Buddhist and Taoist Temples in Tai Po - District · PDF fileYAU Chi On, NGAI Ting Ming...

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YAU Chi On, NGAI Ting Ming Buddhist and Taoist Temples in Tai Po Introduction Temples and monasteries are main venues for Chinese religious worship, and yet they play roles far beyond religion in Chinese society. They form integral parts of our daily lives, labour and production, and the pursuit of personal growth. After in-depth observation and analysis of these temples, one can see that religion is indeed indispensable to every aspect of life in traditional China. As the saying goes, "there is a god three feet above us." Chinese people believe that an unexplainable force connects things visible and invisible. To deny that such a force exists is to be blind to the development and changes in Chinese society throughout history. Development of Tai Po began later than other districts in Hong Kong. In particular, the ban on seafaring in the Ming Dynasty and the evacuation of the coast (Qianjie) in the Qing Dynasty, which forced coastal settlement inland severely stunted the district's growth. The only settlers in Tai Po at the time, such as the Mans and Tses of WunYiu, were relocated. Nevertheless, although these early settlers were pioneers in a strange land, they still greatly revered their gods. In the 9 th year of the Daoguang Reign (1829), the Mas – who had relocated to Wun Yiu – rebuilt the God of the Earth Temple in the village: The origin of the God of the Earth Temple in Wun Yiu is unknown, as is its age and builder. It has always radiated an aura of grandeur. 1 After the Qianjie ended, the Mas moved to Wun Yiu from Changle in the 13 th year of the Kangxi Reign (1674). It had been ten years since the campaign in the early years of the Kangxi Reign, but the temple retained its original grandeur and beauty, reflecting painstaking efforts invested by the unknown villagers who built it. After the original territory was reinstated, a large number of migrants arrived in Hong Kong from Guangdong and a new chapter in Tai Po's history began. As the settlers came from different regions in China, many villages in Tai Po hosted different lineages. The worship of Kwan Tai (Guan Yu) became a special custom for these villages, as it united the villagers in the battle against natural and human disasters. Many villages built Kwan Tai Temples and examples are Kwan Tai Temple in Ting Kok, Hip Tin Temple in Po Sum Pai, Hip Tin Temple in Cheung Shue Tan and Mo Tai Temple in Wun Yiu. At the same time, migrants from the Mainland gradually established their livelihood in Tai Po with their own typical characteristics. Some special forms of local worship began to emerge. For example, Fan Sin ("Fan Xian" in Putonghua) Temple in Wun Yiu looked after the pottery business of the Ma family, while Tai Wong Yeh Temple was built inYuen Chau Tsai for the lives and mutual development of the boat people and those living on land. These temple gods were deeply integrated into every aspect of the villagers' lives. Celebrations for deities' birthdays and Taiping Qingjiao (Dajiao), ceremonial occasions, fortune telling, medical consultancy, village meetings and even award presentation and punishments all took place inside the temples. Blessed by these gods, the migrants finally planted their roots in Tai Po. In modern times, China has experienced drastic changes that have impeded the development of traditional religion. Some high-ranking monks travelled south to Hong Kong to spread the established religions of China, and gradually changed the face of traditional religions in Hong Kong. At this time, Tai Po was largely an agricultural society and people were simple and unconcerned with the outside world. The district was also blessed with wonderful landscapes and it became an ideal place of seclusion for reaching Buddhist enlightenment. At the same time, Tai Po was conveniently connected with the outside world, with Tolo Harbour providing an outlet by sea. In 1911, the Kowloon Canton Railroad went into operation and Tai Po Station brought the district closer to Hong Kong's developing areas. Since then, Tai Po has become, in essence, part of Hong Kong and has progressed with the city's urbanisation, no longer an impoverished town in Guandong's Xin-An County.

Transcript of Buddhist and Taoist Temples in Tai Po - District · PDF fileYAU Chi On, NGAI Ting Ming...

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YAU Chi On, NGAI Ting Ming

Buddhist andTaoist Temples in Tai PoIntroduction

TemplesandmonasteriesaremainvenuesforChinese

religiousworship,andyettheyplayrolesfarbeyondreligion

inChinesesociety.They form integralpartsofourdaily

lives, labourandproduction,and thepursuitofpersonal

growth.After in-depthobservationandanalysisof these

temples,onecanseethatreligionisindeedindispensableto

everyaspectoflifeintraditionalChina.Asthesayinggoes,

"thereisagodthreefeetaboveus."Chinesepeoplebelieve

that anunexplainable force connects thingsvisible and

invisible.Todenythatsuchaforceexists is tobeblindto

thedevelopmentandchangesinChinesesocietythroughout

history.

DevelopmentofTaiPobeganlaterthanotherdistricts

inHongKong. Inparticular, thebanonseafaring in the

MingDynastyandtheevacuationof thecoast(Qianjie) in

theQingDynasty,whichforcedcoastalsettlement inland

severelystunted thedistrict'sgrowth.Theonlysettlers in

TaiPoatthetime,suchastheMansandTsesofWunYiu,

wererelocated.Nevertheless,althoughtheseearlysettlers

werepioneers inastrange land, theystillgreatly revered

theirgods.Inthe9thyearoftheDaoguangReign(1829),the

Mas–whohadrelocatedtoWunYiu–rebuilttheGodofthe

EarthTempleinthevillage:

The origin of the God of the Earth Temple in Wun Yiu is unknown, as is its age and builder. It has always radiated an aura of grandeur.1

After theQianjieended, theMasmovedtoWunYiu

fromChangleinthe13thyearof theKangxiReign(1674).

Ithadbeentenyearssincethecampaignintheearlyyears

of theKangxiReign,but the temple retained itsoriginal

grandeurandbeauty,reflectingpainstakingefforts invested

bytheunknownvillagerswhobuiltit.

After theoriginal territorywas reinstated, a large

numberofmigrantsarrivedinHongKongfromGuangdong

andanewchapterinTaiPo'shistorybegan.Asthesettlers

came fromdifferent regions inChina,manyvillages in

TaiPohosteddifferent lineages.TheworshipofKwan

Tai(GuanYu)becameaspecialcustomfor thesevillages,

as itunited thevillagers in thebattleagainstnaturaland

humandisasters.ManyvillagesbuiltKwanTaiTemplesand

examplesareKwanTaiTempleinTingKok,HipTinTemple

inPoSumPai,HipTinTempleinCheungShueTanandMo

TaiTempleinWunYiu.

At the same time, migrants from the Mainland

graduallyestablished their livelihood inTaiPowith their

own typicalcharacteristics.Somespecial formsof local

worship began to emerge. For example, Fan Sin ("Fan

Xian" inPutonghua)Temple inWunYiu lookedafter the

potterybusinessof theMa family,whileTaiWongYeh

TemplewasbuiltinYuenChauTsaiforthelivesandmutual

developmentof theboatpeopleand those livingon land.

Thesetemplegodsweredeeplyintegratedintoeveryaspect

ofthevillagers'lives.Celebrationsfordeities'birthdaysand

TaipingQingjiao (Dajiao),ceremonialoccasions, fortune

telling,medical consultancy,villagemeetings andeven

awardpresentationandpunishmentsalltookplaceinsidethe

temples.Blessedbythesegods,themigrantsfinallyplanted

theirrootsinTaiPo.

In modern times, China has experienced drastic

changes thathave impeded thedevelopmentof traditional

religion. Some high-ranking monks travelled south to

HongKong tospread theestablished religionsofChina,

andgraduallychanged the faceof traditional religions in

HongKong.Atthistime,TaiPowaslargelyanagricultural

societyandpeopleweresimpleandunconcernedwith the

outsideworld.Thedistrictwasalsoblessedwithwonderful

landscapesand itbecamean idealplaceof seclusion for

reachingBuddhist enlightenment.At the same time,Tai

Powas conveniently connectedwith theoutsideworld,

withToloHarbourprovidinganoutletbysea.In1911, the

KowloonCantonRailroadwent intooperationandTaiPo

StationbroughtthedistrictclosertoHongKong'sdeveloping

areas.Since then,TaiPohasbecome, inessence,partof

HongKongandhasprogressedwiththecity'surbanisation,

no longer an impoverished town inGuandong'sXin-An

County.

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These favourable conditionsgave rise toTaiPo's

emergenceasan idealsite forHongKong'sBuddhistand

Taoistworshipsites.Beginninginthe1920s,manyBuddhist

andTaoist siteswereestablished inTaiPo.The founders

of thesesites includedtraditionalspiritual leaders,suchas

MasterTinSiuTsuenofSinTinTaoand theHonourable

BuddhistMasterZengSiu,aswellas"risingstars"suchas

thebraveMasterBhiksuniTszChuengandMasterChan

TszShek,whoexplored themysteriesof life.Therewere

alsopeopleofhumbleorigins,suchasYeeGu,aspiritual

mediumtotheotherworld,andevenmerchants,suchaslay

BuddhistWongSiuWai.ThesefoundersselectedTaiPofor

itsbeautifulnaturalenvironment.Thelectoriums,including

ToYuenTung,YanLoBuddhistMonastery,TaiKwongYuen,

PunChunYuen,LoFungAcademyandManTakYuen,were

built forquiet studyandcontemplation,but theydonot

shuncontactwiththecommunityat large.Forexample,To

YuenTungisthemainlectoriumoftheSinTinTaosectand

maintainsclosecontactwithotherSinTinTaolectoriumin

HongKong.YanLoBuddhistMonasteryisinfactabranch

lectoriumandthemainoneisinthecity.Meanwhile,Master

TszCheungofTaiKwongYuenenjoyed travel-study,and

wasofteninvitedfortravellectures.AsforPunChunYuen,

itprovidedthevenueforahalf-dayretreatforthefounders,

whowerelargelycitydwellers.Whetherthefounderswere

citydwellerswhosoughtescape to realise loftygoalsof

enlightenment in the countryside,or recluseswhoonly

occasionally contacted the outside world, the railroad

connectedtheworldoftheworshipsitesandthatofthecity,

whichat firstglanceseemtorepresentconflicting ideals.

