONG BEFORE THE CHINESE 67 Third Edition 1643 by Man Sz-k'ei, Leung Tung-min, Tang Leung-yuk and others; Preface by Ch'an Hei-yiu. Man Sz-kei (Tai-wu) of Suichau, Sub-director of Studies in San On, 1640-?1645. Leung Tung-ming of Tun Tau, prefectural graduate in 1641. Tang Leung-yuk # Perhaps a mistake for Tang Leung-sz of Kam Tin, prefectural graduate in 1610. Ch'an Hei-yiu of Chingteh, Kiangnan, Magistrate of San On, 1640–1645. Fourth Edition 1672 by (?); Preface by Lei Ho-shing. Lei Ho-shing of T'ichling in Liaotung, Magistrate of San On, 1670-1677. Fifth Edition 1688 by (?); Preface by Kan Man-mo. Kan Man-mo of K'aichou in Chihli, Magistrate of San On, 1687—(?). Sixth Edition 1819 by Wong Shung-hei; Prefaces by Yuen Yuen, Lo Yuen-wai, Shue Mau-kwun and the author. Wong Shung-hei of Nanch'eng in Kiangsi, a prefectural sub-graduate of Chihli. Yuen Yuen, an Imperial Censor, Viceroy and Commander-in-Chief of Kwangsi, Kwangtung, Hunan, Kueichou and Yunnan; of -wei in Kiangsu; born about 1760. Lo Yuen-wai, a chin-shih, Intendant of Grain for Kwangtung, of Nam Ye. Shue Mau-kwun (Yue-fong), a chin-shih, Magistrate of San On, 1816—(?). Sixth Edition was reprinted without its maps in the 1930s. * In which case a copy of this edition might be preserved among the clan archives. ================================================================================ 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 117 from Kwantung province Wong Chi Tsoi (£*) of Tung Koon district was rewarded with this privilege. The Lik Ying Tsaai had a large library which housed many thousands of books, and outside the North gate of the village Tang Foo built several hostels for the students to live in. He cultivated the surrounding fields, and the income derived from them was used for forming scholarships for poor students. Tang Foo lectured to the scholars himself sometimes, but he also paid learned men to teach regularly. In the 24th year of Ka Hing (✯✯) A.D. 1819 of Ts'ing (†) dynasty when "The History of the San On district" was revised the ruins of the school were still to be seen, but now there is no trace of it left. According to a copy of the family tree belonging to the Ping Shaan (1) branch of the Tang family, the original stone on Tang Foo's grave was replaced in the 45th year of Ka Tsing (†) A.D. 1566 of Ming dynasty, by a man named Tang Shui Faan (†4K) as it was broken and illegible. On the new stone it was said that the date of Tang Foo was not obtainable, but it stated that he lived during the Sung dynasty. In the 33rd year of Hong Hei () A.D. 1694, of Tsing dynasty another stone was erected, and it is this one, that gives the date of Tang Foo passing his Tsun-sz (+) examination to be the 2nd year of Sung Ning ($) of Sung dynasty A.D. 1103, but considering that his great grandson Tang Sin (#) (or Tang Yuen Leung, one of the "five yuens”) is known to have been district officer of Kung Yuen (4) Kiangsi province in the 3rd year of Kin Yim (£ƒ) A.D. 1129 of Sung dynasty, it is probable that Tang Foo lived a good deal earlier. In fact in the 8th year of Shing Fa (1 ) A.D. 1472 of Ming dynasty the Tang family wrote in their family tree the suggestion that perhaps the 2nd year of Sung Ning () was miswritten for 2nd year of Hei Ning ( ) which would put the date of Tang Foo back to A.D. 1069, a far more possible date. The system of district magistrates in the Sung dynasty was quite different to the system in the modern dynasty of Ts'ing (). When the "Five Dynasties” Ng Toi (£†) A.D. 907-959 began China was in a state of rebellion and disunion. Large armies under their separate generals had to be sent to the various localities to keep order, but far from supporting the Emperor the generals turned the country they were sent to control, into feudatory states, Faan Chan ================================================================================ 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 the Emperor Sung Kwong Tsung (***). After her death her eldest son Lam (†) took a letter that she left behind to Sung Kwong Tsung, who ordered that honours should be paid to the dead princess, the name of Wong Kwu bestowed on her, and a thousand Chinese acres of cultivated land given to Lam, the income from which to be spent on her grave for customary rites and worship. The To Shue Tsaap Shing which was written in the 4th year of Yung Ching (£) of Ts'ing dynasty, A.D. 1726, mentions the fields as being still used for this purpose. The princess was very famous for her humility. When she first came to Kam T'in she willingly helped to do the servants' work in the house, and showed no pride in her high birth. There are two sentences referring to her in a poem written by the poet Kan Sz Leung (MA) which run:— 1. 金枝玉葉無人偶, 2. 凄絕農家執箕帚。 which roughly translated read: 1. Gold branch jade leaves no one dare to make a pair with. 2. Sad utmost farmer family hold dustpan and broom. When the princess became very old a site for her grave was chosen by a famous "fung shui" man named Lai Paak Shiu (16 #). He selected a hill called Sz Tsz Shaan (#) in Shek Tseng (#) near Shek Lung, which was supposed to resemble a lion, but he first asked her if she would prefer to be buried on the lion's head or its tail. She asked what difference it would make, and she was told that if her grave was on the head her descendants would be very great men; but if on the tail they would be more humble people, perhaps officers of low degree, and, although prosperous, none would succeed to high rank. The princess at once said, “I do not want my descendants to become great. They could never be as high as an Emperor's daughter, and yet even I was in danger of my life. I wish them to enjoy the red rice and the shiny scale fish (the unhusked rice and herrings, farmers' food). If they have that they should be content." So she was buried on the lion's tail, and two more sentences were written about her, 1. 紅米之飯錦鰍魚, 2. 田家風味甘有餘。 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1973 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8910rj06r 126 SUNG HOK-P’ANG The history of the three younger sons is not known, but of Lam, who was born some time during the reign of Shun Hei (FR) A.D. 1174-1189, it is recorded that he held the office of Ts'im P'oon (僉判) and received honour as Tik Kung Long (迪功郎). He was rich and very charitable and he contributed a lot of money towards the building of T’ung Tsai (通濟) and Tak Shaang (得勝) bridges. He also built a pagoda called Ngaan Taap (雁塔) for the public; a house called Ling Yuen Kok (靈隱閣) and gave liberally towards the repairing of a main road which was formerly the haunt of robbers. The Tung Tsai bridge is still in use in Tung Kwun (東莞) and is at Woo Sha (烏沙) in the South-west part of the district. Though the record stone of the Tak Shaang bridge is lost, fortunately there is a copy of it written by Leung Koi (梁楷) the district magistrate of Lai Ling Yuen (東莞縣), a famous scholar and “Tsun Sz” (進士) of the 7th year of Ka Ting (嘉定) A.D. 1214, of Sung dynasty. He knew so much that his nickname was Shue Sz (書廚) "book case"! Tak Shaang bridge was a very old bridge over the stream Foong Shaang K'iu Ho (放生橋河). This stream was originally called Chaak Mut (釋物) “kindness to creatures". It was the custom on the birthday of the Emperor for the magistrate and elders to come to the bridge and there set free birds from cages and put living fish in the stream. This was to show the Emperor's love for living things, and the name of the ceremony was Foong Shaang (放生), "to set free living creatures". The bridge was situated at the South gate of the district city of Tung Kwun, and there were many well-built houses by it. The date of when it was originally built is not known, but it was first repaired by Cheung Fan (張範) the district magistrate of Tung Kwun in the 2nd year of Shui Hei (紹熙) A.D. 1191, of Sung dynasty. This repair was done in wood, but later, in the 2nd year of Shiu Ting (淳祐) A.D. 1229 of Sung dynasty, it was rebuilt in stone. This was carried out by Chiu Yue Hon (趙與諴) the district magistrate, who did his best to meet the expenses incurred with money from his government funds. This he found impossible to do, so he appealed to Tang Lam and another wealthy man named Ng Hak Foon (吳學文) who between them promised to pay all the expenses themselves. It is still the most famous bridge in Tung Kwun district. The Ngaan Taap or “wild goose" pagoda was built on To Ka Shaan (道家山) in FL on the western side of Tung Kwun city. The original Ngaan Taap pagoda was built in A.D. 652, the Wing Fai (永徽)... ================================================================================ 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 