RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1963 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/4m90m091v 106 J. W. HAYES 30 The Tung Kwun association note book says that there was a Po On Wui Sor ★ ★ ƒ in the Ch'ing dynasty, but since this had always led to confusion their association (the Po On Shuc Shat) was renamed the Tung Kwun Wui Sor in the 12th year of the Chinese Republic (1923). 31 A tablet (1953) in the Free School says that this institution dates back to 1921 and local leaders say that the kung sor was rebuilt at this time. The old kung sor was also known as the hon kaam lau ★ ★# or watchmen's building. ** On the other hand it is unlikely that it predates the defence bureau (1863-70) as this would have been a suitable subject for the Kaifong to organise (there is no mention of it on the tablet). 33 Mr. LEUNG Yau recalls that there were two Kaifong junks operating a daily service between Cheung Chau and Hong Kong before the lease (1898). One left Hong Kong (Sai Ying Pun) at 11 a.m., whilst the other left Cheung Chau at the same time. Both were sailing junks and took three hours to make the journey under good conditions and the whole day if otherwise. They were subscribed and run by a number of local gentlemen for public use. A steam Kaifong vessel was bought with public subscriptions in 1910. Administrative Reports, District Officer, New Territories, 1910. & 34 There are now eight district associations on the island for natives of the districts of Po On; Tung Kwun; Wai-Chiu combined ✰✰ *#; Sei Yap ("The Four Towns') i.e. Toi Shan 4, Sun Wui. Hoi Ping, Yan Ping; Ng Yap ♣ (“The Five Towns") i.e. Hok Shan plus the towns of Sei Yap, Shun Tak: Chung Shan ✈ and Chiu Chau (separate), the four last named formed since 1945, all offering a variety of social, educational and charitable services to members. 35 HSIAO, in his interesting and lengthy study of rural China in the 19th Century, does not deal specifically with the internal organisation of the market towns. The market town of Tai O at the south west end of Lantau island (land population 2248 in 1911) would provide an interesting local comparison, though material is not so readily available as for Cheung Chau. I hope to write a similar outline account at a later date. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1967 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/0c488p70g NOTES AND QUERIES 159 The clan possesses a small ancestral hall in the second row of houses, and here are housed the ancestral tablets of the most important ancestors. These tablets usually have a sliding wooden slot at the back on which is given a short biography of the person commemorated, usually his birth and death, and sometimes a geomantic description of his grave site. From these records and the recollections of the present generation, information was obtained about two of the more distinguished clansmen of recent times. CHAN Jit-meng (M) alias Tak-hang (7) of the 20th generation, was born on the 2nd day of the 10th month in the year of the Tao Kwang (†) (i.e. 1828) and died on the 3rd day of the 12th month in the year of Kwang Hsü (**) (i.e. 1891). He was a successful businessman who had a shop at Fat Shan (#) near Canton and a large cargo junk with which he traded to and from the Kowloon area. With the trading junk he brought a large amount of stone and building materials to the Tseung Kwan O area and is said to have been responsible for many public works: the village school, the pier at Hang Hau market (},□) nearby and the stone paved paths up the valley to Tseng Lan Shue and along the line of the present Clear Water Bay Road. He also owned a shop called Yi Hing (M) just outside Kowloon City. He was a member of the Kowloon City Kaifong and one of the founder members of the Lok Sing Tong (#44) in 1879. This was an association of local gentry and leading villagers from the surrounding areas. In later life, he bought the degree of Kwok Hok Shang (M *) in Canton, According to his ancestral tablet he had a wife NG (A) and a concubine WONG (£). CHAN Kwok-yan (RQ) alias Wai Tong (†) son of the above. This man's ancestral tablet does not show his dates of birth and death, but these are thought to be 1872-1933. As his father CHAN Jit-meng was a fairly rich man, he had a middle school education in Canton or Fat Shan. At some