However, inreality, theseworshipsitesbigandsmall,have

takenpartinHongKong'sdevelopment.Havingundergone

theirownmodernisation,thesesiteshavechangedthefaceof

traditionalChinesereligionasHongKonghasevolvedintoa

metropolis.

Eventhoughtheworshipsitesretainedclosecontact

with the rest of Hong Kong, their establishment and

development stilldependedheavilyon support from the

locals inTaiPo.ManyresidentsofTaiPooriginatedfrom

theMainlandandthusdidnotopposeoutsiders.Sincethey

toocamefromelsewhere, theyweremoreunderstanding

ofmigrants from far awaywho soughtopportunities in

TaiPo,andcouldappreciate themmore.Some founders

of theworship sites inTaiPocame fromdifferentareas

ofGuangdong– fromChaoshan in theeast toDinghu in

thewest, and fromGuangzhou in the south toFeixia in

thenorth.When theysettled inTaiPoand founded their

worship sites, the localsdidnot reject theirworship as

cultsbutparticipatedin theirreligioninstead.Most locals

treateddifferentfaithswiththesamerespect,whetheritwas

anestablishedreligion likeBuddhismandTaoism,a local

mixtureofBuddhismandTaoismliketheSinTinTaosect,

oralegendarytemplegodtheywerefamiliarwithlikeFan

Sin,KwanTaiand theTaoistLordLaozi.Theybelieved

in theessenceof thesereligions, indoinggooddeedsand

prayingwithanuntaintedmind.Blessings fromthegods

wouldcomewithdevoutworship. In return, the temples

madegreatefforts toprovideservices to thepeople.Sing

KungChoTongofferedfreemedicalservices,whilespiritual

mediumsinterpretedmessagesfromtheotherworldatFung

LoiLeungYuenandSungSumToTakTan.TaiKwongYuen,

meanwhile,providedfreeeducation.Someofthefounders'

storiesarestillreminiscedaboutbythelocalstoday.TinSiu

Tsuenwasknownforbeingknowledgeableandkind,where

YeeGuwasanamazingspiritmedium.Theworshipsites

formedmutuallybeneficialrelationshipswithlocalresidents,

andtheyhaveestablisheddeeprootsinthecommonpeople's

livesandbecomeanindispensablepartofTaiPo'scommunal

history.

TaoistworshipsitesinTaiPocanbecategorisedinto

singong (immortals' palace), langyuan ("leungyuen" in

Cantonese)andlectoriums.These includeFanSinTemple

inWunYiuHeung,SingKungChoTong (worshipping

MasterGuangcheng) inTingKokRoad,FungLoiLeung

Yuen(worshippingLuTsu, theEight Immortals, theJade

Emperor (Yudi) and Dragon Mother (Lungmu) in Pun

ShanChauVillage,SungSumToTakTan (worshipping

TaoistLordLuzi) inTaiPoKauVillage.The lectoriums

mainlyworshipLuTzu,andexamplesareYanLoBuddhist

MonasteryandManTakYuen.AsforBuddhistsites, there

areTingWaiMonastery,TaiKwongYuen,andPunChun

YuenoftheLotusAssociationofHongKongamongothers.

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ThefollowingintroducesTaoistandBuddhistworshipsites

establishedinTaiPofromtheQingDynastytothe1970s,in

chronologicalorder.

Taoist Temples

Foreword

There are a fewplaces inHongKong that host a

numberofTaoistandBuddhistworshipsites includingthe

areabetweenFungWongShanandKeungShanonLantau

Island,betweenFuYungShanandSamDipTaminTsuen

Wan,inthehillsabovePaiTauVillageinShatin,andfrom

KamShanandShekKwuLungandMaWoShantoToYuen

Tung(suchasTingWaiMonastery,TaiKwongYuen,Pun

ChunYuenandYanLo)inTaiPo.NgBaLingmentionsYan

LoandFungLoiLeungYuenwhenhewritesaboutTaiPo

(seeGuidetoTravelinTaiPo(大埔遊覽示意圖)):

Yan Lo, located in Kam Shan Village, is built along the hills and contains a world of its own. To Yuen Tung, situated upon a small stream behind Pan Chung, has four chambers – Shui Yuet Temple, Siu Village Quiet Chamber, To Yuen Tung, and Longevity Chamber. It is a place of serenity. Fung Loi Sin Yuen [Fun Loi Leung Yuen] sits in Pun Shan Chau and can be assessed from behind the hills in Pan Chung. Having passed To Yuen Tung and Wun Yiu, one walks further for about half an hour to arrive there. The site, built in the style of ancient palace, is truly exceptional.2

TheinscriptionatYanLodescribesthelandscapeof

KamShan:

Its front draws forth the reach of Pat Sin Leng, its left views the ranges of Tai Mo Shan. Its right embraces the billows of Tolo Harbour, with Kam Shan as its pillow. Water from the Lam Tsuen waterfall flows ahead. The neighbours are followers of the Tao. It is the perfect site for contemplation and enlightenment.3

Alongwithdramaticchangesinthepastthirtyyears,

TaiPohasevolvedfromasmalltowninthecountrysideinto

urbanspace.Someoftheworshipsiteshavebeenrenovated,

suchasSingKungChoTong,othershavebeenrelocated,

suchasToYuenTung.Theoldenvironmenthaslongbeen

gone.Meanwhile,someofthelectoriums,suchasLoFung

Academy, have gone through other developments. Our

descriptionsherememorialise theirhistory,suchthat they

willnotbecompletelyforgotten.

Fan Sin Temple of Wun Yiu: From God of the Trade to Local Protective Deity

1. The History of Fan Sin Temple in Wun Yiu

WorkmeninHongKongworshipgodsof theirown

trade,includingLoPan,WahKwongandFanSin.Thereare

manygodsforthepotteryindustry,suchasFanLai("FanLi"

inPutonghua), theFireGodandlegendaryEmperorShun.

ThegodoftradeforWunYiuinTaiPoisFanSin.

Fan Sin was a god of trade for XiataoVillage in

WuhuaCounty,Meizhou,Guangdong, andwasbrought

toHongKongby theMafamilywhichoriginated there.4

WuhuaCountyisoneofthemajorHakkaareasinGuandong

Province.TheMasofWunYiuinTaiPocouldbetracedto

SiteMapofBuddhistandTaoistInstitutions.NgBaLing,SceneriesandCulturesoftheNewTerritories (新界風光)(HongKong:OverseasChineseDaily,19601sted.,19623rded).

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tiesFanSinTempleislocatedinWunYiuVillage.FanSinisthepatrondeityof

theceramicindustry.(PhotographybyLoWaiLing)

ChangleinMeizhou,whichisWuhuainMeizhoutoday.Tai

PoWunYiuwasfoundedbytheMansandtheTsesduring

theMingDynasty.After theQianjieCampaignended in

KangxiReign,theterritorywasreinstated,buttheTseswere

alreadyrootedintheMainlandandwereunwillingtoreturn

toHongKong.Consequently,theManslettheMastakeover

allofWunYiu.

According to the inscriptiononFanSinTemple's

nameplaque,thetemplewasfoundedinGengshuYearofthe

QianlongReignintheQingDynasty(1790).Yet,theFanSin

religionhadbeen introducedintoHongKonglongbefore

that,andFanSinTempleinWunYiuservedastestimonyof

theMafamily'sarduousjourneyofsettlementinTaiPo.The

originalFanSinTemplewasnot locatedwhere it is today,

butonthehillnexttotheWunYiuPublicSchooltoilets.It

usedtobethemouthofoneofthedragonkilnsatWunYiu

forconvenientworshipby thebowlcraftsmen.Thealtar

isbelieved tohavebeenbuiltwithclay initiallyandwas

replacedwithabrickaltar later in time.Judgingfromits

location, theoriginalFanSinTemplecouldnothavebeen

big.

After its founding in theQianlongReign,FanSin

Templehasundergoneanumberofrenovations.Theknown

renovationswerecarriedout in the7thyearof theTongzhi

Reign(1868),the23rdyearoftheGuangxuReign(1897),the

14thyearof theRepublicanPeriod(1925),1964,1976and

2000.Onaverage,arenovationtookplaceonceeverytwenty

years.Thereisnotenoughevidencetoshowduringwhichof

theserenovationsFanSinTemplewasmovedtoitscurrent

location.However,thecoupletswritteninthe7thyearofthe

TongzhiReignreads,"TheTemplemovedclouds/Thepines

nolongerthesame",suggestingthatrelocationhappenedin

1868.