127 ) 3rd year of T'ong (統) dynasty, by a Buddhist priest named Yuen Chong (圓聰) in the Ts'z Yun monastery (慈雲寺) in Ch'eung On (昌安) city, Shensi (陝西) province, near the Great Wall. This monastery had been built about fifty years previously by the Emperor T'ong Ko Tsung (唐玄宗) for his mother. When the pagoda was being built a wild goose flew against it and was killed, and the monks buried the bird underneath the pagoda and in this way it received its name. It became the custom ever since Shan Lung (神龍) years A.D. 705 & 706 of T'ong dynasty for the Emperor to give a banquet in the monastery called the Kuk Kong Yin (曲江宴) “winding river banquet,” to all the new "Tsun Sz” (進士). Their names were carved on a stone tablet in the pagoda, and it became customary to use the expression “Ngaan T'aap T'ai Ming (雁塔題名) when congratulating successful candidates for the highest government examination. In Tang Lam's time the Tung Kwun people wished to have their own Ngaan Taap pagoda, and Tang Lam provided the money for them to do it. It was built some time during the ten years of Shun Yau (淳祐) A.D. 1241-1251 of Sung dynasty, and it was repaired in the 40th year of Shung Ching (崇禎) A.D. 1637 of Ming dynasty by a Tung Kwun "Tsun Sz” named Kwok Kau Ting (郭九錠). Lam's grave is still to be found in Hon Yee Haang (巷義行) in Tung Kwun district. The children of the four sons of Tang Tsz Ming seem to have left Kam T'in, and their descendants founded families in other villages. Those of Lam are to be found in the village of Lung Kwat Tau (龍骨頭) near Fanling (粉嶺); those of Waai still live in Tai Po Tau (大埔頭) near Tai Po market and Lai Tung (黎洞) near Sha Tau Kok (沙頭角), while Kei's descendants settled in Tung Kwun. But the great grandson of Tsz came back to Kam T'in. His name was Shau Tso (秀祖), he held the military rank of Chung Mo Kau Wai (忠武校尉) and in the Yuen (元) dynasty A.D. 1277 he received the honour of Hin Mo Tsueng Kwan (顯武將軍). He had two great-grandsons, brothers, named Hung Yee (鴻義) and Hung Chi (鴻志). The latter was a son-in-law of Hoh Tik (何狄) the younger brother of Hoh Chan (何真) who ruled Kwangtung (廣東) and Kwangsi (廣西) provinces at the end of the Yuen dynasty. When the Ming dynasty started Hoh Chan gave up his territory to the first Emperor, but later on he became involved in the case of General Leung Kwok Kung (梁國公) Laam Yuk (濫獄)... ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1974 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/x633mp077 LEGENDS & STORIES OF THE NEW TERRITORIES 171 Tang Leung Sz passed Kung Shaang degree in the 38th year of Maan Lik♬ of Ming dynasty, A.D. 1610, and held the office of Fan-to. Tang Yue Cheung took his Sau-t'soi✯✯ degree in the 2nd year of Yung Ching of Ts'ing dynasty A.D. 1724 and in the following year became a Lam Shang. In the first year of Kin-lung✯✯ A.D. 1736 he passed Kui Yan, second in the list of successful candidates, but just failed to pass the Wui Shi examination the following year. However, his name was put on the Ming T'ung Pong list and he was appointed as Hok-ching of Tak Hing Chau in Kwangtung province. Tang Yue Cheung's name in the San On Record book is among the “Heung Yin" or "village worthies," and it is said there that:— Tang Yue Cheung was a scholar of a very kind and honest nature. He was very "taan-chik”✯✯ ("to wear the heart upon the sleeve for daws to peck at") and his knowledge of learning was very wide. In all his dealings with his friends he was sincere and faithful, and as a Hok-ching he was very diligent. Once some of his students fell out with the authorities, and found themselves faced with a false accusation, but were too afraid to defend themselves. Tang, however, at once entered into the dispute, and through his clear-headedness kept his students out of trouble. In the 17th year of K'in Lung A.D. 1752 Tang was called to the capital to attend an examination, but he died there, and Fung Shing Sau (a Hon Lam graduate) wrote the epitaph "for his name lives for ever,” to be carved on his grave. Tang Man Wai was the only Tsun-sz come from the New Territories, and his name is recorded in the San On book under the column devoted to hang yee "men of high repute." He was left fatherless at an early age, and had to work with the fishermen and wood-cutters in great poverty, to earn money to support himself and his mother. But all the while he was a scholar at heart and in his spare time he read his books and people said that he could be heard continually humming his lessons on the road, as he carried wood or worked with the fishermen. His uncle Tang Chan Ng, a Lam Shang, helped him, and his success in later years was greatly due to the old man's teaching. In the 14th year of Shun Chi A.D. 1657, Ts'ing dynasty, he passed his Kui Yan degree, but later failed for Tsun Sz and so returned to Kam T'in where he passed twenty years or more, living as a hermit. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1974 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/x633mp077 172 SUNG HOK-PANG He then returned to the capital, and stayed in General Ngai's house where he was able to make friends with many famous scholars. He wrote a book named "Yin t’oi san ngai” which had a preface written by Ts'oi Shing Yuen ## Noi Kok Hok Sz a political minister of high rank. Three years later Tang passed his Tsun sz degree, and was appointed district magistrate of Lung Yau Yuen in Chekiang province. Tang Man Wai was of a kind-hearted disposition and some say that through this the wall of T'aai Hong Wai was built. The story goes that when Tang passed his Sau Tsoi degree he was sent to Kwai Shin district, now Wai Yeung, to collect the rent due on cultivated lands, belonging to his family property. While there he came across a young man named Lei Maan Wing * hanging upside down as a punishment. On asking the reason why, Tang learnt that Lei had contracted gambling debts and was unable to pay them. Tang was sorry for the young man, paid all his debts and was able to use his influence in obtaining a military post for him. This happened during the end of the Ming Dynasty. Later on when the Manchus drove out the Mings in the North and the Ming Emperor Wing Lik✯✯ had retreated to Kwangtung, Lei was a colonel under Cheung Ka Yuk ✯ who was fighting against the Manchus. When Cheung was defeated in battle in the 4th year of Shun Chi A.D., 1647 of Ts'ing dynasty, and drowned himself, Lei, who was with him, fled with about a hundred soldiers. Gradually many of Cheung's soldiers were able to rejoin him, and with a strong army he attacked both Tung Kwun ✯✯ and San On ✯* districts. He drove out the Manchus, and made his headquarters in what is now known as the New Territories. One of Lei's camps was situated in the district round K'ei Lun Wai LP'ing Shan A and T'sing Leung Fat Yuen ****. Before the latter, which is a nunnery, was built, the locality had been known as Ying P'oon Tei, "The ground of the camp," and while the building was in progress the workmen dug up many old coffins which were supposed to be those of Lei's soldiers. Among them was found a general's sword, broken in many pieces. Anyone going to Kwun Yam Shaan to visit the Ling Wan monastery would notice half way up Taai Mo Shaan, far above the cultivated land, a stretch of hillside that has been terraced and flattened out in some former time. This is supposed to have been another of Lei's encampments. Lei burned and pillaged, and most of the + ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1974 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/x633mp077 176 SUNG HOK-PANG dants, a picture of this is shown on plate. Tang Kuen Hin was very rich and was very proud of his family. He had four sons and twenty-four grandsons and the number of his family and servants together are said to have totalled two hundred. To the northwest of Yuen Long market are some very fine fish ponds situated in particularly pleasing scenery. This land was Tang Kuen Hin's property, it now forms part of the "Ching Sheung" * entailed property, the proceeds of which are applied to ancestral worship. Notes on Some of the Government Examinations of China. The Sau-ts'oi was the first examination and in many respects could be likened to that which is held for the Bachelor of Arts degree. The Candidates for this examination, which was held in the capital and several other towns of each province, were very numerous, as all with any pretence to education, were anxious to graduate in Sau Ts'oi. In consequence it was necessary for each candidate to be guaranteed by a man specially appointed to the office called "Lam Shang," whose duty it was to stand as surety for the identity of each of his