time in his career he met Sir Cecil Clementi (✯✯) the future Governor ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1969 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/9g553n20d MILITIA, MARKET AND LINEAGE 57 as leaders during the fighting. Ten of the 63 leaders are identi-fiable as members of the gentry, in the sense that they are men-tioned in the documents as having degrees obtained either by purchase or by examination. examination. Most of the remainder could be termed 'local notables'. Some were substantial owners of agricul-tural land and village houses. Other owned shops in their local markets. It is probable that they were often --as was Man Cham-tsun managers of corporately-owned lineage property. The available information about these men is summarized below. — Table II LEADERS IN THE RESISTANCE MOVEMENT (By Marketing area, District & Village, Surname)* Marketing area District, or other Association of sharing gradu-ates Village, or Surnames No. No. of leaders Yuen Long 5+ Ha Tsuen Tang 12 2 Ping Shan Tang 11 1 Kam Tin Tang 10 2 Pat Heung Tang 2 Li 1 Lai 1 Tse 1 1. +3 15 Shap Pat Heung Chu 1 Ng 2 2 15 Tai Po Tun Mun Ts'at Yeuk Tang 1 Lo 1 Tai Hang Man 3 1 71 Pan Chung Chan 1 Mak 1 - * +3 + ++ 7 ** Fan Leng Pang 1 Sha Lo Tung Li 2 " ** * * 2 Cheung Shue Tan Chan 1 7: * H 3. Hang Ha Po Lam 1 Tai Po Tau Tang * Shek Wu Hui Lung Yeuk Tau Tang I ++ +1 Sheung Shui Liu 1 Ping Kong Hau 2 1 ** Sha Tau Kok Sham Chun Wo Hang San Tin Li 4 Man 1 * All romanisations are in Cantonese. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1971 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/z029vt43g THE DISTRICT WATCH COMMITTEE 139 36 In 1917 there were 31 guilds for employers only (in trades such as silk, sandalwood, wicker furniture and copper), 35 skilled craftsmen guilds (sandalwood workers, masons, tinsmiths, etc.) and 5 guilds with mixed membership (employers and workers). There were also 17 district societies, such as the Heung Shan (Hsiang-shan) resident merchants association and the General Commercial Association of the Tung Kun (Tung-kuan) merchants resident in Hong Kong. See the list of exempted and registered societies in the Gazette, 27 April 1917. 37 Wei Yuk was appointed in 1891 and served until his death in 1929. He resigned several times in order to allow a newcomer to join the Committee but was soon re-appointed. Lau Chu-pak was appointed in 1902 and served until his death in 1922. Sir Shouson Chow was appointed in 1917 and was still a member in 1949, the year of the demise of the Committee. 38 During the years 1929 to 1931 and in 1936 the Committee met four times a year at Government House. Lennox Mills states that members had the right to a guard of the District Watch Force on the occasion of weddings and other festivities'. The Secretary for Chinese Affairs tells us in his report for 1936 that through the kindness of His Excellency the Committee was able to meet the members of the Mui Tsai Commission on the occasion of their first visit to the Colony, 'All members attended and there was a valuable discussion with frank interchange of views'. When the Governor, Sir Henry Blake, left the Colony in 1903 on the day of his departure he inspected the District Watchmen. Clearly, everything was done by the government to give prestige and éclat to the Committee and the force. 19 T. C. Cheng, op. cit., p. 18. 40 Of the Chinese land population in the 1901 census 227,615 returned themselves as natives of Kwangtung Province, 179,296 of this number belonging to the Kwong Chau Prefecture, 28,844 came from Tung-kuan hsien, 28,587 from P'an-yü hsien, and 27,221 from Nan-hai hsien. The situation was substantially the same in the censuses of 1911, 1921 and 1931. In 1911, for example, 311,992 out of 350,418 Chinese in Hong Kong, exclusive of the New Territories, spoke Cantonese, 41 Op. cit., pp. 399-400. 