TheoldestinscriptioninFanSinTemple,datedthe23rd

yearoftheGuangxuReign(1897),recordsthefollowing:

In the 23rd year of the Guangxu Reign, Fan Sin Temple, Kwan Tai Temple and the God of the Earth Temple were renovated. Statues of Kwan Tai and the God of the Earth were made.5

The fact that the three templeswere renovated at

the same timeandmemorialised in the same inscription

shows thatFanSinTemplecouldwellhavebeenbuiltat

thesamelocationasKwanTaiTempleandtheGodof the

EarthTemple.Thestructurecouldhavebeentwo-hall-three-

bay,with the threegodsservedindependently in the three

bays.FanSin,meanwhile,wastheprimarydeity.Fromthe

inscription,wecanalsotellthatthestatuesofKwanTaiand

theGodoftheEarthwerenot"re-sculpted",thatis,thetwo

godsdidnothavestatuesbeforetherenovation.Theycould

havebeenworshippedonanaltar,orasmallshrine.TheFan

SinTemplerenovationprovidedopportunityforthetwogods

tobesculptedandplacedwithina templechamber.Itwas

quitecommontoworshipmultiplegods in localworship,

buttherewasclearlyahierarchyamongthethreegods.Fan

Sinwas theprimarydeity in the temple,asshown in the

inscriptionfromtheGuangxuReign.

As time progressed, the pottery trade of Wun

Yiugraduallydeclined.By the1930s, itwasno longer

appropriatetoplacetheKwanTaiTemple(renamedMoTai

Templeatthetime)andtheGodoftheEarthTempleinside

FanSinTemple.Around1936, thevillagersofWunYiu

renewedtheoldGodof theEarthTemple,whichhadbeen

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left inruinsforyears,andmovedMoTaiTempleand the

GodoftheEarthTemplethereunderthesamestructure.The

newtemplewasnamedMoTaiTemple.

Whenthekilnsfinallyceasedoperation, theFanSin

religion tookonanewrole.FanSinevolved fromagod

of trade toagodfor theclan,andeventuallybecame the

protectoroftheregion.Theendofthepotterybusinesswasa

severeblowtotheWunYiuvillagers,buttheysoonadapted

toanew lifeof farming.Religiousserviceswere justas

importantforagricultural lifeas theywerefor thepottery

trade.Furthermore,as theWunYiuvillagershadalways

worshippedFanSin, theynaturallycontinuedtheirworship

for fineweatherandwell-beingofhumansand livestock.

ThevillagerscelebratedFanSin'sbirthday,andFanSin's

newroleasprotectoroftheareabecamepartoftheirdaily

lives.DuringtheJapaneseOccupationinthe1940s,looters

plaguedtheWunYiuarea,almostdestroyingthevillagesand

haltingreligiouslife.AtFanSin'sbirthdayin1958,villages

inWunYiucelebratedastheeconomyslightlyrevived.Fan

SinTemplewasmanagedby the tenvillages inWunYiu:

LaiChiShan,ToYuenTung,SheungWunYiu,HaWun

Yiu,CheungUkTei,SanUkKa,PunShanChau,YuenDun

Ha,YinNgam,andDaTitYan.Intimesoffestivity,theten

villageswouldallcontributefundsforcelebration.In1964,

FanSinTemplewasrenovatedforthefirsttimeaftertheWar.

Thestatueswerepaintedingoldagainandboththeinterior

andexteriorofthestructurewereredecorated.Thevillagers

paintedtwomuralsunder theeavesof themaingate– the

firstonedepictingWongShiuChiSecondarySchool in

TaiPoMarketand thesecondoneshowingYinNgamon

thehillsbehindWunYiu.Thetwomuralpaintingssignify

thattheareafromWongShiuChiSecondarySchooltoYin

NgambelongstoWunYiu,allprotectedbyFanSin.

Today, Fan SinTemple is a declared monument

protectedbyHongKong'sheritagelaws.Therenovationin

2000wassponsoredbytheHongKongSARGovernment.

After the renovation, villagesofWunYiu continued to

managethetemple.NotonlyisFanSinTempleafrequented

siteoflocalworship,butitalsoprovidesapublicvenuefor

thevillagers.ItservesastheofficefortheWunYiuVillage

Committee, where villagers discuss village affairs and

receiveguests.

2. Reasons for Frequent Worship at Wun Yiu's Fan Sin

Temple

Besidesthelonghistoryitshareswiththepeopleof

WunYiu,FanSinTemplewaspopularalsobecausethefaith

hadbeendeeplyrootedinthevillagers'dailylives.Thelife

ofaWunYiuvillagerwasinexplicablyintertwinedwithFan

Sinfromtheverybeginning–somevillagersofferedtheir

infantsforFanSin'sprotectionandblessingswhentheywere

justonemonthold.Theywouldevennametheirchildren

withthecharacters"fan"or"xian"("sin" inCantonese) to

proclaimtheirfaith.Especiallyafter the1950s,whenWun

YiuPublicSchoolwasbuiltnexttoFanSinTemple,parents

wouldworshipFanSineveryday.

Ofcourse,thetemplewasfrequentedalsobecauseof

FanSin'sdivinepowers.Fortunestickswereavailablefor

fortunetellinginthetemple,butiftheworshipperwishedto

learnmoreabouttheirfortune, thegodhadtobespecially

invited ina ritualceremony.From its foundinguntil the

1980s, therehadbeenashen-t'ung(spiritmedium)inFan

SinTemple.Theshen-t'ungwasverypowerful,especially

when it came to selecting auspicious dates for special

occasions.Newsoftheshen-t'ungspreadtotherestofHong

Kong,andevenpeoplefromabroadvisitedthetemple.

2001NewYearBlessingCeremonyatManTakYuen(ProvidedbyYipTung)

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Thelastshen-t'ungofFanSinTemplewasChiKwai

Mau, also known as Chi Choi or Chi Sang Choi.The

villagersrespectfullycalledhimGrandpaChi.Chi'sfamily

hasatraditionofservingworshippers–hisgrandfatherChi

TakLoi(alsoknownasChiYauWing)andhisfatherChi

TakMau(alsonamedChiSau)werealsoshen-t'ungs.As

recordedintheinscriptions,ChiYauWingmadeadonation

to the God of the EarthTemple in the 9th year of the

DaoguangReign(1829),whileChiTakMaugavemoneyfor

FanSinTemple'srenovationinthe23rdyearoftheGuangxu

Reign (1897).TheChishave lived inWunYiu formany

generations.6

WhenChiKwaiMauwas theshen-t'ungatFanSin

Temple,dateselectionservicewas in thehighestdemand.

Peopleneeded toselectauspiciousdates forweddingand

construction, which became frequent as the economy

recovered after the war. Fan SinTemple became well

knownfortheauspiciousdatesitselectedforworshippers.

Theshen-t'unghadtofollowstrictproceduresfor thedate

selection ritual and the templekeeperwouldassisthim

whenFanSinwas invited.ChiKwaiMauwouldstart the

ritualbyburningincenseandtheninviteFanSintopossess

him.WhenFanSinhaddescended, theshen-t'ungwould

appear in frontof theworship stationandsitonachair

facingthedoorofthetemple.Nexttheshen-t'ungwouldask

theworshipperforwhatpurposethedateswererequested.

Aftersomecalculations,adateandtimewouldbechosen

alongwiththebestcompassdirection,andtheinformation

wouldberecordedbythetemplekeeper.Whenthetaskwas

complete, theshen-t'ungwouldtaphisfeet lightlyandthe

templekeeperwouldknowthatFanSinhadleft.Theshen-

t'ung,supportedbythetemplekeeper,wouldsoonreturnto

hissensesandtheritualwouldbeover.

TodayFanSinTemplestillkeepsascriptsealinabox

infrontof theFanSinStatue.Thesealwasusedfordate

selection,andisengravedwiththewords,"commandedby

FanSin,blessingsarekeptinthishallandtheevilisdriven

out."The templekeeperwouldwrite theopportunedate

andtimeforthestartofconstructionworkonapieceofred

paperandchopthepaperwiththeseal.Thepaper,knownas

"startnote",wouldbedisplayedat theconstructionsite to

notifyworkmenofthedateandtimeofconstructionkick-off.

Moreimportantly,itwasintendedtoshowthemthedateand

timefor thestartofconstructionhadbeenselectedbyFan

Sin,sothat theprojectwouldgosmoothlyandtheirsafety

wouldbeguaranteed.Thestartnotewouldbedisplayedat

theconstructionsiteuntiltheendoftheproject.Afterwards,

asimpleceremonywouldbeconductedandthenotewould

beburned.

Apart fromdateselection,villagersalsovisitedFan

SinTempleformedicalservice.Asmedicalresourceswere

scarceinthepast,thetemplesofferedamedicalconsultancy

service,aformof traditionalChinesemedicine.ChiKwai

Mauwasresponsibleforwriting"WellBeing"("Pingan")

Scripts, interpreting fortune sticks, reading Feng Shui

anddrivingoutevilspirits.Fromthe1960s to1980s, the

villages,suchasPanChungVillage,wouldask theshen-

t'ung toselectdatesfor their festivecelebrations.7During

FanSin'sBirthday,Chiwouldalsopresideoverbigand

smallceremoniesandrituals.FanSinTemplewasthevenue

ofexchangebetweenthedivineandhuman,andit injected

religionintothevillagers'lives.

3. Fan Sin Temple within the Wun Yiu Public School

Campus

ItisChinesetraditiontobuildschoolsnexttotemples,

andsuchpracticehasbeencommon inHongKong.For

example,ManMoTemple inSheungWanbuiltManMo

FreeSchooltotherightofthetemple,whilePakTaiTemple

inWanChaifoundedafreeschooltotherightofthetemple.