examinees. Another examination, Heung Shi, to be attempted was for the Kui Yan degree which was also held in the capital of each Province. Possessed of this degree a man was eligible to hold the office of District Magistrate, etc. Between Sau Ts'oi and Kui Yan were five different titles of Kung Shaang the holders of which could be appointed as District Magistrates, etc. Wui Shi was a higher examination held in the Capital of China. The degree which was known as Tsun Sz, was instituted in A.D. 606, and could be compared with a Doctorate. Candidates who failed in this examination, and yet had written papers of a high standard could have their names put on a list called Ming T'ung Pong ", which made them eligible for holding the posts of Hok Ching, the Director of studies in a “Chau” or department, or in the Imperial Academy, and Kau Yue, the Director of studies attached to a District. After a man passed Tsun Sz degree he attended an examination in the Imperial Palace. This was called Ch'iu Haau, Court examination. If he passed he then obtained the title of Shue Kat Sz 庶吉士, He then went to the Hon Lam Yuen 翰林院 where he stayed for several years drafting documents for the Emperor and ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1974 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/x633mp077 LEGENDS & STORIES OF THE NEW TERRITORIES 183 road,” now Victoria city, and So Kwun Po (7). From the fact that these references occurred in the Leung Ch'aak (##) or Register Book of Tung Kwun district, one may judge that the land was owned by the Tangs before the 1st year of Maan Lik, A.D. 1525, as after that the San On district was formed. To the East of Shui Mei village there is an ancestral Hall called Mau King T'ong (N). It was built by the descendants of Tang Chan (1) Tang Yui (*) and Tang Kuen (#) the three younger brothers of Tang Yam (3) the father of Tang Tsing Lok. When the descendants of Tang Yam completed the building of Sz Shing Tong, the descendants of the three younger brothers felt it was a disgrace that there were no ancestral halls for their respective ancestors. However they were far from being rich, so they decided to combine together and build one hall under the leadership of Tang Man Wai (4X4), who was a man of rank and a descendant of Tang Chan. On the top of the front door they carved the characters §; › §¡› ✯ ✯✯ “Chan, Yui, Kuen, the three Ancestors Hall," and on a signboard the three big characters ✯✯ Mau King Tong, were written by Ts'oi Hok Yuen (4) a scholar of San On, and hung in the hall in the 22nd year of Ka Hing, A.D. 1817, of Ts'ing dynasty. The reason why the name Mau King Tong was chosen was on account of the old story "Tin Shi King fa fook mau” ( # A#*M*) “the Judas-tree of T'in family again becomes luxuriant." The story is as follows:-- T'in Chan (₪) and his two younger brothers T'in Hing (w A) and T'in Kwong (□), natives of Chiu Shing district (#K) of Shantung, during the Hon dynasty, decided to divide their family property between them. Among other things, they owned a Tsz King (**), judas tree, and the evening before the dividing up was to take place they found to their surprise that the tree was withered. This upset T'in Chan's feelings very much, he sighed and said to his younger brothers, "The different branches of the tree come from one root; now that they have heard that they are to be divided up, they have become melancholy and look sorrowful. Now we brothers are human beings, but although we have separate bodies we all came from the same parents, so why should we divide the family property and live separately? Do we not feel ashamed in seeing the appearance of this tree?" Then the younger brothers were moved by this, and they never mentioned the idea of dividing the family property ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1976 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/hq382988q 166 DAVID FAURE in Sheung Yiu, Tsak Yue Wu, Tai Mong Tsai, She Tau, Shek Hang, Tai Long, Wo Mei, Nam Wai, and Ho Chung.1 Finally, the pirates must not be omitted in any discussion of the early history of Sai Kung. It would seem that, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the pirates were most rampant in the outer reaches of the region. Seung Sz Wan and Hang Hau Village kept two guns on the two arms of the bay to be directed against pirates. Madam Lau of Seung Sz Wan remembered that the pirates once came into the village, and took away the villagers' pigs. In Tan Ka Wan, there were bandits in the late 1920's and 1930's, and the young men had to keep watch regularly.1 15 Up to the early 1900's, despite the economic development, Sai Kung was not yet in any strict sense a "district". There is no indication that the villagers of the time thought of the area that is now Sai Kung District as a single territorial unit. Crucial to the creation of the district was the founding of Sai Kung Market. SAI KUNG MARKET AND ITS TRADE The San On Gazetteer of 1819 did not consider either Sai Kung or Hang Hau to be a market. Unlike other markets in the New Territories, periodic market gatherings were not held here at any time. As Mr. Yau T’aam Shang explained it to us, "Sai Kung in those days was not a market; it was a moorage inlet."10 In 1835, Lai Tak Yau, a Tanka fisherman who sometimes served as pilot for Western sailing boats, took by force some four thousand dollars from one that was hit by storm. Out of this, he spent over a hundred dollars to settle his debts with the general store San Ue T'aai on Leung Shuen Wan. He went on a shopping spree, and spent more than a hundred dollars on Peng Chau and Cheung Chau, buying silk goods from the shops in the latter place. He left most of the balance with a certain Wong Yau Kwong, of Kowloon, a Tanka boatman who owned a large fishing boat and moored at Fat Tong Mun. Wong, in turn, went to San Ue T'aai, and purchased four hundred and fifty dollars' worth of provisions, and then, because he thought ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1976 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/hq382988q 204 MAURICE FREEDMAN Connected with the union there was an organisation which operated a kind of agricultural insurance scheme, making good losses by theft of crops and beasts. Again, the Luk Yeuk was composed of both Punti and Hakka. 24. There are other 'numerical' yeuk-complexes: the Four (Sz) Yeuk of Tsuen Wan, the Six (Luk) Yeuk of Sai Kung, and the Nine (Kau) Yeuk of Sha Tin. In these three cases, however, we see the influence on rural organisation of an urban and administrative centre. The walled city of Kowloon was the only official seat in that part of San On to be converted into the New Territories. It held the yamen of a deputy magistrate and certain military officials, no doubt acquiring some of its importance as a centre of government in the second half of the nineteenth century from the proximity of the British Colony. The Kau Yeuk of Sha Tin appears to have consisted of forty-eight villages, of which the five largest were Punti and the rest Hakka. The Ch'e Kung Temple (now the property of the Secretary for Chinese Affairs in his part as a corporation sole) belonged to the Kau Yeuk, according to one account, but was taken over by the S.C.A. when a dispute was precipitated by a claim put forward by one village to control it. On the Sz Yeuk of Tsuen Wan I have discovered little more than that it existed. Sung Hok-p'ang once told a Chinese scholar, who has since committed the statement to writing, that the area now called Tsuen Wan was in late Ming or early Ch'ing times known as Tsuen Wan Yeuk and that formerly all the villages in the area from Ting Kau to Kowloon City belonged to it. The Luk Yeuk of Sai Kung, however, has left clearer traces. I cannot define its composition exactly, but I have been told that Ho Chung, Pak Kong, Sha Kok Mei, Tseung Kwan O and two settlements in Shap Sz Heung were the six yeuk. Once again, both Hakka and Punti were involved. The three yeuk-complexes of Tsuen Wan, Sha Tin, and Sai Kung were in some fashion tied in with a council, formal or informal, in Kowloon City; and it appears likely that the local deputy magistrate used this organisation to make contact with the villages in his neighbourhood. In 1879 (according to its own records) there came into existence in Kowloon a body known as the Lok Sin Tong; members of the three yeuk-complexes were represented on it. Its primary object seems to have been to promote charity, public works, and education, while in character it would appear to have been an association of local gentry. The Lok Sin Tong still exists; indeed, it has grown ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1976 