West New Territories has been developed rapidly during recent
years, luckily, quite a number of old villages are still preserved
there. But how much do you know about these villages? To enrich
our knowledge of traditional villages in the New Territories,
we have invited Mr. Tang Yiu-nam to organize a "Principal's
Tour at Ha Tsuen" for us. Mr. Tang was grown up in the
village and knew many things about this place, so we did learn
a lot from him through the guided visit!
Ha Tsuen lies on a wide plain
in the northwest corner of the New Territories. Before the
setting up of the Yuen Long Old Market, Ha Tusen was a popular
port-market whose history is closely related to the development
of the Tangs. The Tangs is one of the "Five Great Clans"'
in the New Territories, during the Northern Song Dynasty (960
- 1127 A.D.), Tang Fu (alias Tang Fu-hip), a native of Jishui
of Jiangxi, passed by Sham Tin (i.e. the present Kam
Tin). Impressed by the beautiful scenery of the area, he decided
to settle down there and became the founding ancestor of the
Tangs in the New Territories. According to historical record,
Tang tze-ming, the 8th generation ancestor of the Tangs married
to the Royal Aunt of the Song Dynasty. He was then honoured
with the title "Shuiyuan Chunma", meaning
that he was the son-in-law of an Imperial prince. Tang tze-ming
and his wife then settled down in Sham Tin, and gave birth
to four sons, namely Tang Lam, Tang Kei, Tang Kwai and Tang
Tze. The descendants of Tang Lam, the eldest son, have settled
down in Lung Yeuk Tau of Fanling; and those of Tang Kwai,
the third son, are now living in Tai Po Tau and Lai Tung;
while offspring of Tang Tze, the fourth son, have dispersed
to places like Kam Tin, Ha Tsuen, Mong Tseng, Sai Shan, Tung
Tau, Yuen Long, Kwun Chung, Sheung Ko Po, Ha Ko Po, Tong Fuk
and Tung Chung in Lantau Island.
 The
Tang Ancestral Hall, situated near Ping Ha Road, was moved
to the present location by Tang Tso-tai, the 18th generation
ancestor of the Tangs, in 1749. It is also known as "Yu
Kung Tong" which highlights the principle of brotherly
unity among clansmen. The building, having three halls and
two courtyards, is made up of green bricks, which is the place
where the Tangs have their ancestral worship, wedding ceremony
and social activities. According to Mr. Tang, the design of
the ancestral hall is strongly influenced by fung-shui
principles. As the Tangs wish their descendants to attain
eminence step by step, so the halls inside the building were
built one higher than the other. Moreover, there is a courtyard
in-between the first and the second halls, clansmen standing
right here can look up at the sky clearly, meaning that they
can be promoted quickly. Another characteristic of the building
showing its influence by fung-shui is the large open
space found in front of the main entrance, which extends to
the Deep Bay without interfered by any structure (in Cantonese,
water ("¤ô") is often described as money ("°]"),
so having the ancestral hall facing the sea, means that there
will be a continuous source of money for the descendants).
To prevent any destruction on the fung-shui of the
ancestral hall, the Tangs requested the Government to avoid
blocking of the hall by any infrastructures in Tin Shui Wai,
and the Government finally adopted the proposal made by the
villagers too.
The site visit has really widened
my horizon, and it is funny to know that there is a story
for every little component of the village!
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