Missionarieswhocame toChina topreachalso followed

thispractice.WunYiuPublicSchoolwasregisteredin1949

andoneof itsmain featureswas that therewasa temple

insidethecampus.TheschoolbuildingstoodnexttoFanSin

Temple.

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SinceFanSinTemplewas thevillager'scommunal

premisesandtheschoolwasbuiltwithfundsraisedbythe

villagers,WunYiuPublicSchoolwasalsoaformofpublic

space.Consequentlywhentheschoolunderwentexpansion

andneeded toutilise thestructureofFanSinTemple, the

villagersdidnotobject to theproposal at all.After the

school'sfounding,thepopulationinWunYiugrewandthe

numberofstudentsincreased.WunYiuPublicSchoolbegan

usingFanSinTemple'sstructureandestablished thehead

teacher'soffice, tuckshopandstaffkitchen there. In this

way,FanSinTempleplayed its traditional roleundernew

conditions.

ThustheschoolwasconvenientlylocatednexttoFan

SinTemple.Althoughtheschooldidnothaveanyscheduled

worship serviceand the studentswerenever required to

believeinFanSin,thetempleinsidethecampushadalways

beenopentothepublic.Villagersfrequentedthetemplefor

worship.Scenesofthetemplekeeperofferingalmsandthe

outsidersseekingguidancethroughtheshen-t'unginevitably

exertedinfluenceonthestudents'religiousbelief.According

tothestudents,shen-t'ungGrandpaChi(ChiKwaiMau)did

notliveinthetempleatthetime.Whenworshippersvisited

the templeandasked forhim itwasusually thestudents

whowentandfetchedhim.Atfirsttheywouldruntohimto

passonthemessage;latertheyusedthetelephone.Grandpa

Chi's ritualsusuallydrewacrowdof studentsandmany

of themcanstilldescribe thescenevividly today.Due to

frequentcontactwithFanSin,studentswereexcitedabout

FanSin'sbirthdaycelebrations, just likeanyothervillager

ofWunYiu.Thefestivalwasalsoaschoolholiday.During

thethreenightsandfourdays,theschoolwouldbecomethe

stageforcelebratoryperformances,orevenaccommodation

for theworshippers.Thestudentshelped theirparents to

prepare for the festival.Meanwhile,FanSinTemplealso

exertedreligiousinfluenceontheteachers:asitwaslocated

insidetheschoolpremises,theteacherspaidtheirrespectsto

FanSin.Manyteacherswouldofferburningincenseinthe

templebeforethedayendedtoexpresstheirgratitudetoFan

Sin.

FanSindeityimage(PhotographybyNgaiTingMing)

FanSinFestival(PhotographybyNgaiTingMing)

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4. Fan Sin's Birthday: Annual Festivity

FanSin'sbirthday is amajor festival inWunYiu.

Since Fan Sin was originally a god of trade, the early

festivitiescelebratingFanSin'sbirthdaycouldhaveincluded

trade-specificritualsandweredifferentfromothersimilar

festivities.Unfortunately, thereisnotenoughdocumentary

evidencetosupportthishypothesis.

ExistingrecordsonthefestivitiesofFanSin'sbirthday

show that theywerecloser to thosecelebratingagodof

protection for the region.Longbefore the festival, the

organisersofthecelebrationswouldcollectdonationsfrom

everyfamilyinWunYiu.Villagerstodaycanstillremember

thepuppet showfromLongjiang,andalsoperformances

bylocalpuppettroupes.Duringthefestival,allstaffstayed

in theoldWunYiuworkmendormitory. Interestingly, the

puppet showswerenot alwaysperformed in theHakka

dialect.Theshowswerestagedyearlyuntil theJapanese

invasionofHongKong.

Apart from the traditionofpuppet shows, thepre-

Warfestivitiesalso includedaparade.TheFanSinStatue

wouldbe takenbyanentourageonpatrol all across the

WunYiuarea,andFanSinwouldreceivegoodwishesfrom

thevillagers.Thiswasasolemnandelaborateevent,and,

indeed,oneof theclimaxesof the festivities.During the

parade,peoplewouldwelcomeFanSinwithexuberance

andfirecrackers.Anotherclimaxof thefestivalwaswhen

the shen-t'ungdeliveredhisdaggerbed (dagger sedan)

performance.FanSinwouldbe invited todescendon the

shen-t'ung,whowouldbeshownaroundintheparadesitting

onthesharptipsofadaggersedantodemonstratethepower

ofFanSin.

There was also the f loating lantern r i tual to

symbolically relievehumansandanimals fromsuffering.

Theceremony,presidedoverbytheshen-t'ung,wasusually

heldalongtheriveratsunset.Sometimestheanimalrelease

ritualwouldbeheldatthesametime,inwhichcaptivebirds,

fishortortoiseswouldbereleasedintonature.Meanwhile,

thefloatinglanternswerethickpaperboatswithlitcandles,

TaoistPriestsofManTakChiSinSheperformedritualsinthe2001FanSinFestival.(ProvidedbyMaLaiSim)

Ontheleftofthephotoisthelastshen-t'ungofFanSinTemple,ChiKwaiMau.(ProvidedbyMaLaiSim)

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andtheywerereleasedintotheriverafter theceremony.It

wasbelievedthat,asthelanternsfloateddownstream,lone

spiritswouldbeguidedtothelandofpurehappiness.The

practicewasconsideredanobledeed.

After the war, the annual celebrations lost their

splendour. In1958, thevillagesheld the f irst post-war

celebration,but therewasnodagger sedanperformance

and other acrobatic shows.There was no parade and

floatinglanternritualeither.Thefestivitiesincludedastage

performance troupeanddragonand liondances,but the

genreoftheperformancewaschanged.Sincetheorganisers

werenotable to invitepuppetperformers, the first show

offering thanks toFanSinafter theWarwasaCantonese

opera.Inthisway,Cantoneseoperareplacedthepuppetshow

asthe"newpost-wartradition".Astheeconomycontinued

togrow,theperformancetroupesinvitedbyWunYiuwere

increasinglyfamous.Manywell-knownentertainersbrought

laughterandartisticenjoymenttothevillagesandtheirgod

FanSin.Suchcelebrativeactivitiescontinueduntil1988.

JapanesescholarTanaka Isseiobservedanddocumented

birthdaycelebrationsforFanSinfrom1982to1985.8

According to a 2007 f ield study, the bir thday

celebrationsnowonlytakeplaceinthemorningofthe16th

dayofthe5thlunarmonth.Onthatday,villagersofWunYiu

wouldcometoFanSinTemplewithalmsandworshiptheir

god.Theofferingsincluderoastedpig,freshfruit,pastries

and ricedumplings (because itwasaroundDragonBoat

Festival).Accordingtothevillagers,thepracticeofserving

ricedumplingsasalmsisacentury-oldtraditioninWunYiu.

Ricedumplingsareeaten inotherplacesonceayear,but

theyareeateninWunYiutwiceyearly.Asnoonapproaches,

the manager of Fan SinTemple would hold a simple

ceremonyandfirecrackerswouldbesetoff.Thevillagers

wouldthenpicnicintheopenareainfrontofthetemple,and

thebirthdaycelebrationsend.

To Yuen Tung: An Early Hall of the Sin Tin Tao

ToYuenTung is, at the same time, thenameof a

villageandaplace.CoupledwithMoLoTam,ToYuenTung

isaTaoistworshipsiteandtouristattraction.9Indeed, this

areahostsmanyotherreligiousestablishments,suchasShui

YuetTemple,ToYuenTungandLoFungAcademy(moreon

LoFungAcademybelow).Theeldersoftheareapointout

thatShuiYuetTemplewasbuiltbeforeToYuenTung.Shui

YuetTemple isWunYiu'sKwunYum(Guanyin) temple,

whileToYuenTungisahalloftheSinTinTaosectwhich

worships theBodhisattvaMaitreya.Alsoworshippedthere

weretheQueenMother(Wangmu),KwunYumandZhang

Zhidong.According torecords,ToYuenTungcontributed

totherenovationsofFanSinTemplein1964and1976.Lo

FungAcademy,meanwhile,contributedtothe1976FanSin

Gongrenovation.10

ToYuenTung,establishedbyMasterTinSiuTsuen,

isahallandretreatoftheSinTinTaosect.MasterTinhad

successivelyestablishedWutongXiandong inShenzhen,

QinglianGuaninYonggengTang,Guangzhou,SiuHaSin

YuenintheKwunYumTempleinMongKok,Kowloon,and

ToYuenTunginTaiPo.ThecoupletonthedoorframeofTo

YuenTung,writteninthe6thyearoftheRepublicanPeriod

(1916),isverymeaningful.ItdescribesMasterTin'sjourney

toHongKongforthespreadofTaoism:

The peaches and pears are traced to their origins, the flowers flow along the streams;Phoenix trees are planted and the cave is explored, the broken branches will not stop the spread of Taoism.11

MasterTin SiuTsuen admired the embrace of

mountainsandwatersaroundthesite,andnamedthehall

ToYuenTung("TaoyuanDong"inPutonghua,meaningthe

paradisecave).MasterWanCheongWo,theheadofToYuen

Tung,recallsthatthesitewasmorethan10,000squarefeet

at the timeoffoundingwithmultiplebuildings, including

ShuiYuetTempleandSiuTsuen"MeditationHall".They

weretheperfectplacesformonkstodotheircontemplation.