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/hq382988q 238 MAURICE FREEDMAN 74. Early in the British period in the New Territories a considerable movement took place to the West Indies, especially from the Sha Tau Kok and Shap Sz Heung areas. After the Second World War the opportunities for overseas migration were much reduced both because of restrictions imposed in many countries and on account of the failure of the local shipping industry to re-establish its demand for seamen. New Territories men were casting about for new overseas openings; a few discovered the opportunity created by a demand for (what passes for) Chinese food in Britain, where there had been for many years a small but prosperous Chinese restaurant trade run mainly by Chinese from the New Territories and the area adjacent to it across the border in China; and within a short space of time a new emigration was under way, haphazard to begin with but becoming well-organised as its economic possibilities were realised by entrepreneurs. San Tin, whose men now bulk very large in the ranks of the emigrants, appears to have been a pioneer; one of the oldest Chinese restaurants in London was started by a man from this settlement. (I have a figure, which I have not been able to check, of 520 San Tin men in the United Kingdom in February of this year). The movement to Britain was already well-marked in the early fifties; it began to increase sharply in 1956 and reached its peak figures in the years 1958-1962. In the last few months, for reasons to be discussed presently, emigration has fallen away, so that 1963 may well prove to be a year in which the movement to the United Kingdom can be definitively studied. The New Territories demand for overseas work has also been met in part during recent years by the opportunities for contract-labour in Borneo and Nauru and Ocean Islands. The figures for this emigration are given in the New Territories Administrative Reports, but it is a movement about which I know very little and on which I propose to say nothing more. 75. The ability of the Chinese restaurant trade in the United Kingdom to expand by tapping the New Territories very widely for its workers rested on the enterprise of a few men who organised an efficient method of recruiting, financing, and conveying would-be hands once it became clear that considerable profits were to be made. The early traffic was by sea. For a time charter flights took men over to London (and brought some of them back) at £90 a head. More recently the airlines have offered special migrants' fares at £85. Much of the recent financing has been done through ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1977 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/np198x23n 170 DAVID FAURE now be described. In general, villagers from Ho Chung all the way east to Ko Tong, and those from the islands in Rocky Harbour, went to Sai Kung Market. Tung Sam Kei, and Hoi Ha villagers went to Tai Po and Tap Mun, but a boat from Pak Tam Chung came regularly to collect firewood, which was sent to Sai Kung. Pak Sha O villagers went to both Tai Po and Sai Kung. Shap Sz Heung, and Sham Chung, were in the Tai Po marketing area rather than in that of Sai Kung. To the south, villagers from Tseng Lan Shue and Pik Uk obtained their supplies from Kowloon. Villagers from the Tseung Kwan O to Seung Sz Wan area went to Hang Hau. Tin Ha Wan had several shops, but its residents, as well as those from Po Toi O and Tai Wan Tau usually went to Shaukiwan. In general, if the transport linkage between Hang Hau and Sai Kung is taken into account, the Sai Kung marketing area went from Seung Sz Wan to Ko Tong, beyond the present administrative boundary of Sai Kung District,29 So far as can be discovered, except for several from Tam Shui (Wai Chau), the shop-keepers of Hang Hau came from its own marketing area, i.e. from Mang Kung Uk, Pan Long Wan, Tseung Kwan O, and Ha Yeung. There were several general stores, selling food, including grain, meat, oil, salt fish, and salt. There was a goldsmith, a stationer, a tailor, and there were several ferries.3 By 1916, when the Sai Kung T'in Hau Temple was renovated, Sai Kung had for some time been the bigger town. There were at least eight general stores, two butchers, a teahouse, a tailor, a Taoist priest, a herbalist, a draper's, and two shipyards. Many of the owners came from outside the Sai Kung marketing area, from Shuen Wan and Sham Chung, both in the Tai Po marketing area; Sham Chun, Po Kut, and Sha Tseng, all three in Po On county; Wai Chau; and San Wooi.31 Brief information on some of these shops can be found in Table 1. The biggest shop in Sai Kung Market was Saam Shing general store, followed closely by T'aai Shing. Saam Shing was the older, but T'aai Shing caught up quickly. Mr. Lei Yiu T'ing, who worked in T'aai Shing just before World War II, remembered that letters for Sai Kung villagers were brought to the shop with goods from Hong Kong. Mr. Lei Shiu Yam remembered that T'aai Shing used to help villagers collect their overseas remittances. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1977 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/np198x23n 173 the kaifong, which was fixed by auction, the keeper of the scale could keep the charges paid for the use of the scale by merchants. The fee was used for the management of the temple and the annual celebration of the birthday of T'in Hau, usually held towards the middle of the Fourth Lunar Month. To prepare for this festival, the committee had to arrange for donations from Sai Kung residents to make the necessary purchases and to contract with a troupe for the opera. Besides the birthday of T'in Hau, the kaifong also had to arrange for a puppet show at the Great King Earthgod's shrine, and the offering of a pig at the temple at the beginning of the year, on the day of the T'in Hau Festival, at the Kwan Tai Festival, and at the end of the year.35 The activities of the kaifong committee became routine. Some time in the 1930's, a younger generation of merchants in Sai Kung formed themselves into the Chamber of Commerce. The leader of this new body was Lei Shiu Yam, of Lan Nei Wan. When World War II broke out, it was this group that was the more active in Sai Kung Market. DAILY LIFE C. 1920 Population The census of 1911 counted 9,243 people in Sai Kung District, which at the time also included Shap Sz Heung and villages near Sham Chung and Pak Sha O. The same census reported that there were 2,633 Punti-speaking, 6,599 Hakka-speaking, and 11 Hoklo-speaking villagers in the district. It probably neglected the boat population, the size of which must now remain unknown. As recorded, the Sai Kung population amounted to 13.4 percent of the total population of the New Territories. Village, lineage, and voluntary association The reported population was distributed through 126 villages. The great majority of these had a smaller population than 100, and many could not have been more than isolated houses. By no means the smallest, Tin Ha Wan had 37 people, Mok Tse Che 51, Tai Nam Wu 33, Ma Lam Wat 43, and Tso Wo Hang 24. Only 21 villages in what is recognized now as Sai Kung ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1977 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/np198x23n Table 2 Villages with Populations Above 100 in 1911 175 Males Females Total Sai Kung Market 320 192 512 Mang Kung Uk * 207 227 434 • Ho Chung Hang Hau • Sha Kok Mei Nam Wai · • Tseng Lan Shue Tseung Kwan O Pak Kong · Ha Yeung Pan Long Wan Tai Po Tsai 159 259 418 262 125 387 152 194 346 178 146 324 124 152 276 · 90 103 193 • · • 75 115 190 93 91 184 86 92 178 • 77 95 172 Yim Tin Tsai 79 83 162 Seung Sz Wan Wong Nai Chau Lan Nai Wan Tai Mong Tsai Tai Wan Tau Yau U Wan ... 79 66 145 Tai Hang Hau • Tai No • 72 70 142 • • 77 65 142 • 75 63 138 · 53 64 117 • • . 