42 Heung Shan, present-day Chung Shan, is the arid county on the west side of the Pearl River, stretching down to Macau. It was the Heung Ha, the Cantonese term for the province, district or village from which each person derives his ancestry, of many prominent Chinese, including Ng Choy (Wu Ting-fang), Yung Wing (Yung Hung), Wong Shing (Huang Shêng), and Sun Yat-sen. Many Chinese merchants in Hong Kong came from this county; for example, Wei Yuk, Ma Ying-piu (founder of the Sincere Company), M. Y. San (before 1941 the largest biscuit manufacturer in China), Tsang Foo, Look Poong-shan (founder of the Bank of Canton). Su Chao-cheng, organiser and leader of the Seamen' Strike in 1922, came from this county; in 1928 Su was elected to the Central Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party. The anarchist, Liu Ssu-fu, was also born there. In 1938 the Chung Shan Commercial Association had a membership of over 4,000 in Hong Kong. 43 In 1905, for example, at least seven members of the Committee were compradores to important western firms; one was manager of a native bank; another of a prosperous pawnshop; a third ran a large export firm. Ho Kai was primarily a financier rather than an entrepreneur. See on this point the Chinese speculator Marie-Claire Bergère, "The Role of the Bourgeoisie' in M. C. Wright, ed., China in Revolution: The First Phase 1900-1913, New Haven, Yale University Press, 1968, p. 236. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1974 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/x633mp077 NOTES AND QUERIES 209 to Dr. Peter Young of the Hong Kong Dispensary, but Dr. Young was prevented from building on it by the Governor's Notification of 10 April 1843, that no further building was to continue until after the signing of a Treaty determining the future of Hong Kong as a British possession. Both of the lots were later resumed by Government and a Police Station was built on the site. Across the Queen's Road and on the sea front from “Jorrock's Hall" was the business establishment of Gillespie operated in Captain Thomas Larkin's godown. Here he sold general provisions and goods suitable for trade with the Pacific Islands. Larkin's Godowns were just west of another extensive range of buildings called the Albany Godowns. They were built to store the goods of Chinese merchants, but they were not a financial success and stood empty or partially used for a number of years. Finally the land reverted to government in 1847. In 1855 both Larkin's Godown and the Albany Godowns were resold by Government and in the 1860's they were used for McGregor's Barracks by the Military, giving the present McGregor Street its name, (3) VISIT TO OLD WESTERN DISTRICT, SATURDAY, 8 JUNE, 1974 Route Instructions Meet at Chinese Recreation Ground, Possession Point (the British flag was raised here in January 1841). Enter Possession Street and visit: 1) Offices of the Tung Kwun Trade Assn. (including the roof, from which an excellent view can be obtained); 2) The Foo Lung Restaurant (2nd and 3rd floors only). The Tung Kwun District Commercial Association, as the Tung Yee Hop Tong, was founded in 1893. There are several interesting photographs and inscriptions in this office. From there the group will go along Fat Hing Street — a lane with many embroidery stores in it to the Shun Tak District Commercial Association at 67, Queen's Road, West. The Association owns the whole building and its office occupies the 2nd floor. The interior is practically the same with photographs, furniture and inscriptions as provided in 1915 when the Association was founded. The Association dates in fact from much earlier, around 1875, under the name of a Tong or 'Hall' (****). ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1974 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/x633mp077 NOTES AND QUERIES 211 Note the offices of the Nam-pak Hong Association on the left-hand side of Bonham Strand; the divided shops of the Chun Lung Sang porcelain business (1878) and the bamboo and rattan ware dealers further along, also the frontage of the Ping Heung Tea-house next to Ching Wah Kok. During this visit Members are advised to look around them, up as well as down, because there are all sorts of interesting little vistas to have had, often revealed by the removal of a house for redevelopment. Footnote: 1) We will not be going to the Shun Tak District Commercial Association at 67, Queen's Road, West, as hoped, because a terrible blow; the furniture and fittings have already been cleared out prior to demolition of the building. 