RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1961 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/vd6724704 Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch ORASHKB and author Vol. 1 (1961) ISSN 1991-7295 109 bers, although poorer members may elect to pay $5 and well-to-do members may pay $40 or $100. The activities of the Association are in the hands of a Board of Directors of 35 members, of whom 15 are monks and nuns and 20 are laymen, the Chairman of the Board being the Abbot of the Po Lin Monastery, while the Vice Chairman is a prominent Buddhist layman. The directors hold office for two years and vacancies are filled through election at the annual General Meeting. The Association's office is at 15 Shan Kwong Road, Hong Kong, on the premises of the Tung Lin Kok Yuen MW (see above p. 44). To disseminate the dharma, the Association has sponsored courses of nightly lectures on various sutras, delivered by an authority from the Sangha. These courses have been held three or four times a year, lasting two or three weeks each time, usually at the Tung Lin Kok Yuen. Attendance has run about 200 people. The Association's welfare enterprises include four schools, a cemetery, and two clinics. The Chinese Buddhist Free School, at 117 Wanchai Road, was established in October 1945. It is co-educational, and has an enrollment of 223. Though it is government-subsidized, pupils pay no tuition. Another school, also at the primary level, was opened during September, 1960 in the ground floor of a resettlement block at Wong Tai Sin (the use of such ground floor space for classrooms is encouraged by the Resettlement Department). Known as the Buddhist Boddhi Primary School, it accommodates 1,440 boys and girls, operates on a government subsidy, and charges the standard tuition fees. By far the most impressive educational enterprises of the Buddhist Association, however, are the two schools on Eastern Hospital Road (near Causeway Bay). They began operation in September 1959 and comprise a primary school with 1,053 boys and girls ("Buddhist Wong Cheuk Om Memorial School") and a middle school with 321 boys and girls ("Buddhist Wong Fung Ling College" #+4) HK$350,000 of the construction cost was donated to the Association by two devout Buddhists, whose names the schools bear, while the other $650,000 was provided by the Hong Kong Government, $150,000 of this being in the form of a loan that the Association will eventually repay out of its portion of the school fees. The Board of Directors of the Buddhist Association has full responsibility for and control over the operation of all these schools, although about 70 per cent of the operating costs, including teachers' salaries, are met by Government subsidy. The curriculum includes the study of Buddhism which, at the suggestion of the Hong Kong Buddhist Association, was accepted by the Education Department in 1959 as one of the optional subjects thereafter to be included in the Hong Kong School-leaving Certificate examination. Up until now Buddhists, unlike Christians and Moslems, have had no separate cemetery facilities. The Buddhist Association's cemetery, which occupies seven acres of land recently allocated by the Government on Cape Collison, opened early in 1961. M HK$3 a month "t'ong fei" added to the standard fees for subsidized schools of $5 and $32 a month. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1962 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/9s166f47f 102 J. W. HAYES there are sometimes several. As a general rule they are small buildings, but the major clans have constructed large high spacious buildings with several courtyards and side rooms. Among the largest in the New Territories are the ancestral temples of branches of the TANG clan at Ping Shan and Ha Tsuen near Yuen Long. These are fine and impressive buildings but are not, unfortunately, kept in good repair. Much of the opposition to the British troops in 1898 was planned in the ancestral hall at Ha Tsuen. Beside the Ping Shan hall there is a school/library building, now used as a private residence. 53 The reason is always said to be lack of funds though I suspect a lack of leadership is also a prime factor. The clan usually waits until something is seriously wrong, by which time it is often too late; a storm completes the ruination. There seems to be some truth in this as I have found newly built ancestral halls in several villages, e.g. the CHEUNG ancestral hall at Lo Wai, Pui O which was rebuilt in 1960 on a new site, the old one having been in ruins for twenty years. 54 Clan worship at the graves still goes on, but is much more informal than in 1898. Mr. TANG Kiu-fong of Fui Sha Wai, a retired schoolmaster, previously quoted, who was born in 1894, tells me that when he was a boy the ceremony was taken very seriously. Everyone wore the long robe, elders were carried to the graves in sedan chairs, and male members of the clan were drawn up in ranks by generations and worshipped in strict seniority, under the direction of a master of ceremonies. 55 These ancestral obligations often imposed considerable inconvenience and up to several days' travel for the whole family. Mr. CHEUNG Yau of Tai Ping village, North Lamma, (b. 1883) tells me that his grandfather settled on Lamma Island from his native village of Wai Tau in the Lam Tsuen valley in the present Tai Po district. Ever since he can remember, and until old age interfered with visits a few years ago, he has gone back to his ancestral village at least three times a year, as dictated by custom. For the first twenty-five years there was no railway and his family used to go by junk to Kowloon and walk the rest of the way, children included. Others went further afield. Mr. LAM Shue Chun, Chairman of the Peng Chau Rural Committee, told me that his family went regularly to their ancestral village of Nam Leng Wai in Po On, north of the border, and were interrupted in their journeys first by the Japanese and latterly by the Communists. He has been twice since 1942 and an uncle has been visiting fairly regularly up to last year. The family travelled to Kowloon by junk, then used the railway and had a long walk from Sham Chon Market. Sometimes there was no need to go from home as contact had been lost with the ancestral village which was too far away. 56 They were full at any time. There is an interesting count of travel on the Colony's border roads and the Shum Chun ferries taken 11th and 12th December 1905 in Enclosure E to Despatch No. 59 in Correspondence relating to Kowloon-Canton Railway already quoted. The first was a market day, when the count of persons, with and without goods, roughly doubled the figures for the second, or ordinary day. On the two main ferries, for instance, the count on December 11 was with goods 1126, without goods 1379 and on the Shum Chun-Sha Tau Kok road 521 and 1302. On the day following the figures were 468 and 1124, and 158 and 550 respectively. At New Year and the two grave festivals the number must have been very much increased. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1962 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/9s166f47f 128 CHAN, Dr. H. C. - CHAN, Hok-lam, William CHAU, Hon. Sir Tsun-nin CHENG, T. C... CHEONG-LEEN, Hilton · CHEUNG, Oswald - CHING, Henry CHING, Joseph CHIU, Ling-yeong CHOA, Dr. Gerald H.- CLARK, Mrs. N. E. COHN, Dr. A. J.- COLE, Martin + CRANMER-BYNG, J. L. CUMINE, E. · - + T Bank of Canton Building, 5th floor, H.K. c/o Dept. of History, Chung Chi College, Ma Liu Shui, Shatin, New Territories, 8, Queen's Road, West, Hong Kong. c/o S.C.A., Fire Brigade Building H.K. G.P.O. Box 584, 310 Yu To Sang Bldg., Hong Kong. 1002, Alexandra House, Hong Kong. 9, Village Road, 1st floor, Hong Kong. c/o U.S. Consulate-General, 26 Garden Road, H.K. 167, Yee Kuk Street, 3rd floor, Shumshuipo, Kowloon. Queen Mary Hospital, Pokfulum, H.K. c/o H.K. & Shanghai Banking Corpn., H.K. 116, Leighton Road, Leisham Court, 6/F., "F", Hong Kong. 16, Conduit Road, Hong Kong. Dept. of History, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. 14, Embassy Court, Hong Kong. CUMMING, Mount Stephen e/o Messrs. Butterfield & Swire, Union DAIKO, Paul - T DAVIES, Miss Ann Carol DAVIS, Dr. S. G.- DEANS PEGGS, Dr. A. - DENNYS, Miss Sylvia M. DJOU, G. G. - DONOHUE, Hon. Peter DRAKE, Mrs. F. S. DRAKE, Prof. F. S. L House. L P. O. Box 201, Hong Kong. ■ J L + DRAKEFORD, Louis Samuel DUNCANSON, J. D. - + DUNT, Percy EDWARDS, O. P. ENDACOTT, G. B. ENGEL, Dr. D. - 2, Friston, 15, Old Peak Road, Hong Kong. Dept. of Geography and Geology, Hong Kong University, c/o Education Department, Battery Path, Hong Kong. c/o Economic Survey Section, 804 Man Yee Bldg., H.K. c/o American International Assnce. Co., Ltd. 12/14 Queen's Road, Central, Hong Kong. Education Department, Battery Path, H.K. 92 Bonham Road, Hong Kong. Dept. of Chinese, Hong Kong University, Hong Kong. 25, Chatham Road, 11th floor, Front, Kin. c/o Barclays Bank (D.C.O.), 1 Cockspur Street, London, S.W.1. England. P. O. Box 94, Hong Kong. c/o Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corpn., H.K. Dept. of History, Hong Kong University, Hong Kong. 542 Alexandra House, Hong Kong. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1963 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/4m90m091v 150 BOYD, J. D. I. BRAGA, J. M. - BREUIL, Mrs. N. du BROMHALL, J. D. BROOKS, D. E. BRUUN, F. - A-1 9th Floor, 2 Oaklands Path, H.K. - P. O. Box 951, H.K. 86, Main Street, Stanley, H.K. Fisheries Research Station. The Fish Market, Island Road, Aberdeen. Radio Hong Kong, Rodney Block, G/F., Wellington Barracks, H.K. 908, Takshing House, H.K. BURKHARDT, Col. V. R. - 86, Main Street, Stanley, H.K. BYRNE, D. J. - CALCINA, P. G. * CHAN, Dr. H. C. - CHAN, Hok-lam CHAN, Leonard + CHAU, Hon. Sir T. N. *- CHAU, Wah-ching CHENG, T. C.. CHEONG-LEEN, Hilton + c/o China Light & Power Co., Ltd. Argyle St., Kowloon. Commercial Investment Co., Ltd., Union House, 12th Floor, H.K. Bank of Canton Building, H.K. c/o Department of History, Chung Chi College, Ma Liu Shui, N.T. c/o Pâzer Corporation, G.P.O. 323, H.K. 8, Queen's Road, West, H.K. English Department, Chung Chi College, Ma Liu Shui, N.T. United College of H.K., Bonham Road, H.K. G.P.O. Box 584, 310 Yu To Sang Building, H.K. CHESTERMAN, Prof. W. D. 4 Felix Villas, Pokfulum, H.K. CHEUNG, O. CHING, Henry CHING, Joseph - CHIU, Miss B. T. CHIU, Ling-yeong CHOA, Dr. G. H. CHOW, Edward T. CLARK, Mrs. N. E. COHN, Dr. A. J. - COLE, M. 1002, Alexandra House, H.K. 9, Village Road, 1st Floor, H.K. c/o U.S. Consulate-General, 26 Garden Road, H.K. Department of Botany, The University, H.K. 167, Yee Kuk Street, 3rd Floor, Shumshuipo, Kowloon. Queen Mary Hospital, Pokfulum, H.K. 3 Village Terrace, Happy Valley, H.K. 71, Peak Road, H.K. 116, Leighton Road, Lei Shun Court, 6th Floor, "F", H.K. 16, Conduit Road, H.K. *Life Member Please notify the Hon. Secretary of any inaccuracy ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1964 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/qz20zx09r ERRATA JHKBRAS Vol. 4 pages 42 - 154 landscapes Remarks after Tai Mo Shan there should be an index figure 39. Chek Lap Kok page No. Line 43 32 45 3 8 48 25 49 18 51 26 53 37 59 16 Note 60 11 61 32 42 45 59 62 54 61 63 6 63 86 65 124 55 99 125 129 66 151 Line 67 1 Note 154 12 99 15 bottom of page the index figure should be 124 not 123 Chaah-xhaanq the index figure should be 108 not 109 the fourth character should be the second character should be add word names to the end of line one -fun-should read fuu- the second character should be add at end: Pages 66-67 the last word should be shanqtrinq the second character of second entry should be 岗 +206 should read 206 the second name should be Leung Tung-ming the seventh word in line 5 should be Irammmhunq sritrawy Missing attribution. Should be: K. M. A. Barnett ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1964 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/qz20zx09r 118 CRANMER-BYNG AND SHEPHERD 14 They had every reason to be alarmed on account of the continual attacks from pirates on coastal villages in Kwangtung and other places during the period from about 1787 until 1810. See A. W. Hummel: Eminent Chinese of the Ching Period, 446-8. Also C. F. Neuman, History of the Pirates who infested the China Sea from 1807 to 1810. 15 Macartney took with him on the embassy a "gardener and botanist”, David Stronach. For the botanical side of the embassy see J. L. Cranmer-Byng, op. cit., 317-19. 16 These nets are known locally as "stake nets" or tsang pang are lowered and raised by means of a tackle. They are frequently used along the coasts of Kwangtung today. The fishing season is from February to mid-September, 17 The island is now reasonably well covered with pine trees and there are a few small feng-shui woods of deciduous trees. A large number of kites have been observed using pine trees on a ridge in the centre of the island as a roost during the winter months. 18 Parish knew the island, which he had been sent to reconnoitre, under the name of Cowhee. Now he learned that the inhabitants called it Toong Shing-ow-a. However, this name does not appear to have survived and the island is now always known as Ma Wan4 and was so called as far back as 1859. See Rev. Krone, op. cit. (note 8) p. 73. The word Cowhee was probably a phonetic rendering of the name of an island between Ping Chau island and Hong Kong island known as Kau I Chau 交椅洲. 19 By the small island to the south-east Parish presumably meant Tang Lung Chau## which now has a small light-house on it. There is now a small harbour with a jetty at Ma Wan village, and this is the normal place for landing on the island today. 20 This is a doubtful statement. 21 The word as written in the manuscript report is clearly "profil". I can only suggest that Parish meant "profile", and was using it in a technical, military engineering sense, meaning "outline". A reading of Tristram Shandy and other eighteenth century books about sieges and defence works might give a clue to its technical meaning at that time, 22 From the anchorage position marked on the chart this must refer to the bay of Tsing Lung Tau. Today Ma Wan is connected to the mainland by a regular ferry service running from the bay of Sham Tseng, where the Hong Kong Brewery is situated. 23 By the word "bay" in this context Parish appears to refer to the wide bay formed by the northern coast of Lantao from its headland opposite Tsing Lung Tau to Chek Lap Kok opposite Tung Chung bay, but the wording is somewhat ambiguous at this point. 24 Probably the western arm of Luk Kang - · + + on Lantao. 25 Tung Ku #island opposite Tap Siak Kok on the Castle Peak peninsula. It forms part of the Urmston Road. 26 See Charles Tulse, Local Master's Handbook. Seamanship Illustrated (Hong Kong University Press, 1960). 27 See photograph of the "race" between Ma Wan and Lantao on page It is interesting to know that Professor Deryck Chesterman of the Department of Physics in the University of Hong Kong is carrying out research into the currents off Ma Wan and their effects on the sea bed. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1965 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s752cj653 ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERY 15 Since World War II archaeological work has continued fairly vigorously. From 1947 to 1949 a small team regularly (every Sunday) visited Lamma. Mr. W. Weinberger, Mr. Paul Daiko and the author were the key members. The finds collected were taken care of by Mr. Weinberger who took them to England after his tour of duty with the military forces. It was not until February 1953 that a society was formed to promote and stimulate organized archaeological study through active fieldwork. It was set up as part of the Geographical, Geological and Archaeological Society of the University of Hong Kong. Its membership consisted of internal, external, graduate and associated students of the University. This Society continues to be active. In March 1956 a University Archaeological Team was founded. Its membership is limited to twenty-five, all of whom must be active workers in the field. The need for such a team alongside the Geographical, Geological and Archaeological Society was felt to be justified because of the large number of new sites discovered and the need for experienced workers capable of regular systematic work and providing exact, written and illustrated records. Membership of this team is open to University staff and others. At present approximately half are from the University and half from outside. Responsibility for running the Team is with the Department of Geography and Geology under the leadership of the Head of Department. Regular monthly talks to the Team on different aspects of archaeology are given. During the cooler months fieldwork is carried out, mainly at weekends. The Team has an archaeological laboratory and storeroom in the Fung Ping Shan Museum on Bonham Road. Beginning in April 1958 the Team started what so far has proved to be its largest and most outstanding work. This was the excavations at Man Kok Tsui, Silvermine Bay on Lantau Island (4). This site was first reported by a member of the Team, Dr. S. Bard. It had the great advantage of being practically undisturbed. With the help of the Hong Kong Government, who provided $3,000 for expenses, digs continued throughout the summer and autumn of 1958. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1965 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s752cj653 129 BROWNE, H. J. C. BRUUN, F. BRYAN, Mrs. F. L. - BUCKNELL, P. BURKHARDT, Col. V. R. BUTT, Dr. Nancy S. G. BUTTON, Miss J. V. - BUXEY, Miss M. J. BYRNE, D. J. CALCINA, P. G.