RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1963 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/4m90m091v NOTES AND QUERIES 145 September 1834 stated: "The English barbarians have always been very cunning. Hitherto they have squatted in Macao and have coveted Ta Yu Shan.1 Towards the end of this memorandum he wrote: "Moreover your minister has dispatched three hundred picked troops from [his] Regiment and appointed the tu-ssu2 (? 'Captain') Hung Fa-k'e to go to Macao to reinforce the garrison. As to the fort[s] on Ta Yü Shan we have sent an officer there to take measures for defence and secretly to make dispositions at every place, without arousing suspicion. As soon as it is ascertained that the barbarians are peaceful we will withdraw them." These precautions were confirmed by an edict issued to the members of the Grand Council dated the 28th day of the 8th month of the 14th year of Tao-kuang's reign (30 September 1834) which contained the following words: "Junior officers and men must be dispatched to the places both inside and outside the provincial capital and to the neighbourhood of Macao and to the forts of Ta Yü Shan, and patrolling must be increased without arousing suspicion, and precautions taken unostentatiously. Inside the walls of the old fort there is now a flourishing Government-subsidised school and it all looks very neat and peaceful; very different from the time when active preparations were made there to repel a possible attack from the British. It would be interesting to know more about this fort and also the one at Fan Lau. Can anyone add any further information? J. L. CRANMER-BYNG. 1 The Chinese name of the island called by foreigners Lantao. Text in Shih-liao hsün-k'an, #21, 765b, column 6. 2 Ibid., 766, columns 11-12. 3 There was another fort on Lantao at Fan Lau on the Southwest corner of the island, 4 Tung-hua hsü-lu. Reprinted in Chiang T'ing-fu, Chin-tai Chung-kuo wai-chiao shih tzu-liao chi-yao, Vol. I, p. 10, columns 12-13. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1964 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/qz20zx09r A RECONNAISSANCE OF MA WAN NOTES 117 1 For a more detailed account of British trade to Canton at this period see J. L. Cranmer Byng, An Embassy to China. Being the Journal kept by Lord Macartney during his Embassy to the Emperor Ch'ien-lung 1793-1794 (Longmans, Green, 1962), 4-17. 2 Macartney's own journal printed in J. L. Cranmer Byng, op. cit., For Parish and Alexander see Appendix A, 313-16. 111-112. J. L. Cranmer-Byng, “The Defences of Macao in 1794: a British Assessment" in Journal of Southeast Asian History Vol. 5 No. 1 (1964). 4 Printed in H. B. Morse, The Chronicles of the East India Company Trading to China 1635-1834, 5 Vols. (O.U.P. 1926-9), I., 237. 5 This report is preserved among the Macartney documents in the Wason collection on China and the Chinese at Cornell University, No. 371 (part). I wish to acknowledge my thanks to the Director of Libraries at Cornell for permission to reproduce this document in full. In doing so I have modernized the spelling and the use of capital letters. I also wish to acknowledge permission received from the authorities of the British Museum to reproduce Parish's sketch map from the original preserved in the British Museum, Add. MS. 19822 (art. 13). 6 The Portuguese name of an island close to Macao which also gave its name to the anchorage there. 7 An officer of the Bombay Marine who had been sent to Macao in 1793 in command of the Endeavour brig, one of two surveying ships, which were earmarked for the use of the embassy. The Jackall had sailed from England in 1792 as tender to the Lion. Both the Endeavour and Jackall sailed from Chusan to Canton in October 1793, but I have not discovered why Proctor was transferred to the Jackall or why the original survey ship, the Endeavour, was not used for this purpose. 8 A large island about twice the size of the island of Hong Kong. The east coast of Lantao, although it has at least one good bay- Silvermine Bay is not sufficiently protected from the wind and is too exposed to the sea to make a good harbour for ships. Lantao Peak rises to approximately three thousand feet and is a useful local landmark. The Chinese name for the island is Tai Yu Shan. + 9 Chek Lap Kok *#, a long island just off Tung Chung bay, See map facing page 27. Like other ports of Lantao it appears to have been more prosperous in the past than at present. The 1911 census gave its population as 77, of whom 55 were men. They probably worked in its stone quarries. to This refers to the Tung Chung valley, which included a fort between the villages of Ha Ling Pei and Sheung Ling Pei. Tung Chung ranked as a cheng M. See Rev. Krone "A Notice of the Sanon District" in Transactions of the China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society Part VI (Hong Kong 1859) p. 82. + 11 This is correct, since presumably Parish was referring to the head land of San Tau #. From here the coast runs sharply SW to Tai O. 12 Two islands known as the Brothers, consisting of the West and East Brothers. 