HK TuenTszWai ToAncestralHall SamShingTemple

Tuen Tsz Wai () is a village of

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

, located in the

Lam Tei Lam Tei () is an area in the Tuen Mun District of the New Territories, Hong Kong. The region lies at the north end of Tuen Mun city. It is highly rural, with Miu Fat Buddhist Monastery being a landmark of the region. History Several villages ...

area, in the northern part of

Tuen Mun District Tuen Mun District is one of the 18 administrative districts of Hong Kong. It is the westernmost continental district of Hong Kong. It had a population of 487,546 in 2011. Part of the district is the Tuen Mun New Town (or simply Tuen Mun), w ...

. Part of the village is a historic

Punti ''Punti'' ( zh, t=本地, j=bun2 dei6, l=locals) is a Cantonese endonym referring to the native Cantonese people of Guangdong and Guangxi. ''Punti'' designates Weitou dialect-speaking locals in contrast to other Yue Chinese speakers and other ...

walled village A walled village () is a type of large traditional multi-family communal living structure found in China, that is designed to be easily defensible. It is completely surrounded by thick defensive walls, protecting the residents from the attack o ...

Administration

Tuen Tsz Wai is a recognized village under the

New Territories The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...

Small House Policy The Small House Policy (SHP, ) was introduced in 1972 in Hong Kong. The objective was to improve the then prevailing low standard of housing in the rural areas of the New Territories. The Policy allows an indigenous male villager who is 18 ye ...

. It is one of the 36 villages represented within the

Tuen Mun Rural Committee The Tuen Mun Rural Committee (, TMRC) is a rural committee in Hong Kong. It was founded by rural leader Chan Yat-sen in 1953 with representatives from 29 villages in Tuen Mun. Today the rural committee consisted of 36 villages and 69 village r ...

. For electoral purposes, Tuen Tsz Wai is part of the Tuen Mun Rural constituency.

History

The village was built by the Siu ()

Clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...

. It was later settled by the To () Clan, after the Siu moved to other places.

Antiquities and Monuments Office The Antiquities and Monuments Office (AMO) was established in 1976 under the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance to protect and preserve Hong Kong's historic monuments. Housed in the Former Kowloon British School, the AMO is responsible for iden ...

. Hong Kong Traditional Chinese Architectural Information System
Tuen Tsz Wai - History
/ref> Originally from Poyang,

Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...

(other sources mention Watlam in

Guangxi Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...

. Historic Building Appraisal
To Ancestral Hall Tuen Tze Wai
/ref> the To Clan moved to

Ngau Tam Mei Ngau Tam Mei (), also known as Yau Tam Mei (), is a suburb located in San Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong near Yuen Long. It is located at the east of Fairview Park, the north of San Tin village and Kai Kung Leng, the northwest of Lam Tsuen Cou ...

and then to

Tuen Mun Tai Tsuen Tuen Mun or Castle Peak is an area near the mouth of Tuen Mun River and Castle Peak Bay in the New Territories, Hong Kong. It was one of the earliest settlements in what is now Hong Kong and can be dated to the Neolithic period. In the more ...

, which they built as their family estate during the

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

. Following the increase of the clan population, the To Clan dispersed and developed into five villages in the

area during the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

Nai Wai Nai Wai () aka. Wong Kong Wai ()Antiquities Advisory Board. Historic Building AppraisalEntrance Gate, Nai Wai/ref> is a walled village in Lam Tei, Tuen Mun District, Hong Kong. Administration Nai Wai is a recognized village under the New Ter ...

(),

Tsing Chuen Wai Tsing Chuen Wai () is a walled village located in the Lam Tei area, in the northern part of Tuen Mun District, in Hong Kong. Administration Tsing Chuen Wai is a recognized village under the New Territories Small House Policy. It is one of th ...

, Tuen Tsz Wai,

Lam Tei Tsuen Lam Tei Tsuen () is a walled village in Lam Tei, Tuen Mun District, Hong Kong. Administration Lam Tei Tsuen is a recognized village under the New Territories Small House Policy. It is one of the 36 villages represented within the Tuen Mun Rural C ...

() and

Tuen Mun San Tsuen Tuen Mun San Tsuen () is a walled village in Lam Tei, Tuen Mun District, Hong Kong. The walled village is also called San Tsuen Wai () or Tai Yuen Wai (). Antiquities and Monuments OfficeTsing Chuen Wai - History/ref> Administration Tuen Mun S ...

