New Territories - Hong Kong: Top Sights, Local Life, Made Easy - page 240

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Hong Kong's oldest temple was founded 1500 years ago, and rebuilt in 1926. Some of the
shrines and temples have slid into dilapidation; nonetheless they're imbued with a spooky
charm. The temple appeared in Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon . From the gates, it's a
30-minute walk to the monastery. (

2461 8050; Tsing Shan Monastery Path; 24hr; light rail 610,

615, 615P to Tsing Shan Tsuen stop)

Understand
Early Hong Kong

Hong Kong has supported human life since at least the Middle Neolithic Period (c 4000-2500 BC). Artefacts un-
covered at almost 100 archaeological sites in the territory suggest the inhabitants of these settlements shared sim-
ilar cultural characteristics as people living in the Pearl River Delta in China. The remnants of Bronze Age habit-
ations (c 1500-220 BC) unearthed on Lamma and Lantau islands, and at around 20 other sites, also indicate that
these early people practised some form of folk religion involving animal worship. Early Chinese historical re-
cords refer to the diverse maritime people in China's southeastern coastal area as the 'Hundred Yue' tribes. Some
of the prehistoric inhabitants of Hong Kong might have belonged to these tribes.

The Five Great Clans
Hong Kong, along with the Yue tribes in Guangdong, was incorporated into the Chinese empire during the Qin
dynasty (c 221-207 BC). Archaeological finds in the following centuries showed that Hong Kong came under the
influence of Han culture as more Han settlers migrated to the region. The discovery of coins and pottery from
Eastern Han dynasty (AD 25-220) on Lantau and Kau Sai Chau islands, and at several important digs, including
a tomb at Lei Cheng Uk in central Kowloon and So Kwun Wat southeast of Tuen Mun, attests to this.
The first of Hong Kong's mighty 'Five Clans', Han Chinese, whose descendants hold political and economic
clout to this day, began settling the area around the 11th century. The first and most powerful of the arrivals were
the Tang, who initially settled around Kam Tin ( tin means 'field'); Click here . The Tang were followed by the
Hau and the Pang, who spread around present-day Sheung Shui and Fanling. These were followed by the Liu in
the 14th century and the Man a century later.

Punti Versus Tanka
The Cantonese-speaking newcomers called themselves bun-day (Punti), meaning 'indigenous' or 'local' -
something they clearly were not. They looked down on the original inhabitants, the Tanka, many of whom had
been shunted off the land and had moved onto the sea to live on boats.