13 In the vicinity of Tsing Lung Tau "Green dragon head", on the coast of the New Territories between Tsun Wan and Castle Peak. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1964 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/qz20zx09r NOTES AND QUERIES 151 evacuation (1662-1669). But it is certain that Tung Chung and Sha Lo Wan had a share in the incense trade which terminated with the evacuation. Wild incense trees can still be found but the art of making incense sticks has vanished. The ancestors of the people living in the valley may have migrated into the area from the north in 1669 but the area has been, until recently, notorious for occurrences of malaria which claimed heavy tolls. The entire population may have been completely wiped out several times, as the oldest of the families has a family history of no more than seven generations. Tung Chung came into the limelight again when Cheung Pao Tsai and his pirate band who had been using the bay as one of their bases to prey upon the coastal trade of the South China Sea, successfully repelled a Ching naval contingent after a ten-day battle in the Ping Chung Bay in the twelfth year of Chia Ching's reign (1807). The trouble was finally quelled in 1809 when Cheung Pao Tsai surrendered and his pirates were disbanded. 2 With the suppression of the pirates, trade flourished. The Viceroy at Canton petitioned the Ch'ing Government in 1817 saying that "Ta Yu Shan of San On District, an isolated island, is on the (trade) route of the ships of the "barbarians". Tung Chung and Tai O are the only places where these "barbarian" ships can anchor. A fort at Chi Yi Kok2 with a Captain(?) and soldiers from the Tai Pang Camp has been maintained but there is no garrison at Tung Chung. As the two places are very far apart, eight garrison houses should be built at the mouth of the Tung Chung Rivers and two batteries (the fort), seven garrison houses and one arsenal should be constructed on the foot of Shek Shee ShanJ. "6 The petition was accepted and the work was completed in the same year. Whether the work was carried out as requested by the Viceroy has still to be proved. However, the fort has been relatively well preserved and seven old 2 Fan Lau (), 24 miles from Tai O. 3 Nan Tau (南頭), Po On District, 15 miles to the north of Lantau. 4 The distance is 6 miles across the main watershed and about 9 miles along the coast. 5 The idea was to prevent the "barbarians" from drawing fresh water for their ships. 6 Kwangtung Annals (廣東通志), p. 2,530. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1968 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/66833948d 82 FAN LAU AND ITS FORT: AN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE ARMANDO M. DA SILVA* Site and Situation Fan Lau is located at the extreme southwestern tip of Tai Yu Shan or Lantau Island. It is almost equal in distance from Hong-kong and Macau and it is situated about twenty-five miles due east of the latter. Fan Lau can be reached by sampan or fishing boat either from the market towns of Cheung Chau or Tai O, or by walking along the water catchment from Shek Pik reservoir to a point above and beyond Kau Ling Chung, and then by descending a steep stony path towards the settlement. Another route is to strike out from Tai O, taking the coastal footpath through Yi O, and thence to Fan Lau. There is no motor road to Fan Lau. The area of Fan Lau includes a headland known as Kai Yik Kok (†) meaning "chicken wing point" where an old fort is located (see map 1).† The high point of the Kai Yik Kok promontory rises to about 380 feet above sea level. In the north of this headland lies the cultivated waist of Fan Lau where a small settlement is located. Looming above the settlement is Kai Yik Shan1 from which two streams supply irrigation water to the padi fields. Two fine beaches, Tung Wan and Sai Wan, flank the waist of the peninsula. Tung Wan, though exposed to prevailing easterly winds and a long fetch from the village, can accommodate deep-draught junks. The actual territory associated with the village extends beyond the physical boundaries of the settlement. Fan Lau villagers, for example, cultivate fields located in Tsin Yue Wan (see map 1) and records show that, at least in 1904, padi fields in Kau Ling Chung (since abandoned) were also cultivated. Situated at the entrance of the Chu Kong or Pearl River estuary, Fan Lau enjoyed a strategic location in the past. This position was reflected in the construction of numerous forts and guard stations * Mr. da Silva has a Master's degree from the University of California at Berkeley and is at present with the Department of Geography, University of Hawaii. † Maps 1-4 are located at pp. 92-95. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1968 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/66833948d FAN LAU AND ITS FORT 83 overlooking various approaches in connection with the maritime defence of the Chu Kong estuary.2 In the past vessels proceeding towards Canton from northerly points used two main routes. The first was an inner route through Fat Tong Mun1 into Kowloon Bay by way of Lei Yu Mun, after which a stop was made near the present day Kowloon City. Vessels then proceeded through what is today's Hongkong harbour towards Kap Shui Mun. Continuing northwestwards, they negotiated the inner Tai Yu Shan passage towards Lung Kwu island, using for their landmark Castle Peak (1, Shing Shan) the same landmark that Sung sailors used centuries ago to pinpoint the then bustling emporium of Tuen Mun, located near its base. From then on, ships continued towards their destination, stopping either at Lin Tin or at Nam Tau with a final clearance at Fu Mun. A second approach used by vessels was to raise their landfall at Pak Tsim, Yung Hai, or at Tam Kong (see page 87 for these places), and thence to proceed through the Sam Chau Mun picking up the twin-peaked heights of Fung Wong Shan, the highest point in the Tai Yu Shan, as a navigational landmark. On this bearing, ships entered the estuary of the Chu Kong at a point below Fan Lau fort. From Fan Lau they set course for Lung Kwu, before continuing up the estuary to Fu Mun and then to Canton. The importance of Fan Lau to the Chinese coastal defence system lies in its location athwart the entrance of the Chu Kong estuary. The headland of Fan Lau too, made an excellent navigational landmark for ships approaching the estuary. Fan Lau fort The fort is sited on high ground about 235 feet above sea level. The exterior dimensions are 155 feet by 70 feet. The stone walls vary from 3 to 7 feet in width depending on the extent to which the existing walls have crumbled (plate 7). The height of the walls also varies, being higher at the southern end facing the sea than at the northern end. The area inside the fort covers no more than 7,380 square feet (123 feet by 60 feet). The smallness of this area suggests that the structure was a small outpost fitting the description of “guard-station" rather than "fort", although it appears on a map in the Kwong Tung Tung Chi as the Tai Yu Shan pao tai (*: literally "Tai Yu Shan gun terrace"). ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1968 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/66833948d FAN LAU AND ITS FORT 85 Lau, meaning "division of flows" and the name of that point on the southwestern tip of Tai Yu Shan, describes accurately and specifically the abrupt change of colour of the sea off the point, from a clear green to a muddy brown, as any traveller from Hong-kong to Macau can attest. The name Fan Lau is not only appropriately but propitiously applied. In fung shui the confluence of streams or sea currents is considered auspicious (conversely, a site flanked by forking streams is not considered lucky). Fan Lau, situated as it were at such a confluence, is considered a lucky site; hence the presence of a fort, a temple, and a settlement. Conditions must have deteriorated in the Chu Kong estuary some sixty years after the return of Ch'ing control in 1669, for we hear of the garrisoning and reinforcement of troops in Tai Yu Shan in 1730 to shore up existing coastal defences there. "In the 7th year of Yung Cheng (1730) forts were constructed on two hills, to deploy garrisons for their defence and to reinforce the troops garrisoning Tai Yu Shan, thus forming an angle similar to that made by the horns of an ox, to serve the exterior defence of Macau and the Boca Tigre". The Kai Yik Kok fort must have been one of the two strong points mentioned, the other being probably the fort at Tung Chung. The analogy between the location of the fortifications of the estuary and the shape of an ox's horns is interesting. A glance at a map of the Chu Kong estuary would show Macau (in reality, the Heung Shan district forts) and Fan Lau to be the tips of those horns. Both these strategic areas cover the entrance to the estuary. The Boca Tigre (Fu Mun19) at the apex of the near-isosceles triangle formed by these three points, served as the pivotal central fortification. We know too, that the Fan Lau fort was designated as the administrative boundary between the San On District and the Heung Shan District on the other side of the estuary from Fan Lau. A map of the Chu Kong estuary in the O Mun Kei Leukaz depicts the Kai Yik Kok fort with the accompanying caption “San Heung Fan Kai” (***), meaning "This is the dividing boundary between the San On and the Heung Shan districts". It