Please drag to the left for more details
mainsite_tushuojindai_xianggangshi1.7_nov22
mainsite_tushuojindai_xianggangshi1.7_nov22

The known history of Hong Kong dates back to 7,000 years ago. The large quantity of unearthed cultural relics from archaeological excavations in Hong Kong in the 20th century showed that there was cultural development in the Hong Kong territory and that its culture was closely related to the ancient Lingnan (嶺南) culture. Both belong to the same cultural system and were under the influence of the Central Plains culture during the Xia (夏), Shang (商) and Zhou (周) dynasties.

According to historical records, the Hong Kong territory (including present-day Shenzhen﹝深圳﹞) was administered by China since the Qin (秦) and Han (漢) dynasties. Between the first year of Ming (明) Wanli (萬曆) reign in 1573 and before the British occupation during the Qing dynasty (清朝), the territory, which was equivalent to present-day Shenzhen and Hong Kong, was part of Xin’an County (新安縣) in Guangzhou Prefecture (廣州府). Hong Kong and Shenzhen thus share the same roots.

Before the British occupation, Hong Kong was a traditional fishing and farming society. It enjoyed a degree of historical importance - rather different from its modern status as a free port. For example, the Tang (唐) imperial court appointed a maritime trade ambassador in Guangzhou to manage the maritime trade. Meanwhile, Tuen Mun was an important outer port of Guangzhou on the Maritime Silk Road. From the beginning of the Song dynasty (宋朝), the connection between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland became closer. During the late Southern Song dynasty, the imperial ships docked near present-day Kowloon City. Their brief stay is commemorated by significant historical relics such as Sung Wong Toi. During the Song, Yuan (元) and Ming dynasties, southward migrations from the mainland grew, some of whom later became the founders of the Five Great Clans of the New Territories.

What is the origin of Hong Kong’s name?

See answer below.

mainsite_tushuojindai_xianggangshi1.1_nov22
mainsite_tushuojindai_xianggangshi1.1_nov22

The history of Hong Kong dates back to the New Stone Age. In 1996, the Centre for Chinese Archaeology and Art at the Chinese University of Hong Kong worked in collaboration with the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences to excavate Tai Wan on Lamma Island, Hong Kong. They found 6,000-year-old relics of settlements.

mainsite_tushuojindai_xianggangshi1.2_nov22
mainsite_tushuojindai_xianggangshi1.2_nov22

This is a Tai Wan style coloured pottery plate from the New Stone Age. It was excavated from Tai Wan on Lamma Island in 1990 by archaeologists from Hong Kong and Sun Yat-sen University (中山大學) in Guangzhou. This artefact is closely related to those of the Gaomiao Culture (高廟文化) and Daxi Culture (大溪文化) in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River (長江).

mainsite_tushuojindai_xianggangshi1.3_nov22
mainsite_tushuojindai_xianggangshi1.3_nov22

In 1989, archaeologists from Hong Kong and Guangzhou excavated a jade blade and an intact charm from a Shang dynasty (商朝) tomb in Tai Wan on Lamma Island. They were classified as national treasure status cultural relics. The carving style of the blade from Tai Wan is identical to those from the tombs of the Erlitou (二里頭) ruins in western Henan Province (河南). This shows that the material civilisation and etiquette practice of the North China region spread to the south during the Shang dynasty.

mainsite_tushuojindai_xianggangshi1.4_nov22
mainsite_tushuojindai_xianggangshi1.4_nov22

The interior of the Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb in Sham Shui Po. This cross-shaped tomb with a domed roof is the same as the Han Tomb discovered in Sima Mound (駟馬岡) in the eastern outskirts of Guangzhou. The discovery of the Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb shows that Hong Kong and Guangdong share the same cultural identity.

mainsite_tushuojindai_xianggangshi1.5_nov22
mainsite_tushuojindai_xianggangshi1.5_nov22

Tuen Mun was recorded in an official Chinese history book. The photos show the record of Tuen Mun in the New Book of Tang (《新唐書》) and the Castle Peak Bay in Tuen Mun in the 1950s.

ebook

According to the New Book of Tang and the Institutional History of the Tang Dynasty (《唐會要》), foreign merchant ships coming in and out of Guangzhou had to dock at Tuen Mun. At one point the Tang government stationed 2,000 soldiers in Tuen Mun Military District.

mainsite_tushuojindai_xianggangshi1.6_nov22
mainsite_tushuojindai_xianggangshi1.6_nov22

Sung Wong Toi is a testimony to the short stay of the two Southern Song emperors in Hong Kong.