Lifewashard thenand the landnear thesitewasused to

plantgrain.The ricewas thenexchanged forvegetables

andfruitwithChongHaChingSheinFanling,andthetwo

Taoist siteswerehappy tosupporteachother.12Couplets

arepreservedtodayatChongHaChingShe,oneofwhich

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waspresentedbyTinSiuTsuen,HoMingTatandWunYiu

villagersMaTaoLungandMaYiuTing.MaYiuTingwas

oneof the twoadvocates forFanSinTemple's renovation

in1925,whileMaTaoLungcontributedthelargestsumof

moneyto thatrenovation.13TheNewTerritoriesOverview

(新界概覽)records:

There is indeed "To Yuen Tung" building, which should be a contemporary building. A plaque with the words "To Yuen Tung" is hung over the main gate, and the couplet on the sides read, "The peaches and pears are traced to their origins, the flowers flow along the streams;/ Phoenix trees are planted and the cave is explored, the broken branches will not stop the spread of Taoism." The couplet is dated on an autumn day in the sixth year of the Republican Period. Another couplet is found inside the building: "No worldly affairs are known here/ Fabled land of the gods this is". There are structures on both sides of the cave – Siu Village Meditation Hall on the left and Longevity Chamber and Shui Yuet Temple on the right. A few women over the age of fifty live in the cave, and they farm for a living.14

ThevillagersofWunYiualsoworshippedatToYuen

Tung.MaYeeMuiwastheabbessofShuiYuetTempleand

maintainedaclose relationshipwith followersof theSin

TinTaoSectatToYuenTung.Infact,Maherselfeventually

becameafollower.In1947,MaYukYinwaspromotedtothe

"rank"ofadeaconryinSinTinTaoSect.Themasterofthe

ceremonywasTsangTaoKwong,wholaterbecamethehead

oftheSinTinTaosect.

Inthe1980s,theHongKongGovernmentre-claimed

ToYuenTungand the landnearby todevelopTaiPo. In

1987,ToYuenTungwasdemolishedand relocated to its

currentaddressat42ShanTongVillage.ShuiYuetTemple

wasmovedto27ShanTongVillage.TheKwunYumStatue

insidethetempletodayisarelicofoldertimes.

ToYuenTung(PhotographybyNgaiTingMing)

AbuildingcomplexinWunYiu'sToYuenTung.LongevityChamberisontheright.ManydevoteesvisitToYuenTungduringitsfestival.(ProvidedbyToYuenTung)

PhotographofToYuenTung'sTaoistprieststakeninthe1970s.Thestoneplaquewasdated1917;ontherightuppercornerisaphotographyofthefounder,MasterTinSiuTsuen.(ProvidedbyToYuenTung)

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BesidesToYuenTung, the SinTinTao sect also

maintainedothersites inTaiPo–KunToTongandLing

KukYuenhadbeenrelocated toTaiPofromotherareas.

LingKukYuen,locatedinPanChungVillageofTaiPo,was

originallybuiltnext toTsangTaiUk inShatin'sShanHa

Wai.At the timeitwascalledJuiYinChingShe.Todaya

coupletdatedto1920iswellpreservedinLingKukYuen.

Ittellsoftheoriginofthesite,CangxiaDonginQingyuan.

Ling KukYuen Kindergarten was one of the temple's

community involvements.Meanwhile,LingKukYuen is

theonlySinTinTao temple inHongKongworshipping

the threeZhangliuyuearthgodsof theTangDynasty, tree

gods thatarepopular inGuangzhou,PanyuandHuaxian.

CangxiaDonginQingyuanwasbuilt inthe2ndyearofthe

TongzhiReign(1863)toservethethreeearthgods.Thealtar

atLingKukYuenborethewording,"KuangFuZhengFa"

(meaning"upholdingrighteousness"),andhadthecouplet,

"TheGreatTaoshowsselflessvirtues./Thetempleiswell

managedandbestowsendlessblessings."Thefirst lineof

thecoupletshowsthespecialattributeofthethreedeitiesas

earthgods.Theirbirthdayisonthe24thdayofthe6th lunar

month.15AftertheWar,theLingKukYuenbeganservingthe

ThreeTreasures(Sanbao);andbecauseJatMinChuenwas

beingbuiltinShatin,thetemplewasrelocatedtoPanChung

VillageinTaiPo.TodayLingKukYuenisaretreatthatisnot

opentothepublic.

Sing Kung Cho Tong: Temple Originating from Guangzhou for the Worship of Master Guangcheng

SingKungChoTongislocatedonTingKokRoadin

TaiPo.Thecommittee tofoundthe templewasformedin

1929 inTaiHangVillage'sKwongMingToi.Thepresent

siteinTaiPowaspurchasedin1931,andhasanareaover

30,000square feet. In1932 the sitewas registeredwith

theGovernmentandreceived the legalstatusofa limited

companyaswellas specialpermission toadd thewords

"limitedcompany"after itsname.MasterGuangcheng is

worshippedinthestructureinthefront,whiletheThreePure

Ones(Sanqing)areworshippedinthestructureattheback.

MasterGuangchengisbelievedtobeamythicalgodduring

theperiodofthelegendaryHuangdi,ortheYellowEmperor.

HelivedinastonecaveinKongdongMountain,andtaught

theYellowEmperorscholarshipandmedicine.Thename

of the temple,"SingKung"("Shenggong" inPutonghua),

alludes to the saying "a reflective mind and candid

personality,withwillpowertoputthoughtintopractice."The

coupletatthefrontgatereads:

Enter these doors to reflect with honesty and virtue.Lines of masters practise the Tao for endless blessed deeds.

SingKungChoTonginHongKongoriginatedfrom

ShenggongCaotang("SingKungChoTong"inCantonese)

ofGuangzhouthatwasestablishedin1894.Itwasoriginally

built inDezhengStreet inGuangzhou (the intersection

between Dezheng Bei Road andYuxi Er Road today),

behindPanyuCountyOffice to thewest.Formanyyears,

theestablishmenthadprovided religiousandcommunity

services,includingmedicalconsultation,medication,coffins,

burialservices,food,vaccinationandcareforwidows.Every

year itdistributed rice twiceandhad thereforeearneda

goodreputation.NexttoShenggongCaotang,ShengheTang

providedmedication to thepeoplewhohadreceived their

diagnosisandprescriptionatthetemple.In1953,Shenggong

Caotangceasedoperation.16According to recordsof the

temple,ShenggongCaotangwasbuilt during the Jiawu

rodentplagueofthelateQingDynasty(1894).Manypeople

were struckby the epidemic, andMasterGuangcheng,

movedby thepeople's suffering, sent thephoenix to the

mortalworld toquell theplagueandspreadtherecipefor

thecure.Intheirgratitude, theGuangzhoupeoplefounded

ShenggongCaotongtoworshiptheMaster.

Inthe1920s,anumberofHongKongmerchantswho

travelled frequentlybetweenHongKongandGuangzhou

establishedSingKungChoTong inTaiPo topasson the

spiritofShenggongCaotong inGuangzhou.Construction

workwascompletedin1932andtheopeningceremonywas

heldthreeyearslater:

The building of Guangcheng Temple had been planned for many years. On the first day of the third

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lunar month in 1929, we purchased two buildings in Kwong Ming Toi in Tai Hang Village, Hong Kong, for the worship of Master Guangcheng. It was established for the convenience of those Hong Kong people who could not afford the time to travel abroad for worship. The buildings were also where the establishment of Sing Kung Cho Tong was planned. ......The construction of the temple had not been smooth. In 1932, most of the main hall and the front building were completed and it was decided that we would move in on the 15th day of the 12th lunar month of that year. ......In 1934, on the first day of the eleventh lunar month, the grand opening ceremony took place. The spirit tablets of the Three Pure Ones were worshipped on the third floor of the back building, while the main hall housed the bronze statue of Master Guangcheng.17 On the left of the statue, the tablets of Onzhen and the Flying Phoenix are worshipped. Kai Ling Tong on the ground floor of the back building hosted the tablets of people who had contributed to the founding of the temple. The consecration ceremony was also held.18

InA Brief Record of Hong Kong's Guangcheng

Temple (港堂廣成宮事略),editedbyHongKongSingKung

ChoTongandpublishedin1961,thethirtyyearsofhistory

sincethefoundingofthetempleisrecordedinmuchdetail.

Theforewordstates thatSingKungChoTongfollowsthe

Theoriginaldeity imageof theGuangchengTemplebefore renovation.Guangchengwasholdingaruyi(如意).(ProvidedbySingKungChoTung)

TheoriginalstoneplaqueoftheGuangchengTemple.(ProvidedbySingKungChoTung)TheinteriorofGuangchengTemple(PhotographybySingKungChoTung)

TheSingKungChoTongbeforerenovation.(ProvidedbySingKungChoTung)

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establishedtraditionofShenggongCaotanginGuangzhou

andisthusdifferentfromotherTaoisttemples:

The development of Sing Kung Cho Tong in Hong Kong begins in 1928, with strict adherence to the teachings in Records of Shenggong . Besides differences arising from geographical factors, Sing Kung Cho Tong in Hong Kong holds high regard for the practice of Shenggong Caotang in Guangzhou and follows it closely. ......It is important to note that Cho Tong does not accept donations from the outside, and does not participate in worldly affairs. The only mission is to follow the principles of virtue, beneficence and charity. Our work pales in comparison with the noble deeds of our great ancestors Yao and Shun. We dare not call our establishment shantang (charity) but humbly name it caotang ("cho tong " in Cantonese; "cao " means grass). Such is the belief of Shenggong Caotang in Guangzhou and we in Hong Kong practise the same.19

According tooral accountsbyvillagers inTaiPo,

during theJapaneseoccupation, theJapanesearmyseized

SingKungChoTonganduseditasacentreofadministration

fortheneighbouringareas:

During the winter of 1941, this hall was occupied by the Japanese army. After the Japanese surrendered in 1945, it was occupied by a certain military authority. ......The only relic untouched by the war was the marble tablet of the Three Pure Ones. On the third day of the sixth lunar month in 1950, a group of us congregated in the main hall and re-instated the Three Pure Ones tablet for worship. Beginning in the winter of 1950, we restored each of the halls with funds raised from rental leases. In 1955 we received permission to repaint the portrait of Master Guangcheng, and on the first day of the third lunar month, the portrait was worshipped in the main hall. On the third day of the sixth lunar month of the same year, we moved the Three Pure Ones tablet

respectfully and the chamber on the third floor was restored. The first phase of restoration was, thus, complete.20

AccordingtoRecentRecordsofShenggong(省躬近

錄), intheeightyyearssinceitsestablishment,Shenggong

Caotanghasmainlyprovidedmedicaldiagnostic service

tobelieverswithguidancefromMasterGuangcheng.The

provision of medication was a supplementary service.