* CAMERON, N. CAPLAN, M. CAREY-HUGHES, Dr. J. CASHMORE, Miss M. CATER, J. CHAN, Gilbert Fook-fam CHAN, Dr. H. C. - CHAN, Leonard CHAN, William Hok-Lam CHAPMAN, Dr. G. W. - CHAU, Hon. Sir Tsun-nin CHEN, Prof. Cheng-siang CHEN, Yih CHENG, Dr. Irene - CHENG, T. C. CHESTERMAN, Prof. W. D. c/o Butterfield & Swire, Union House, H.K. 908 Takshing House, H.K. 3-F Robinson Road, 10th floor, H.K. 86, Main Street, Stanley, H.K. The Grantham Hospital, Wong Chuk Hang, Aberdeen, H.K. c/o Physiotherapy Dept., Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kowloon. Flat 201 Sisters' Qtrs., King's Park House, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kowloon. 11, Cambridge Road, Kowloon, Commercial Investment Co., Ltd., Union House, 12th floor, H.K. A-9 Repulse Bay Towers, Repulse Bay Road, H.K. 6, Homantin Hill Road, Kowloon, Room 315 Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank Building, H.K. 9A, Cameron House, 40 Magazine Gap Road, H.K. 3 Peak Pavilions, Mt. Kellett Road, H.K. La Belle Mansion, 118-120 Argyle Street, 7th floor, Flat A, Kowloon. 5 Shan Kwong Road, Happy Valley, H.K. c/o Pfizer Corporation, G.P.O. Box 323, H.K. 3327 Graduate College, Princeton University, Princeton, N.Y., U.S.A. c/o The Nethersole Hospital, Bonham Rd., H.K. 8 Queen's Road, West, Hong Kong. Dept. of Geography, United College, 9 Bonham Road, H.K. 406A Bank of East Asia Building, H.K. c/o Confucian Tai Shing School, N.K.I.L. No. 4405, San Po Kong, Kowloon. United College, Bonham Road, H.K. 4, University Path, Pokfulum, H.K. Life Member Please notify the Hon. Secretary of any inaccuracy ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1965 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s752cj653 143 WONG, Kwok Fong WONG, Pao-Hsie WONG, Prof. Po-shang WONG, Shing-tsang WONG, Miss Shirley, Ting-yin WOO, Dr. Pak-foo WOOD, Mrs. C.. WOOL-SMITH, Miss J. WORTHY, E. H. Jr. WORTLEY TALBOT, Miss P. E. WOU, Dr. Paul, P. C. WRIGHT, Miss B. R. + T WRIGHT, D. A. L. WRIGHT, Dr. Leigh R. YANG, V. T. YANG, Tsung-han YAP, Dr. Pow-meng YATES, Miss J. N. YEH, Rev. Hua-fen YEUNG, Walter, W. T. YOUNG, L. K. YU, Ping-kuen YU, Yin C. ZIGAL, Mrs. I. ZIMMERN, W. A. + · + - + 92A, Pokfulum Road, 1st floor, H.K. c/o Messrs. Butterfield & Swire, Union House, H.K. 11th Floor, Mascot House, 746-8 Nathan Road, Kowloon, 16-B, Tai Hang Road, 1st floor, H.K. 22 Wong Ma Kok Road, Stanley, H.K. Room 204 China Building, H.K. Sisters' Qurs., Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kowloon, As above. New Asia College, 6 Farm Road, Kowloon. Flat 3-C, Union Apartment, 11 Macdonnell Road, H.K. Wise Mansion 8-C, 32 Robinson Road, H.K. c/o Dept. of Education, The University, H.K. c/o Hong Kong Club, H.K. c/o Dept. of History, The University, H.K. Flat A-1, 9th floor, 2 Oaklands Path, H.K. P. O. Box 6175, Hong Kong. 86C, Pokfulum Road, H.K. c/o H.K. Housing Society, P. O. Box 845, H.K. 15, Stangee Place, Katong, Singapore 15. 60-B Conduit Road, Ground floor, H.K. c/o Dept. of History, The University, H.K. Dept. of Chinese, The University, H.K. 205-7, Gloucester Building, H.K. 12 Bowen Road, H.K. c/o Wheelock Marden & Co., Ltd., Room 1234, Union House, H.K. The Hon. Secretary (P. O. Box 13864, Hong Kong) would be grateful if members would kindly inform him of any inaccuracy in the list of names and addresses. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1966 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/bz60k0811 174 BURKHARDT, Col. V. R. - 86, Main Street, Stanley, H.K. BURTON, Miss Jill V. BUTT, Dr. Nancy S. G. - BUXEY, Miss M. J. BYRNE, D. J. CALCINA, P. G.* CAMERON, N. CAPLAN, M. · CAREY-HUGHES, Dr. J. CASHMORE, Miss M. CATER, J.- CHAMBERS, J. W. CHAN, Gilbert Fook-lam CHAN, Leonard CHAN, William Hok-Lam CHAPMAN, Dr. G. W. CHAU, Hon. Sir Tsun-nin* CHEN, Prof. Cheng-siang CHEN, Ching-Ho CHEN, Yih CHENG, Dr. Irene CHENG, T. C. CHESTERMAN, Prof. W. D. CHEUNG, Oswald CHING, Henry CHING, Joseph CHIU, Miss B. T. - 807 The Hermitage, MacDonnell Road, H.K, The Grantham Hospital, Wong Chuk Hang, Aberdeen, H.K. Flat 201 Sisters' Qtrs., King's Park House, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kowloon. P. O. Box 981, Nassau, Bahamas, Commercial Investment Co., Ltd., Union House, 12th floor, H.K. A-9 Repulse Bay Towers, Repulse Bay Road, H.K. 6, Homantin Hill Road, Kowloon. Room 315 Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank Building, H.K. 3 Peak Pavilions, Mt. Kellett Road, H.K. c/o Colonial Secretariat, H.K. La Belle Mansion, 118-120 Argyle Street, 7th floor, Flat A, Kowloon, c/o Pfizer Eastern Corporation, G.P.O. Box 2513, Bangkok, Thailand. 3327 Graduate College, Princeton University, Princeton, N.Y., U.S.A. c/o The Nethersole Hospital, Bonham Rd., H.K. 8 Queen's Road, West, Hong Kong, Dept. of Geography, United College, 9 Bonham Road, H.K. New Asia College, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 6 Farm Road, Kowloon. 406A Bank of East Asia Building, H.K. c/o Confucian Tai Shing School, N.K.I.L. No. 4405, San Po Kong, Kowloon, United College, Bonham Road, H.K. 4. University Path, Pokfulum, H.K. Room 703, Prince's Building, H.K. 9 Village Road, 1st floor, H.K. Flat 8, 12th Floor, 91 Dundas Street, Kowloon. 3, Kidderpore Gdns., London, N.W.3., England. • Life Member Please notify the Hon. Secretary of any inaccuracy Page 180 Page 181 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1967 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/0c488p70g 38 JEN YU-WEN cheung Street (###) and west of the new Shing-tak Street (##). The main entrance to the estate is directly west of the junction of Shing-tak Street and Ma-tau-kok Road. These buildings are constructed on the very site of the Two Emperors' Palace Village (No. 8 in the map). 17 Ibid., p. 108. 18 Ch'en Chung-wei, Erh-Wang pen-mo. 19 See my article, "The Southern Sung Stone-engraving at North Fu-t'ang" in Journal of the Hong Kong Branch, Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. 5 (1965). 20 There has been a different theory, from the Ming Dynasty down to the present, that Kan-chou (A) is a small island commonly called Nau-chou (4) south of Hua-chou (#1) near Kuang-chou-wan, but I do not agree with this. See Sung Wong Toi, a Commemorative Volume, pp. 175-206, 313f., 323-301 for my lengthy discussion and argument with Jao Tsung-i, the present exponent of this theory. See also Jao, op. cit., chuan 5, pp. 51-83 and Lo Hsiang-lin, ★ R★ Hsiang-kang Ch'ien-tai-shih, Hong Kong, Institute of Chinese Culture, 1959, pp. 92-94. [This book has been translated into English and its title is Hong Kong and Its External Communications Before 1842]. Professor Lo's conclusion agrees with mine. Page 45 Page 46 ================================================================================ 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-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-1970 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ww72j0241 Plate 30. The new Tin Hau Temple at Kong Ha Village, Sha Tau Kok, as viewed from the Fan Ling - Sha Tau Kok Road, Plate 31. The Tin Hau image brought back from China, now placed in the new building shown in Plate 30. (Plates 30-31 are by courtesy of the District Officer, Tai Po, New Territories Administration). ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1971 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/z029vt43g CONTENTS Page 1 1 1 1 PRESIDENT'S REPORT FOR 1970 HON. TREASURER'S REPORT FOR 1970 THE LIBRARY 1970-71 9 13 ARTICLES CONTRIBUTED: The Taipings at Ningpo: The Significance of a Forgotten Event STEPHEN UHALLEY, JNR. 17 33 The Debate on National Salvation: Ho Kai Versus Tseng Chi-tse-CHIU LING-YEONG 52 Letters from China 1835-36-HON. EDITOR Chinese Voluntary Associations in Southeast Asian Cities and the Kaifongs in Hong Kong-ALINE K. WONG 62 The Emergence of a Chinese Elite in Hong Kong-CARL T. Smith The District Watch Committee: "The Chinese Executive Council of Hong Kong'-H. J. LETHBRIDGE A Brief Report on Sung-Type Pottery Finds in Hong Kong-J. C. Y. WATT A Short History of Military Volunteers in Hong Kong-JAMES HAYES 74 116 142 151 Articles Reprinted: The Colony of Hong Kong-Rev. James LEGGE 172 NOTES AND QUERIES Visit to the Tung Lin Kok Yuen, and other places on Hong Kong Island 194 Rope-making and Dyeing/Calendering on Ap Lei Chau, Hong Kong JAMES HAYES 198 Charcoal Burning in Hong Kong 199 What Inspired Sir John Bowring's Hymn?-J. M. BRAGA 203 Ceremonies of Propitiation Carried Out in connection with Road Works in the New Territories in 1960 G. C. W. GROUT & HON. Editor 204 BOOK REVIEWS List of MEMBERS 210 226 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1973 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8910rj06r LEGENDS & STORIES OF THE NEW TERRITORIES: KAM TIN 119 crow their feathers all fell down on the earth. Nine suns were shot down, but one was too far away to be reached, and that is the sun that still remains to this day. Ngai was very afraid of dying, and he went to a fairy called Sai Wong Mo (1) who gave him some medicine for long life. Sheung Ngoh stole it, and took it in secret. She became lighter and lighter and eventually floated up to the moon where she became a toad. She had a palace to live in which was called the Shim Kung. Another story tells of a Kwai tree growing in the moon, 5,000 Chinese feet tall. A man called Ng Kong (吳剛), who had been sent to the moon as a punishment by the gods for having committed something wrong when learning to become an immortal, was always chopping it with a large chopper. He never managed to cut it down, because as soon as a cut was made in the trunk, it instantly grew together again. Thus the saying "Shim Kung Chit Kwai" which applied to those who passed the highest government examinations, gradually came into use since the T'ong (唐) dynasty, A.D. 618. There were many Kwai trees on the hillsides of Kwai Kok Shaan, either planted by Tang Foo or someone later, and the teachers are supposed to have sent their pupils out from the school to pluck the sprigs of flowers with the idea of encouraging them to further effort. Another name for the hill is Ngo T'aam Shaan (鵝潭山), turtle pool hill. There is a pool still to be found on the hillside, which, according to one story, used to have turtles living in it. Another story says that it had a rock looking like the head of a large turtle. In olden times all the successful candidates who had passed the government examination, Tsun Sz (進士) went up to the emperor's palace to sit for a further examination named Tin Shi (殿試). Those who passed had their names put in order of merit on a list written on gold paper, and at a ceremony known as Ch'uen Lo (傳臚) the names were read out. The two candidates at the top of the list were led up the steps of the palace by the master of ceremonies, who then presented the first candidate, called the Chong Yuen (狀元) with the list. At the top of the stairs was a turtle carved in stone, and finally the Chong Yuen was caused to stand with his foot on its head. Thus he was known as "Tuk chim ngo t'au" (獨占鰲頭). The scholars at Kwai Kok Shaan when wandering on the hillsides would amuse themselves by standing on the turtle-head rock and shouting “I am the only man to put his foot on the head of the turtle!" ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1973 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8910rj06r 124 SUNG HOK-P’ANG 1. Red raw rice cooked and shining scale fish, 2. Farmers' simple good fare delicious and lasting. The grave has two names Sz Tsz Kwan K’au ($*$*£*), Lion playing ball; and Ts'o Mei Shui Chue (44), long grass hanging down pearl. When Lai Paak Shiu was having the grave built he put a brass tablet behind the stone one, with the following words on it. "Three hundred years hence, an ignorant young man named So (#), who knows nothing about "fung shui”, will want to alter the way this grave faces. If he is allowed to alter it, not only will the Tang family have trouble, but So himself will have bad luck”. The existence of the tablet was unknown until the prophecy on it came true. Three hundred years later when the Tangs were having a period of bad luck and unsuccess, they decided that something was wrong with the "fung shui" of the princess' grave. They consulted a young man named So, and at his instigation started to alter the position of the grave. When the stone tablet was removed, the brass one was revealed and in terror So advised them to leave the grave alone. In the 50th year of Hong Hei (R) of Ts'ing dynasty, A.D. 1711, the Tang family were repairing the grave when they discovered several sham tombs underneath the ground. This was the custom in ancient China when burying royalty, as by this means it was hoped to prevent their enemies from desecrating the real tomb. The oldest stone tablet that we can find to-day, was put up in the 19th year of Shing Fa (A) of Ming dynasty, A.D. 1483, which gave the dates of the birth and death of the princess. In this tablet was also found the statement that the grave was first made in the 6th year of Shun Yau (*) of Sung dynasty, A.D. 1246, but there is no record of the first stone tablet nor any of the tablets erected before A.D. 1483. After the general repairing of the grave in A.D. 1712 a new stone was erected, but as the dates on the previous one were not considered to be correct, none were written on the stone. The princess' husband Tang Tsz Ming was received with honour by the Emperor and had the title of Shui Yuen Kwan Ma (✯✯ #) bestowed on him. It was the custom in China to give the title Kwan Ma to the husband of a prince's daughter. Tang Tsz Ming's grave was made on a little hill called Fat Au Leng ( ##₪) # ). It can easily be seen to this day almost opposite the Au Tau Police Station on the other side of the road to Sheung Shui. It has recently ================================================================================ 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-1974 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/x633mp077 168 SUNG HOK-PANG the heart in his mouth went off with it. The villagers gave chase but after a while there was a terrific gust of wind and the dog disappeared. The present Kam T'in is divided into two distinct districts. The South, Naam Wai (南圍) was originally a large common or open space of grassland; the North, Pak Wai (北圍) was hilly country surrounded by mangrove swamp. The principal villages of Naam Wai are Kat Hing Wai (吉慶圍) the first village on the right-hand side as one approaches from the main road, which was built by Tang Paak King (鄧伯經) and two other men during the Shing Fa years 1465-1487 of Ming Dynasty; Wing Lung Wai (永隆圍) the village at the end of the road on the left-hand side, facing the open green where football is now nearly always in progress, which was started by Tang Shiu Kui (鄧紹舉) and seven others; and T'aai Hong Wai (泰康圍) the large walled village on the left just before one reaches the Cottage Hospital, which was founded by Tang Ts'ung (鄧聰) and four other contemporaries. Later on during the civil wars of the Hong Hei years 1662-1722 of Ts'ing dynasty these three villages were walled to protect the inhabitants from marauding bandits and soldiers. Tang Man Wai (鄧文蔚) and Tang Kaai Yuet (鄧啟悅) built the wall of T'aai Hong Wai; Tang Sui Ch'eung (鄧瑞昌) and Tang Kwok Yin (鄧國賢) built that of Wing Lung Wai and Tang Chue Yin (鄧珠彥) and Tang Chik Kin (鄧積堅) walled Kat Hing Wai. About the same time Tang Yuet Man (鄧悅民) of Kat Hing Wai and Tang P'ooi Hing (鄧培慶) of T'aai Hong Village both formed the village of Kam Hing Wai (錦慶圍), which is on the north of Kam T'in market; and Tang Chau Man (鄧秋文) of Kat Hing Wai built the village of Ko Po Ts'uen, on the left-hand side of the main road, on the west of Kam T'in market. These walls in many places are in a wonderful state of preservation to-day. Kat Hing Wai and Taai Hong Wai have very strong iron chain gates, and a tablet fixed in the wall outside the gateway of Kat Hing Wai explains the story of them. It can be roughly translated as follows: "The inscription on the tablet of Kat Hing Wai:— Since Foo Hip, the ancestor of our family Tang who was a Government officer, came from Kiangsi to Kwang Tung in the years of Sung Ning of Sung dynasty, we lived in both waais (villages) ================================================================================ 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 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-1974 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/x633mp077 LEGENDS & STORIES OF THE NEW TERRITORIES 185 Lei King T'ong (A) is another ancestral hall, and can be found by the side of the main road through Kam T'in. It was built for Tang Ng Shaang (£) (see H.K.N. VII, p. 36). I Tai Shue Yuen (**) is the new school building built instead of the Man Ch'eung Kok (M) (see H.K.N. VII, p. 256) and is situated in Shui T'au village. Chau Wong Yee Kung Ts'z (M), (=214) (plate 20) is a hall that was built to record the merit of Viceroy Châu Yau Tak (♬) and Governor Wong Loi Yam (*). After the Ming emperors were expelled from China, an officer of the Ming army named Cheng Shing Kung (4) attacked the coast of South China, using Formosa as his base. All the people in sympathy with the Ming dynasty, along the coast helped him, so as the Manchu government had no navy to send against him, an order was made that all the inhabitants of the coast were to be moved inland for 50 Chinese miles. Later they were moved again for another 30 miles and for seven years, A.D. 1661-1668, the New Territories were deserted. The fields were unattended and allowed to lie fallow, and the buildings fell into disrepair. At the end of that time the people made representations to the Governor and Viceroy, and it was through the mediation of these two men, with the Emperor that the people were allowed to go back to their own land. The full account of this story is very long, but it is hoped to devote an article to it later on. I have to thank Mr. Tang Paak K'au (1) and Mr. Tang Wai T'ong (**), both elders of Kam T'in, for their co-operation and help in obtaining access to the numerous documents that it has been necessary to consult before this series of articles could be attempted. Also Mr. Tang Ch'ong Yip (##) a teacher in Kam T'in, who gave invaluable assistance in searching out references, copying out paragraphs from books in the possession of various villagers, and deciphering inscriptions from stone tablets. Unfortunately Mr. Tang Wai Man (✯) another elder who showed great interest in these articles and helped considerably, died a few months ago, and is unable to see them completed. Lastly, I am much indebted to Mrs. Herklots for her help in writing these articles in readable English. ================================================================================ 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-1974 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/x633mp077 LIST OF MEMBERS ORDINARY MEMBERS: HOYNINGEN-HUENE, Baron Ture von + 9A, Stanley Beach Road, H.K. HUMPLE, Mr. & Mrs. George D. 17, Conduit Road, Apt. 2A, H.K. HUTSON, Peter 257 HUYSMAN, Mrs, J. c/o The Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corp., P.O. Box 64, H.K. HUYSMAN, J. 21, Broadwood Road, H.K. G INGLES, Miss J. M. c/o Banque Belge pour l'Etranger S.A., 81, Sai Yeung Choi Street, Mongkok Branch, Kowloon, JEN, Prof. Yu-Wen + Government House Lodge, Garden Road, H.K. JIN, Mrs. Jane Dong-Fang 2, Stafford Road, Kowloon. JONES, G. W. E. 3, Yun Ping Road, 4th floor, H.K. Govt. Language School, Lee Gardens, Hysan Avenue, H.K. JONES-PARRY, R. Longman Group (Far East) Ltd., P.O. Box 223, H.K. KESWICK, Simon L. - c/o Jardine Matheson & Co. Ltd., Jardine House, H.K. KEYES, Michael P. · c/o Jardine Matheson & Co. Ltd., Jardine House, H.K. KINGWELL, Mr. & Mrs. A. J.. Flat C/4, Cavendish Heights, 27, Perkins Road, H.K. KINOSHITA, James H. · + c/o Palmer & Turner, Room 1906, Prince's Building, H.K. KINSEY, Miss Margaret J. Department of Social Work, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, H.K. KIRKBRIDE, K. M. G. + c/o The Building Authority, Murray Building, 8th floor, Garden Road, H.K. KIRKWOOD, Mrs. Jean K. Mackenny Court, 1st floor, 65, MacDonnell Road, H.K. KNEEBONE, Mrs. Susan Y. 50, Leighton Hill Flats, 16, Link Road, H.K. KNISELY, Mr. & Mrs. Jay G. 68, Chung Hom Kok Road, Flat A-3, H.K. KNOWLES, Miss Moira G. c/o Public Services Examination Unit, Colonial Secretariat, Lower Albert Road, H.K. KWOK, Robert Chin-kung + c/o Jardine Matheson & Co. Ltd., Jardine House, H.K. LACK, Alan J. 1, Peak Pavilions, 12, Mt. Kellet Road, The Peak, H.K. LAM, Yung-Fai - c/o Ye Olde Printerie Ltd., 6, Duddell St., H.K. LAMBE, Miss Margaret - 21F, Felix Villa, 10 Happy View Terrace, Broadwood Road, Happy Valley, H.K. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1977 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/np198x23n 184 NOTES AND QUERIES "The burial ground is situated near Chai Wan Kok, Tsun Wan. Some time ago, about ten years after the Territory was leased to Great Britain, some natives of Tsun Wan village applied to the H.K. Govt. for a piece of land near the grave to erect some houses, but the proposed area affected the Fung Shui of the said grave. The village Elders of the various branches of the Tang family assembled, and a joint petition was submitted to the District Officer in the names of the descendants. Thanks to this Official the proposed sale was withdrawn. It was afterwards put on record that the site of the grave was to be preserved for ever. Subsequently new roads were constructed by the P.W.D. and the line of one proposed road was across the grave site. The Elders of the Tang family, fearing that this might affect the "force of the movement of the green dragon,” again assembled and petitioned H.E. the Governor, praying that the line be moved to the foreshore of the site. This was done. In the 6th moon of the 12th year of the Chinese Republic, (1923) a villager of Tsun Wan dug earth on the right side of the ancestral grave, that is, in Chai Wan Kok village, thereby affecting the "force of the movement of the coming dragon." Another petition was sent to the District Officer, who inspected the grave personally. After that earth cutting was prohibited, and the ancestral grave preserved." We then proceeded to Kam Tin itself where, in front of the Kam Tin Rural Committee Office, we were greeted by an impressive body of lineage elders, treated to a dim sum (*) repast and shown a number of interesting relics handed down through the centuries. These included a painting with imperial calligraphy stated to date from Sung times, and a number of other paintings.* Our next stop was at Au Tau cross roads to see grave No. 5, that of TANG Wai-kap, the husband of the Sung refugee princess referred to in the Notes. From Au Tau cross roads we went on to the Pok Oi Hospital near Yuen Long and walked into an area of low hills, across a stream, where we inspected grave No. 2. This is located in what is obviously considered to be a very favourable fung shui area because the adjoining ground is thickly covered with graves. After returning to Pok Oi Hospital, we went by bus to Wang Chau behind Yuen Long where we walked through the village and across the fields to the foothills of an adjacent hill area. We went first to grave No. 1 and from there along a winding path to grave No. 4 which is located some 500 yards to the south. Both graves are in excellent positions, and like No. 3 have granite pillars with lion * These have been reproduced at pp. 112-115 of the Inauguration Publication of the Tang Clansmen Association (Inc. 1965), in Chinese, of which there is a copy in the Chinese Library, University of Hong Kong. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1977 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/np198x23n NOTES AND QUERIES 193 For the general background the reader is referred to pp. 419-433, 697-700 of Kung-chuan Hsiao's monumental study of late imperial China Rural China: Imperial Control in the Nineteenth Century (University of Washington, Seattle, 1960). Also to Chapter X of Frederic Wakeman Jr.'s Strangers at the Gate, Social Disorder in South China 1839-1861 (University of California Press, 1966): 'Class and Clan' 109-116. It is of interest that as late as 1905 and 1908 villagers of Honam Island, Canton were fighting out their feuds on the campus of the Canton Christian College, the future Lingnan University: see Lingnan University by Charles Hodge Corbett (New York 1963) p. 40. The self-government of Chinese villages existing alongside what A. R. Colquhoun styles ‘a long common frontier' with 'centralised autocracy', i.e. the situation which allowed this kind of independent action to subsist, is interestingly handled in his China in Transformation (London, 1898): 238-288. Hong Kong, December 1977. C. MOVE OF THE SHING MUN VILLAGES* JAMES HAYES The Shing Mun villages of Shing Mun Lo Wai, Pak Shek Wo, Pei Tau To, Shek Tau Kin, Fu Yung Shan, Nam Fong To, Tai Pei Lek and Ho Pui contain about 855 Hakka Chinese, mostly named Cheng but having among them also Cheung's, Ko's, Lo's, Tang's and Tsang's. In a hollow in the hills about two miles broad by two and a half long, formed by Tai Mo Shan, Grassy Hill and Needle Hill, and sloping from Lead Mine Pass southwards to Pineapple Pass and Tsun Wan, the inhabitants of these villages own 180 acres of agricultural land, 1180 acres of forestry rights and 42 acres of pine-apples. The whole of this area will have to be evacuated, and after careful search in co-operation with the villagers, suitable sites have been found to accommodate them at Kam Tin, Wo Hop Shek, Nam Shui Po, Tsat Sing Kong, Ping Kong, Fung Yuen (Yue Kok), Shek Ku Lung, and Pan Chung, and to these it is proposed to move all the inhabitants of the Shing Mun valley above Pineapple Pass. Details of the transfer are as follows:--- * Taken from the Hong Kong Government's Sessional Papers 1928. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1977 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/np198x23n NOTES AND QUERIES Natrix aequifasciata Barbour 233 The first specimen of this species known from Hong Kong was sent to me by the Police on 8 May 1978 for identification. It is a juvenile, having bitten the boy who caught it in a stream near Shing Mun Reservoir in the New Territories on 7 May 1978. A second specimen, also immature, was kindly given to me by Dr. Frank F. Reitinger. He had found it inside a tunnel in a catchment channel near Shek Kong Village in the New Territories while collecting at night on 17 June 1978. According to Pope (1935, p.95), Natrix aequifasciata is an inhabitant of mountain brooks and is known from various localities in Kwangsi, Kwangtung, Hainan, and Fukien in China. In a recent publication (Anon., 1977), it is listed also for Yunnan, Kweichow, Kiangsi, and Chekiang provinces in China. Opisthotropis balteatus (Cope) On 25 May 1977 I received a live immature female of this snake from Mr. R. J. Clibborn-Dyer, who had found it early that day on the Ting Kok Road close to Shuen Wan in the New Territories. The place where this specimen was found was beside an abandoned waterlogged paddy-field, through which a stream flowed into the sea. Opisthotropis balteatus is known to occur in Southern China (including Hainan), Vietnam, and Cambodia. It frequents mountain streams, and Pope (1935, p.168) concludes it to be an inhabitant of low to moderate altitudes. Opisthotropis kuatunensis Pope Two immature specimens of this little-known snake were given to me by Mr. Jerry K. S. Lee, who collected them in the central area of the New Territories mainland. The first was found at about midnight on 16/17 November 1974 in a catchment channel near Shek Kong Village. The second he found on the night of 13/14 July 1978 in a stream at an altitude estimated to be about 823 metres on Tai Mo Shan. The type and fifteen paratypes of this species were collected by Pope in Chungan Hsien in north-western Fukien, China. In describing the habits of Opisthotropis kuatunensis, Pope (1935, p.170) remarks that: ‘... it inhabits the highest forest cascades of the ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1977 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/np198x23n LIST OF MEMBERS 243 LIFE MEMBERS: McKEIRNAN, Rev. M. J. - Maryknoll Fathers, Tung Tao Tsuen, Kowloon. MARDEN, Mrs. J. L. - 14 Shek O, Hong Kong. NICHOLS, Hon. E. H. - 11, Queen's Gardens, Old Peak Road, Hong Kong. NORONHA, J. E. - 8 Hereford Road, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon. OGDEN, B. J. N. - Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corpn., P.O. Box 64, Hong Kong. OU, Miss G. - French Consulate General, P.O. Box 13, Hong Kong. PAIN, J. H. - Hong Kong Tourist Association, Connaught Centre 35/F, Hong Kong. PICCUS, R. P. - Continental Can International Corporation, Hutchison House, G.P.O. Box 10044, Hong Kong. RAWLINSON, M. C. - Flat 22 Green Lane Hall, Blue Pool Road, Happy Valley, Hong Kong. RAYNER, Mrs. C. M. - Dept. of History, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong. RITCHIE, D. J. - Flat 4A, 45 Repulse Bay Road, Hong Kong. RIDE, Lady - 42, Chung Hom Kok Road, Stanley, Hong Kong. RYDINGS, H. A., M.B.E. - The Library, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong. RUST, H. A. - Palmer & Turner, Prince's Building 19/F, Hong Kong. SEED, B. - Diocesan Boys' School, Mongkok, Kowloon. SELLETT, G. - 'Pinecrest', N.K.I.L. 3542, Tai Po Road, Kowloon. SERSALE, Miss Sheila - 11A Cameron House, 40 Magazine Gap Road, Hong Kong. SMITH, Rev. C. T. - Chung Chi College, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T. SPOONER, M. G. - The Registry, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong. STEVENS, K. G. - Apt. 4B, 26 Magazine Gap Road, Hong Kong. SU, Dr. Chung-jen - 155 Blue Pool Road, Flat A, 1st f., Hong Kong. TAN, Khek-Seng - A, 11th Fl., Elegant Garden, 11 Conduit Road, Hong Kong. TANG, Mrs. Madeleine - 8C Grenville House, 1, Magazine Gap Road, Hong Kong. TANG, Sir Shiu-kin, C.B.E. - The Kowloon Motor Bus Co. Ltd., Room 1701 Central Building, Hong Kong. THOMAS, L. F. - Lowe, Bingham & Mathews, Prince's Building, 22/F, Hong Kong. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1977 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/np198x23n LIST OF MEMBERS ORDINARY MEMBERS: BROMFIELD, Mrs. Jeanne BROWN, E. de R. BROWN, Dr. H. O. BROWN, Mrs. R. C. BROWN, T. D. Jr. BROUWER, Mrs. R. P. BULLEN, J. B. BUTLER, Miss B. A. CAMERON, N. CAMPBELL, M. C. CANTERS, R. CARDENZANA, J. CAREY-HUGHES, Dr. J. CATT, Miss Pauline CAVAYE, P. K. CENTRE OF ASIAN STUDIES CHAN, Mrs. A. CHAN, Sui-jeung CHAN, Mrs. T. CHEETHAM, Mrs. J. A. CHEN, Prof. Cheng-siang CHERN, Dr. K. S. CHESTERMAN, Miss M. 5. Cumberland Road, Kowloon. c/o C3 Reef Court, 48 Stanley Village Road, Stanley, Hong Kong. School of Education, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong. Seabranch A3, 31 Horizon Drive, Chung Hom Kok, Hong Kong. Seabranch A3, 31 Horizon Drive, Chung Hom Kok, Hong Kong. A3 Repulse Bay Mansions, Repulse Bay, Hong Kong. Myer Eastern Buying Ltd., Cheong Hin Building, 72 Nathan Road, Kowloon. Public Services Commission, Room 573, Central Government Offices 5th floor, Hong Kong. 11D Venice Court, 410 Conduit Road, Hong Kong. Oxford University Press, 5/F News Building, 633 King's Road, North Point, Hong Kong, The Belgian Bank, P.O. Box 27, Hong Kong. Hill & Knowlton Asia Ltd., 1401 World Trade Centre, G.P.O. Box 5389, Hong Kong. Room 315, Hongkong & Shanghai Bank Building, Hong Kong. Dept. of Geography & Geology, University of Hong Kong. 8 Aigburth Hall, 9 May Road, Hong Kong, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong. Hong Kong Tourist Association, Connaught Centre 35/F, Hong Kong. Environment Branch, Colonial Secretariat, Lower Albert Road, Hong Kong. Hong Kong Tourist Association, Connaught Centre 35/F, Hong Kong. 12, Douglas Apts., 22 Old Peak Road, Hong Kong. Dept. of History, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1979 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2801w5938 ORDINARY LOCAL MEMBERS CHISM, Mr. Michael, South Kowloon Magistracy, KOWLOON. CHIU, Mrs. Carol C., Twin Brook 11B, 43 Repulse Bay Road, HONG KONG. CHU, Mr. Lee, 48 Haven Street, 4/F, Causeway Bay, HONG KONG. CHUA, MÀ Fi Lan, 1903 Hang Chong Building, Queen's Road Central, HONG KONG. CLIMAS, Mrs. Jane, Flat D18 Pearl Gardens, 7 Conduit Road, HONG KONG. CLIMAS, Mr. D. John, Flat D18 Pearl Gardens, 7 Conduit Road, HONG KONG. COCHRANE, Mrs. Valerie, Apartment 9, 23 B Shouson Hill Road, HONG KONG. COLBOURNE, Prof. M. J., Dept. of Community Medicine, University of Hong Kong, HONG KONG. COLLINS, Mr. A. J., c/o Legal Aid Dept., 13th FL., Sincere Building, 173 Des Voeux Road, HONG KONG. CONNOLLY, Miss Moira, 5 Wylie Gardens, King's Park, KOWLOON. COOK, Mr. Ian R., Hong Kong Hilton, Queen's Road Central, HONG KONG. COOPER, Dr. Eugene, Dept. of Sociology, University of Hong Kong, HONG KONG. COOPER, Mr. Roy, E & M Office, Caroline Hill Road, HONG KONG. CRABBS, Mr. P. I., Property Dept., Local Property Co. Ltd., Baskerville House, 13, Duddell Street, HONG KONG CRAIG, Mrs Peggy, 21 Bisney Road, Pokfulam, HONG KONG. CRISSWELL, Dr. Colin N., King George V School, KOWLOON. CROSBY, Mr. A. R., Flat B32, 10 Caldecott Road, Pipers Hill, KOWLOON. CUMINE, Mr. E., F.R.I.B.A., 28 Yun Ping Road, 2/F, HONG KONG. CUNNINGHAM, Miss Margaret, Flat 27, Block 43, Baguio Villas, Victoria Road, HONG KONG. DAIKO, Mr. Paul, P.O. Box 201, HONG KONG. DAVIES, Mrs. C. E. G., 1201 Luginsland, 18 Old Peak Road, HONG KONG. DAVIES, Mr. S. N. G., Dept. of Political Science, HONG KONG. DAVIES, Mrs. L. R., **The Gums** No. 4 Chuk Kok Village, Hiram's Highway, Sai Kung, NEW TERRITORIES. DAVIES, Mrs. Mona, "Sailing Look", 6 Lloyd Path, Barker Road, HONG KONG. DAWE, Mr. Jock, c/o Travelove Ltd., Suite 823 Star House, KOWLOON. DAWSON, Prof. John L. M., Dept. of Psychology, University of Hong Kong, HONG KONG. 243 Page 270 Page 271 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1982 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/mk61z420p 258 The first British District Officer of the region had the following remarks:17 Education of any kind has always appealed powerfully to Chinese, and they are probably more ready than any other people to defer to the voice of learning. In every village appeal is made to the lettered man to settle points of dispute, and he receives the place of honour in all local gatherings. It must be admitted that this respect was formerly due not only to his intrinsic merits and his superior knowledge, but to the advantages that he possessed in being able to write and thus to draw up petitions in proper form and present the case of litigants to the courts. With the coming of British rule these advantages have largely disappeared except that it is still usual for a litigant or other petitioner to submit his petition in due form. The completion of the railway from Lo Wu to Hung Hom in 1910 and its extension to Tsim Sha Tsui in 1916 brought Sheung Shui into direct connection with urban Hong Kong and Kowloon. Extension of the Tai Po Road into a ring road also connected the village with many of the main population centres in the New Territories and Kowloon. The 1921 census shows a small decrease of the population in the village from 1440 to 1400, but in the whole New Territories, there was an increase from 80,622 to 83,163.18 The village economy was still predominantly agrarian. Yet opportunities for taking other employment must have increased. The decrease in population must have been due to the numbers of people leaving the village for the cities, as oral recollections of the period do not include any memories of any decrease in the size of the clan overall. The increased contact with the outside world and new employment opportunities must have exercised considerable influence on the local popular literacy. Another stimulant was to come from the educational policy of the Hong Kong government. The early laissez-faire policy began to give way to some degree of concern, After a survey made by Sung Hok Pang of the conditions of rural schools in 1913, the government decided to give a subsidy varying from $5 to $10 per month each to fifty