Villages and Market Towns in Hong Kong

Most histories of Hong Kong begin with the arrival of the British, and only incidentally mention the precolonial eras. In this book, Patrick Hase, one of the leaders in the field, provides an important addition to
the history of Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta region, covering topics such as Chinese ethnicity,
commerce, port-towns, and squatting. It is a truly excellent work that will interest historians,
anthropologists, and social scientists.
—James L. Watson
Fairbank Professor of Chinese Society and Anthropology Emeritus,
Harvard University
This book, an historical and archaeological portrayal of Hong Kong market villages across the territory,
depicts how Hong Kong evolved not through chronicles of emperors and governors but through the ups and
downs of different centres of rural life over the centuries. It belongs beyond the bookshelves of historians
and archaeologists—anyone wandering the streets of Hong Kong neighbourhoods today wondering “how
did this place get to be here?” will find this book well worth reading. After reading this book, I will never
again look at Tsim Sha Tsui in quite the same way.
—Gordon Mathews
Research Professor and Emeritus Professor of Anthropology,
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
How have places in Hong Kong evolved since well before the 19th century? Villages and Market Towns in
Hong Kong is a vital book, showing us how its various suburban settlements came into being. Such is a history
of immense interest as well as unending fascination.
Since arriving at Hong Kong more than half a century ago, Patrick Hase has been researching its local history,
with a particular focus on the market towns and villages in the New Territories. Due to a lack of written
documentation for the study of these communities, much of his research was conducted through oral
interviews with village elders in the 1980s and 1990s. Hase sought their memories of the villages in their
youth, as well as their grandparents’ accounts of the communities prior to the age of high technology,
urbanization, and modernization.

Patrick H. Hase received his PhD in History from the University of Cambridge before coming to live and work
in Hong Kong in 1972. He was a part-time lecturer and the advisory board chairman of the Department of
History, Lingnan University. He serves as an honorary advisor to the governments of Hong Kong, Shenzhen,
and Kaiping, and is the past president and honorary fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong, among
others.
His previous monographs include The Six-Day War of 1899: Hong Kong in the Age of Imperialism (2008);
Custom, Land and Livelihood in Rural South China: The Traditional Land Law of Hong Kong’s New Territories,
1750–1950 (2013); Forgotten Heroes: San On County and Its Magistrates in the Late Ming and Early Qing
(2017); and Settlement, Life, and Politics: Understanding the Traditional New Territories (2020).

Foreword vii
Preface ix
List of Maps xix
List of Plates xxiii
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 South over the Sea:
Settlement and Society on the North Shore of Lantau Island 11
The Early History of Lantau: The Sea-Routes to Canton 11
The Prehistoric Period 19
The Early Modern Period 21
Lantau and the Last Two Song Emperors 27
The Settlement of Lantau: Lei Mau-ying and the Lei Kau Yuen Tong 37
Lantau in the Middle Ming:
The Portuguese Occupation (1514–1521) and after 45
Lantau in the Middle Ming: The First Villages 50
Settlement History of the North Shore 55
Tung Chung 55
Pak Mong–Tai Ho 69
Hakka and Punti 81
The Rent Dispute with the Lei Kau Yuen Tong 84
The Tung Chung Community 89
Reclamation of Tung Chung and Tai Ho Bays 96
Tung Chung Bay 96
Tai Ho Bay 105
Society and Economy: Roads and Ferries 108
Footpaths 108
Ferries 110
The Establishment of Buddhist Religious Houses in Tung Chung 114
Tei Tong Tsai 114
The Lo Hon Monastery 120
The Traditional North Shore: Society and Economy 121
Fishing 138
Education 142
Security 143
Religion 148
Chapter 2 West Kowloon before the British 163
Kowloon before the British 163
West Kowloon 165
Tsim Sha Tsui 169
Yau Ma Tei 190
Mongkok Village 196
The Area “Beyond the River” 203
Sham Shui Po 204
Kowloon Tong 235
Shek Kip Mei 241
Kowloon Tsai 247
The Cheung Sha Wan Villages 250
Chapter 3 Hatred and Enmity:
Settlement and Politics in Early Sai Kung, 1550–1911 269
Introduction: the Physical Setting and Sources 269
The Sai Kung Area before 1550 274
The Settlement of the Punti, 1550–1725 280
Ho Chung 280
Sha Kok Mei 287
Pak Kong 291
Settlement Patterns 295
Sai Kung: The Settlement of the Hakka, 1669–1850 297
Local Politics in the Early 19th Century 305
Roads and Ferries 321
Sai Kung Market 327
Catholicism in Sai Kung 339
Trade Industry and Commerce 345
Conclusion 354
Appendix: The Life and Times of Lok Chung-fong of Pak Kong,
from the Lok Clan Genealogical Record 356
Chapter 4 Where Land and Sea Meet: Salt, Fish, and
the Social Development of the Port-Towns of Hong Kong 377
Early History 380
Tai O: First Foundation 394
Tai O: Subsequent Developments 406
Cheung Chau: First Foundation and Subsequent Developments 416
Peng Chau 436
Stanley 444
Aberdeen–Ap Lei Chau 451
Port-Towns and Landward Markets 458
Population, Economy, and Society 461
Management 481
Chapter 5 Beside the Strait of the Sea-Perch:
Stonecutting and Society in the Lei Yue Mun Area 499
The Trade in Building Stone 499
Establishment of the Quarry Villages 512
Shau Kei Wan 517
The Four Stone Hills Topography 525
The Four Stone Hills Community 530
The Temples of the Four Stone Hills 539
The Sai Cho Wan Tin Hau Temple 539
The Lei Yue Mun Tin Hau Temple 542
Lei Yue Mun: History to 1941 549
The Lei Yue Mun Community: History to 1941 555
The Lei Yue Mun Community: History from 1941 569
Chapter 6 Historical Notes on Two Squatter Areas:
Hau Wong New Village and Kwu Tung 579
Introduction 579
Hau Wong New Village, Kowloon City 580
Kowloon City 580
Early History of the Kowloon City Area, to 1341 581
The History of the Kowloon City Area from 1341 to 1930 584
The Topography of Kowloon City 594
The Hau Wong Temple and the Hau Wong New Village Area:
The History of the Hau Wong Temple 603
Ho Ka Yuen 610
Hau Wong New Village 617
Kwu Tung, North District 629
The Kwu Tung Area 629
Kwu Tung Village 629
The Area in the Inter-War Years 634
Post-War Developments 641
The Kwu Tung Market 646
Kwu Tung Society 647
Bibliography 659
Glossary 669
Index of Personal Names 675
Index of Place-names 683
General Index 697