Tang Clan History

Hong Kong's lineage boils down to five family clans. The Tang clan is one of five since they immigrated in the 11th century and now have over 900 years and 30 generations of dominance in the Hong Kong region.

The walled village that continues to house Tang family members over all these generations is called Kat Hing Wai and was our first stop on our Heritage Tour of Hong Kong. The first indicator of family supremacy greeted us when we got off the bus: Mr Tang's old Le Seyde which is apparently 1 of 500 produced... not exactly your average car driving down the streets of Hong Kong!

Our visit to this village took us on a trail called the Ping Shan Heritage Trail. We walked from the King Tin Study Hall to the Ancestral Hall, with visits to the Temple and community water well before arriving at the Tsui Sing Lau Pagoda.

Study Hall

We learned that later generations of the Tang family went to school in the King Tin Study Hall, built in 1856, where members could obtain desired certification to work for the government. The Imperial Civil Service exams have a ranking between 1 and 9 with only 106 people in its history obtaining the first rank with certificates presented to the honor student by the king.

These were the days when smoking opium was prevalent in Chinese society so they had a corner room for students who needed a smoke. Our guide pointed out the sliding wooden slats at the back of the doors that closed the grated openings so the smoke would not affect the other students. Nothing like supporting a habit!

Ancestral Hall

The Tang Clan Ancestral Hall is one of the largest ancestral halls in the Hong Kong territory that was built over 700 years ago. There are three stage areas in this hall where current residents pay homage to their ancestors. In fact, the Tang family has kept close track of their lineage with visual representations prominently identifying deceased ancestors with pure gold wings.

We noticed the entry area had a red brick path that led us to the front doors. Apparently red bricks indicate wealth and the Chinese are not to use this color brick unless granted special permission.

The Ancestral Hall is still used regularly for worship and celebrations of traditional festivals and ceremonies, as well as a meeting place for the Tang clan.

Temple

Our guide, who was very open with us about his personal life and Taoist beliefs, gave me some valuable insight into the thinking and desperate hope behind the rituals believers perform at the temples around town.

In general, Taoism teaches that a person needs to flow with life. More specifically, Taoist belief is based on the idea that there is a central or organizing principle of the universe, a natural order or a way of heaven, Tao, that one can come to know by living in harmony with nature and hence with the cosmos. When researching the tenants of Taoism, it can get pretty complicated but the over-riding notion is that you follow your gut and trust your instincts.

Apparently when a person dies, they bounce back into their own life and have the opportunity to experience another variation of it. This is why family members will go to the Temple, burn incense as a symbol of the prayer of the faithful rising to heaven and then provide ancestors with gift offerings to accompany them in their new journey.

Such was the situation with our tour guide. While my heart goes out to this young man who lost a loved one, I was struck and saddened by how he continues to spend his time and money -- buying gifts then burning them in offering to his loved one. For example, he purchased a game table then burned a picture of it so his loved one can continue to enjoy playing in the afterlife. The same goes for whatever a person enjoyed while living on earth -- from offering McDonalds meal coupons to an iPhone.

My prayer is that all Taoists realize they can have an actual daily moment-by-moment relationship with God. No need anymore to hope prayers will drift up to some spirit somewhere while burning incense, but have the assurance that prayers would be heard by our living loving God! We are assured, when believing in Christ, that our prayers are not only heard by Him -- who listens, communicates and guides us according to His will -- but are assured of eternal existence with Him in the afterlife. It doesn't get any better than that!

Pagoda

Our last stop in the village was at the Tsui Sing Lau Pagoda (translation Pagoda of Gathering Stars). This building was built over 600 years ago as a seven story building but weather incidents removed the top four stories leaving this as a three story building. This is Hong Kong's only ancient pagoda with the ancestor of Fui Shing represented by a statue on the top floor so visitors can worship him. As is always a factor in construction, this building was to improve the feng shui of the village to prevent flooding disasters and to help clan members pass the Imperial Civil Service exams.

Dealing with Outside Influences

We visited a community water well along the way to the Tsui Sing Lau Pagoda which was once the main source of drinking water for the village but is not needed in this capacity anymore. Our guide mentioned some of the women in the clan committed suicide at this 200 year old well during the Japanese takeover between 1941-45 because of the atrocities they wanted to avoid when being captured. There is a grate covering the well now to avoid any more accidents.

I learned this walled community put up some resistance during the British takeover in 1898. "Fearing for their traditional land rights, a number of clans attempted to resist the British, mobilizing clan militias that had been organized and armed to protect against long-shore raids by pirates... Most prominent of the villages in the resistance was from the Tang clan, who symbolically had its main gates dismounted and removed. Concessions were made between the British and people of Hong Kong -- some regarding land use and inheritance remain in place in Hong Kong to this day and is a source of friction between indigenous inhabitants and other Hong Kong residents."

Visiting the village of the Tang family provided a wonderful understanding of what it must have been like to live there before it became the current modern-day concrete jungle called Hong Kong.