355 53 63 116 51 57 108 55 53 107 • D Source: 1911 Census Ho Chung, and the Tsik Shin T'ong, that owned the land on which the Ch'e Kung Temple was built, the furniture and dinner utensils needed for village feasts that all members of the village could make use of, and the village school. Nonetheless, without any doubt, the Ch'e Kung Temple was an institution not of the Cheung lineage but of the entire village and surrounding villages. Hence, in the decennial ta tsiu, all the surname groups in Ho Chung and related villages participated. Nam Pin came to the ta tsiu, because it was related to the Tses of Ho Chung. Tai Po Tsai (near Deep Water Bay) and Tai Nam Wu came, because they were related to the Wans, and the Lams of Seung Sz Wan came, because they were related to the Lams of Ho Chung. Mok ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1977 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/np198x23n 179 Among smaller villages, arrangements for co-operation often extended beyond the village itself. Hang Hau and nearby Seung Sz Wan, for instance, were closely involved in each other's celebrations. When there were celebrations in one village, members of the other village could come without invitation.44 Inter-village co-operative arrangements of one sort or another were sufficiently strong for most of the smaller villages to identify themselves as being parts of permanent village alliances. Tai Mong Tsai, Tai Po Tsai, Shek Hang, Tit Kim Hang, Tam Wat, Wong Mo Ying, Ping Tun, and She Tau formed the Paat Heung (Eight Villages); Nam Shan included also Fu Yung Pit, Kak Hang Tun, Keng Pang Ha, and Lung Mei; Pak Tam Chung included Pak Tam, Tsak Yue Wu, Wong Keng Tei, Sheung Yiu, Wong Yi Chau, and Tsam Chuk Wan; and Ngong Wo, Wo Liu, Shan Liu, Tai Wan, Tso Wo Hang, Sha Ha, Nam A, Wong Chuk Yeung, Long Keng, and O Tau formed the Shap Heung (Ten Villages). The Paat Heung had a joint school in Tai Mong Tsai; the Pak Tam Chung villages jointly worshipped the Great King earthgod near Sheung Yiu; the Shap Heung had its joint school in Tai Wan, and used to maintain collectively the T'in Hau Temple at Wong Chuk Yeung (now ruined). The larger villages, e.g. Ho Chung, Mang Kung Uk, Sha Kok Mei, Nam Wai, Tseng Lan Shue, and Pak Kong, were apparently not parties to such alliances, but regarded themselves as forming complete units in themselves.45 Inter-village disputes were not common, but there were some long-standing ones. Sha Kok Mei disputed with Nam Shan over tree-cutting rights. Nam Wai and Ho Chung fought over a quarrel that had started when the cows of one village damaged the crops of the other.46 Festivals and customs The major festivals in the village were the New Year, and the T'in Kei (birthday of Nui Woh, the Earth Goddess), Ts'ing Ming (spring worship at the ancestral graves), Dragon Boat, Tsat Tse (Seven Sisters), Mid-Autumn, Double-Ninth (autumn worship at the ancestral graves), and Tung Chi (winter solstice) festivals, the temple festivals of the local temples (in this area Ch'e Kung, T'in Hau, Koon Yam, and Hung Shing), the festivals of the local ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1978 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8g84t8593 184 DAVID FAURE née Yau, of Mang Kung Uk is not untypical. She grew up in Tseng Lan Shue, was betrothed at 4 years old, but continued to live in her father's village. At 7 she helped to look after three cows, driving them up the hill early in the morning, returning at approximately 8.00 am or 9.00 am for breakfast, and going back to the hill to drive them home in the early afternoon. At 10, she began to help her mother to carry firewood into Kowloon, carrying approximately 30 catties on each trip. She married at 19, and worked under the supervision of her mother-in-law. Her husband was a seaman, and received only 8 dollars per month. Her mother-in-law looked after the children, and she cooked, farmed, raised pigs, cut firewood and grass, and carried water. She often had to rise at 4.00 in the morning and work till late at night.64 Up to the eve of World War II, daily life in Sai Kung did not change significantly from the description given in this chapter. This background is needed for an understanding of the impact of the War on Sai Kung's residents. THE WAR YEARS The coming of the Japanese It was 3.00 o'clock in the morning, December 10, 1941. Mr. Chung P'oon was awakened by loud banging on his door. Thinking that these might be bandits, he answered the door with knife in hand. He opened the door to find several guns pointing at him. The Japanese army had arrived at Wong Chuk Shan Village. For him and for the rest of the Sai Kung population, the occupation had begun.... Through an interpreter, the Japanese told him they wanted to be taken to Kowloon. Mr. Chung did not know it then, but we now know that two days earlier, the Japanese army had overrun Tai Po and Sha Tin, and the day before had taken what was known as the "Shingmun redoubt". British forces were withdrawing from the New Territories to Hong Kong Island, and a contingent of Sepoy soldiers were covering the retreat at Devil's Peak. The Japanese soldiers in Wong Chuk Shan had probably strayed into the village by mistake. They had come over from Shap Sz Heung, intending to find their way into Kowloon. Now, ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1978 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8g84t8593 189 although military power was much needed at the time. In fact, it was quite ineffective against the bandits. Several months into the occupation, the office was burnt by the bandit Wong Chuk Ts'eng.70 Mr. The burning of the Wai Ch'i Wooi was well-known. Chan Tsz K'eung, of Sai Kung Market, thought that a Japanese spy had been sent to investigate the guerrillas in Sai Kung and that this was a reprisal. Mr. Lei Yun Shau thought that it was due to a dispute between Wong Chuk Ts'eng and the Wai Ch'i Wooi. Mr. Loh Kai Faat of Kau Sai thought that Wong Chuk Ts'eng, having made a fortune from banditry, was wavering between looting and working for the guerrillas; the Wai Ch'i Wooi, however, was on the verge of deciding to capture him. Mr. Sham Kin K'eung, who spent most of his war years in Tai P'ang, said that Wong had fought on the side of the Nationalist forces in Tam Shui at Pak Mong Fa. He was a bandit and a smuggler who operated from Sham Chun to Wai Chau, and he had many small groups working under him. Mr. Sham thought it unlikely that Wong would have come to Sai Kung himself, and believed it must have been one of these groups working for him that was responsible for burning the Wai Ch'i Wooi. It is not at all clear what the disputes between the Wai Ch'i Wooi and the bandits amounted to. Several months after the burning of the Wai Ch'i Wooi, Mr. Lei Shiu Yam resigned as chairman, and the post was given to Mr. Hui Mei Naam of Lai Chi Chong. This change might not have had anything to do with the burning of the Wooi. Several months into the occupation, the Japanese Government could afford to strengthen its presence in the districts. On July 20, a new system of district administration was promulgated, dividing the whole of Hong Kong and the New Territories into twenty-eight districts, Sai Kung being one of them. Each one of these districts was represented by a K'ui Ching Shoh (District Administration Office), and this name came to be used in place of Wai Ch'i Wooi. The extent of the district was the entire peninsula east of Ma On Shan, including not only the villages from Tseng Lan Shue to Man Yee Wan, but also those north of Pak Tam Chung, those in Shap Sz Heung, and those near Hang Hau. The K'ui Ching Shoh office was set up at the Sung Chen School, and at about this time, a small contingent ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1980 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207 206 DAVID FAURE annum. The Yung Sz Ch'iu account books from Hoi Ha (see footnote 8) show that it was 30 percent, and that as a rule, interest was seldom successfully collected in full. 20 Mr. Chau T'in Shang 3.6.81, Mr. Tse Kw'an 16.11.80. Mr. Lau K'in Tsun of Ha Yeung (Int. 17.7.81), who managed the Kwong Shing general store at Hang Hau before the War, remembered that he bought oil and rice from the Nam Pak Hong, and had to send his goods to Hang Hau via Shaukiwan. 27 Mr. Hoh King 27.5.81 described the shops making rice wine in conjunction with pig raising, the dregs from the wine being used to feed the pigs. The beancurd maker was Loi Lei, see int. Madam Laai Hung Tai 8.5.81, the owner's daughter. Of course, the markets also provided the hawkers who went regularly to the villages. Mrs. Lau 14.6.81 remembered the fish mongers who took fish from Seung Sz Wan to Ha Yeung, and the hawkers who came with sweets and items of clothing. 28 Mr. Yau T'aam Shang 8.5.81 for years operated a boat that carried lime and firewood to Kowloon. His father was in a similar business. In the 1930's, Mr. Cheung Ts'oi 20.6.81 had a junk that took orders from shops in Sai Kung for purchases from Hong Kong. Mr. Lei P'aang Kei collected fish in Sai Kung directly from fishermen to be sent to Kowloon. He had formerly worked for Saam Shing, and started this business on his own when Saam Shing collapsed in the 1930's (Int. Mr. Lei P'aang Kei 12.5.81, 19.5.81). Mr. Chan T'in Po 12.5.81 from Yim Tin Tsai used to send his fish to Sai Kung Market and employed women to carry them into Kowloon, paying 40 cents for approximately 40 catties. 