is very likely that some of the fort's soldiers were allotted plots of land for their own use. Another interesting possibility is that the soldiers and officials appointed to preserve law and order came from the very ranks of rebels and pirates who had previously Page 90 Page 91 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1968 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/66833948d 86 ARMANDO M. DA SILVA defected to the government cause, and that as a reward, their land holdings were recognized officially by the government. This is a very Chinese approach to the problem of pacification. The Cheng 鄭 family of Fan Lau claims to have ancestral connections with Cheng Lin Fuk 鄭連福 and his son, Cheng Yat 鄭一, both notorious pirates from Tai Yu Shan, who terrorized the Chu Kong estuary during the latter half of the 18th century. The Cheng family still owns the land nearest to the old fort, which may suggest that this family had ancestors who were also on the government side (plate 10). The garrison could not have existed for long without food and it is reasonable to suppose that the padi fields of Fan Lau supported the soldiers from the fort (plate 11). There are reasons for believing that the Kai Yik Kok fort may have pre-dated the Coastal Withdrawal of 1662, and that it may have been a Ming rather than a Ch'ing fort. Some confirmation of this is afforded by a series of nautical charts in the Mo Pei Chi (A). The preface to this work is dated 1621, but it was not presented to the throne until 1628. However, it has been shown that the charts almost certainly date from the first half of the fifteenth century. Many of the place-names in that section of the charts pertaining to the Chu Kong estuary are identifiable when checked against similar or equivalent place-names found in the maps of the 19th century editions of the Kwong Tung Tung Chi, San On Yuen Chi, Heung Shan Yuen Chi and O Mun Kei Leuk, but the reader must be warned on two points. First, place-names may differ in both pronunciation and orthography in different sources. Yung Hai is written as 容海 on the Mo Pei Chi charts, but as 雍海 on the maps of the Kwong Tung Tung Chi. A second point to remember is that adjoining districts on one island are not infrequently depicted as separate islands. The Kwong Tung T'ung Chi carries a map of the San On district, for instance, which marks Tai Yu Shan, Tung Chung and Kai Yik Kok fort as separate islands, whereas the last two places are in fact both located on Tai Yu Shan. It is obvious that the place-names on these maps serve not so much to pin-point localities as to mark well-known landmarks and stopping places. Navigation in these waters depended not on nautical instruments, but on the experience of pilots familiar with key channels and navigational landmarks, such as headlands and mountain peaks. *Plates 12 and 13 also relate to this article. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1968 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/66833948d FAN LAU AND ITS FORT 87 Using the Ching dynasty maps from the District Gazetteers and the Provincial Gazetteer, I identify the places on the Chu Kong estuary section on the Mo Pei Chi charts as follows: (see map 4)— Po Toi Shan 蒲胎山 an island south of Hongkong. Now written 蒲台 Tung Keung Shan 東姜山 Yung Hai Shan 翁鞋山 Fat Tong Mun 佛堂門 Pak Tsim 北尖 Lang Tin Shan 小溪山 + ++ Tam Kon islands 檐桿 Yung Hai 湧鞋 or Hai Chau 鞋洲 retains the same name, Fat Tong Mun 佛堂門 retains the same name, Pak Tsim 北尖 as the "outer Lintin", Ngoi Ling Tin 外伶仃 as the "inner Lintin”, Ting Lin 伶仃 "Lantau", Tai Yu Shan 大嶼山 "Fan Lau", Kai Yik Kok 雞翼角 Nam Tin Shan 南停山 Tai Kai Shan 大溪山 Siu Kai Shan 小溪山 Kwun Fu Chai 宮富寨 + present day "Kowloon City", Kau Lung Shing 九龍城 Tung Kwun Sor 東莞所 District of Tung Kwun, Tung Kwun Yuen 東莞縣 Heung Shan Sor 香山所 District of Heung Shan, Heung Shan Yuen 香山縣 The absence of any mention of the San On district (新安縣) on the charts is significant. It is highly improbable that the compilers of the charts would have deliberately omitted or accidentally overlooked that district. Now, we know that the San On district was detached in 157310 from the Tung Kwun district to form two separate districts, the Tung Kwun and the San On districts, a circumstance which confirms the suggestion that the Mo Pei Chi charts were drawn at least before the creation of the San On district. If this were the case, the Kai Yik Kok fort must also be dated before 1573, which would make it a Ming dynasty fort. Between 1805 and 1810 control of the Chu Kong estuary slipped from the forces of the government. A new pirate leader, Cheung Po-tsai 張保仔 became master of the seas around Tai Yu Shan. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1968 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/66833948d 88 ARMANDO M. DA SILVA A legend has grown up around this man, and most coastal Tin Hau temples today claim association with him. According to local tradition, Cheung was a lavish patron of the seafarer's temples which, in turn, probably supplied him with shipping intelligence. This pirate was reputed also to have constructed a number of forts, in reality armed camps, and village tradition has it that the Kai Yik Kok fort was once occupied by Cheung's men. There are reasons to believe this may be so. In 1809 a strong Chinese government fleet, assisted by six Portuguese lorchas11 from Macau on loan to the government, ambushed Cheung's pirate fleet at Tung Chung bay12. Cheung fought his way out of this trap only to surrender to the government after he had received peace overtures from the Provincial Governor. In the grand Chinese tradition of rewarding enemy defectors, Cheung was promptly made a paid government official and installed as chief customs collector in Macau. If Cheung's fleet was able to assemble at Tung Chung bay, which was dominated by a much larger fort, it follows that Cheung may have also controlled the second, but smaller, Tai Yu Shan fort at Fan Lau. In 1815 the Chinese government, alarmed at the presence of foreign opium boats in the Chu Kong estuary, again began fortifying the coast. Existing forts were strengthened and new coastal strong points were constructed as part of a design to establish full and total control over the estuary. The fort at Fan Lau appears on a contemporary coastal defence map of the Chu Kong estuary. This map, in the 1864 edition of the Kwong Tung Tung Chi, was drawn in 1821 or 1822. The Fan Lau fort was conspicuous enough to warrant a brief mention in the sailing directions of a foreign commercial guide on China published after Hong Kong was founded. The relevant passage reads, "Lantau, the largest island in the estuary below the Bogue is about 15 miles long and 5 in its greatest breadth; its peak is about 3000 feet high, and is the loftiest summit in this region, but foreigners have never been to the top. It has several villages on its shore, and a fort, called Shek Sun pau toi ☎✯✯✯ on its S.E. side. The village Tyho on its eastern shore* has given name to the whole island on our charts, but it is usually called Tai Yu Shan. * The compiler was evidently confused between E. and W., as Shek Sun and Tai O (Tyho) are at the west end of Lantau. Ed. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1968 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/66833948d 90 ARMANDO M. DA SILVA It will suffice here to say that the exterior defence of the Chu Kong estuary consisted of a series of forts, customs-stations and guard-posts in the Lo Man Shan 老萬山, Kai Pong 鷄澎, Sam Chau Mun 三洲門, Ngoi Ling Ting 外伶仃, and the Tam Kon ## groups of the outer off-shore islands. The civil administration ruled from Nam Tau, the district city of the San On district. The military administration was centred at Tai Pang, on the western arm enclosing Tai Pang Hoi (Mirs Bay). The civil administration operated on a north-south axis, as against the east-west axis of the military coastal defence system. This is understandable when one realizes that the military could facilitate their control of the coast-line by establishing easy communications by water running the length of the coast-line from strongpoints on strategic head-lands and the offshore islands. 3 For the Chinese characters of place names of some locales in the vicinity of Tai Yu Shan see map 3. For names of places within the present territory of Hong Kong see A Gazetteer of Place Names in Hong Kong, Kowloon and the New Territories (Hong Kong, Government Printer, 1960). 4 So far as I know there has been no published study of this fort by Hongkong's local historians, except for a brief mention in one work which states that Kai Yik Kok fort was of Ch'ing dynasty date. Lo Hsiang-lin, Hongkong and its External Communication before 1842, (Hongkong, Institute of Chinese Culture, 1963) p. 172. 5 The principal ingredients of this cement are clam and oyster shells which are crushed and burnt to produce slaked lime. The lime is then mixed with fine sand to produce a holding cement. Shells and fine sand are common to many local beaches and are, apparently for this purpose, used in lime kilns. 6 San On Yuen Chi, kuen 22, under section on Coastal Defence reads: 看復界後海絮籹寧而設險更捻周密雖今之汎地 及設兵皆與舊制不同而大嶼山雞翼角炮臺南頭 炮臺赤濘炮蠱最為餓要 7 Fan Lau is also known as Shek Sun meaning "boulder growths", a reference to the numerous residual boulders at Kai Yik Kok, 8 Luis Gomes, Monografia de Macau (Macau, 1951), a Portuguese translation of the O Mun Kei Leuk p. 70. "No 7° ano de long Tcheng (1730) construiram-se fortalezas nas duas montanhas, distribuiram-se as guarniçoes para a sua defensa e foram reforçadas as tropas que guarneciam Tai-U-San formando assim como que um angulo semelhante ao que e constituido pelos chifres dum boi, para servir de defensa exterior de Macau e o Boca Tigre", 9 J. J. L. Duyvendak, "Sailing directions of Chinese voyages" T'oung Pao, vol. 34 (1938) pp. 230-237; and "The true dates of the Chinese maritime expeditions in the early fifteenth century", T'oung Pao, vol. 34 (1938), pp. 341-412. 