2) The Tung Kwun District Commercial Association was founded as the Tung Yee Hop Tong in 1893 for charitable, including educational, work among persons of that district resident in Hong Kong. The present premises were purchased about 40 years ago. There is an interesting commemorative board above the window in the main hall presented by four shops in Liu Po New Market, Tung Kwun in 1912 in appreciation of flood relief work and settlement of disputes and of a defamation case by the Hong Kong Chamber. This shows that its influence extended beyond Hong Kong. 3) The Nam-pak Hong Association in Bonham Strand, though in new premises that are of no appeal, is of great interest. This powerful commercial association was established in 1868 by merchants from different parts of China together with Chinese merchants from South-east Asia. This explains the name of the association which, in Chinese, means South-North Firms' Public Office. Additional Notes for the Visit to Old Western District Carl T. Smith (a) The Development of West Point The area we are visiting today was formerly dominated by two points of land. After the British occupation of Hong Kong they became known as Possession Point and West Point. Between the two was a steep hillside with a bay at its foot. The present Ko Shing Street approximates the original beach. Dr. Eitel in his history of Hong Kong, Europe in China, pp. 123-124, gives an account of the event which gave Possession Point its name: On January 24, 1841, Commodore Bremer, having arrived at Lantao, directed Captain Belcher, in command of H.M.S. Sulphur, to proceed forthwith to Hongkong and commence its occupation. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1976 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/hq382988q 298 NOTES AND QUERIES 14. Sheung Shui Wa Shan (p. 206) # Liu 廖 15. Lung Yeuk Tau (p. 209) MEDA Chau Wong Yee Yuen Temple Accounts. 周王二院廟恨 16. Liu Clan Association Handbook. (Hong Kong Branch) 香港廖氏宗親會特刊 17 18. San Tin (p. 203) Lung Yeuk Tau. 龍躍頭 Chau Wong Yee Yuen Temple Accounts. 周王二院廟帳 Nga Tsin Wai (p. 123) #E Man 文 19. Ng 吳 20. Sheung Shui (p. 206) Ek Liu 廖 21. Liu Pok (p. 205) # Fung 馮 22. Nga Tsin Wai (p. 123) B Ng 吳 [N.B. this is another copy of the last 3rd of No. 19.] 23. Ho Sheung Heung (p. 205) ** Hau 侯 24. Chuk Yuen (p. 123) Lam 林 25. Ha Tsuen (p. 164) # Tang 鄧 26. Kam Tin (p. 172) Tang 鄧 27. Lung Yeuk Tau (p. 209) N Tang 鄧 28. Ho Chung (p. 139) Wan 溫 29. Unidentified Tang 鄧 30. Unidentified Tang 鄧 31. Tai Hang (p. 200) Man 文 32. and Tong Fuk (p. 78) Tang 鄧 34. 33. Fan Pui (p. 73) # 35. San Shek Wan (p. 80) ** ̄* Fung 馮 Mo 莫 36. Pak Sha Tsuen (p. 166) ✩** Lau 劉 37. Ma On Kong (p. 172) Wu 吳 38. Kai Kuk Shue Ha (p. 218) SHT Chue 朱 39. Ngau Pei Sha (p. 145) Liu 廖 Wu Kai Sha (p. 182) *** 40. Luk Keng Chan Uk (p. 218) **A Chan 陳 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1976 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/hq382988q NOTES AND QUERIES Vol. No. Village (and Gazetteer reference) 299 Surname 41. Tong To (p. 217) Yau 余 42. Shek Pik (p. 73) Tsui 徐 43. Tap Mun Sheung Wai (p. 244) Lai 黎 44. Ha Yau Tin (p. 167) Tsui 徐 45. Sham Chung (p. 192) Lei 李 46. Sham Chung (p. 192) Lei 李 47. Chung Mei (p. 193) Lei 李 48. 49. Kei Ling Ha San Wai (p.183) 企嶺下新村 Ho 何 50. Kei Ling Ha San Wai (p.183) 企嶺下新 Ho 何 51. Pak Sha O Ha Yeung (p.189) 白沙澳下洋 52. Lo Uk Tsuen (p. 171) 羅屋村 Chuk Hang (p. 170) Yung 翁 Lo 羅 Tang 鄧 53. Shek Po Tsuen (p. 163) 石壆村 (2 vols.) Lam 林 54. 55. 56. 57. Kan Tay Tsuen (p. 212) 簡堤村 So Lo Pun (p. 219) 莽魯半 Mong Tseng Wai (p. 165) 輞井圍 Lo Shue Ling (p. 215) 羅樹嶺 Wong 黃 Tang 鄧 To 陶 Lau 劉 58. (Tai Po Tau (p. 174)) ✯ Tang 鄧 (Tai Po Shui Wai (p. 174)) ***@ [Not a genealogy: listing of ritual forms etc.] 59. Kau Tam Tso (p. 194) Lei 李 60. Heung Sai (not in New Territories) Cheung 張 61. Lung Kwu Tan (p. 160) Ho 何 Lau 劉 62. San Tin (p. 203) Man 文 63. Lau Clan Association Handbook Lau 劉 (Hong Kong Branch) 香港劉氏宗親會特刊 64. Sam A (p. 221) Tsang 曾 (4 vols.) 65. Che Ha (p. 183) Lei 李 66. She Shan (p. 200) Chan 陳 67. Kat O (p. 221) Lau 劉 68. Yung Shue Au (p. 219) Wan 溫 69. Hang Ha Po (p. 200) Lam 林 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1979 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2801w5938 4 NOTES AND QUERIES Work of the Association in its early years 217 Soon after the port of Hong Kong was opened [again] in the last year of the reign of Hsien Feng in the Ch'ing dynasty (1860-61), there used to be a Nam Pak Hong Street (later renamed Bonham Strand West). At this favourable location our predecessors set up firms dealing in native