29 In addition to references already cited, see Ints. Mr. Hoh Shang 20.6.81, Mr. Tse Shui Kam 24.6.81, Mrs. Mo née Cheng 28.6.81, Mr. Lau 16.6.81, Mr. Leung Yung Hei 16.6.81, Mr. Lok Shang 21.5.81, Mrs. Yung née Wan 2.7.81, Mr. Shing Uen Wan 10.7.81, Mrs. Tsang née Shing 14.7.81, Mr. Ng 15.7.81, Mr. Lau 17.7.81, Mr. Yau Yan 22.7.81. 30 Mr. Wong Kam Tai 20.7.81 remembered Shing Woh general store, owned by the ancestors of Mr. Shing Mau Kwong of Mang Kung Uk, that collected fish for various shops that made salt fish, a shop that made wine, owned by a Mr. Lau, a stationer's owned by a Mr. Chan, and a small shipyard that removed barnacles from boats, owned by a Mr. Po. Mr. Yau T'aam Shang 31.7.81 remembered that the Maus of Pan Long Wan had a general store there, the Shings of Mang Kung Uk had two shops, both called Shing Woh. 31 Mr. Yau T'aam Shang 8.5.81, Mr. Lei Shiu Yam 8.5.81, Mr. Chan Tsz K'eung 28.5.81, Mr. Hoh Taai 10.6.81, Mr. Hoh King 27.5.81, 5.6.81, Mr. Chau T'in Shang 3.6.81, Mrs. Lei née So 20.6.81, Mr. Lei Yau 13.11.80. 32 Mr. Lei Yiu T'ing 23.6.81, Mr. Lei Shiu Yam 8.5.81, Mr. Lei P'aang Kei 12.5.81, 19.5.81, Mr. Yau T'aam Shang 8.5.81, 15.5.81. 33 For background see Hong Kong Government, Administrative Report 1914 D (Harbour Office), p. 6, Hong Kong Government Gazette August 3, 1914. Mr. Yau T'aam Shang referred to this in relation to the growth of Saam Shing and T'aai Shing in int. 8.5.81. 34 Ts'ui Mau Fung was not a shop-keeper, but a land-owner who lived in Sai Kung. He was not involved in the kaifong (int. Mr. Lei Shiu Yum 8.5.81). On Chan Pak T'o, see int. Mr. Yau T'aam Shang 15.5.81. According to Mr. Chan P'aang Hing 29.5.81, he was the teacher of Chan Ue Kwong's younger brother Min Ue. 35 Mr. Chau T'in Shang 18.5.81, 3.6.81. ================================================================================ 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-1981 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ff36bt18m 213 Name (and village) Dates interviewed Mr. Chan P'aang Hing (Ho Chung) 29.5.81 Name (and village) Mr. Lok Foh Kau (Pak Kong) Dates interviewed 20.6.81 Mr. Cheung T'o (Ho Chung) 29.5.81, 15.6.81 Mrs. Lei, née So (Nam Shan) 20.6.81 Mr. Chung (Kau Sai) 3.6.81 Mr. Hoh Shang (Nam Shan) 20.6.81, 24.6.81 Mr. So T'in Loi (Kau Sai) 3.6.81 Mr. Lok Kau Kei (Pak Kong) 20.6.81, 26.6.81 Mr. Lei Chi Hei (Sha Tsui) 5.6.81 21.7.81 Mr. Cheung Ts'oi 20.6.81 Mr. Lam Kaap Shau (Tai Po Tsai) (Tai Long) 8.6.81 Mr. Wong (Shan Liu) 20.6.81 Mr. Cheung Ming Shing 8.6.81 Mrs. Lau, (Leung Shuen Wan) 21.6.81 Mr. Lok Tsau On Mr. Tse Koon K'au (Pak Kong) (Tan Ka Wan) 9.6.81 Mrs. Tse (Pak Kong) 21.6.81 Mr. Tse Wing (Sha Kok Mei) 9.6.81, 20.6.81 Mrs. Kong Lei San Kiu (Lung Mei) 21.6.81 Mr. Hoh Taai (Ko Tong) 10.6.81, 21.6.81, 22.6.81 Mr. Lo Koon Mooi (Long Mei) 23.6.81 Mr. Cheung Kin Wa 10.6.81 Mrs. Wan, née Lau (Sai Kung Market) (Nam Shan) 21.6.81 Mr. Ue (Mang Kung Uk) 14.6.81 Mr. Kong Hei (Lung Mei) 21.6.81 Mrs. Ue (Mang Kung Uk) 14.6.81 Mr. Wong (Tam Wat) 22.6.81 Mr. Shing Ip On (Mang Kung Uk) 14.6.81 Mr. Sung Kw'an (Tit Kim Hang) 22.6.81 Mrs. Lau (Ha Yeung, near Seung Sz Wan) 14.6.81 Mr. Sung (Tit Kim Hang) 22.6.81 Mr. Lau Hing Lung (Pan Long Wan) 16.6.81 Mr. Uen Chan Wan (Ta Ho Tun) 22.6.81 Mr. Lau (Pan Long Wan) 16.6.81 Mr. Sham Kin K'eung (Hung Fa Tsun) 23.6.81, 1.7.81 Mr. Leung Yung Hei (Hang Hau) 16.6.81 Mr. Lei Yiu T'ing (Pak Kong) 23.6.81 Mr. Lei Kau (Pak Kong) 23.6.81 Mr. Lei Kan (Wo Liu) 19.6.81 Mr. Wong Ts'ing (Nam Shan) 23.6.81 Mr. Hui Lam (Cheung Sheung) 19.6.81 Mr. Lei Faat (Kak Hang Tun) 23.6.81 Mr. Wong (Ko Tong) 19.6.81 Mr. Chan Shau (Pak Tam Au) 19.6.81 Mr. Cheng Yung (Uk Tau) 23.6.81 Mr. To (Ko Tong) 19.6.81 Mr. Lau Lui Faat (Pak Kong Au) 23.6.81 Mr. Wong Shek (Ha Yeung, near Ko Tong) 19.6.81 Mr. Tang (Wong Mo Ying) 23.6.81 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1981 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ff36bt18m Dates 215 Name (and village) Dates interviewed Name (and village) interviewed Mr. K'uet Po Shing (Nam A) 2.7.81 Mr. Lok (Seung Sz Wan) 17.7.81 Mr. Yung (Hoi Ha) 2.7.81 Mr. Lau (Sheung Yeung) 17.7.81 Mr. Ip Wan (Pak Sha O) 2.7.81 Mr. Lok Tak K'ei (Seung Sz Wan) 17.7.81 Visit to church in Pak Sha O 3.7.81 Mr. Lam (Seung Sz Wan) (2) 17.7.81 Mr. Yau Kei (Tseng Lan Shue) 8.7.81 Mr. Lau Kwong (Ha Yeung near Seung Sz Wan) 20.7.81 Mr. Cheung Loi Yau (Sha Kok Mei) 9.7.81 Mrs. Wan (Mang Kung Uk) 20.7.81 Mr. Shing (Ha Yeung near Seung Sz Wan) 10.7.81 Mr. Shing Uen Wan (Pik Uk) 10.7.81 Mr. Wong Kam Tai (Hang Hau) 20.7.81 Mrs. Yau (Mang Kung Uk) 10.7.81 Mr. Shing (Pik Uk) 20.7.81 Mrs. Yau, née Tse (Tseng Lan Shue) 22.7.81 Mr. Ue Shun Hing (Mang Kung Uk) 10.7.81 Mr. Chan T'aai (Tseung Kwan O) 22.7.81 Mr. Cheng Yung (Uk Tau) 10.7.81 Mr. Yau Yan (Tseng Lan Shue) 22.7.81 Mr. Uen Kwai Naam (Mau Wu Tsai) 14.7.81 Mr. Chung (Yau Yue Wan) 22.7.81 Mr. Tsang Shui On (Ma Yau Tong) 14.7.81 Mr. Chung Wai I (Yau Yue Wan) 22.7.81 Mr. Wan Yau (Wong Chuk Long) 14.7.81 Mr. Yau Taai Hin (Tseng Lan Shue) 23.7.81 Mr. Tsang Wan (Ma Yau Tong) 14.7.81 8.81 Mr. Lau (Po Toi O) 24.7.81 Mrs. Tsang, née Shing (Ma Yau Tong) 14.7.81 Mrs. Chung (Po Toi O) 24.7.81 Mr. Ng (Tseung Kwan O) 15.7.81 Mrs. Sit (Tin Ha Wan) 24.7.81 Madam Chan (Tseung Kwan O) 15.7.81 Mr. Ip (Tin Ha Wan) 24.7.81 Mr. Leung Chiu Man (Hang Hau) 25.7.81 Madam Wan (Tai Wan Tau) 16.7.81 Mr. Yau Koon K'au (Tseng Lan Shue) 27.7.81 Mr. Lau (Tai Wan Tau) (1) 16.7.81 Mr. Yau Tai On (Pak Shek Wo) 27.7.81 Mr. Lau (Tai Wan Tau) (2) 16.7.81 Mr. Yau (Nam Wai) 28.7.81 Mr. Lam (Seung Sz Wan) (1) 17.7.81 Mr. Yau T'aai Hong (Nam Wai) 28.7.81 Madam Chan (Mang Kung Uk) 17.7.81 Mr. Lau (Tai Au Mun) 29.7.81 Mr. Lau K'in Tsun (Ha Yeung) 17.7.81 Mr. Lau (Siu Hang Hau) 30.7.81 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1982 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/mk61z420p 306 NOTES AND QUERIES Chung Hau, and two fortresses, seven guard-houses, and an ammunition store at the foot of the Shek Sz Shan EXL. However, whether this record gives the date of construction of the Tung Chung Fort (also known as the Tung Chung Walled City) has never been clear. A recent discovery has helped to clarify the position. Above the main gate of the Tung Chung Fort, two big Chinese characters, Kung Sun, are carved and have long been visible. Recently, it was found, under careful examination, that six lines of tiny Chinese characters can be seen to the right of these two big characters. They are badly weathered, and only the following characters can be seen clearly. These read as follows:- 1st line.... the 12th year of the Tao Kuang reign 2nd line.... (the characters cannot be identified) MARM 3rd line... Tung Chung of the Two Kuangs (Kwangtung and Kwangsi) 4th line.... *O**IN* Charm-cheong (?), Naval Commander 5th line.... 6th line.... money and built Shau-pe (?) Ho Chun-lung Chapter 7 of the Heung Shan Yuen Chi, Kuang Hsü edition ** recorded, "In the 11th year of the Tao Kuang reign (1831), a Shau-pe from the Chin Shan Camp S was transferred to Tai Yu Shan. He was appointed to be the Shau-pe of the newly established Right Camp (Wing) of the Tai Pang Battalion "From this, we know that the Right Camp of the Tai Pang Battalion was established in the 11th year of the Tao Kuang reign with its headquarters at Tung Chung on Lantau Island. The construction of the headquarters, the Tung Chung Fort, was completed a year later, in the 12th year of the Tao Kuang reign, as revealed by the characters in the 1st line. The last line gives the name of the Shau-pe, Ho Chun-lung, Commander of the Right Camp of the Tai Pang Battalion stationed at the Tung Chung Fort. Chapter 11 of Heung Shan Yuen Chi, Kuang Hsü edition stated, "Ho Chun-lung, native of Yellow Flag ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1984 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/5h73wh572 285 who can wear a colourful ribbon), and for his father and grandfather he applied for 2nd grade titles to be conferred on them." His filial piety was difficult to surpass. He died in Vietnam at the age of 73. When his sons and grandsons carried the coffin back to his native village, thousands of Chinese and foreigners, officials and commoners, accompanied it until they reached the ship. There were people crying for him, drawing pictures of him, and writing essays about him. Cities far away, such as Singapore, also had his life-story written in the newspapers with the headline ‘Death of a Philanthropic Gentry' (*). He was really a great man. I am his old colleague, thus, I know all about his personality and activities. Here I cannot give the details, but can only give a general account of him. “Written in 1904 by Chen chao-ch'ang (陈兆昌), a Tsun Sz (遵司), appointed by Imperial Command an official of the Han Lin Academy, and humbly offered while the writer was in charge of the Shan Hai Kuan area (山海关). NOTES Eitel, E.J., Europe in China: History of Hong Kong, 1895. p. 311 ff. Ah-lum's wife and children were poisoned, and Eitel clearly had doubts as to his involvement in the crime. The defence of Ah-lum was conducted in a lynch law atmosphere and his arrest and deportation, even though he had been found innocent had, according to Eitel "reduced (him) from affluence to beggary.” 