10 The district of San On (新安) was formed in the sixth year of Lung Hing (隆慶) ie. 1572-73, Fourteen years later, in 1587, the San On district gazetteer was written by Yan Tai-kon (縣太君), the District Magistrate. Various editions followed. The latest edition was published in 1819. This gazetteer provides the best primary source of information on pre-British Hongkong. Chapters (kuen) XIV and XXII deal with Coastal Defence. These are chapters of special interest to historical geographers. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1978 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8g84t8593 NOTES AND QUERIES 205 DISTRIBUTION OF FORTS AND GUARD STATIONS ON LANTAU ISLAND DURING THE LATE CH'ING PERIOD Lantau, an island which lies to the west of Hong Kong Island, has an area of about 55.55 square miles. Situated at the entrance of the Pearl River estuary, the island enjoyed a strategic location in the past, especially during the late Ch'ing Dynasty. The position was reflected in the construction of forts and guard stations or shuen (屯) overlooking Tuen Mun 屯門. During the K'ang Hsi period (1662-1722), the island was fortified with a fort at Kai Yik Kok 雞翼角, known as the Fan Lau Fort 汾流砲台 or Tai Yu Shan Fort 大嶼山砲台; and with two guard stations; one at Tai O 大澳, the Tai Yu Shan Shuen 大嶼山汎; the other at Tung Chung 東涌, the Tung Chung Hau Shuen 東涌口汎. During the Chia Ching period (1796-1820), more forts and guard stations were constructed, partly because of the coming of the Europeans. Thus in the 22nd year of Chia Ching's rule, the Tung Chung Walled City 東涌城 was constructed, and a guard station with two forts called the Shek Tse Fort 石子砲台 was founded on the coast to its front. Later guard stations were established at Tai Ho 大蠔, Sha Lo Wan 沙螺灣, and at Mui Wo 梅窩. The military force on the island consisted of a Shau-pe 守備 or major, with his headquarters at the Tung Chung Walled City. Under him were 4 Tsin-tsung 千總 or lieutenants, 7 Pa-tsung 把總 or sergeants, and 5 Ngai-wai 外委 or corporals. They were in command of 691 soldiers, of whom 195 were infantry and 496 garrison soldiers. This force also manned guard-stations at the Kowloon Walled City 九龍城寨, Shum Shui Po 深水埗, Tsing Lung Tau 青龍頭, Cheung Chau 長洲, Tsing Yi Tam 青衣潭, Ping Chau 坪洲, Po Toi 蒲苔, Kap Shui Mun 急水門, and at Yung Shu Wan 榕樹灣. From this force 215 soldiers were in garrison on Lantau Island. The following shows the distribution of garrison soldiers in various forts and guard-stations on the island: Tung Chung Walled City: 100 garrison soldiers under 1 Shau-pe, 1 Pa-tsung, and 2 Ngai-wai. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1978 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8g84t8593 206 NOTES AND QUERIES Tung Chung Fort Shuen: 30 garrison soldiers under 1 Pa-tsung. Tai Yu Shan Fort Shuen: 30 garrison soldiers under 1 Tsing-tsung. Tai Yu Shan Shuen: 40 garrison soldiers under 1 Tsing-tsung. Sha Lo Wan Shuen: 5 garrison soldiers. Tai Ho Shuen: 5 garrison soldiers. Mui Wo Shuen: 5 garrison soldiers. For the support of these guard-stations, other guard-stations were established on the mainland and the neighbouring islands. The following shows the distribution of garrison soldiers in these guard-stations: Kowloon Walled City: 100 guard soldiers under 1 Pa-tsung and 2 Ngai-wai. Kap Shui Mun Shuen: 10 garrison soldiers. Shumshuipo Shuen: 35 garrison soldiers. Tsing Lung Tau Shuen: 50 garrison soldiers under 1 Pa-tsung. Tsing Yi Tam Shuen: 15 garrison soldiers under 1 Pa-tsung. Cheung Chau Shuen: 45 garrison soldiers under 1 Pa-tsung and 1 Ngai-wai. Ping Chau Shuen: 15 garrison soldiers under 1 Pa-tsung. Yung Shu Wan Shuen (on Lamma Island): 10 garrison soldiers. Po Toi Shuen (on Po Toi Island, south of Hong Kong Island): 20 garrison soldiers. These guard-stations were under the command of the Tung Chung Shau-pei of the Tai-pang Battalion. Besides the garrison soldiers, there were also war vessels with 60 soldiers under 2 Tsing-tsung and 1 Ngai-wai. These forts and guard-stations remained in position till 1898, when the New Territories and the adjacent Islands were leased to the British. After that, they were redundant. BIBLIOGRAPHY CITED (all from Chinese Sources) O Mun Kei Leuk ¶ g. 1800 edition San On Yuen Chi 1819 edition Kwong Tung Tung Chi ✯✯ 1864 edition ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1980 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207 134 NOTES AND QUERIES insurance against Indonesian official accusations of racialism and idolatry. The temple staff believed, said the temple