selected schools in the ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1987 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/rx919b522 259 Basically, it is hard labour. It is a matter of going around every village recorded on the map, and every temple, and asking if they had inscriptions. If they did, we would copy them down. I must say something about working with students, as this comes up again and again and would apply also to our later research. As anyone who has organised field research will realize, you don't just round up a few people and send them into the field. You've got to make them understand the known problems, and you have got to be available to examine any problems that are unexpected, brief them and be briefed by them in return. We had our meetings once a week in summer and every month in term. Obviously, we do much more work in the summer holidays. You must also search around to see if other people have done similar work, and find out where errors have crept in, and you must make contacts. Very often, you go into the field yourself. Before we started doing anything, I remember going around with Bernard Luk along Ting Kok Road, walking into every village there and asking about inscriptions, so that we would know the situation before we sent our students out. After that, very often people would come back and say "I know from James and other folk that there should be some inscriptions here, but we couldn't find them". You have got to go down to the village, talk to the people and get guidance. Well, we copied quite a bit. We copied all these tablets and inscriptions from iron objects such as you see in temples, the gongs, the bells and incense burners. Also the wooden presentation boards, and now and then mirrors. We hand-copied them. I did take some photographs, but not many and usually only for illustrative purposes. As the project progressed, a suggestion was made that we should have taken a lot more photographs, and perhaps even rubbings. It was thought, especially, that at some future date people would be interested in these things for other than historical reasons. The calligraphy may be very nice and worth looking at, and so on, which is very true. We also set ourselves a lower time limit not going beyond 1945. We were only interested in inscriptions that were written before that time, and it was said that even- ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1988 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ft84gb83q 70 LEGENDS AND STORIES OF THE NEW TERRITORIES I TAI PO 大埔* SUNG HOK-P'ANG The original name of Tai Po (大埔) meaning big slope, was Tai Po (大步) meaning big stride. There is a story that many thousands of years ago there was a dense forest where Tai Po now stands. It was infested with wild and dangerous creatures, and the villagers round about were afraid to go in it. If they had to go they warned each other, saying "Take long strides, otherwise the tigers and snakes will get you!” So that gradually the place became known as Tai Po. Although the story has been handed down from generation to generation, there is some indication of truth in it, in the fact that when the present road was made through the district the roots of huge trees were dug up. What might be a further proof that the district was originally a densely wooded one, is the fact that there is a hill just outside Tai Po Market known as Kam Shaan (錦山) (embroidered mountain) which until quite recently was very thickly covered with trees. It was originally called Kam Shaan (禁山) (forbidden mountain) being held in veneration as Fung Shui by the villagers of Tai Po Tau, (大埔頭) who had protected the trees for many centuries, until they were cut down and houses built on the hill a few years ago. (5) From the fourth year of Hoi Po (A.D. 971) of Sung dynasty until the twenty-fourth year of Ka Hing (A.D. 1819) of * Sung Hok-p'ang wrote a number of articles on the history of the New Territories which were published in The Hong Kong Naturalist between May 1935 and November 1938. Owing to the difficulty of finding copies of the originals, these articles have been reissued in the Journal. The articles on the history of Kam Tin were reissued in Vol. 13, pages 111-129 and Vol. 14, pages 160-185. The following short articles complete the reissues. The attention of readers is drawn to the Editor's note at Vol. 13, page 111, and to the Note, Sung Hok-p'ang (宋學鵬) (1880-1962) A Memoir by Lo Hsiang-lin, in Vol. 13, pages 130-132. This article on Tai Po was originally printed in The Hong Kong Naturalist for May 1935. Ed. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1988 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ft84gb83q 74 Tang family had the right of building shops there, and a stone with an inscription to that effect, was put up in the temple of T'in Hau Kung(g) which can still be seen in old Tai Po market. When the Man family lost their case a wealthy friend called a big meeting of the elders of the seven districts round about Taai Haang (林村), Fan Ling(K), Lam Ts'un(#1), Yip Woh(), Sheung Wan(), Ting Kok(TM) and Cheung Shue Tan(). At his suggestion, and financed by him, they built a new market where the present market now stands. It was called Taai Woh Shei (utmost friendship market)(★Fifi) and was officially opened on the twenty-third day of the 6th month of the twentieth year of Kwong Sui, A.D. 1894. All the trade at once went to the new market and the old one gradually fell into disuse and can now be seen as a very poor and derelict village. Note. 1. The district of Sun On was formed in the sixth year of Lung Hing() A.D. 1572 of Ming dynasty. Fourteen years later the **History of Sun On District** was written by Yau Tai Kin the district magistrate. It was revised for the first time in the eighth year of Sung Ching(), but this edition was not published until eight years later when a third magistrate Chau Hei Yiu(2) added slightly to it. A second edition was published in the eleventh year of Hong Hei(E) A.D. 1672 of Ts'ing dynasty, a third appeared sixteen years later, and the present edition was published in A.D. 1819. Note. 2. The second character(W) is read yeuk in Cantonese but in the New Territories dialect it is read as Kwat. # Note. 3. Lam Fung is "Limahong" (= Lim a hong, not Li ma hong) whose name is already mentioned in the history of the Philippine Islands. It is also translated as in some Japanese books, and Limahong or Lin Ah Hong in some of the European books. = Lam Fung Limahong was a native of Raoping district(ATM) In the 10th month of the 2nd year of Lung Hing(), A.D. 1568 of Ming dynasty, he took sixty-two battleships with 2,000 sea-soldiers, 1,500 women, and a large store of food and ammunition to attack the Philippines. He was defeated and his fleet dispersed by the soldiers of ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1988 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ft84gb83q 88 panic; many of the people abandoned their homes without taking food or money, and with their wives and children were driven towards the boundary. Destitute, many of them died on the road, while a few managed to escape to Kwai Shin district and other places as far away as they could. A year later the boundary was moved a further 30 Chinese miles inland. The new boundary ended to the west at Taai Ch'ung Hau and Sha T'ong Fong and to the east at Taai Shaan Ha and Paak T'au Shaan, a flag being put up at each of these places. Almost immediately the district magistrate of Tung Kwun made a personal inspection of the places where the flags were erected and he reported that the people in Taai Chung Hau had not moved so the flag was taken from Sha Tong Fong and hoisted on top of Shek Shaan. Thus the six villages Ch'ung Hau, Lau Ka Haang, Chaak Mei, K'iu T'au and Tau Ch'ung all had to be moved, but at Kiu T'au a rope was put between it and the boundary and half only of the village was shifted. The Viceroy Lo Shung Tsun quite sympathized with the people, and joined with other high officials in sending a memorial to the throne, stating how miserable the people were, and begging that fewer villages should be caused to move. In the 10th month of the same year (1663) two head boatmen, Chau Yuk and Lei Wing revolted against the Ts'ing Government in Kwangtung. These two men were the owners of fleets of several hundreds of junks that usually fished in the rivers of Poon Yue district. All the junks had long oars as well as three sails so they were very fast. In addition they stored a lot of arms on board. Both Lei and Chau had a military title of Yau Kik bestowed on them by the P'ing Naam Wong, as their sailors had proved themselves of great assistance in fighting sea-battles against the Ming soldiers. When, however, the order was issued preventing boats from putting out to sea the junks of Chau and Lei were detained in the rivers and their families forced to live in Canton city. Chau and Lei pretended to get leave to go home and bury the bones of their ancestors. Secretly they took their families away from Canton, and collecting all the boatmen they put out to sea. Then openly they attacked the Ts'ing forces, capturing many of their ships and burning the guard stations along the coast. They never ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1989 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h 122 usually considered private in character, and hence the entrances are such that the general public can be excluded as desired.2 In smaller institutions, the buildings tend to form only a single range, and the Buddha Hall is built in the middle of it. Even here, however, the range of buildings will usually front an enclosed courtyard-garden, and the Hall will be raised up a few steps higher than the other buildings. 1 Although the great majority of Buddhist monasteries and nunneries in Hong Kong were founded in the last 80 years, a few are older, founded by indigenous groups before the coming of the British. Five are known to me in the mainland New Territories3 — the Ching Shan, or Pooi To (#4 · *) monastery at Tuen Mun, (certainly in existence in the fifth century*), the Ling To () monastery at Ha Tsuen (probably founded or refounded in the Ming Dynasty), the Ling Wan () nunnery at Shek Kong (an early Ming foundation4), the Lung Kai () nunnery near Lung Yeuk Tau (probably an early Ch'ing foundation5), and the Cheung Shan Kwu Tsz (££‡), near Man Uk Pin on the old road from Sha Tau Kok to Sham Tsun (Shen Zhen). The subject of this article. Of these ancient foundations, the Ching Shan monastery was rebuilt in 1918 and several times since, and the Ling Wan nunnery was rebuilt between 1919 and 1927. These now show the standard Buddhist plan mentioned above. The Lung Kai nunnery is a total ruin, following abandonment and the stripping of the roof during the last War. The Ling To monastery was rebuilt in 1928, and again (from the foundations up) in 1970. It is believed that both rebuildings used the foundations from the 1861 rebuilding, but the interior layout of the present structure is only a shadow of the original. Only the Cheung Shan Kwu Tsz survives unreconstructured and undamaged as an example of a Buddhist institution in the area from before the twentieth century influx of immigrant monks and nuns. Because of this it seemed worth studying the monastery in some detail. The old road from Sha Tau Kok to Sham Tsun ran more or less along the line of the present Sha Tau Kok road from Sha Tau Kok to the Wo Hang Au above Sheung Wo Hang. It then cut to the north-west of the present road, passing Man Uk Pin village, and thence on through the mountains by a low pass called Miu Keng (M, "Temple Pass''), past Ping Yeung village, to cross the Sham Tsun river by the bridge ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1989 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h 129 this sixth section was added at the 1928 rebuilding, and was connected with the taking over of the nunnery by immigrant monks at that date. If the original building was of only five sections, then it would have been of a very similar size to Lung Kai - about 70 feet by 65 feet - as well as of an almost identical design; the only significant difference would be that, at Ling To, the living quarters of the nuns were to the east of the worshipping space, while at Lung Kai they were to the west. Both at the Cheung Shan Kwu Tsz and at the Lung Kai monastery, therefore, and at the Ling To monastery, as far as the original layout can be deduced, the plan is quite distinct from the standard Buddhist plan seen in most of Hong Kong's Buddhist institutions. The worshipping halls are entered through the short walls, and the main altar is set against the opposite short wall, with a Tin Tseng between. There is no trace of the transverse hall arrangement. Both the Cheung Shan Kwu Tsz and the Ling Kai nunnery open directly onto the roadway; neither has any trace of a courtyard-garden or other enclosure - although the Ling To monastery is now surrounded by a garden, which is probably original. All these institutions were clearly designed for only a few resident nuns - the Cheung Shan Kwu Tsz for probably no more than an abbess and three nuns at most, and the Lung Kai nunnery (and probably the Ling To house as well) for an abbess and perhaps up to four or five nuns. In none of these cases was provision made for large communities by way of substantial ranges of residential buildings. The groundplan of these nunneries is very similar to that of the ordinary temples to the gods of the traditional village religion, with living quarters similar to local farmhouses attached. The implications of this sort of plan must be of closer integration into the local community, and of closer identification of Buddhism and the traditional village religion than is now common. The Cheung Shan Kwu Tsz and the local road system The Cheung Shan Kwu Tsz was probably founded in the late eighteenth century. The whole of the Sha Tau Kok area was settled by Hakka clans, none of which claims a settlement date of before the Coastal Evacuation (1669), and many of which settled there only during the first half of the eighteenth century, or even later. Most clans consisted of only just one or two nuclear families at the date of their settlement in the area. The population of the Sha Tau Kok area was, therefore, very low during the early eighteenth century, and only started to build up ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1989 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h 132 and then went through Tan Tsz Hang to join the Sha Tau Kok to Sham Tsun road just before the nunnery. The other went through Lung Yeuk Tau to Hung Leng, before turning north along a line close to that of the present-day Ta Kwu Ling road, to join the road from Sha Tau Kok at Kan Tau Wai. The section of road past the nunnery, therefore, was part of the most important east-west route in the county, and at the same time part of one of the most important north-south routes, as well as being of great local significance. Sha Tau Kok was, in effect, the port for Sham Tsun to the east. Most of the fish for Sham Tsun was landed at Sha Tau Kok and carried inland by coolies. The 19 acres of saltpans at Sha Tau Kok produced considerable quantities of salt, and most of it was, again, taken inland by coolies to Sham Tsun for sale in the town and from the town to the other markets further north. Excess rice, too, from the whole of the Mirs Bay area, was landed at Sha Tau Kok and sent to Sham Tsun, which was the centre of a rice shortage area. There was, therefore, in the early part of this century, a steady flow of people passing the nunnery, and eager to avail themselves of the rest and shelter it offered. This traffic must, presumably, have been less in the eighteenth century, when local populations were much lower, and the infrastructure not yet fully developed - the saltpans, for instance, were only established in the years after 1825 - but was probably significant from early on. It remained significant right until the Law Fong bridge was effectively closed in 1950, although coolie traffic had by then been declining steadily for some time in favour of rail traffic over the Lo Wu bridge and truck traffic over the Man Kam To bridge, particularly after the opening of the Sha Tau Kok road in 1928. But at all dates from the late eighteenth century to 1950 the nunnery's shelter was a significant local factor. The role of the nunnery as a place of shelter is stressed in the couplet placed at the main entrance to the monastery at its reconstruction in 1868. This reads: 長亭惜別古道膽歧雨笠麈襟人日日 山鳥鳴春寺公送曉煙鍾風我年年 * Or, 長亭惜别占道臨歧雨等應襟人日日。山島鳴春寺聲送嶢煙鋪風磬我年年, See A (Ming Pao) 10.10.1991. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1989 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h 134 14 not only succeeded, but passed out the highest of his year. Subsequently, all Hakka youths from the area trying for the imperial examinations took to spending the first night away from home in the nunnery, in the hope of emulating Lee Cheung-chun's success, and its fame grew in consequence. The roof was rebuilt in 1890, according to an inscription on the carved eaves-board, at the expense of a Loi Tung villager. During the twentieth century, the nunnery became steadily less significant. The rebuilding of the Ng Tung Monastery to the north-east of Sha Tau Kok in 1906-1907 diverted some of the devout to this larger and more splendid place. The opening of the Fanling Sha Tau Kok railway in 1916, and, far more significantly, of the Fanling Sha Tau Kok road (completed in 1928), took traffic off the old Sha Tau Kok to Sham Tsun road. By the 1920s, the nunnery had become of only local significance. In 1920 a hill fire caught the nunnery, and burnt part of its roof off and destroyed many of its fittings. The abbess was able to secure donations, mostly from the villages of the Ta Kwu Ling area, and from the Sha Tau Kok area, to allow for a full repair, but the effort further impoverished the nunnery, at a time when its income from passers-by was already dropping, and reduced its wider significance even more. The abbess responsible for the repairs after the fire died in 1931. The local villagers appointed a replacement to care for the place, after a short time during which the nunnery seems to have been vacant, and the new abbess found a second nun to assist her. Both were elderly. These two old nuns both died during the Japanese Occupation. The abbess was the last to die, in 1944, leaving the nunnery once again vacant. Owing primarily to its remote location, it was not much harmed. In 1949, the monk Kuk Shan Kit (竹山傑), or LTR, originally of Shek Ki and of the Hau (侯) surname, the thirteenth abbot of the Po Tsik (寶積) Monastery at Lo Fau Shan (羅浮山), fleeing from the Communists, came to Hong Kong with about a dozen disciples, and settled into the vacant building, repairing what damage the War had caused, and restarting the daily prayers.16 This change of the buildings from a nunnery to a house of monks does not seem to have troubled the local villagers, who seem to have ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1989 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h 137 Cheung (張) lineage of Wong Pui Ling. The area, however, was fertile, rich, and, by the later eighteenth century, becoming relatively densely populated. Growth of stronger and less politically quiescent inter-village groupings could be expected, and the clearest evidence of this comes from the nunnery. The nunnery was founded by the villages of the Ping Yuen Hap Heung on the one hand, and Loi Tung and Man Uk Pin on the other. Loi Tung was a tight lineage alliance of three large villages of the Punti Tang clan (Loi Tung Lo Wai, San Wai, and Tai Tong Wu), and Man Uk Pin was a single, large Hakka village, predominantly of the Chung clan. The nunnery lay in six shares: Ping Che, Ping Yeung, Wo Keng Shan, Loi Tung, Tai Tong Wu, and Man Uk Pin. Of these, the Wo Keng Shan and Tai Tong Wu shares were probably there to reflect the greater size and strength of the Chan and Tang lineages within the grouping. In practice, however, the nunnery was controlled by the four clans of the Mans, Chans, Tangs, and Chungs, and normally probably had one Manager drawn from each lineage.” This group of eight villages, most of them large and wealthy, clearly represents a new generation of inter-village grouping in the Ta Kwu Ling area. The importance of the road through the Miu Keng pass has been discussed above. The position of the nunnery on the road was not only of value to travellers seeking shelter, it was also of major strategic and political significance. The road was the only passage through the hills, and could not be by-passed. Whoever controlled this pass controlled much of the Sha Tau Kok to Sham Tsun road. The foundation of the nunnery was the result of the grouping together of a few villages which were clearly seeking to capitalise on their strategic location, and thus to increase their local political leverage and district significance. The political significance of the foundation should not be downplayed. The religious impetus behind the foundation should not, of course, be ignored, but the strategic significance of the grouping is too strong to be overlooked. The nunnery-founding group of villages seems to be, in fact, an early example of a Yeuk (約) mutual defence and support inter-village alliance. The villages which had founded the nunnery seem to have worshipped there together at the Yu Lan Festival in the summer, when vegetarian food was served to the elders and faithful in front of the nunnery. It is likely that the Ping Yuen Hap Heung people used their alliance with the groups east of the pass to strengthen their position as against ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1989 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h 138 the "major lineages". If, as seems likely, the foundation of the nunnery represented, at least in part, a political move to strengthen the villages near the pass against the "major lineages", then it was the first step in what was to become open inter-village warfare two or three generations later. The Cheung Shan Kwu Tsz and the Ta Kwu Ling Luk Yeuk In the nineteenth century, local politics in the New Territories area were marked by the struggle for local political dominance between the rich and ancient “major lineages", and the mutual defence inter-village alliances, or Yeuk, which set out to combat the "major alliances" by uniting the strength of villages too weak to oppose them on their own. The struggle for dominance was centred on control of the markets, and of the vital roads which linked them. 24 Within the eastern New Territories the villagers of the area around Sha Tau Kok formed a network of Yeuk alliances which was responsible for the foundation of the market at Sha Tau Kok about 1825, and which controlled all the roads in the area immediately around the market. The villagers formed ten inter-village Yeuk alliances, and this Yeuk network was called the Shap Yeuk (+*, "Alliance of Ten'') in consequence. The Shap Yeuk owned the market at Sha Tau Kok communally, and their interest in keeping open all the roads which served the market, but especially their vital road to Sham Tsun, is obvious. The Shap Yeuk was united enough, and strong enough, that it was able to ensure that the "major lineages” had no significant influence within the Sha Tau Kok area, but it was never strong enough to control the whole of the road to Sham Tsun. To the south, the area around the ancient market town of Tai Po had been dominated by the Tang lineage of Tai Po Tau since the Ming dynasty. The Tangs not only controlled the market, but also owned the extremely important ferry over the Kwun Yam river in the town, over which all traffic from Kowloon to the north had to pass. This control by a "major lineage” was very irksome to the other villages of the area, who had been trying to seize control of the area since early in the nineteenth century. The foundation of the New Market (Tai Wo Shi, ) at Tai Po, which was to have no Tang involvement, and the building of a new bridge ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1989 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h 139 26 + to replace the Tang's ferry (1892-1896), by a new grouping of inter-village Yeuk mutual defence alliances, the Tsat Yeuk (±§, “Alliance of Seven''), must be seen in this context." After the foundation of the New Market at Tai Po, the influence of the "major lineages" in this area was sharply curtailed. Thus, of the major nodal points of the area, two, Sha Tau Kok and Tai Po, became politically dominated by alliances of minor lineages during the nineteenth century. The importance of the roads through Ta Kwu Ling has been discussed above, and the political significance of the inter-village grouping centred on the Miu Keng pass has been noted. The foundation of the Cheung Shan Kwu Tsz represents a successful attempt to ensure that external “major lineages" could not control the road through the mountains. But, for the Ta Kwu Ling villagers, this route, while important, was not as vital as the crossing of the Sham Tsun river and the route to Sham Tsun, Sham Tsun was too big for any “major lineage” ever to dominate it entirely for long; it was usually an “open market” at least in practice. However, the roads to the town could be controlled. The two main routes through Ta Kwu Ling met at Kan Tau Wai. North-west of Kan Tau Wai is an area of marshland, criss-crossed with drainage channels. To the north of that runs the Law Fong river, which drains the entire Ta Kwu Ling area, and cuts through the mountains which ring the area by a gorge about half a mile north-west of Kan Tau Wai. The Law Fong river joins the other main branch of the Sham Tsun river immediately after passing through the gorge. The crossings of the river were by ferries owned by the Cheung clan of Wong Pui Ling. The ownership of the ferries allowed the Cheungs to control all the roads out of Sham Tsun to the east. It is probable that the market at Sham Tsun was founded quite late. The 1688 Hsin An County Gazetteer (Ch. 3) records a number of markets in the Sham Tsun basin, including Sham Tsun, although only Sham Tsun survived to be recorded in the 1822 Gazetteer. One of the markets which died was at Kim Ho (金河), between the two river crossings. This market must have been owned by the Cheungs. As the Cheung market declined, and the importance of Sham Tsun and its approach roads increased, so the value of the ferries to the Cheungs grew, Passage over the ferries cost one cash per person, plus one additional cash for any goods carried. It is unlikely that the clan earned ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1989 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h 146 the client relationship Lung Yeuk Tau wanted them in. Loi Tung, despite its genealogical connection with Lung Yeuk Tau, was always regarded by Lung Yeuk Tau as a "poor relation", and classed with the "small villages". Lung Yeuk Tau was, in addition, a member of the Po Tak Temple (#) Old Alliance: this alliance was of the "major lineages” of the area (Lung Yeuk Tau, Sheung Shui, Ho Sheung Heung, and Tai Hang), and was a specifically gentry body, whose influence was certainly antagonistic to the “small villages". The Sze Yeuk, therefore, divided into Lung Yeuk Tau to the west, interested mostly in its enmity to Fan Ling, and an eastern group, which had interests to the north. In the Shap Yeuk area, Man Uk Pin, the westernmost of the ten or eleven Yeuk of the Shap Yeuk, was also part of the Sze Yeuk, in which organisation it did not form a Yeuk by itself, but was merely a subordinate part of the Loi Tung Yeuk. Man Uk Pin was a long way from Sha Tau Kok market, and, again, looked in a different direction from most of the rest of the Shap Yeuk. To Man Uk Pin the road through the Miu Keng pass was essential, and the villages on the other side of the pass were, therefore, of more interest to it than would have been the case with the other Shap Yeuk villages. areas ― Peripheral areas, on the boundaries of the Yeuk inter-village alliance areas, were always more conscious of interests outside the Yeuk areas than villages closer to the centre of local political activity. The Cheung Shan Kwu Tsz is built where the Luk Yeuk, Shap Yeuk, and Sze Yeuk meet. The area is peripheral to the centre of interest of all three Yeuk - the Law Fong bridge, the Sha Tau Kok market, and the river crossing between Lung Yeuk Tau and Fan Ling. The continuing existence of the nunnery committee, and the continuing inter-relationship of the villages holding the six shares of the nunnery, was a standing brake to any attempt by hot-heads to provoke enmity between the three Yeuk alliances as units; if such a thing had happened, the three groups of "front-line" villages would have been unlikely to have been very enthusiastic participants. It is probably this factor which led to there never being any outright fighting between these three alliance areas as a whole, despite the Sze Yeuk and Shap Yeuk friendliness with Wong Pui Ling. Equally, the capacity to look for support from outside the Yeuk area must have strengthened the position of Loi Tung, Man Uk Pin, and the Ping Yuen people within their respective Yeuk areas. The influence of the Magistrate and the gentry in the area was minimal. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1989 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h 152 Mun, founded by Pooi To. This is, however, perhaps unlikely. The note of 1089 on the history of Pooi To and his monastery (Hsin An County Gazetteers, loc.cit.) is sufficiently comprehensive that it is unlikely that it would have failed to notice if Pooi To had founded two monasteries in the immediate vicinity of Tuen Mun, but it refers to only one, and clearly identifies Pooi To's Kwangtung area of interest with this one monastery. I am indebted to the students of Ng Yuk Secondary School who presented a study of the Ling To monastery to the Hong Kong Institute for the Promotion of Chinese Culture for the Institute's 1990 Historical and Cultural Investigation Award for much of my information on the Ling To monastery. 4 See Sung Hok-p'ang, "Legends and Stories of the New Territories: Kam Tin (B)", in The Hong Kong Naturalist, June 1936, reprinted in Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. 13, 1973, p. 127-129. The nunnery bell is dated Kang Hsi 40 (1701), and this is probably the date of foundation. The bell speaks of a desire to achieve success for the Tang lineage in the imperial examination. 9 See Plan, and Plates 20 and 21. See Location Map. A two-day survey was conducted on December 11th and 12th, 1904, which showed that 1823 persons used the road on the 11th (a market day at Sham Tsun), and 708 on the 12th (a non-market day). The market day at Sha Tau Kok would have been the 10th. The survey was taken “on the road”, and very probably at the nunnery. These figures suggest a monthly total of up to 43,000 travellers: even if this is substantially discounted (the report suggests that travellers carrying rice after the second rice harvest, and fish, made the road very busy at that time) about 25,000 a month would seem a reasonable figure, or 300,000 a year. The Governor gave a more conservative statement of the yearly total, at 250,000, or about 20,000 a month. Of the 2531 travellers surveyed on the two days, 679, or 27%, (29% on the market day, 22% on the non-market day) were "carrying goods". Assuming that these carriers were carrying the standard cookie distance load of 100 lbs, then they were carrying 67,900 lbs, or 30 tons, implying perhaps 400 tons a month, or 4,800 tons a year. The survey for this road gave figures entirely in line with those shown by the surveys conducted at the same time on the other roads along the line of the railway. See file C.O.882, despatch No. 59, from Sir Matthew Nathan to Mr. Lyttelton, received February 13th, 1905, Public Record Office, London, (copy in P.R.O. Hong Kong). A second survey, conducted outside the nunnery, on 26th and 29th December, 1910 (both market days at Sham Tsun) showed 319 and 203 people "carrying goods" on those days. Assuming that the percentages of people carrying goods (those not carrying goods were not surveyed) was, as in 1904, 29%, then total passengers on those days would have been 1100 and 700, suggesting a monthly total of about 23,000, and a yearly total of just under 300,000. See file C.O.129/376, despatch no. 165 (page 582), from Sir Frederick Lugard to Rt. Hon. Lewis Harcourt, 28th April, 1911, (copy in P.R.O. Hong Kong). A monthly total of between 20,000 and 25,000 people passing the nunnery, therefore, seems very reasonable. ... The inscription is at Vol. 3, p. 679 of David Faure, Bernard H.K. Luk, and Alice N.H. Ng Lun, The Historical Inscriptions of Hong Kong, Urban Council of Hong Kong, 1986. The bell was donated to stand for ever before the altar of the Lord Buddha in the nunnery at Cheung Shan by "the mass of the devout people from all the villages". 各鄉衆信弟子慶具鳴鐘一口，敬酹長山廟佛生爺爺案前永遠供奉、福有攸歸。The nunnery is mentioned in the Hsin An County Gazetteer of 1819, as the "Cheung Chun nunnery, at the Loi Tung Pass", at ch'uan 18, page 149 of the Chung Lap Pao edition, 1979. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1989 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h 13 153 PP. 12 The inscription recording the rebuilding is at Faure, Luk and Ng, op. cit. Vol. I, 128-129, but it is unreadable through weathering, except for the heading and date. (4). Loe An-lim (羅安廉) (42), Qianren Wenxian (千人文献), ÑÍAL. [Collected Writings of Men of Past Ages], unpublished manuscript collection, Vol. 2, ff. 75a. (Copy in library of Royal Asiatic Society, Hong Kong Branch, Kowloon Central Library, Hong Kong). Lee An-lim was a villager of Sheung Wo Hang. (3) Lee An-lim, Qianren Wenxian, op. cit. ff 73-78. + As honour board recording the donors to the 1920 repair has recently been found. It lists the donors by village. Every village in Ta Kwu Ling donated (except Ping Che, Chuk Yuen, Nga Yiu Ha, very probably included with their lineage brethren in Tong Fong, Law Fong, Ping Yeung), as did the villages close to the road both in the Sha Tau Kok area (Shan Tsui, Yim Tso Ha, Yim Tin, Wo Hang, Nam Chung, Luk Keng, Wu Shek Kok and Sha Tau Kok Market) and in the Sham Tsun area (Sham Tsun Market, Lo Wu, and Wong Pui Ling). Shek Wu Hui from further away also donated. See Win Wen Wei Pao (SCHEW) of 17 September, 1991. U¿÷ 16 Detail from the tablets commemorating the departed leaders of the monastery, and from information given by the recently deceased resident nun. The tablet of Kuk Shan Kit reads: 羅浮山寶積古寺監裤正宗第上三代主持上谷下山潔老和尚莲座. The tablet Kuk Shan Kit placed to commemorate his deceased predecessors names the "ordained monks" HIBA · MAZA + J # and Ki£*, all of whom were dead by the date of erection + 1 of the tablet, and ✯, at that date still alive, as well as predecessors as rulers of this monastery" ALLKILMINER and "those monks who founded this monastery", A WILDFORIKA BAIMM- L 17 See P.H. Hase, “Notes on Rice Farming in Shatin', in Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. 