WhenSingKungChoTongwasestablishedinHongKong,

medicaldiagnosisandmedicationwereprovidedfor free.

Atthetime,thetemplehad150medicalprescriptionslips.

If theworshippers soughthealingwithadevotedheart,

theywouldreceiveaprescription,andcouldgetmedication

fromadesignatedChinesepharmacyinTaiPo.Manyrare

anddifficult illnessescouldbehealed. Inaddition,Sing

KungChoTongproducedpills and tablets fordifferent

purposesbasedondivineprescriptionsanddistributedthem

toworshippers.Enteringthe1990s,SingKungChoTong's

medicalservicesfurtherdeveloped.Apharmacydepartment

wasestablishedin1991tomanagethebusiness.Currently,

thereisonecliniceachofChineseandwesternmedicineon

TingKokRoadservingthecommunity.Feesarevery low

andtheservicesarewellreceivedbytheresidentsofTaiPo.

SingKungChoTonghas a three-hall layout.The

exteriorof thebuilding is simpleyet elegant,while the

interiorsarerefreshinglyandbeautifullydecorated.Situated

insuchanenvironment,oneisnaturallyinclinedtosharea

senseofserenityandrenewal,asthecoupletdescribesaptly:

Here worldly troubles are washed away,Within this gate respect stands forever.

Toassist developmentof theTaiPodistrict,Sing

KungChoTongdonated land from its backgarden for

the construction of residential buildings. It also went

throughdemolitionand reconstructiondue to itsage. In

order topreserve theoriginalappearance, theprincipleof

reconstructionwastobuildnewstructuresthatresemblethe

old.Thereconstructionprocess lastedformore thanthree

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years,andthetemplewasreopenedinspringof1990.The

main structure isGuangchengTemplewhere theMaster

isworshipped. Itscouplet reads,"Inmypalms lieheaven

andearth./Tigersanddragonsalwaysbymyside."Onthe

twosidesof theMaster,ZhentanGod(a treegod,whose

birthdayiscelebratedonthe18thdayofthe12thlunarmonth)

andChuGod(theredbird,whosebirthdayiscelebratedon

the17thdayof the6th lunarmonth)areworshipped.21The

birthdayofMasterGuangchengiscelebratedthesixthday

ofthesixthlunarmonth.Alldisciplesofthetemplewould

meet for thecelebrationactivities.TheHallof theThree

PureOnes is foundon thesecondfloorof the thirdhall,

wheretheThreePureOnesareworshipped.Thestatuesare

livelywithapeacefuldemeanour.YuYeeTang is located

behind GuangchengTemple to the right. It has spirit-

calligraphyonthewallwithaprofoundmeaning.Inspired

byMasterGuangcheng,oneof thecoupletssays,"Among

thefiveblessingsoflife,longevitycomesfirst./Withoutlife,

wealthandstatusarefutile."Theotherreads,"Thecranes

andphoenixesdescendinto thehumanworld./Theywrite

encouragements for theheart'sbenefit."However, thefu-

chi(spiritwriting)hasceasedsince1985.Inthehall, there

isagroupphotoofShenggongCaotang's30thanniversary

celebrations in1924.Thispreciousphotographwas taken

infrontof theHallof theThreePureOnes inShenggong

CaotanginGuangzhou.

Even thoughSingKungChoTongispopular in the

community, ithasalwaysmaintaineda lowprofile.The

runningcostsarecontributedbydisciplesvoluntarily,and

it receivesnocontribution fromoutsiders.However, as

the timeschange, therehavebeensomeadjustments in its

policies.Forexample,before1969,SingKungChoTong

wouldonlyrecruitdisciplesoftheQian(male),butlaterit

alsoaccepteddisciplesof theKun(female).Furthermore,

thesitehasbeenopen tovisitorsafter its reconstruction,

although there is stillnodonationbox inside the temple.

In fact, thepolicyofnot acceptingoutsidedonations is

prominentlydisplayedonthepremises.SingKungChoTong

hasplayedanactiveroleinsocialandcommunityservices;

forexample,whenaschoolorahospitalisinneedoffunds,

itwillcontribute.22

Sung Sum To Tak Tan: Laozi Temple Originated from Chaozhou

SungSumToTakTan(TsunSumVirtueAssociation

Co.Ltd),foundedbyCheungSinTinofChaoyangin1948,

islocatedinTsungTsaiYuenofTaiPoKauVillage.Taoist

worshipsitesestablishedby thepeopleofChaozhouare

usuallynamedwiththecharacter"kok("ge"inPutonghua)",

suchasYukHaKok,YuenChingKok,TszWanKok,etc.

In Hong Kong, a number ofTaoist temples have been

established by the people of Chaozhou to worship the

TaoistLordLaozi,includingYuenDohSinKoon,originally

established in1951 inSaiWanand latermoved toChai

Wan.23 Itscentrehall isdevoted to theworshipofLaozi.

AnotherexampleisTszWanKok,locatedinTszWanShan.

SungSumToTakTaninTaiPois,meanwhile,oneof the

earliestTaoist temples inHongKong.With itsmainhall

dedicated to theworshipofLaozi,SungSumToTakTan

isalsoknownasLaoziTemple.OnthetwosidesofLaozi

sit lesserdeitiesTianheandTiande.Thereisacouplet that

reads,"Tianhe isentrustedwith themissionofsaving the

world./TiandeseestheJadeEmperorcarryingbooks."

In1974,SungSumToTakTanappliedforthestatusof

alimitedcompany,andprintedtheSpecialCommemorative

IssuefortheThirtiethAnniversaryofSungSumToTakTan

and theReconstructionof theAncientTemple (崇心通德

壇卅周年暨古廟重建紀念特刊).24MakKingWah,village

chiefofTaiPoKauVillage, recorded its establishment,

"TaiPoSungSumToTakTanwasestablished in1948 in

TaiPoKauVillage.Ithasalreadybeenthirtyyearssinceits

founding.ThegrandaltarisfortheworshipofTaoistfounder

Laozi,andisfrequentedbydevoutworshippers."According

to theTempleAffairs Report by Cheng ChungTsang,

managerof thefirstexecutivecommitteeofSungSumTo

TakTanandchairmanof thesecondexecutivecommittee,

theworshipsitehashad thefollowingdevelopment in its

expansion:

In the early years, the rites and rituals for worshipping Lord Laozi were simple because they had been intended for individual worship at home. With efforts

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by Cheung Sin Tin to build the temple's reputation, medical and burial services were provided to the community. The temple developed further with blessings by Lord Laozi. More followers subscribed to the faith and many frequented the temple daily. In 1974, temple officials submitted an application to the authority for "limited company" status. ...This temple worships Lord Laozi with the mission: to train a follower's heart in the Tao, to benefit the heart, to discipline one's way by the Tao, and to treat others with courtesy.25

CheungSinTin,thepermanentmasterofthetemple,

explainedthemeaningbehindthetemple'sname:

This temple worships the saintly Lord Laozi. We follow his teachings on the way of life and his beliefs in life, wisdom, culture and philosophy. We follow through in the principles of the Tao. Since the founding of this temple, we have promoted Lord Laozi's ideal virtues for thirty years. The Tao came from lives and lives came from the Origin – thus the virtues of the Tao.26

AfterCheungSinTinpassedawayin2005,thetemple

hasbeenmanagedbyhisson.Accordingtohisson,Cheung

SinTincametoHongKongin1930.Hewas"instructed"

byLordLaozi tocometoHongKongandbuilda temple.

Heinitially livedinKowloonTsaiandmovedtoTaiPoin

1950.Atfirst,hestartedaworshipfacilityathome,andonly

registereditasa limitedcompanylater.SungSamToTak

TanmovedtoitscurrentaddressinTsungTsaiYuenin1991.

CheungSinTinwasalsooneof theoriginal incorporators

of theTaiPoChiuChow(Chaozhou)NativeAssociation

Limited,aswellasthefundcollectorinTaiPoKauforthe

YuLanFestivalPerformance.27Meanwhile,majoreventsat

SungSamToTakTanincludecelebrationsforLordLaozi's

birthdayof the15th dayof the2nd lunarmonth,YuLan

FestivalFaironthe10thdayofthe2nd lunarmonthandthe

GrandWorshipattheendofeachlunaryear.28

Yan Lo: The Worship of Lu Tsu and Five Religions

ThereareanumberofTaoistandBuddhisttemplesin

KamShan,includingTaiKwongYuen,PunChunYuenand

YanLo.