keeper, that Indonesian moslem officials would not dare throw out an image of the former President. It is interesting and no doubt connected, that the image was in a Chinese temple in the birth place of the former President. The image, illustrated at Plate 18, regrettably does not bear much resemblance to President Sukarno. Hong Kong, 1981 KEITH STEVENS MORE ABOUT THE TUNG LUNG FORT* The Fat Tong Mun Fort or the Tung Lung Fort 東龍砲台 is situated on Tung Lung Island 東龍島. As recorded in the San On Yuen Chi, Chia Ch'ing edition***, it was erected during the K'ang Hsi period, for the protection of the waterway against the pirates.2 However, as the K'ang Hsi Reign of the Ch'ing Dynasty lasted for sixty-one years (1662-1722), I wonder when it was actually erected within that period? From the book Ch'ing Cho Hoi Keung To Shueta, published between 1727-17333, the following points bearing on the Fat Tong Mun Fort are mentioned: 1. In the San On County, four forts, namely: the Tor Ling Fort 沱泞砲台, the Fat Tong Mun Fort 佛堂門砲台, the Nam Tau Fort 南頭砲台, and the Tai Yu Shan Fort 大魚山砲台, were newly erected. 2. These forts were erected when Yeung Lin was Viceroy of the Kwangtung Province. 3. The Fat Tong Mun Fort was provided with eight cannon places and thirteen guard-houses. 4. There were no fixed number for the garrisons at the forts. Soldiers were sent to guard them as required. In the Kwangtung Tung Chi✯✯5 and the Ch'ing Shi Ko✯or 3, it was recorded that Yeung Lin was a Shau-pei. See also JHKBRAS 19 (1979): 209-210. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1980 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207 138 7. Sha Lo Wan NOTES AND QUERIES Built in 1774, repaired in 1852, 1925* and 1975*. Bell 1774. 8. Tung Chung-inside the Fort but now ruined. No information. Kwan Tai Temple — 1. Mu Wo (Man Wu Temple) Built in the Ming Dynasty, repaired in 1901 and 1960*. Bell 1961 2. Lo Wai, Pui O— no longer in existence No information. 3. Tong Fuk - No information. No bell. 4. Tai O Market Kwun Yam Temple Built in the Ming Dynasty, repaired in 1741, 1835, 1852*, 1903*, 1959* and 1975*. Bell 1741. 1. Fan Lau- ruined, no information. 2. Tsin Yu Wan near Yi O — ruined, no information. 3. Keung Shan Built in 1910, repaired in 1964 and 1970. Bell 1756, was originally in one of the Pak Tai temples in Kowloon. Hau Wong Temple 侯王廟 1. Shek Pik-Inundated by Shek Pik Reservoir in 1960. 2. Po Chue Tam, Tai O - Built in 1699, repaired in 1877* and 1966*. No bell. 3. Tung Chung-Built in 1765, repaired in 1878, 1910*, 1962* and 1978. Bell 1765 Wah Kwong Temple Hang Mei, Tai O — Built in the Ch'ing Dynasty, repaired in 1896, 1954 and 1973. No bell, Saam Shan Kwok Wong Temple San Shek Wan Yuen Tan Temple No information. Shek Mun Kap, Tung Chung no longer in existence. No information. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1980 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207 NOTES AND QUIRIES 139 Fuk Tak Temple ** Tai O Market- No information. The number of temples found in each area is as follows 1. Mui Wo-2 6. Tsin Yu Wan-1 11. Sha Lo Wan-1 2. Pui O-4 7. Yi O-1 12. Tung Chung 3 3. Tong Fuk-2 8. Tai O-7 13. Tai Pak - 1 4. Shek Pik-3 9. Keung Shan- 1 14. Nim Shue Wan-1 5. Fan Lau-2 10. San Shek Wan-1 15. Chak Lap Kok-1 Hong Kong, March 1980 ANTHONY K.K. SIU THE KOWLOON WALLED CITY The Kowloon Walled City was situated to the north of the present Kai Tak Airport. It had been the most important military base in Hong Kong during the later Ch'ing Dynasty (1644-1911). At the beginning of the Ch'ing period, there was no walled city. In the 7th year of the K'ang Hsi reign (1668), there was only a watchpost, called the 6, recorded as having thirty guards. Fourteen years later, in the 21st year of Kang Hsi (1682), the number of guards was reduced to only ten, and the post was turned into the Kowloon guard-station. This Kowloon guard-station, with only ten soldiers, was still in existence up to the 16th year of the Chia Ch'ing reign (1811) 1 During the 15th year of the Chia Ch'ing reign (1810), the Fat Tong Mun Fort # was evacuated, and a new fort was built on the coast of Kowloon. This was the Kowloon Fort #. Its garrison was forty-eight men, under one pa-tsung and one ngai-wai. After the 22nd year of the Tao Kuang reign (1843), Hong Kong Island was under British rule. In order to strengthen the fortification of Kowloon, a walled city was built in the 27th year of Tao Kuang (1847). This was the Kowloon Walled City * See JHKBRAS 19 (1979)· 209-210. ================================================================================ 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-1989 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h 396 was frequently invaded by the Wo Chao, i.e. the Japanese pirates. Tai Yu Shan lies on the south coast of Kwangtung Province, and was an important military base