2 Hsiang-shan T'ieh-ch'eng Chang Shih Tsu-pu (AKA) (Clan Record of the Chang clan of Heung Shan and Fat Shan) (1934). Chi-ching Pu (2) section, Hang Chuang (孝庄) sub-section, pp. 8-9a. 1 According to the Clan record, ancestor Chung-te (忠德) immigrated to Shih-t’ou village (石頭村), eight miles to the southwest of T'ieh-ch'eng (铁城) Fatshan (Foshan) during the latter part of the Southern Sung dynasty. The lineage then segmented into 3 sub-lineages in the 7th generation. The 1st remained in the original settlement, the 2nd moved to Nan-Ping (南屏), and the 3rd to Long-Mei (龙美) in Hsiang-shan (Heung Shan) county. 3 generations later, in the 10th generation, 3 descendants of the 1st sub-lineage emigrated to Ping-Lan (坪兰), Ya-Kang (雅岗) and Wai-chieh-yung (外借涌) in Heung Shan, respectively. Ancestor Ch'un-chen (纯真) of the 10th generation was the first to move to Ya-kang, but the family was not regarded as native to Ya-kang until ancestor Miu-hsien (妙贤) of the 14th generation registered and started a new segment of the lineage (开户立户). Thus, an Ancestral Hall was built in the middle of the Chia Ching (嘉靖) period in memory of him. Ah-lum was of the 18th generation of the Cheung lineage, and the 9th of the Ya-kang segment. He was born in 1828, and died in 1900. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1987 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/rx919b522 NOTES AND QUERIES 273 Yeuk Tau, Fan Ling (surname P'ang), and San Tin (surname Man) each held a share, and Tai Hang (Man) and Tai Po Tau (Tang) together held another share. Thus, in the New Alliance, but not in the Old, all the five major punti lineages of the northern and eastern New Territories were represented. Included in the account books of the Old Alliance is a set of regulations, a translation with brief annotation of which we give below: 1. Management is to be rotated annually in the following order: first, Kam Tsin heung, Ping Kong heung, Ho Sheung heung, Yin Kong heung; second, the Liu surname of Sheung Shui; third, the Wan Shing T'ong of Sheung Shui; fourth, the Tang surname of Lung Shaan. 2. Each heung is to keep an account book. When it is its turn to take care of the affairs of the year, ten days before [the annual sacrifice] it should send invitations to the shan-sz of each and every heung, and there must be no delay. [The word heung is clearly not used consistently. In regulation 1, it is used in the sense of a single village. In this regulation, it is used for the groups of villages that together held a single share. We have also not used any English equivalent for the term shan-sz because of the controversy over the term. In an area with a strong tradition of scholarship such as Sheung Shui, a shan-sz before the abolition of the official examinations in 1905 would probably have been a man who possessed an official degree, won in the examination or purchased. It is conceivable, though, that the term was used less rigidly in villages that did not produce a degree-holder.] 3. Each heung must have contributed [a sum to be used as] capital, that is, ten dollars from each surname. [The text specifies that the money must have been contributed on a "previous day". This is probably a clumsy way of stating that only a contribution at the time of the foundation of the alliance constituted a share.] 4. To facilitate checking, the field names, rents, and mortgage prices of all plots of land mortgaged or purchased from the different surnames are to be recorded. The right for rent ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1987 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/rx919b522 NOTES AND QUERIES 275 the heung in question is to take charge of the matter on its own, and it is not the concern of the other heung [in the alliance]. 10. In the event that there is a genuinely unlawful descendant [tsz-ai] among the various surnames, and his own lineage () brings charges against him, and if the shan-sz of other heung are notified, they must also put their names to these charges and may not refuse to do so. [The term tsz-tai implies that the culprit must be male and within the lines of descent of the lineage.] 約 11. If a robber is caught within the alliance [yeuk shuk] and charged, the alliance will contribute 4 silver dollars towards expenses. [The term yeuk shuk, literally "what belongs to the alliance", may include a much wider territory than what is normally thought of as the confines of the individual member villages. The member villages were major land-owners in the New Territories, whose holdings stretched from Sai Kung to Kowloon, and the possibility must not be ruled out that the Old Alliance was designed to have jurisdiction over a much larger area than Sheung Shui and its immediate vicinity.] 12. On the occasion of the annual sacrifice, within the first ten days of the Fourth Month, the chief manager of affairs for the year is to set a title from the Four Books and another for a five character poem, and post them outside the door of the Po Tak Temple, so that during the celebration villagers may submit to the manager their compositions. The manager will forward these compositions to teachers at the provincial capital [i.e. Canton] to be adjudicated. The best ten compositions will be awarded some small gifts in order to encourage literary achievement. 13. On the occasion of a military or literary official functionary [man-mo yau-p'oon] passing by the Governor's Temple and paying his respect to Governor-General Chau and Governor Wong, a roast pig is to be prepared, he is to be awarded altogether 6 silver dollars, and his men and horses are to receive 2 silver dollars. For the feast on that day, two tables are to be set. Every share [in the yeuk] is to despatch to the feast at the Governor's Temple one or two shan-sz from the village. It will be understood that the four shares together will ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1987 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/rx919b522 NOTES AND QUERIES 277 Temple and paying respect to Governor-General Chau and Governor Wong, a roast pig is to be prepared, and the sum of 8 silver dollars is to be awarded, in addition to 3 silver dollars for the men and horses. The feast for the day is to be arranged in the manner stated in the previous clause. 16. Should the provincial or metropolitan graduates, imperial students by special selection, or official functionaries, of the literary or military order, be accompanied by masters-of-ceremony, as they pass by the Governor's Temple, the masters-of-ceremony are to be paid 20 cents each. We have not been able to discover if these rules were used as stated. Village elders remember the feast, in which scholars sat at the most honoured places, and poetry and rhymed couplets were written. However, we have not come across any concrete reference to the Po Tak Temple as a place for litigation or reception of officials. The clauses concerning litigation and entertainment of officials and degree-holders are not found in the regulations of the New Alliance. Its regulations are brief, although one clause, giving the history of the alliance from 1908, is of particular interest. The lack of any reference to the literary competition should also be noted. A translation of the regulations is given below: 1. If money has to be distributed for the public affairs of this tung [] [a group of villages: this use of ... is common in the New Territories] the shan-sz of the heung are to meet to discuss the matter. Money must be distributed to each share as stated in former regulations, and not in this manner (SØER). [It is not at all clear what "this manner" refers to.] 2. Under former regulations, the New Alliance [met] on the 1st of the Sixth Month. It was divided into five shares. However, when the land came under British rule, there was insufficient money for annual sacrifices. In the thirty-fourth year of Kuang-hsü [1908], the accounts were closed and cancelled, and sacrifice was to cease from then on. The half share held by Loi Tung Village was scattered and excluded. The shan-sz then met and sought contributions. At that time, San Tin heung ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1987 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/rx919b522 278 NOTES AND QUERIES joined and added one share, making the total six shares as they are now. For each share 25 silver dollars were paid to establish the Sheung Ue tung ferry for the convenience of passengers. [The operation of] the ferry has been given to the highest bidder by auction each year. [Money received] is kept for interest so that sacrifices may be paid for. Sacrifices should be paid for in accordance with former regulations. [Sheung Ue tung was another name for the Sheung Shui area, and the ferry in question took villagers across the river to Sham Chun Market as we found out in interviews in Fan Ling and Lung Yeuk Tau. The passage is, of course, not as clear as it could be. It would seem that except for the half share held by Loi Tung, other shares held before 1908 counted for something in the reconstitution of the yeuk in that year. This something was not necessarily much more than a right to re-join, and Loi Tung was thus effectively barred from re-joining.] 