(), which were all

fortified A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

Walled village

The wall of Tuen Tsz Wai was rebuilt in 1978. The entrance gate of the walled village, originally at the southern end of the central axis, was demolished and a new one was built further east, at the location of a former watchtower. A new permanently closed gate was rebuilt on the site of the former entrance gate as a memorial. The move and reconstruction of the entrance gate are the consequence of the establishment of the Miu Fat Monastery: having a monastery face directly the entrance of a village is considered to have a negative influence on its feng shui.Tuen Tsz Wai Building Complex

Hulu Culture Hulu Culture () is a Hong Kong based non-profit organisation established in 2009 that endeavors to protect Hong Kong traditional culture and heritage. Based in Kwai Chung Town in the New Territories, it is partly funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Cl ...

The former name of the village, "Tin Tsz Wai" () is still inscribed on the former gate. A shrine is located at the northern end of the central axis. It was rebuilt in 1983.

To Ancestral Halls

There are three To

Ancestral Halls An ancestral shrine, hall or temple ( or , vi, Nhà thờ họ; Chữ Hán: 家祠户), also called lineage temple, is a temple dedicated to Ancestor veneration in China, deified ancestors and progenitors of surname lineages or families in th ...

in Tuen Tsz Wai. All are located outside of the walled village. The oldest To Ancestral Hall () was completed in 1718, during the reign of

Kangxi Emperor The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to 1 ...

, as a three-hall-two-courtyard structure. It was abandoned in 1971 due to feng shui concerns and was subsequently used as

rattan Rattan, also spelled ratan, is the name for roughly 600 species of Old World climbing palms belonging to subfamily Calamoideae. The greatest diversity of rattan palm species and genera are in the closed-canopy old-growth tropical forests of ...

and fiber factories until 1998. Vacated since 1998, it is now closed and in dilapidated condition. It is listed as a Grade I historic building.

Antiquities Advisory Board The Antiquities Advisory Board (AAB) is a statutory body of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region with the responsibility of advising the Antiquities Authority on any matters relating to antiquities and monuments. The AAB was establish ...

List of the 1,444 Historic Buildings with Assessment Results
/ref> The second one is the Ting Shan Ancestral Hall (), which commemorates To Ting Shan (), the sixth generation ancestor. Built during the reign of Kangxi Emperor, as a three-hall-two-courtyard structure, it was rebuilt in 1972 and is now abandoned. A third To Ancestral Hall was built in 1971, replacing the one abandoned for feng shui reasons. It has a two-hall-style architecture and features abundant decorations. The main hall enshrines the To Clan ancestors' memorial tablets. The Ancestral Hall is also named "Ng Lau Tong" () to commemorate

Tao Yuanming Tao Yuanming (; 365–427), also known as Tao Qian (; also T'ao Ch'ien in Wade-Giles), was a Chinese poet and politician who was one of the best-known poets during the Six Dynasties, Six Dynasties period. He was born during the Eastern Jin dyn ...

, also known as Mr. Ng Lau (), a Chinese poet who lived during the Eastern Jin (317-420) and

Liu Song Song, known as Liu Song (), Former Song (前宋) or Song of (the) Southern Dynasty (南朝宋) in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the first of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. ...

(420-479) dynasties. The road nearby is also named Ng Lau Road ().

Sam Shing Temple

The Sam Shing Temple () is dedicated to the Marshal Yuen Tan Fuk Fu (),

Hung Shing Hung Shing wong (), also known as Hung Shing Ye () and Tai Wong () is a Chinese folk religion deity. The most popular tale states that in his lifetime he was a government official in the Tang dynasty (AD 618–907)

() and

Hau Wong Hau Wong or Hou Wang () is a title that can be translated as ''"Prince Marquis"'' or ''"Holy Marquis"''. It is not any one person's name. Hau Wong refers usually to (), a loyal and courageous general. Despite his failing health, he remained in th ...

(). It was built by the To () clan of the area, whose old ancestral hall is on its left, during the reigns of

Yongzheng Emperor , regnal name = , posthumous name = Emperor Jingtian Changyun Jianzhong Biaozhen Wenwu Yingming Kuanren Xinyi Ruisheng Daxiao Zhicheng Xian()Manchu: Temgetulehe hūwangdi () , temple name = Shizong()Manchu: Šidzung () , house = Aisin Gioro ...

(1722-1735) and

Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 t ...

(1735-1796). It was rebuilt in 1993, using modern materials including concrete and steel bars, while maintaining the shape of the original building.

. Historic Building Appraisal
Sam Shing Temple Tuen Tsz Wai
/ref>

References

External links

Delineation of area of existing village Tuen Tsz Wai (Tuen Mun) for election of resident representative (2019 to 2022)
*

. Hong Kong Traditional Chinese Architectural Information System
To Ancestral Hall
*

br>Pictures of To Ancestral Hall, Tuen Tsz Wai
*

br>Pictures of Sam Shing Temple, Tuen Tsz Wai
* Pictures of Tuen Tsz Wai

{{coord, 22.421740, 113.981272, display=title Lam Tei Walled villages of Hong Kong Villages in Tuen Mun District, Hong Kong