against the Wo Chao. During the Wan Li Reign, the Nam Tau Chai #9, i.e. the Nam Tau Naval Battalion, with six guard stations, was created. One of them was at Tai O ✰ on Tai Yu Shan." In 1521, the Ferangi, i.e. the Portuguese, invaded Tuen Mun P¶. In 1522, they were defeated by the Ming troops which lies on the north coast of Tai Yu Shan, at Sai Chao Wan 15 between Tai O and Sha Lo Wan. At that time, there were nine settlements on the island: Kai Kung Tau O, Sha Lo Wan, Tung Sai Chung, Tai Ho Shan (now known as Lantau Peak), Mui Wo, Lo Pui O 螺杯澳 (now known as Pui O) and Tong Fuk 唐復、16 Dynasty, In the 1st year of the Kang Hsi Reign of the Ching, the coastal areas, especially the Kwangtung, the Fukien and the Chekiang Provinces, were frequently disturbed by pirates. Thus the government imposed the Coastal Evacuation. It was only in the 8th year of the Kang Hsi Reign (1669) that the coastal restriction was abandoned, and people were allowed to return to settle on the island. There were no fortifications then. In the early part of the Yung Cheng Reign, Yeung Lin, the governor of the Kwangtung and Kwangsi Provinces built the Fan Lau Fort on the west tip of the island. The fort was known as the Kai Yik Fork. It consisted of eight cannon places and twenty barracks." Later, in the Chien Lung and the Chia Ching + 19 periods, owing to the increasing influence of the pirates and the foreigners, the Tung Chung Hau □ guard station was created. In 1817, eight more barracks were built at Tung Chung Hau," and two forts were built at the foot of the Shek She Shan. These two forts, with seven barracks and an arsenal, together were known as the Shek She Fort HWS." In 1831, the Tung Chung Walled City 東涌寨城 was built at the foot of the Sheung Ling Pei Shan 上嶺皮山。20 After 1841, the Tung Chung Walled City and the forts remained as important military bases. Besides, guard stations were established at Tai Ho, Sha Lo Wan and Mui Wo. These remained in position until 1898, when the New Territories and the adjacent islands were leased to the British. After that, they were redundant.2 After the coastal restriction was abandoned, five villages were resettled, namely: Tai O, Tung Sai Chung, Lo Pui O, Shek Pik and Mui Wo." In the Chia Ching period, more villages were created, there were ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1995 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/95941j25g 62 picture of the situation was given by L. Yu. He stated: “At the time they built their fortress with the backs against the hills and the fronts facing the sea. The two fortifications acted as two watchtowers. It made the Ching army difficult to attack or even try to get near to the island. On the slopes above Sai Ying Pun, at the midlevels, there was a fort and it helped to reinforce the defence." (Lai, 1948, P.13) Secondly, it is because Sai Ying Pun was situated at the foothill of the highest peak of the island. The peak (i.e. Victoria Peak 1917 ft. which was called O Tau Shan or Ngan Tau Shan at that period) formed the look-out of the pirates in those days. They wanted to keep an eye on the harbour which was a very important water route in that part of the South China coast. Whenever a vessel appeared, the watchmen would signal the pirates who were stationed at the foothills at Sai Ying Pun. The pirate fleet would then sail off to plunder and loot the vessels. Thirdly, the pirates chose the place because Sai Ying Pun possesses some peculiar physical characteristics. Before the waterfront was reclaimed in the late nineteenth century, Sai Ying Pun was the only area in the northwestern sector of the Island, which controlled the western inlet to the harbour, with a fairly long coastal slope. The slopes were made up of colluvial fan. In other words, the soil in the area was derived from the decomposition of granite or other primitive rock. It was not, however, formed of detritus of rock washed down from above, but solid rock altered in situ. In the area west of Sai Ying Pun, Shek Tong Tsui, the granites outcropped nearly to the sea front. It was possibly the reason why as early as 1771 the Hakka people came to the area and quarried the granite and carried them to Shek Pai Wan. Therefore we can see that Sai Ying Pun was the only area in the northwestern sector that was suitable to set up a fortification. I think this is also the reason why the British commanders chose the same area to set up a barrack in 1841. So Sai Ying Pun during the early years of Chiaching period was probably occupied by scores of pirates. They guarded themselves against the attack of the Ching armies and waited patiently for the signals that came from the peak and were always ready to sail off to plunder any trading vessels that happened to sail past the Hong Kong ================================================================================