products from south and north China. The following firms were among those then established one after another: the Kwong Mau Tai Hong and the Woo Kee Hong of Mr. Chiu Yue-tin, a celebrity of Kwangtung origin, the Hau Fung Hong of Mr. Lo Chor-san, the Hop Hing Hong of Mr. Lau Lo-tak, the Siu Fung Hong of Messrs. Fung Ping-shan and Kwong Tsz-ming, the Kwan Mau Hong (in Wing Lok Street West) of Mr. Li Sau-hin, the Wah On Hong of Mr. Chan Yue-fan, the Yue Wo Loong of Mr. Chan Sik-nin, the Yuen Fat Hong of Messrs. Ko Mun-wah and Chan Chun-chuen, celebrities of Chiu Chau origin, the Yuen Sing Fat Hong, the Kam Yue Fung Hong and the Kam Sing Lee Hong of Mr. Choi Si-kit, the Yue Tak Sing Hong and the Kwong Tak Fat Hong of Mr. Chan Tin-san, the Kin Tye Lung of Messrs. Chan Wun-wing and Chan Tsz-tan, the Ng Yuen Hing Hong of Mr. Ng Lei-hing, a celebrity of Fukien origin, the Chui Tak Loong Hong of Messrs. Wu Ting-sam and Wong Ting-ming, the Hau Tak Hong of Mr. Kwok Yim-sing and his brother(s), the Yi Tai Hong and the Lee Yuen Cheung Hong of a business group of Shantung origin. With the exception of Messrs. Chan Yue-fan, Chan Sik-nin and Kwok Yin-sing, all the aforesaid gentlemen have now deceased. In 1868, with the concerted initiative and efforts of the said Messrs. Chiu Yue-tin, Chan Chun-chuen, Fung Ping-shan, Choi Kit-si, Chan Tin-sau and Wu Ting-sam, the Nam Pak Hong Association was founded in Bonham Strand West near its junctions with Wing Lok Street and Queen's Road. Then the objectives of the Association were to promote members' welfare and market prosperity, to assist the police in the maintenance of law and order in the neighbourhood and to formulate plans for the prevention of fires and alleviation of disasters. On the first floor of the Association building was the office, where regulations and business rules of the Association were decided, Directors and Managers of the Association mutually elected, and monthly meetings held. For the first term, the Chairman of the Board of Directors was Mr. Chiu Yue-tin and the Manager was Mr. Lau Lo-tak. The latter mana- ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1984 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/5h73wh572 300 WONG TAK YAN but also abroad as far away as Borneo. Raw materials for the kilns were not in short supply. Business was booming. Unfortunately, despite the good prospects, after several years, lime began to be imported into Hong Kong from both China and Japan. Because of the cheapness of labour in China and the highly mechanised nature of the industry in Japan, the price of the imported product was very low... furthermore, the Government normally insisted on the use of Japanese lime in its public works. As a result, the business of Hong Kong lime kilns had to face very severe competition, and they were unable to keep going. San Shing Lei Lime Kiln Factory closed in the early 1960s, and this historic industry came to a close. Since then, investment in Hong Kong has continued to grow. Under the influence of the development of the construction industry, land all along the coast has become valuable, and so, one after another, the lime kilns have closed until the industry has become no more than a feature of history. NOTES This note was written in Chinese by Mr. Wong Tak-yan, Chairman, Tsing Yi Trade Association Ltd and President (1984-85) of the Rotary Club of the New Territories, following a lunch speech to the Club by Dr. J.W. Hayes in which he urged members of the Club with interesting family histories relating to the development of the New Territories to commit their memories to writing. The note was translated by the Editor. 2 Plate 42. 3 Plate 43. 4 Plate 44. 5 Plate 45. Plate 46. Plate 47. One small lime kiln still remains in business at Lau Fau Shan (editor). ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1986 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/jq08c7063 LANTERN FESTIVAL, CHEUNG CHAU, 10TH FEBRUARY 1971 1 267 I had received invitations from several of the island's fellow countrymen, that is “district”, associations (鄉親會) to join them on Cheung Chau for the Lantern Festival, and went over for the evening. The Rural Committee Chairman, Mr. Chau Li-ping (周立平先生), met me at the pier and took me to the Sei Yap Yick Sin Tong Association (四邑益善堂) dinner in the Ho Tai Sun Restaurant (好泰新酒家). The leading kaifong members were there and I was able to join them on their usual tour of all district association celebrations taking place at the same time on that evening. There were twenty tables at the Sei Yap Association dinner, and entertainment was provided by a Sei Yap group from Hong Kong singing modern songs. There was a stage in the street outside the restaurant on which they would perform later, and this was a popular attraction when we passed later in the evening. They changed four years ago from old-style entertainment. The cost of hiring the singers for two nights was $1,400. We then went to the Tung Koon Association (東莞同鄉會) dinner in the restaurant beside the playground at Tung Wan (東灣). There were twenty-eight tables and many Tung Koon association leaders from Hong Kong and other parts of the New Territories were seated on the stage. Speeches went on all the time we were there (we only had a drink at this celebration). There was no sign of entertainment inside, and the stage was apparently provided on street. We next visited the Shun Tak Association (順德同鄉會) dinner in the Rural Committee Country Club premises. I forgot to ask the number of tables, but it must have been about twenty. An auction for association funds was in progress, with the emphasis on selling decorative lanterns. I did not see any sign of an entertainment group and there was apparently no stage on the streets provided by this body. We went from there to the Po On District Association's (寶安縣同鄉會) celebration at a restaurant on the waterfront beside... ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1999 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s178b887x 39 and Li Kun-fuk, 2 houses within the walls, and then with these two brothers or cousins holding 0.17 acres of land jointly, and Kun-sang in addition a further 0.01 individually; Li Tin-hi, 2 houses within the walls and 0.18 acres; Li Tin-yau, 1 house within the walls and 0.11 acres). The reasons for these households with far less arable land than could possibly allow for subsistence are likely to be the same as in the case of the Ngs, although, in this case, some of the Li households may have been in the process of moving out of the village. In the case for Li Kun-fuk and Li Kun-sang, however, who were important elders of the clan (Kun-fuk was the trustee of three trusts, and Kun-sang of two), the tiny-recorded individually owned areas of agricultural land must hide far more substantial areas actually under their control.. Of those households of the Li clan which recorded their land-holdings under the family head's name, the holdings varied from 0.31 acres (Kun-tai), and then through 0.45 acres (Yung-tai), 0.67 acres (Yung Wa and Yung Fat jointly), 0.89 acres (Yuk-hing), 0.93 acres (Kam Tak), 1.15 acres (Lai-ting, the dominant elder), 1.5 acres (Ping-shan, part of this was held jointly with Tak-hing and Chiu-hing, and another tiny part jointly with Ip Shi); to 3.81 acres (Loi: he also owned 0.86 acres jointly with Li Hau-fuk). Kun-tai, who held no less than 5 houses within the walls, must have been wealthier than his 0.31 acres of agricultural land-holding would suggest: he was also one of the trustees of the Luk Wa Tso. He probably had access to a significant amount of trust property. Yung-tai also had a significant amount of house property - three houses within the walls. Relatively wealthy villages like Nga Tsin Wai were usually marked by an interest in education. The village had a fine school, which was held in the Ng clan Ancestral Hall. Villages like Nga Tsin Wai often also had "literary clubs", where the more scholarly and better educated of the villagers would meet to write poetry together, and drink wine in the light of the moon. The Sub-Magistrate in Kowloon City encouraged such literary groups, in particular by sponsoring poetry competitions and so forth. Nga Tsin Wai villagers had access to such a club (probably in the Market), and the Li clan had a small trust to support it, the Man Lau Tong ("Association for the Literature House"). This owned only 0.05 acres, the income of which probably supported the costs of tea and wine for the Li clan members of the club, but it demonstrates the scholarly ambitions of the village. Page 75 Page 76 ================================================================================