3. Management for the year should be rotated in the following order First, the Hau surname, Ping Kong, Ho Sheung Heung, Kam Tsin, Yin Kong; Second, Lung Shaan heung; Third, Tai Hang, Tai Po Tau; Fourth, Fan Ling heung; Fifth, San Tin heung; Sixth, Sheung Shui heung. 4. Each share [in the alliance] is to keep a book, and in the year it is in charge, ten days before [the sacrifice], it should send invitations to the shan-sz in the villages. There must be no delay. 5. On the occasion of the celebration on the 1st of the Sixth Month, each share is to send four shan-sz to worship the gods. There should also be sufficient masters-of-ceremony and managers. [We know for a fact that some of the member villages of the New Alliance did not have degree-holders: the term shan-sz in this clause, must therefore include people without a degree.] ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1988 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ft84gb83q 73 At first Maang's father refused to go, but Maang said to the pirate, "My father is old and half mad, do not listen to him", and then turning to his father, he said, “Do not weep for me. Go home and look after our family. My younger brother will serve you in my stead as a good son, and he will grow up and rear more sons for you." So the father was hustled back to the shore and the ship sailed away with Maang on board. Then Maang was filled with grief, and crying, “I will never serve these wicked men”, he jumped overboard and was drowned. His body was subsequently washed up at Taipo and buried near by. In the fourteenth year of Maan Lik A.D. 1586 when the district Magistrate Yau T'ai Kin (游太卿) wrote the "History of the Sun On District' he included the story of Maang in it. Twenty-seven years later the then district magistrate Wong Ting Yuet (黃廷越) petitioned the emperor for leave to put Maang's spirit table in the "Heung Yin Ts'z” (鄉賢祠) Temple for worthy villagers, and later on the descendants of Maang's family Tang (鄧) collected enough money to build a special temple at the place where he was buried. This temple has since been destroyed but the grave still remains and a tablet about 5 feet high and 4 feet wide can be seen with the following inscription on it “[written in large characters] Grave of Tang Sz Maang, devoted son of Ming dynasty [then in smaller characters] repaired in the seventeenth year of Kin Lung (乾隆) 1752, the eighth month, lucky day". In the eleventh year of Hong Hei A.D. 1672, two descendants of the Tang family bought from the government enough land round the temple to make a market there. Shops were built and sub-let and the proceeds went to the upkeep of the temple. Thus old Taipo market was started. During the reign of Ka Hing of Ts'ing dynasty 1796-1820 a man named Man Yuen Chue (文元柱) of Man Uk village (文屋村) (See Note 4) wanted to build some shops for himself in old Taipo market. The Tang family objected and a lawsuit followed. The magistrate who judged the case finally gave leave to the Man family to build dwelling houses only, in the village, not shops. In the twelfth year of Tung Chi (同治) 1873 of Ts'ing dynasty a typhoon destroyed the whole of Man Uk village, and the Man family again wanted to build shops in old Taipo market. Another lawsuit resulted, as the Tang family again objected. On the fourteenth day of the fifth month of the eighteenth year of Kwong Sui (光緒) A.D. 1892 of Ts'ing dynasty it was finally settled that only the ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1996 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/3n209j641 83 Tin Wan HKI 67 [[| 60.4* Ma Kong HKI 7 7 100** Chung Hom Kok HKI 10 10 100% = Lan Nai Wan HKI 4 4 100** To Tei Wan HKI 53 54 98 [*1 Tar Tam Tuk HKI 52 76 68 4*! Tong Po HKI 17 18 94.4*** Deep Water Bay HKI 8 8 100 A Kung Nam HKI 161 269 59.9 Shaukerwan НKІ 4317 5908 73.1** Fu Tson Fat HKI 361 585 61.7* Ma Shan Ha HKI 458 742 61.7* Sai Wan Ho HKI 650 876 74.2** Tsai Tsz Mui ΗΚΙ 193 297 64.9** Ma Tau Kok k 145 212 68.4* San Shan k 117 180 65.0** To Kwa Wan k 766 1072 71.5 Shek Shan k 178 277 64.3** Hok Yuen k 789 1272 62.0* Tai Wan k 61 97 62.9* Lo Lung Hang k 178 204 87.3* Wong Nai Yue k 168 250 67.2** Fo Pang k 126 180 70.0** Tai Shek Kwu k 47 70 65.7** Ho Man Tin k 272 470 Fuk Tsuen Heung k 610 861 57.9 70.8** Sz Wo Tong k 258 451 57.2 Wau Chau Tsan k 85 130 65.4** Ap Liu 270 391 69.0** Tin Liu Tsuen SSP 253 337 75.1*1 Chu Liu ssp 84 142 59.2 Cheung Sha Wan SSP 496. 653 76.0** Sheung Chu Liu SND 35 54 64.8** Lai Chi Kok ssp 144 173 83.24* Sai Kok ssp 309 508 60.8* Kowloon Tong SSP 113 185 61.1* Muk Kung Hom NSD 42 62 67.7** Shek Kip Mei SSD 50 72 69.4** Sham Shui Po $52 1028 1577 65.24* + Villages with severe excess of males (more than 60%) ** Villager With extreme excess of males (more than 64%) Fully developed parts of Hong Kong Inland and Kowloon excluded ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1999 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s178b887x Kwangtung, is treated as the First Ancestor of the Nga Tsin Wai clan. His eldest son was in turn born in 1102, but the Nga Tsin Wai descendants stem from the fifth son, who can hardly have been born much before 1120. Nine further generations are recorded in the Tsuk Po. The fifth of these was a sixth son. Assuming a 25-year generation gap for those ancestors born as the first, second, or third sons, and a forty-year generation gap for the sixth son, the eldest son in this ninth generation must have been born about 1370-1385. There were five brothers in this generation, who must have been born within the period 1370-1400. Ng Kui-hau fled from Nam Hung in the disturbances of 1126-1127, when the Northern Sung collapsed in the face of barbarian invasion. He went to the safety of Canton City where he lived until his death in 1158. Six of his seven sons moved away from Canton, five to establish descent lines in various places in central Kwangtung, and one to settle in Annam. The fifth son, Ng Jui (42) from whom the Nga Tsin Wai Ngs descend, settled in Tung Kuan, at Ng Ka Chung (4, "Creek of the Ng Family”). One of the sixth generation descendants of Ng Jui, (Ng Chung-tak, the eighth generation Clan Ancestor), born about 1290-1300, moved from Ng Ka Chung to “Kowloon”. The recent revised Tsuk Po states that he settled at a place called “Kwun Fu Sz Nga Tsin Tsuen”TM 1775, "The Unwalled Village in front of the Kwun Fu Yamen". Ng Chung-tak's third, but only surviving son, Ng Shing-tat, is considered the Founding Ancestor of the Nga Tsin Wai clan. He cannot have been born much before 1320-1335. The old Tsuk Po does not say that either Ng Shing-tak or his father settled in Nga Tsin Wai, merely in “Kowloon”; presumably implying that the family were then settled here and there in the open fields rather than in a village as such - presumably in that Nga Pin Heung where the Chans had already been settled for nearly two hundred years by the time the Ngs moved there. A date somewhere in the middle of the fourteenth century is the most likely for the Ng clan to have settled in the Nga Tsin Wai area, in Ng Chung-tak's old age (the Tsuk Po has a reference to Ng Shing-tak bringing his ancestor's bones to "Kowloon": this may refer to his mother's remains). The date remembered by the clan as the foundation date of the Tin Hau Temple, 1354, is almost exactly the period when the Ngs are most likely to have settled in the Nga Tsin Wai area, and the establishment of the temple, or whatever this date ================================================================================