21, 1981, pp. 196-206; D. Faure, The Rural Economy of Pre-Liberation China: Trade Increase and Peasant Livelihood in Jiangsu and Guangdong, Oxford University Press, Hong Kong, 1989, pp. 46-57 and 212; and Hong Kong Annual Report: Report by District Commissioner, New Territories for Year Ending 31st March, 1950, Noronha and Co., Hong Kong, 1950, p. 5. TH The Ho clan of Tsung Yuen Ha descends from Ho Chan, the Earl of Tung Kuan in the early Ming, and the Ho family history (CBMGKR — a manuscript volume in the University of Cambridge Library) suggests this area was in Ho Chan's hands before the end of the Ming. It was certainly in Ho family control before 1393 when Ho Chan's family were proscribed. The Tang family has occupied the Lung Yeuk Tau villages, Loi Tung and Tai Tong Wu since the fourteenth century at the latest. A Tang clan also occupies Au Ha (PUF Aoxia) and Wang Kong Ha (Huanggangxia). I have not been able to discover if these two villagers are genealogically connected with the Loi Tung and Lung Yeuk Tau clan, although this is unlikely. The Man family has occupied Ping Che for **18 generations", according to village elders, i.e. probably from the fourteenth century. The same family occupies Tong Fong, Heung Yuen Wai, and Lin Tong, Liantang), and a branch of it was resident at Man Uk Pin (**Man Family Houses") before the present residents, the Chung (鍾) clan moved there in the early eighteenth century. The To clan has been resident at Chau Tin village for **500 years". Local villagers consider that the Lei family has been resident at Lei Uk for as long as the To and Man clans have been at Chau Tin and Ping Che. All these clans are Punti, although sections of the Man clan at Tong Fong, and those at Heung Yuen Wai and Lin Tong, now speak Hakka. Shan Kai Wat (Lam surname, 林), Fung Wong Wu (Yip surname, 葉), and Law Fong (Law surname, 羅), are all included in the list of villages in existence in 1661 included in the 1688 Hsin An County Gazetteer, along with Au Ha, Tsung Yuen Ha, Ping Che (Ping Yuen 平遠), and perhaps Ping Yeung (坪洋) (Gazetteer, Ch. 3, f 12-13). Other Punti clans in the Ta Kwu Ling area (Wong, 黃, Chan, 陳, and Law, 羅, at Kan Tau Wai, and Hau, 侯) ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1989 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h 155 27 As noted above, 20,000 people a month used the Miu Keng pass. Probably as many again used the road from Ping Che to Kan Tau Wai, or started their journey within Ta Kwu Leng. 40,000 users of the ferry a month is a likely figure. Probably 25% of them carried goods. This represents more than $50 a month income, or about $600 a year. Even depreciating heavily for the salary of boatmen and costs of maintenance, $400 a year clear profit seems likely. The date of this war was probably in the 1860s, as Faure, The Structure of Chinese Rural Society, op. cit., p. 104, shows. 29 For the arrangement of the Yeuk, see map. The information in this section comes from Mr. Chan Yau-tsoi and Mr. Chan Wa-chun of Ping Yeung, Mr. Man Kam-muk of Ping Che, Mr. Yeung Choi of Fụng Wong Wu, Mr. Man Lei-wa of Tong Fong, and Mr. Hau Foh-tai of Law Fong, all very knowledgeable elders. I met them as a group, and include here only what they were unanimous in agreeing was the case. I would like to express my particular thanks to them for the several hours of discussion they had with me. As to Sai Ling Ha, this village, although it lay within the Ta Kwu Ling hills, supported Wong Pui Ling in the fighting, I was told. It had no part in the Luk Yeuk. However, when the Communists took over, most of the inhabitants of Sai Ling Ha crossed into Hong Kong, and set up homes in Ping Che. They were then allowed to become part of the Luk Yeuk, as part of Ping Che Yeuk. The account of the Luk Yeuk given here differs in detail from that given in Faure, op. cit., pp. 103-104. +1 - 30 The deaths are recorded in the "Heroes Shrine" () in the Tin Hau Temple at Ping Che, which was the community temple of the Ta Kwu Ling area. 23 names of the **Heroes who died in protecting the villages, who knew how to perform the duties of filial piety", or the "Heroes who defended the Yeuk" as they are named in two inscriptions *澳四總鎮源樂友例段英雄履考之神位 and "MX") are recorded. Of these, 3 (all surnamed Chan) came from the Ping Yeung Yeuk, 4 (3 surnamed Tang and 1 surnamed Chau) from the Lin Tong Yeuk, 4 (1 surnamed Chau and 3 surnamed Lei) from the Lei Uk Yeuk, 4(2 surnamed Yiu and 2 surnamed Hau) from the Law Fong Yeuk, 2 (both surnamed Yip) from the Lo Shue Ling Yeuk and 4 (2 surnamed Wong and 2 surnamed Man) from the Ping Che Yeuk. One Law died he came either from Law Fong (Law Fong Yeuk) or Kan Tau Wai (Ping Che Yeuk). A Lau Ah-ngau (劉亞牛) also died -- he could have been from Wo Keng Shan (Ping Yeung Yeuk), where there was a tiny clan of Laus, or could possibly have been a servant, as his name suggests his name is entered last on the tablet. 23 deaths suggests very bloody fighting. It is unlikely that the population of the whole of Ta Kwu Ling in 1860 was higher than 1750 (representing an average village population of about 80, or perhaps 12 households), and the adult males could not have been more than a quarter of that (440). The young men of fighting age were probably no more than about 200. 23 out of 200 is about 11.5% deaths of those involved, which is a very high percentage. The population of the Ta Kwu Ling villages within the New Territories totalled 1441 in the 1911 Census (Sessional Papers, 1911, no. 17, Noronha & Lo, Hong Kong, 1911, "Report on the Census of the Colony for 1911”, Table XIX p. 103 (32)). + - Loi Tung, with its lineage brethren of Lung Yeuk Tau, and the small villages between them, formed the Sze Yeuk (四約, “Alliance of Four''), which was, to a large degree, designed to ensure that the ancient enmity of the Tangs of Lung Yeuk Tau and Loi Tung with the Pangs of Fan Ling was tilted in favour of the Tangs. The Pangs supported the Luk Yeuk in its fight with the Cheungs this almost certainly means that the Sze Yeuk supported the Cheungs, as did Sheung Shui, the other ancient enemy of the Pangs. Man Uk Pin was a Yeuk of the Sha Tau Kok Shap Yeuk, as well as forming a part of the Sze Yeuk. The Shap Yeuk were dubious about the activities of the Luk Yeuk. Free travel between Sha Tau Kok and Sham Tsun was vital to the Shap Yeuk. With the Cheung Shan Kwụ Page 180 Page 181 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1989 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h 156 Tsz people controlling the pass and the Cheungs controlling the river crossing; no one group had total control of the road; but if the Luk Yeuk controlled both the pass and the bridge, then the Shap Yeuk's interests could well have been at risk. Lin Ma Hang of the Shap Yeuk actually fought alongside Wong Pui Ling; the rest of the Shap Yeuk was probably friendly to the Cheungs, or at least neutral in the dispute. The Sze Yeuk were allied with the Tangs in their opposition to the establishment of the Tai Po New Market by the Tsat Yeuk; as is to be expected, Fanling and the Luk Yeuk supported the Tsat Yeuk. 32 33 It is unclear if the inscription still survives or not. They were Man Fuk-ting (Tong Fong, Chairman); Lei Yi-wa (Lei Uk); Chan Kwok-cheung (Ping Yeung); Tang King-shiu (Au Ha or Wang Kong Ha); Law King-fan (Law Fong); To Kan-yeung (Tin). 14 Between 1911 and 1924 Chan Ping-kei (Chau ...) and Chan Tai [or Ting]-cheung ... (+ [Chinese characters unknown]) were managers, and as such appear on the Land Memorials. 35 It was put up by Lin Tong and Wang Kong Ha villages, in "The Shing Ping She Shrine of Righteousness".ĦTH, Faure, Historical Inscriptions, op. cit., Vol. 3, p. 850. 36 37 Faure, The Structure of Chinese Rural Society, op. cit., pp. 104-105. Chau Tin village owned a small temple, or San Teng (神廳), as did Kan Tau Wai and Law Fong. Kan Tau Wai in addition owned a small house as a meeting place for its elders. None of these communal facilities had any income-producing land attached to them, except for the Law Fong and Kan Tau Wai temples, which owned 0.05 and 0.12 acres respectively. The Ping Yuen temple manager was registered only for the single temple building, but not for any income-producing land, although the temple did buy a piece of land (0.72 acres) from a Ping Che villager in 1906. See DD82, houselot CT20; lot 759; DD78, lot 1158; DD82, houselot KTW13; houselots PC1-3; Memorial 2744. Memorials 24058 (20 April 1913), 27471 (4 June 1914), 45919 (7 December 1920); see also Memorial 17779 (17 October 1911) for the succession of the She to a house at Tong Fong. 19 For the Po Tak Old Alliance, see Faure, The Structure of Chinese Rural Society, op. cit., pp. 128-140. 40 41 See R.G. Groves, "The Origins of Two Market Towns'', loc.cit. For the Tung Ping Kuk and the Tung Wo Kuk, see Faure, The Structure of Chinese Rural Society, op. cit., pp. 128-140. 42 (唔出嫁嘅女) 43 44 Sung Hok-p'ang, Legends and Stories of the New Territories: Kam Tin, op. cit. It should be noted that these nunneries are often called Tsz (寺) in ordinary speech and documents. This character strictly means "monastery", but, in this area, this does not necessarily imply that the religious living there were men. Thus the Cheung Shan Kwu Tsz is almost always so called, as in the document printed in the Appendix. The use of the more correct character Am (庵, 'nunnery') is almost entirely limited to Ch'ing official documents (especially the County Gazetteer) and, sometimes, on bells. 45 46 loc.cit. See Faure, Luk and Ng, Historical Inscriptions of Hong Kong, op. cit., Vol. 3, p. 669. It is called Miu (廟, "temple") in Hsin An County Gazetteer, 1922, ch'uan 4 and 7, pages 49-50 and 82 of the Chung Lap Pao edition, 1979, and in the 1688 Gazetteer. 47 Ling To is called Tsz (寺) in the Hsin An County Gazetteer, 1819, at ch'uan 18 and 21, pages 148 and 174 of the Chung Lap Pao edition, 1979, and, given the care with which... ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1989 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h 313 Documents confirm that Sing-Ngok's descendants had a large portion of the more than 160 acres of Kam Tin Dang land-holdings on Hong Kong island. D. Sung-Kok jou and the Gwong-Yu Tong and Lei-Ging Tong I have mentioned before that the second ancestor of the fourth branch, Naam-Kai, had been adopted from the first branch. This connection might be expected to serve to make the two branches feel closer together. However, fung-sheui stories hint at feelings of rivalry between the first and the fourth branches, especially after the rise of the latter during or after Dang Man-Wai's time in the later seventeenth century. However, it was only a few segments of the fourth branch which prospered: a letter from the leaders of the Kam Tin Dangs in 1941 claimed that the ancestral fund for Naam-Kai used to be a broken house in the county town of Xin'an until it was expanded to a farmland holding of over 200 sek in rent value under the management of the youngest son of Dang Kyun-Hin (1755-1822). It was only the families of Dang Man-Wai and of his brothers who enjoyed great prosperity from early in the Qing dynasty. The present descendants of Dang Man-Wai attribute the prosperity of their segment (known as Gwong-Yu Tong) to the jeun-si degree of Man-Wai, which he won in 1685. But from 1657, i.e. almost 20 years earlier, he was already a geui-yan, one of only two or three ever achieved from the Hong Kong region, which should have placed him in a very advantageous position especially in this period. According to a stone inscription, Man-Wai started the Yuen Long Market in 1669, and until it was replaced by the New Market in 1898 this market was run by the ancestral trust of Man-Wai, the Gwong-Yu Tong. Man-Wai was also credited with having compiled a genealogy and having initiated the building of an ancestral hall for the larger Dang clan. His sons and grandsons included many imperial degree/title holders involved in lineage matters. The spirit tablets of two of Dang Man-wai's brothers are housed in the Lei-Ging Tong, an ancestral hall which used to be in the present playground, but which was later moved to near the Sun Ngai Brass factory on Kam Sheung Road. The original building was only a little smaller than the Gwong-Yu Tong. One of the two brothers was Dang Ng-sang, who, according to Sung (1974:185), built the ancestral hall. Some village elders confirmed that he was the same Ng-sang who was the leader of ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1990 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299 248 were still in darkness. Kowloon had to wait another 28 years before gas lights were turned on. The inhabitants there continued to depend upon candles and oil lamps. The board of directors set up their office in London, and from there they engaged staff and ran the company. The first manager in Hong Kong was R.C. Whitty. It was he who erected the plant, which came from Britain, on the waterfront at West Point (near Whitty Street). It was the first gas utility in the Far East. Jardine's office, the Hong Kong Dispensary (A.S. Watson and Company), and the Hong Kong Hotel were the first buildings to be lighted by gas. Gas cookers and water heaters were still unheard of. The first plant could manufacture 120,000 cubic feet of gas a day, and for 80 years coal was used as fuel. The Ma Tau Kok gasworks used to ring a brass bell at hourly intervals, like ships of old using the marine system of two, four, six, and eight bells over a four-hour period, for timing the charging and discharging of furnaces. This bell was a familiar sound to Ma Tau Kok residents. For 90 years the company was managed directly from Britain. Then, in 1954, majority control was purchased by George Marden of Wheelock Marden. In 1982, the transfer of the company's corporate registration from England to Hong Kong made it a local firm. These moves brought about more effective management control. For 100 years there were gas lights in Hong Kong. Today only four remain. These are situated at the head and foot of the broad granite steps, built between 1875 and 1889, which lead from Ice House Street into Duddell Street in Central. The lamps were installed at the turn of the century when they were lit manually. These steps and the four street lights have been gazetted as historical monuments. Once there were over 2,000 street gas lamps. But in spite of the loss of business, the Gas Company learned to adapt and emerged stronger than ever. In the late 1980s, it had over half a million consumers. After 1981, Towngas has been produced entirely from eight naphtha plants. Hong Kong Electric The first power station in Hong Kong was in Star Street, Wanchai, ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1990 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299 In the matter of the forcible stoppage of work, and the repeated closure of a worksite, a joint presentation of further evidence. We cordially request Your Benevolence to send an official to investigate and clarify the position to avoid the situation of a public bridge being destroyed. There is a river at Kim Hau (1) which lies between Sham Chun, and Sha Tau Kok and Tai Pang () and so on, and which is on a most important road for anyone travelling from east or west. Everyday thousands of people pass there. The Cheung () clan, living over three li away at Wong Pui Ling (Bai) came in violence and took it for their own, establishing a ferry across the river there for their profit. All this happened years ago. Everyone coming there, at any time of day, must use the ferry. Bridal parties and funerals have to pay particularly heavy sums. Every Winter the river dries up, and the flow of water reduces, and then people have to wade across with obvious difficulty. Sometimes wooden hand-rails are put up beside the crossing, but these are frequently destroyed, and people are reviled and struck there. Every kind of perverse and unprincipled behaviour can be seen, too frequently to record. These many years we the gentry and others have donated cash, and rice to sell at low rates. This is because, when they cannot run the ferry profitably they force the coolies to go into the water to cross; several dozen sacks of rice have been lost here as a result, and we the gentry and others cannot bear to see their suffering. We have been thinking of building a bridge for many years. Last year Cheung Tsan-tai and Lei Chung-chong (*44) both wealthy men, and others, twice gathered material for construction, but it was deliberately entirely destroyed on both occasions. The people really feared we would have to go back to the original position. --- Page 259 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1990 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299 264 at Law Fong (this bridge is shown on the 1905 War Department map of the area). The villagers of Ta Kwu Ling built their temple at Kim Hau between the two branches of the river. But they were clearly unable to cross the second river. Control of the crossing of this second river, the Sha Wan River, remained with the Cheungs. This was land close to Wong Pui Ling, in the heartland of the Cheungs' territory. It would seem that the Cheungs' ultimate line of defence was the Sha Wan River, and that the Ta Kwu Ling people, despite the heavy loss of life on their side, were unable to breach this. The outcome of the 1860 war was, therefore, a compromise, with one branch of the river bridged, but one left with a ferry, and with the Cheung political power destroyed in the one area, but not the other. It is, however, clear from the petition that the Ta Kwu Ling people had not accepted this compromise outcome, but were eager to reopen the question, to complete the freeing of their road to market from Cheung control. For how many years the Ta Kwu Ling elders collected cash for their project is unclear, but it is likely that a decade or more was spent. Probably, the cost of the 1860 war made it imperative for the Ta Kwu Ling villagers to recoup their finances for at least a generation before they were able to contemplate a **second round**. It is interesting to see just how uncompromising the two sides were in this 1921-1922 dispute, and how determined the Ta Kwu Ling people were to eradicate this last Cheung stronghold on their road to market. It is equally interesting to see with what contempt the Ta Kwu Ling villagers treated the County Magistrate and his order: as soon as it was issued they treated it as "stupid and muddled", ignored it, and continued as though it had not been issued. What is more, they were willing, with their talk of a "fighting with guns" and consequences "that cannot bear being thought about" at least to hint that, if the Provincial Governor failed to give them what they wanted, they would go to war. The Sha Tau Kok villagers had not supported the Ta Kwu Ling villagers in 1860, but the road from Sha Tau Kok to Sham Chun was vital to the Sha Tau Kok people, and, clearly, by 1921 they had come round to accepting that nothing but the removal of all Cheung controls would do. The first petition makes it clear that the Sha Tau Kok ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1990 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299 265 Kok and Ta Kwu Ling people had established a trust to collect cash and construct this bridge: Chan Sheung-yan (of Luk Keng in the Sha Tau Kok area), and Lei Tsok-san (of Lei Uk in the Ta Kwu Ling area) were the two Chief Managers of this trust, representing the totality of the people of the two areas. P.H. HASE I NOTES "Cheang Shan Kwa Tsz. An Old Buddhist Nunnery in the New Territories, and its Place in Local Society”, Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. 