YanLo is located inKamShanVillage.According

tothestoneplaqueat themaingate, itwasfoundedinthe

summerof1951,andthecurrentstructurewasrenovatedin

1968.In1931,Taoistmonks, includingYauKokMan,had

alreadyestablishedYanLoinD'AguilarStreet inCentral.

YanLoinKamShanis,infact, the"TaiPoSite."YauKok

Tak,alsoknownasChingMiu, isYauKokMan'sson.He

usedtobeaspiritmedium,passingondivinemessagesat

YanLo.However,therehasnotbeenanyspiritwritingatthe

hall in thepastdecade.YauManTakwrote"OurTemple's

FiftyTurbulentYears"andrecordedthedescentofLuTsu

inaspiritcallingsessiontoendorsethefoundingofYanLo.

Since1930,YanLohasmovedfivetimesfromitsoriginal

addressinGrahamStreetduetounaffordablerents.In1961,

thehallfinallysettledinitscurrentaddressonthesixthfloor

of20-22D'AguilarStreet.VillagegentrymemberNgChung

ChizassistedwiththebuildingoftheTaiPoSite:

The Society began in 1930. The original site was in Graham Street, Central, inside Yau Kok Man's home. The society initially held informal social meetings until a guest came with the idea of spirit writing. At first it was done as a game without any particular purpose. In one coincidence, Lu Tsu descended with didactic messages. He said, "as it was an opportune meeting with all, why not set up a Taoist worship site for the benefit of the people? Clinics can be established to alleviate suffering in the world. Children can be taught to respect the elderly, and the moral standard of the times can be enhanced. Society will be blessed with your good work. First, You may dispel disasters and misfortune; Second, you may teach the Tao and learn the Zen." Consequently, friends and colleagues were invited to plan for a formal establishment. In 1931, on the 29th day of the 1st lunar month, Yan Lo was

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established at 9 D'Aguilar Street with an altar. Yau Kok Man, also known as Ching Wai, was one of the founders. Other founding members were Yau Kok Cheung, also known as Ching Man, Yau Hin Tsak, also known as Ching Ming, Yau Man Tak, also known as Ching Miu, Au Wing Lin, also known as Yat Yiu and Chan Wun Cho, also known as Chung Geng (sixteen other members of the Qian and Kun Branches have been abridged). ......The Society made herbal medicine and printed the Tao scripture for distribution. The recipes for the medication were inspired by Lu Tsu. ...In 1932, the Society moved to Jervois Street. ...In 1951, Lu Tsu instructed the society to establish a site for meditation. As a result, a residential house at 80 Kam Shan Village in Tai Po was bought with land of 5,000 square feet. With the help of Ng Tsung Chi of Tsz Ha Yuen, the structure was rebuilt into a two-storey building. When members of the society did not have to work, the Tai Po site served as a place of contemplation and renewal.29

Yan Lo's registered name isYan Lo Buddhist

MonasteryLimited:

The Society has been named for its removal from worldly contests. ...Since its establishment, Lu Tzu has been the master of the Society. According to his teachings, the heavenly God is the creator of all living things on earth. Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity and Islam are five religions that have originated from the heavenly God. The highest heavenly God sits at the main altar at Yan Lo, and, and the Society performs good deeds according to the teachings of the five religions. Therefore, the Society is named Yan Lo and Five Religions Society.30

AstotheconstructionoftheTaiPoSiteinKamShan,

theFoundingofYanLoBuddhistMonasteryinTaiPo(隱廬

佛社重修大埔堂落成記)recordsindetail:

Yan Lo's Tai Po Site is located in Kam Shan Village of Tai Po. From the foot of the mountain, one can reach Yan Lo within a hundred steps. The land, surrounded by the mountains, is 4,000 feet wide and has a very good landscape. Its front view of Pat Sin Leng, its left touches the ranges of Tai Mo Shan, its right embraces the billows of Tolo Harbour, with Kam Shan as its pillow. Water from the Lam Tsuen waterfall flows ahead. The neighbours are followers of the Tao. It is the perfect site for contemplation and enlightenment. Originally, this land had three tiled houses and rich vegetation including flowers, fruit, bamboo and green vegetables. It is an exceptional world of its own. Soon after the purchase of the land, a wooden building with three columns was built. A façade, a pavilion and a fountain were also built, while flowers and fruit trees decorated the premises. The structure was divided into Lu Tsu Chamber, Lung Wah Tong, Guest Chamber, and the office. The upper levels hosted Jade Emperor Chamber, Divine Guards Chamber (Hufa Dian), Kwun Yum Hall, Scripture Reading Hall and the common room. A giant bell had been made to hang on the balcony to remind worshippers of prayer time. In the other corner of the building, the kitchen was found. Furniture was sparse but special and tens of thousands had been spent on it. Fortunately, fellow members were generous to donate. On the 17th day of the 9th lunar month in 1951, Yan Lo was permanently founded in Tai Po. Time flies. It has been eighteen years since its founding. In 1968, Master Ching Wai would have celebrated his 100th birthday if he was alive, and the Tai Po Site was in need of renovation. A plan to rebuild the Tai Po Site was proposed and the second floor Scripture Reading Hall was named Ching Wai Memorial Hall. Lung Wah Tong was expanded to pay respect to the members' ancestors. Yi Ngam Hin and Chap Yin Ngam were added in the back to provide

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socialising venues for our members. The stairways uphill were rebuilt as well, so that the land was best utilised.

9th lunar month of 1968Yan Lo Buddhist Monastery Expansion Committee Members: Fok Chong Ming, Yau Chong Ming, Cheng Kun Bing, Yau Chung Yan, Lo Kun YingConsultants: Yau Ching Miu, Au Yat Yiu, Yip Kun Sam31

AtYanLo,LuTsu (LuDongbin) isworshipped in

thefirstfloorLuTsuChamber.SiuYiuKung(alsoknown

astheJadeEmperorChamber)isfoundonthesecondfloor

andhas theTszHongDinand theChingWaiMemorial

Hallon its leftandrightrespectively.TheLuTsuportrait

hasbeenpaintedbydiscipleYauManTak.InsidetheJade

EmperorChamber,a tablet isworshipped,payingrespect

tothefoundersofthefivereligionsandotherpopulargods,

including Confucius, Laozi, Sakyamuni, Jesus Christ,

Mohammed,LuTsu,Guandi,KwunYum,SunWukongand

theTenSaintlyDoctors.Everyyearonthe3rddayofthe1st

lunarmonth,anoontimeserviceisheldat theTaiPoSite,

while thefoundinganniversaryof theTaiPoSite, the17th

dayofthe9thlunarmonth,isusuallycelebratedwithafeast.

Thecoupletatthemaingateshows:

"Yan" – to take temporary leave from worldly affairs;"Lo" – a place to meet and greet fel low good neighbours.

AtLuTsuChamber, the couplet on thedoorwas

inspiredbythegreatmasterhimself:

"Yan" – to retreat for enlightenment;"Lo" – a place to learn truth and the Tao.

AtYanLo inD'AguilarStreet,Central, a framed

mirrordisplays themembershiprulesofYanLoBuddhist

Monastery, requesting believers "to follow theTao in

cultivatingvirtues, respect for theelderly,morality and

loyaltywithastrongheartandwill,and toactandspeak

withcautionanddiscipline." In recentyears,YanLohas

printedTaoistandBuddhistscripturesfordistribution.

Fung Loi Leung Yuen: Lectorium for the Worship of Lu Tsu and the Eight Immortals

FungLoiLeungYuen is located inPunShanChau

Village,WunYiu.ThemaingodworshippedthereisLuTsu

(LuDongbin),thusthelocalscallFunLoiLeungYuen"Lu

TsuTemple."According to theelderlypeoplewholive in

thelectoriumtoundertakeandstudy,thesitewaspurchased

bythefoundingmastersofBaojiMonasteryofLofuShan

forcontemplative study.However,because the landwas

underdevelopedatthattime,noimmediateeffortwasmade

toestablishitasaTaoist lectorium.Later,founderYeeGu

was instructedbyLuTsu tooperateclinics tobenefit the

world,andanaltarwassetupinShamShuiPo.Herspirit

healingwasveryeffective,andshebecamewellknownto

many.Manybeneficiariesofherhealinghelpedherfulfilthe

wishtofoundatemple.Inthe1960s,YeeGupurchasedthe

hillylandinPunShanChaufortheconstructionofFungLoi

LeungYuen,whichwasintendedforcontemplativestudy.It

tookalongperiodoftimetobuildthestructureanditwas

eventually inauguratedasaTaoist lectorium.Theportrait

ofLuTsu,worshipped in themainhall,waspainted in

1954,suggestingthatLeungYuencouldhavebeenofficially

foundedin1954.

The site was named "Fung Loi" ("Peng Lai" in

Putonghua).FungLoiisamystical islandintheseaofthe

East,a legendaryplacewhere theEight Immortals rside.

"LeungYuen" ("LangYuan" inPutonghua) refers to the

paradise soughtafterby theDanBranchofTaoism.The

site'snamesuggeststhatitisablessedvenueformeditation

andcontemplation.LeungYuenisbuiltonFungWongShan,

andall thestructureshavebeenbuiltagainst thehills.Lu

Tsu'sportrait isvenerated in thehall,andportraitsof the

Eight ImmortalsandKwunYumareserved infrontof it.

