ENG-1988 — Page 399

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HISTORY

Song Inscription in the grounds of the Tin Hau Temple at Joss House Bay, caches of Song coins from Shek Pik and Mai Po and celadons of Song type from various sites, especially Nim Shue Wan, Lantau, date from this epoch.

Recent archaeological studies are beginning to throw fresh light on events in Hong Kong during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. These include an analysis of considerable quantities of Ming blue and white porcelain collected in recent years from a site at Penny's Bay, Lantau. Preliminary results suggest that this porcelain is very fine quality export ware of the kind which found its ways to the courts of Southeast Asia and the West and dates from the first few decades of the 16th century AD. The ongoing excavation of the Qing period fort on Tung Lung Island has already revealed fascinating details of the internal arrangements of the fortification and the everyday utensils of a remote garrison during the final stages of Imperial China.

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