29, 1989, pp 121-158. The documents are contained in a recently recovered genealogy of the Chan clan of Luk Keng. I understand that a copy of this genealogy will be placed on record in the collection of Hong Kong historical documents held at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in due course. I am indebted to Mr. Chan Wing-hoi for drawing my attention to these documents. II I am indebted to Mr. P.L. Lau for assistance in the translation of this document. The Sha Wan River, unlike the main branch of the Sham Chun River, which flows in a deep and well-defined channel, was a shallow and ill-defined stream, which meandered through a broad valley which it often flooded. This river has now been dammed off to form the Shen Zhen Reservoir. See the paper at n. 1 for details of the loss of life in this War. A VILLAGE WAR IN SHAM CHUN The Rev. Carl Smith has drawn attention to the great wealth of material available in the Basel Mission Archive on the history of the Hakka people of Kwangtung Province. When looking through his notes and summaries of important documents I saw a summary of an important document on an inter-village war in Sham Chun (深圳). Through the courtesy of the Mission Archive, a photostat of the document was received, translated, and is published below. Sham Chun lies at the centre of a broad and fertile valley, drained by the Sham Chun River. This river has four main tributaries: the stream which drains the Ta Kwu Ling valley (this stream is considered as the headstream of the main river), the Sha Wan River, which joins the first stream at Kim Hau (or) at the entrance to Ta Kwu Ling, the Sheung Yue (or Beas) River which drains the Sheung Shui/Lung Yeuk Tau area and which enters the main river ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1990 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299 266 about a mile below the Sha Wan River, and finally the Ching Shui River which drains the northern part of the valley from Po Kat (Buji) down, and which enters about half-a-mile below the Sheung Yue River. The main river is navigable for small skiffs as far as Kim Hau, but for junks only as far as the confluence of the main river and the Ching Shui River. However, the river at the mouth of the Ching Shui River is not navigable for junks at low tide. Furthermore, the navigable part of the river is not wide enough for a junk to turn around in easily when under sail. The Ching Shui River, at the junction with the main river, splits into two branches, with a low, marshy island between them and the main river.* Junks could come up the main river, enter the Ching Shui River, pass behind the marshy island, and back into the main river via the second branch of the stream, thus turning round without cutting across the channel, using a "one-way" system. The landing place used by the cargo junks and ferry boats, therefore, was the channel of the Ching Shui River behind the island. Junks would come up the river with the tide, and would load and unload while at rest on the mud at low tide, and would cast off and go down the river with the next high tide. Three significant roads pass through the valley, crossing at Sham Chun: the Yuen Long to Wai Chow (Huichou), Nam Tau (Nantou) to Sha Tau Kok, and Po Kat to Kowloon roads. In the Ming, this valley had a number of markets, of which Sham Chun was only one. There was another at Kim Hau, and others to the west, including one at Lung Tsun Hui (Longjinxu), which was part of the Fuk Tin (Futian) village cluster. By the nineteenth century, however, all these other markets had either become extinct, or else survived only in a very small way as satellites of Sham Chun. Sham Chun had developed until it had become a very large market, with probably 500 and more shops. The market was ringed by large villages of rich clans—the Cheungs at Wong Pui Ling (Huangbeiling) about a mile to the east, the Tsois at Tsoi Uk Wai (Caiwuwei) about half a mile to the south-west, the Wongs at Fuk Tin about a mile to the south-west, the Yuens at Lo Wu (Lohu) about half a mile to the south and the Hos at Sun Kong (Sungang) about half a mile to the north. These rich and ancient clans were almost perennially in dispute, as they jostled for power and position in the district. * See Map. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1990 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299 274 man, and the Tsoi clan four, to the authorities as being responsible for the murder of the man who fell in the ditch. This, however, is only a formality. Everyone knows that the District Mandarin will be only too happy to exchange these men for an eloquent sum of money. It is sad to be forced to see in action how the best of these Chinese officials are blind in the face of corruption of this type. The total cost of this village war was more than sixty thousand dollars. This money will have to be found by a stiff payment from every person affected. The parties will be reduced to such extreme poverty that it will be many years before they can recover. It is as well that the bone of contention is removed from the clans. However, as it is said "There can be no peace, where men do not sing of the love of Christ". May that love soon be sung throughout this fruitful valley of Sham Chun! I greet you with the deepest respect and affection, Yours, G. Reusch 8th July, 1875." The 1924 aerial photograph of Sham Chun, and the War Department map drawn up from it, show a broad earth-wall in the position suggested by Reusch, and this is shown on the Map. This probably represents the earth-wall of 1875. If so, the "New Market" of 1871 was not a success. Although the roads from the south (Kowloon and Yuen Long) ran through the centre of the site, the site was not as well sited as was the "Old Market", being further from the nodal point of the road system in the area. It was better located for the river trade, but only so long as the "New Market" and the landing place were in the same hands. Once the landing place had been handed over to the She Hok and to the Tung Ping Kuk which ran the She Hok, and which was dominated by the Cheungs, the "New Market" lost the advantages it gained from proximity to the river. By 1924, there were only a few buildings within the earth-wall — a ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1992 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/qf85tx75x sons. The second son of Hin-sing, named Ying-yiu, was a kwok-hok-sang, and the third, named Ying-[...] held the kung-sang degree. Today, the two brothers [Wing-sing and Hin-sing] are being buried together in the one grave located at the local place name Shing Mun Au, whose fung-shui direction is as follows [details]. The geomantic name of this grave site is *the lion looking at... [...].* The burial has been arranged for an auspicious day in autumn, and the memory of the deceased will endure for ever. 167 *All descendants live at Kam Tin,* states the tablet. The date of burial was in Hsien Feng 3rd or kwai-chau year (1853), and the time of burial was the third day in a period listed in the almanac as kuk tan, There is much damage on the tablet where the two names of the deceased appear, but the title of kwok-hok-sang appears above Hin-sing's name, and of a conferred military degree above the other's. Among the names of the living descendants appearing on the tablet are sons and nephews Ying-yiu and another, Ying-kwai. There are also grandsons and great-grandsons. It will be noted that this was really a reburial, since one man had been dead for 39 years and the other for 42. Their achievements were felt to require this filial action on the part of surviving sons, nephews and after generations of the two deceased. It should be remarked that, as in the next case, the text of this inscription is in line with the Confucian admonition 'to glorify the ancestors and preserve the posterity.' The two ancestors' achievements are recorded, as an act of pride of family, as are their sons' in their turn. The record of their lives can be read by all descendants thenceforward, and can serve to spur them to further achievement in their turn. The second of these old graves is located in the Shing Mun area on the slopes of Tai Mo Shan. The grave was repaired on a lucky day in the middle month of the autumn season in the 10th year of Kuang Hsu, that is in 1884. The person buried there had been born about 1710 (by inference from the tablet's wording), and the reburial was carried out by all three branches of the family, in the great and great grandsons' ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1993 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/66833t302 164 its foundation. There important roads used to meet near here. The most important was the main east-west road in the county, which connected the county city, Nam Tau (Nantou, ), with the Deputy Magistrate's city of Tai Pang (Dapeng, ), via the important market of Sham Chun. * Because of the greater desirability and comfort of water-borne traffic, the section of this road along the north shore of Mirs Bay was not much used. Instead, much of the traffic went by a ferry that ran parallel with the shore, from Sha Tau Kok to Sha Yue Chung. At Wo Hang Au, a few miles west of Sha Tau Kok, the road was joined by another important east-west route. This was the road from Yuen Long to Sha Tau Kok via Tai Po. The third route was the main road from Kowloon to the north-east. This road carried the traffic from Kowloon to Wai Chau. This road crossed Sha Tin Pass to reach the coast of Tolo Harbour at Yuen Chau Tsai. A ferry carried the traffic from Yuen Chau Tsai across Tolo Harbour to Ang Chung (Chung Mei, near Bride's Pool). From Ang Chung, the road climbed steeply past Bride's Pool and Ah Ma Wat, and then down to the shores of Starling Inlet at Kuk Po. Another ferry then took the traffic across Starling Inlet to Sha Tau Kok. There was also a road which ran from Ang Chung through Luk Keng and Nam Chung, to join the Nam Tau and Yuen Long roads at Shek Chung Au, thus avoiding the second ferry. From Sha Tau Kok the Wai Chau road crossed the shoulders of Ng Tung Shan, and so down to Wang Kong (Henggang, ), and thence to Wai Chau. A branch of this road ran from Sha Tau Kok to Po Kat (Buji, ). This Kowloon to Wai Chau road was more important than might be expected - the long ferry sectors made it more comfortable than the land-based alternatives. The Basel missionaries regularly used it when travelling between Hong Kong and Po Kat, for instance. 50 This system of roads and ferries was in existence from the Ming at the latest. It will be noticed that the roads do not cross at Sha Tau Kok. Sha Tau Kok stands, however, in the centre of the few miles of road where all the roads run together for a short distance. The site of the market, therefore, was a good one commercially. * See Map 3. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1993 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/66833t302 167 There is some evidence of the traffic on the other routes out of Sha Tau Kok to the west in the same period. In 1910 22,000 persons "carrying goods" crossed the Shek Chung Au pass each month, carrying about 880 tons of goods, with probably a further 50,000 - 55,000 crossing the pass without carrying goods. This pass was clearly a major nodal point. With about 250 travellers crossing it every day, one every three minutes, including a laden coolie every ten minutes - it must have been a very busy road indeed, with, at peak periods, an almost non-stop flow of travellers. There were good reasons for the Ming and Ch'ing military post to be placed here. Of these 75,000 travellers, about a third went on to cross the Miu Keng Pass for Sham Chun, as noted above. A further 40% went to, or came from, destinations along the Yuen Long road - probably mostly to the villages nearest to Sha Tau Kok, who marketed there. A further sixth travelled to and from the villages south-west of Sha Tau Kok, in the Nam Chung-Luk Keng area, including some who continued on to Kowloon. The remainder travelled only as far as the villages between the Shek Chung Au and Wo Hang Au passes. In 1904 a daily total of 600 travellers crossed the Sha Tin Pass between Sha Tin and Kowloon, of which nearly half were "carrying goods" (mostly fresh fish from Sha Tin to Kowloon). Of this total perhaps 75-100 went on to Sha Tau Kok via Ang Chung and Kuk Po, including perhaps 25 carrying goods - this route may have seen a monthly total of as many as 3,000 travellers carrying up to 35 tons of goods. While none of these statistics was as well gathered as would be expected today, they can be used to give an impression of the size of local trade in the early twentieth century. The traffic they suggest (75,000 persons, and nearly 900 tons of goods) as entering Sha Tau Kok from the south and west is very substantial. Probably a half again as many travellers entered Sha Tau Kok from the north and east, from where statistics are not available, and probably as much again in goods carried. In total, Sha Tau Kok was probably visited by up to 120,000 travellers a month (most of these travellers, of course, entered Sha Tau Kok, only to leave it again a few hours later) and handled some 1,850 tons of goods. 55 These ancient roads and ferries remained the sole arteries of local trade until 1898. The drawing of the new frontier between Hong Kong and ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1995 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/95941j25g 173 with a strong visible presence along the colony's first line of defence. A very comprehensive description of the new observation posts was given in an article by Sub-Inspector M.E. Davis* which appeared in the HK Police Magazine in December 1953: "The land frontier of the Colony of Hong Kong extends from Mirs Bay in the East, to Deep Bay in the West, following for the most part the tortuous course of the Shum Chun river. The country is intensely varied. The arable plain at Sha Tau Kok soon gives place to rugged mountains and deep gorges, which gradually fall away until the extensive marshy tracts near Mai Po are reached. Along the border for 16 miles of the length runs the frontier fence. It is, without any overstatement, difficult territory. The frontier area forms part of the New Territories Division of the Hong Kong Police Force, and is commanded by Mr. N.B. Fraser, M.B.E., Senior Superintendent of Police. One of the most important of the several methods of border control in effect in this area is the operation of a chain of Observation Posts There are seven of these posts in the chain, covering the whole of the land frontier. Each is within sight of one or more of its neighbouring posts. All are accessible from the frontier road, or by means of jeep track from the roads. Most are located on prominent hill features which gives them an excellent field of observation. The elevation of the highest is over 700' above sea level. The frontier is divided into three sections, each with its complement of observation posts, which are controlled by a parent station in each section. From East to West the stations are Sha Tau Kok, Ta Ku Ling and Lok Ma Chau. The first has only one post, Pak Kung Au, under its control. Ta Ku Ling, the central and largest area has four, Kong Shan, Pak Fa Shan, Nga Yiu and Nam Hang. On the Western flank Ma Cho Lung and Pak Hok Chau posts are controlled by Lok Ma Chau The posts are all almost identical in construction. Centrally there is a round, two storied, tower, and jutting from its sides are two long, one storied arms. The plan of the whole is roughly in the shape of a chevron. The upper storey of the tower is the Control Room, equipped * Deceased-Editor ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1996 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/3n209j641 110 and their brothers several generations earlier than the one with whom the last part of the genealogy starts counting generations from one. The above shows that celebration of Fengchao is connected with ordination names. It is not meaningful to ask if all those who celebrate the rite had ordination names in their genealogies—in any case, as mentioned before, all Hakka genealogies I examined, except short excerpts, contain ordination names. There is a similar problem in asking if all lineages with ordination names in their genealogies celebrated Fengchao. One may ask, however, the following question: if two lineages trace to the same ancestors who are the only ones who had ordination names, and one of the lineages celebrates Fengchao, would the other celebrate Fengchao too? There are some cases in the New Territories of which we may ask this question: e.g., Ping Yeung and Ting Kok, So Lo Pun and Lai Chi Wo, Shuen Wan and Wu Kau Tang. At this stage of research, I cannot answer the question for any of those pairs. According to the memorial for the ritual of Fengchao, it is dedicated to ancestors. Chao is also written as Zuchao, zu meaning "ancestor". Elsewhere in the memorial, it is written as shangzu, “early ancestors”. Many of the sessions in the ritual are named in the memorial. They were for maintenance of an “immortal army” which seemed to be under the control of the ancestors. When a priest read the memorial to demonstrate his rendering, he added zugong ("ancestors") before bingma ("army") in the passage, indicating that he does think of the army as belonging to the ancestors. He compared the army to "policemen", and told me that they were to guard the village to prevent entry of outsiders. The rites were to remedy possible loss of soldiers and horses due to lack of provisions; loss of the wuhua qihao flags of the army; and the loss of yingsuo stations [garrisons?]