ebook

In 1276, the Yuan troops captured Lin’an (臨安), the capital of the Southern Song. The Song imperial court and a large group of followers fled south by sea. In 1277, their ships sailed past present-day Mui Wo on Lantau Island and reached the present-day Kowloon City area. They docked there to replenish supplies but were reached by the Yuan troops and forced to flee again after a few months. Their ships finally sank at Mount Ya (厓山). The Song imperial court stayed in Hong Kong for about ten months, during which Kowloon City was where they stayed the longest. The people there inscribed the words “Sung Wong Toi” on a huge rock to commemorate the stay of the two Southern Song emperors. During the Second World War, the Japanese army blew the rock up to expand the airport. Luckily, the inscription remained intact. After the war, the authority set up the Sung Wong Toi Garden (the word in the middle was changed from “King” to “Emperor” for rectification of names). The inscription rock is placed in the garden for commemoration.

mainsite_tushuojindai_xianggangshi1.7_nov22
mainsite_tushuojindai_xianggangshi1.7_nov22

The Sung Wong Toi Inscription Rock in present-day Sung Wong Toi Garden.

ebook

According to the History of the Song Dynasty (《宋史》), when the Yuan troops were defeating the Song at Mount Ya, Lu Xiufu (陸秀夫) carried the Song Emperor Bing (帝昺) on his back and jumped into the sea. A large group of people, including royal members and adherents followed suit. It was recorded that “over 100,000 corpses floated in the sea”. Whether or not this is true, it remains the case that there were a large number of members of the Southern Song imperial court who fled by ships, creating a significant demand for food and daily necessities. This peripatetic Song imperial court stayed in the Kowloon City area for a few months as it was believed that the primary production there, as well as the handicraft industry and commerce, had reached a sufficient scale to provide goods and services for the Song imperial court for months. In 2014, a number of ancient wells, granite nullahs, over 200 historical sites and thousands of unearthed cultural relics were discovered at the construction site near Sung Wong Toi Station on the Shatin to Central Link. Experts said that the ruins at the construction site dated back to the Song and Yuan era 700 to 1,000 years ago. It is estimated that there was a settlement of over 1,000 people from the unearthed cultural relics. This shows that during the Song and Yuan era, the economic and living standard in Hong Kong were higher than that in the previous record. Further investigation of the newly unearthed cultural relics by scholars could help discover more details.

mainsite_tushuojindai_xianggangshi1.8_nov22
mainsite_tushuojindai_xianggangshi1.8_nov22

A map of the Xin’an County in the Xin’an County Chronicles in 1819. Places including Kowloon, Tuen Mun, Tap Mun, Stanley, Po Toi and Stonecutters Island were labelled in the map.

mainsite_tushuojindai_xianggangshi1.9_nov22
mainsite_tushuojindai_xianggangshi1.9_nov22

The ruin of the historic Xin’an County City Gate in Nantou (南頭), Shenzhen, testifying that Shenzhen and Hong Kong share the same roots.

mainsite_tushuojindai_xianggangshi1.10_nov22
mainsite_tushuojindai_xianggangshi1.10_nov22

The indigenous inhabitants in the New Territories in 1901 (left) and the about 700-year-old Tang Ancestral Hall in Ping Shan.

ebook

The ancestors of some Hong Kong residents were migrants from the Chinese mainland. According to the available written records, the earliest migration started from the Eastern Jin (晉朝). Migrations were getting larger in scale since the Song dynasty. During the sixth year of Song Kaibao (開寶) reign in 973, a government official Tang Hon-fat (鄧漢黻) settled in present-day Kam Tin in the New Territories, Hong Kong. The clans including Hau (侯), Liu (廖), Man (文) and Pang (彭) gradually moved in. Together with the Tang clan, they are known as the “Five Great Clans of the New Territories”. There were over 80 thousand indigenous inhabitants in the New Territories when the land was leased to Britain in 1898.

What is the origin of Hong Kong’s name?

The name “Hong Kong” first appeared in the map showing the coastal region of Guangdong (廣東) in the book Grand Record of Guangdong (《粵大記》) written by the Ming scholar Guo Fei (郭棐). Opinions about the origin of the name “Hong Kong” varies. The earliest one was that there was once a stream in Shek Pai Wan (the southeastern part of Hong Kong Island) that flew into the sea. As the water in the stream was sweet and fragrant, people called it “Hong Gong” (literally “fragrant stream”) and the surrounding territory was named after it. Now most people tend to believe that the name was related to the incense products transported from here. Dongguan County (東莞縣) in Guangdong Province (廣東省) produced incense products (the territory of present-day Hong Kong was under the administration of Dongguan County, Guangzhou, between 757 and 1573). During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the trading of incense products in Dongguan flourished. Historians found out that present-day Tsim Sha Tsui and Shek Pai Wan were important entrepots for incense products, making the name “Hong Kong” (literally “incense port”) more well-known. Eventually, “Hong Kong” became the name for Hong Kong Island; and Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories collectively.

Unless otherwise specified, the images in this material are provided by Professor Lau Chi-pang and Professor Liu Shuyong. Every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders and obtain permission to reproduce this material. Please do get in touch with any enquiries or any information relating to this image or the rights holder.

Extended Reading