. One major feature is petitioning the Jade Emperor and his subsidiaries for issuance of a Zhaobing Pai order for recruitment of soldiers. The rite I witnessed was performed inside the ancestral hall, with the exception of a session to “pacify the kitchen god” at the kitchen stove of the bridegroom's house. At the ancestral altar of the hall, the priest hung a picture showing the Three Pure Ones and gods peculiar to the popular tradition, including the Three Ladies. Three temporary spirit ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1996 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/3n209j641 158 of Ta-shih-wang E, the keeper of ghosts who maintained order, provided food and clothing to the hungry ghosts, and then took them back to the netherworld." Vegetarian fast was required during the chao period of three days and four nights. Puppet shows were also performed for several days to entertain both human and divine participants. Chanters hired from outside were responsible for the liturgy, which included scripture reciting, praying, and the burning of paper offerings. As for local villagers, they mainly came to enjoy the free vegetarian feasts and puppet shows. As pointed out by David Faure, the festival is an occasion for popular entertainment, as much as for worship." An important ritual of the chiao ceremony was a gala parade called hsing-hsiang † (walking through a neighbourhood of villages) held on the third day. The image of Houwang was carried in the procession led by chanters and followed by male villagers. Firecrackers were set off to clear the road and when passing a village, joss sticks, candles, and paper offerings were burnt to expel all ghosts and leave the local population safe and flourishing with Houwang's blessings. "As the principal local deity, Houwang obviously played a crucial role during the chiao festival. Deities from other districts, such as the Empress of Heaven from Ma Wan Island or Chak Lap Kok, were not invited to the ceremony." Thus, the parade embodied the strong territorial sense of the community, publicly affirming the hsiung as a neighbourhood of specific villages. Villages passed by paraders, including Shek Mun Kap, Mok Ka, Shek Lau Po, Ngau Au, Nim Yuen, San Tau, Ma Wan Chung, Ma Wan, Ling Pei, Wong Ka Wai, Lung Tseng Tau, and Ba Mei, were all considered members of the Tung Chung community. While village representatives took charge of preparations for the chao days, a body called the Chieh-fang-chu-hui (Neighbourhood Association) was assigned responsibility for the preparatory work for Houwang's Birthday Festival. From the mid-1920s, however, the Neighbourhood Association had to also assume responsibility for preparations for the chiao festival, replacing the village representatives. Concomitant with this change, Tung Chung Street, where the number of shops had increased with time, replaced Shek Mun Kap as the local social and economic centre. Various goods, including groceries, medicinal materials, cooked food, coffee and tea, coffins, and even opium, were now sold on Tung Chung Street. "As the position of Shek Mun Kap and the role of village representatives in the chiao festival declined, 36 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1997 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/wp98g7579 84 Kowloon, mainly for ships in the coastal trade, was opened in 1868 to be followed soon afterwards by a shorter 80m-long dock. A few years later (1876) the 140m-long Cosmopolitan Dock and dockyard at Tai Kok Tsui were commissioned. Subsequently the much larger 168m-long Admiralty Dock at Hung Hom was completed in 1888 and later extended in length by some 8 metres in 1903, to be followed by further lengthenings in 1911 and 1931. In the summer of 1907, the 170m-long Admiralty dry dock in Victoria, with an entrance width of 29 metres and 9m clearance at lowest spring tides, and Tai Koo's great ashlar-faced 238m-long 27m entrance-width graving dock (now a car park in the Tai Koo Shing development) at Quarry Bay, the latter capable of accommodating the largest ship then afloat (the liner Oceanic), were both commissioned. By laying down the former dock where it did and extending the original dockyard, with an 8ha reclamation which was started in 1900, the Navy sealed the long-held hopes of making Victoria a coherent city with a continuous commercial waterfront. Due to difficult foundation problems, including removal of a 1.2 to 1.8m layer of hard porous coral and the need to install hundreds of steam-driven hardwood piles through the underlying decomposed granite to secure the site, the naval dry dock finally took seven years to build whereas the larger commercial dock at Tai Koo was finished in five. The whole of the Tai Koo dockyard development took seven years to completion in 1908, a remarkable achievement in so much that it not only included the large dock but also excavation of some 1.3M cubic metres of hillside to form a 21ha site, which included a 8ha marine reclamation, and the adjacent section of the 23m-wide cut for King's Road, and the building of an entire complex of slipways, workshops and all the ancillary works which are needed to make a large dockyard a world of its own. It is interesting to note that Admiralty engineers in 1908 regarded locally-made cement as unsurpassed in fineness and tensile strength (at 28-days around 750lb/sq in or 5.2MPa), and it was used exclusively when building the new naval and Tai Koo dockyards. Wharfs By 1843 there were several comparatively small piers and jetties on the Island located between East Point and Sheung Wan. Pedder's ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1997 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/wp98g7579 90 water with a swinging or lifting central span. Nevertheless, the scheme was not proceeded with, and Hong Kong had to wait another 70 years before a fixed cross-harbour connection was constructed. The main road network in Kowloon continued to expand, with Sham Shui Po being linked to the then-existing road system in 1916 with a 6m-wide, 700m-long road, part of which was formed on a 3.4m-high embankment. The first section of Waterloo Road, Argyle Street, and much of Prince Edward Road were completed by 1924. At this time, Nathan Road had already been extended by Coronation Road (later also part of Nathan Road) nearly up to the old international boundary. By the outbreak of the Pacific War in 1941, part of Kowloon Tong, then a garden city, was developed to the west of Waterloo Road together with an adjoining section of Boundary Street, and extensive additions were made to the subsidiary road networks, in particular, in the Mong Kok, Sham Shui Po, and To Kwa Wan districts. When the New Territories was leased in 1898, it was a quiet rural area with a scattering of small market and fishing towns which depended on a network of footpaths and ferries for access. Shortly afterwards, a good deal of road construction was begun, partly for military and civil governmental purposes, and partly to enable farmers to bring their produce more easily to the urban areas. The first section of the New Territories ring road, that from Kowloon to the administrative centre Tai Po, comprised a 4.3m-wide carriageway following the zig-zag course of the old footpath and was completed in 1900. Au Tau creek was bridged in 1916 with an 11-span, 95m-long reinforced concrete structure supported on hollow 340mm concrete box piles, where previously a local punt service was available, to join the 6m-wide stretches of road from Fan Ling and Castle Peak (Tuen Mun). Two years later, the coastal road from Sham Shui Po to Castle Peak was started, which at the time was aptly considered to be Hong Kong's La corniche, and, in 1920, the whole of the 90km-long New Territories ring road was finally completed. About 1927, the Tai Po road bridge adjacent to the railway was reconstructed with a 7-span reinforced concrete structure. Improvements were carried out to the Fan Ling/Sha Tau Kok road in 1929, much of which had only been in service for two years, generally making use of the disused railway formation. Subsequently, a new road was built from Au Tau to Shek ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1997 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/wp98g7579 94 The tunnel was driven at a rate of about 18 metres/week through granite - surprisingly the most serious problems encountered appear to have concerned the labour, rather than the tunnelling itself, on account of fung shui difficulties and the prevalence of malaria. To finalise the KCR project, an 11.5km-long narrow-gauge (600mm) branch line was constructed in 1911-1912 from Fan Ling to Sha Tau Kok on the border, mainly using track and plant which had been utilized in connection with the building of the Beacon Hill Tunnel, and operated until 1928. The civil engineering work was relatively simple, the deepest cutting and embankments being about 5 metres. For most of the route the railway shared bridges with the adjacent road but beyond Wo Hang some six bridges and numerous culverts needed to be built. Water Supply The original inhabitants and new settlers in 1841 obtained their water supply from hillside streams. To augment these sources the first five wells for the city water supply were sunk in 1851. In 1859, the Government realised that the old haphazard supply system was totally inadequate and, following a prize competition for the best plan, implemented a small reservoir scheme in the Pok Fu Lam valley, the dam being little more than a stream intake, from which water was conveyed in 1863 through a 250mm cast-iron pipe to tanks above the city of Victoria. From that time the history of Hong Kong's waterworks was a continual struggle to catch up with the needs of an ever-increasing population and virtually never succeeded until recent years (when the Territory's water shortfall was imported from China). The original Pok Fu Lam scheme was soon scrapped and a new reservoir, with its 11m-high earth dam and a much greater capacity (300 million litres), was completed further upstream in 1871 when the population had risen to about 125,000. The reconstruction of the supply conduit, by means of a brick culvert along the 150m contour (Pok Fu Lam and Conduit Roads), became operational in 1877. The first stage of the Tai Tam scheme, the principal feature being a 40m-high masonry-faced rubble concrete dam, was completed in 1889 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1997 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/wp98g7579 172 in the Colony), it could also be seen at Sha Tau Kok and at San Hui in Castle Peak Bay.7 In certain places along the route on our way to Huizhou, where there was apparently good fung shui, there were concentrations of graves and funerary urns, the latter, in Chinese, known as 'golden pagodas'. These contain human bones, placed in anatomical order, in the shape of a foetus, ready to 'return to the womb' for rebirth at reincarnation. Often, as one sometimes sees in Hong Kong's New Territories, small clusters of these urns were placed in tiny shelters. In some places however, along the road to Huizhou, these small structures were painted in garish colours. Often one would pass in China brick and tile kilns very similar to those simple kilns which one could find in the Castle Peak district of Hong Kong in the 1950s. A few years later these small firms were put out of business by less expensive clay, building-products which were imported into Hong Kong from Guangdong. The author contrasts this visit to Huizhou, in beautiful short-sleeve-shirt weather, with a visit led by RAS Member Phillip Bruce, also undertaken in November, about a decade earlier. The previous visit took place on one of the coldest November days on record with temperatures down to freezing. The author wore a deerstalker hat with ear-flaps to protect him from the biting wind! At the time, limited development had taken place in Huizhou. It is surprising how things have changed. Acknowledgements The RASHKB is grateful to Geoffrey Roper and his Activities Committee members, and especially to Dr Joseph Ting and Peter Rull, for organising this visit. The author is also grateful to RAS Member Charles Slater for the three photographs which illustrate this article. NOTES Peter Rull and Joseph Ting, Outline Programme for RAS Huizhou Visit 15 and 16 November 1997, handout Geoffrey Roper, An Introduction to the Tan Gong (Tam Kung) Temple below the Julung ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-2000 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/nk328168n 272 on the events of that time It seems that the Japanese authorities, strict though they were, did take the initiative which led to the provision of Model Village, and that it was they who had appointed contractors to carry out construction, and had allowed those involved to work on the project and to receive a payment in rice for a day's work. Such payments were received on other projects of the time. One such was the construction of the new stormwater nullah that ran alongside Nga Tsin Wai - referred to in Patrick Hase's article on the village. Two ladies from Ngau Tau Kok village in East Kowloon, interviewed in 1967, had both worked as earth coolies on it, and also on the demolition of houses and the lowering of small hills for the extended airfield. Stones from the houses had been used to build the nullah. The two had carried the 100 piculs of soil and stones needed to earn one catty of rice, but said that men who could manage 140 or 150 piculs would earn proportionately more. The working day was 7 am until 12 noon, and then 1-5 pm. At that time, rice was precious, and more useful than money. As one village woman told me (born 1880), 'you could buy 40 catties of rice for a dollar when I was young, but during the Occupation, one catty cost two dollars - if you could get it.' Another villager, one of the elders of Nga Tsin Wai, born in 1884, said that 'people would sell a whole roof of tiles and wooden beams to contractors, for two dollars.' I also spoke to two ladies at Chuk Yuen Village in 1963, who had described the removal of the large and old village of Po Kong, in its entirety, along with the nearby hamlets of Ta Kwu Ling, Shek Kwu Lung and Kak Hang, to make way - as they said - for a road and the airfield extension, adding that the Japanese built new stone houses for them and gave rice compensation instead of cash; which 'was much more useful to us at that time, when money was worth very little.' Other information was available that embellished the account of this difficult time. A man of 52, born at Ta Kwu Ling in 1915, told me in 1966 that part of the village was demolished, not for the airfield extension but because they were too close to it; the Japanese military authorities thinking that it might harbour guerillas who could damage ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-2002 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/mp4901278 472 lacking in balance and discrimination: luckily, this is not true of the vital central three-quarters of the book. But readers should beware of the lack of balance in these two sections. There are a few other minor flaws as well. Thus, while, of the two main Hong Kong Chinese-language newspapers, one is spoken of as the Wah Kiu Yat Po, the other is spoken of as the Xing Dao Ribao (Star Isle Daily), thus disguising (very effectively) the Sing Tao. It is difficult to discern any pattern here. There are also a few errors of fact, particularly in the first and last chapters. Thus, inter alia, nowhere near 20,000 villagers were displaced for the Japanese extension of the Airport - there were no more than a tenth of that number living in Po Kong, Sha Tei Yuen, and Kak Hang. The demolished tenements in the Kowloon City area in the 1930s were not inside the Walled City, but outside, in the Kowloon Market area. Sir Thomas Jackson was not the founder of the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank (1864): he was its General Manager from 1876-1902. These flaws, however, are minor, in comparison with the immense value and interest of the bulk of the book. It is, despite the flaws, confidently and wholeheartedly recommended to anyone interested in the history of Hong Kong. PATRICK H. HASE Jane Hutcheon, From Rice to Riches, A personal journey through a changing China Sydney, Pan Macmillan Australia, 2003. This book delivers. Its coverage is broad but deep, it has the right mix of passion and detachment, with impish but biting humour, and is quietly but cleverly constructed by the author who, for five years from 1995, was the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's correspondent in China. The author is well-suited to her task. A “China-coast" background on both sides of her family over several generations, her Hong Kong birth and upbringing, her family's devotion to journalism, plus a genuine interest in China and its people, combine with her own independent and questing spirit to make this a memorable account of their recent and current history. It is, indeed, a tale of 'China's wrestle with ================================================================================