Thevesselsofpowerof theEight Immortalsaredepicted

in theportraits:LiTieguaiwithhisgourd,ZhangGuolao

with thefish-drum,ZhongLiquanwith thepalmleaffan,

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LuDongbinwithhissword,HeXianguwithherlotus,Lan

Caihewithherflowerbasket,HanXiangziwithhisfluteand

CaoGuojiuwithhis"jianban"musical instrument.LuTsu

Templeisatwo-storeybuilding,withtheKwanTaiChamber

onthegroundfloorandtheLungFungHallservingtheJade

Emperor,DragonMotherandKwunYumonthefirstfloor.

Although LeungYuen is largely a venue for

contemplation,manyvillagerscometoworshipontheJade

Emperor'sbirthdayonthe9thofthe1stlunarmonth,LuTsu's

birthdayonthe14thdayofthe4thlunarmonth,andtheEight

Immortals'birthdayonthe8thdayof the8th lunarmonth.

Villagersalsovisit the templeforguidancefromLuTsu,

withYeeGu'sassistance.In thepast,YeeGuwouldactas

spiritmediumwhenworshipperssoughtspiritualguidance.

However, afterYeeGupassedaway in the1990s, spirit

callingalsoceased.

Man Tak Yuen: Lectorium with a Heavenly Landscape

ManTakYuen,locatedinNgTungChaiofLamTsuen

inTaiPo,wasestablishedbyManTakChiSinSeh.ManTak

ChiSinSehwasfoundedin1951inKowloonworshipping

LuTsu. "Originating from theChongxuBranch, itwas

foundedbyZhengChengchi, studentofYeZongmaoof

YingyuanGong inGuanyinShan,Guangzhou.Thenew

branch isnamedXin."32During themid1970s,previous

master,CheungChiFan JusticeofPeace (whowas the

chairmanof theVillageCommitteeof theTaiPoAlliance

ofSeven)discoveredapieceoffarmlandnexttothehillsof

LamTsuen.Withencouragementandsupportfromagroup

ofTaoistmonks,hebuiltaTaoistlectoriumsitetherewitha

heavenlylandscape.Aftertwentyyearsofdevelopment,Man

TakYuenhasestablisheditscurrentstature.

ManTakYuen is built by the hills with halls of

grandeur.Thegatetowerbearsthefollowingcouplet:

The falls and the streams, the rivers and the lives map the fairyland of phoenix trees.

The fog girdles the green mountaintop, with ancient caves at the South Mountain enveloping a heavenly otherworld.

Accordingto the lectorium'smanager, themountain

streamfromtheNgTungChaiwaterfallgirdles thevalley

infrontofManTakYuen.Themountainsfromafarshow

rocks in theshapeofscripturescrolls.Thiswouldbe the

"map"that thecoupletrefers to,andconfirmsthat thesite

forManTakYuen is apieceofblessed landperfect for

Taoistworship.Close to thevalley liesNamShan(South

Mountain), echoing the LuTsu's comment (passed on

throughspiritcalling),"theancientcavesofNamShanare

good formeditation."Havingpassed thegate tower,one

enters the structuresofManTakYuen.Due to the site's

geographiccomposition, thestructureshavenotbeenbuilt

accordingtothetraditionalstyleofcentralaxisconstruction.

However,as thehallswerebuilt in layersalongthevalley,

thestructureshigherup,suchasLuTsuHallandShuiYuet

Temple,lookliketheyarechambersinheaven,andvisitors

enjoythemostspectacularview.

A fewmastersparticipated in thebuildingofMan

TakYuen,andittooktwentyyearstocreatethesitewesee

today.Builtalongthehills,ManTakYuenradiatesanaura

ofgrandeur.ConstructionofLuTsuHallwascompleted

in1977and itwasoff icially inaugurated the following

year. Inside thehall,LuTsu isworshipped in thecentre,

while themastersWangChongyangandQiuChangchun

areworshippedonthetwosides.Thewordsontheplaque

werewrittenbyLiBaijiin1977.JikDakPavilionwasbuilt

in1981, intended tobeused toprayforrainonbehalfof

thepeople.At the time,HongKongexperienced severe

droughtandLuTsuinstructedthetempletobuildapavilion

toprayforrain.Lateron,rainfell indeedandthepavilion

wasnamed JikDak (GoodDeeds)Pavilion.From1996

to1998,ManTakYuenwent throughthesecondphaseof

construction.StructuresbuiltduringtheperiodincludeShui

YuetTemple,HangTinTempleandNgFookHall,which

housesJadeEmperorTemple ,and theHallof theThree

PureOnes.InsideHangTinTemple,KwanTai,ManCheong

Tai(Wenchangdi)andHungMing(ZhugeLiang); there is

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alsoBodhisattvaKsitigarbhaChamberanda facility for

worshippingtheBuddha.Thecharacter"long(dragon)"on

thewalloutsideDauMoTemplewasinspiredbyKwunYum

andwrittenbyZhengzongShuhuashefromTaiwan.It tells

thestoryofthemastersofManTakYuensettingupasitein

Taiwanandexchangingideasandbeliefswithbelievers in

Taiwan.33 Inside theHallof theThreePureOnesnotonly

arethethreedeities,JadeClarity(Yuqing),HighestClarity

(Shangqing)andGreatClarity(Taiqing)worshipped,butalso

eighteenotherimmortalsaints.Oneofthecharacteristicsof

ManTakYuenis that,mostof theportraitsworshippedin

thesite, includingthoseof theThreePureOnes,Immortal

MasterYuandImmortalMasterLiu,werepaintedbyMaster

ChoiYiu,whoseTaoistnameisSungKing.34Thebelltower

wasbuilt in1990and ispartofa four-sectioncompound

withLuTsuHallandWangLingHall.35

TheTaoists of ManTak Chi Sin Seh are active

participants in the temple ritualsandactivities inTaiPo.

AfterManMoTemple inFuShinStreet,TaiPoMarket,

becameadeclaredmonument,theVillageCommitteeofthe

AllianceofSevenrenovatedthetemplein1985.Statuesof

ManTaiandMoTaiwererestoredandthedisciplesofMan

TakChiSinSehwere responsible for theirconsecration

ceremony.36 In2001,ManTakChiSinSehcelebrated the

50thyearanniversaryof its founding.BesidesaChinese

NewYear prayer meeting held in ManTakYuen,37 the

mastersalsojoinedtheprayermeetingandscripturechanting

inWunYiutocelebrateFanSin'sbirthdaythatyear.

Lo Fung Academy: A Retreat of the Past

Lo FungAcademy was located inToYuenTung

Village.EstablishedbyChinesemedicalpractitionerChan

TszShek(1901-1981), itwasalsoknownasToYuenChin

King.ChanTszShekcame toHongKong in1949, and

publishedabookonthestudyofspiritualpractice.(Heheld

theviewthatthestudyofspiritualpracticehadbeenknown

intheoldendaysasTaoistPracticeinImmortalityandwas

knowninmodern timesas thePracticeofLifeandSoul).

Theplanningandprintingof thisbookwasundertakenby

GengSengChoTong,whichwasrenamedasLoFungGui

SiLamin1952.In1956,analtarwasestablishedtoworship

TaoistmastersLuTsuandZhangTsu.38BelieversofLo

FungworshippedthemastersofNamChungandvenerated

theSanYangMastersas"MasterLiBoyangwhospreadand

elevatedTaoistvirtues,MasterLuChunyangwhopractised

Taoistbeneficence,andMasterZhangZiyangwhoadvocated

Taoist ideology."39In1960, thestudywasregisteredasLo

FungAcademy. In the followingyearover10,000square

metresof landwaspurchasedinToYuenTungVillagefor

theconstructionofLoFungSpiritualPracticeInstitute.The

landwaslocatedintheslightlyelevatedareanorthwestofa

mountainstream.

AccordingtotheinformationprovidedbyManTakChiSinSeh,thedevelopmentalstagesofManTakYuenare:

1951ZhengChengchicametoHongKongcarryingwithhimthedepictionofthemaster'simage.

1952 ManTakChiSinShewasfoundedonYinChongStreet.

1956 ApermanentplaceonCantonRoadispurchased.

1972ManTakYuenwasunderplanningtobebuiltinNgTungChai.

1977LuTsuHall inManTakYuenwascompletedin1978.Anopeningceremonywasheldonthe27thdayofthe9thlunarmonth.

1979 AbranchtemplewasestablishedonTungFatSquare.

1981PavilionofRainwasbuilt toprayfor rains forHongKong.ThepavilionwaslaterrenamedJikDak.AlotuspondforKwunYumwasthenbuilt.

1982ThemaintempleinPoHangBuildingonDundasStreetwasunderplanning.

1990

TheopeningceremonyoftheBellTowerwasheldonthe12thdayofthe6thlunarmonth.Thefaçadeatthemainentrygatewasexpandedandanopeningceremonywasheldonthe8thdayofthe12thlunarmonth.

1991TheManTakInstituteonTaoistStudieswasestablishedinShizilin,Simenting,Taiwan.

1996HalloftheThreePureOnes,LibraryofScriptures,NgFookHallandthePodiumoftheEightImmortals.

1997ShuiYuetTemple was completed and an openingceremonywasheldonthe16thdayofthe8thlunarmonth.

1998HangTinTempleforKwanTai,DauMoHallandtheFaçadeofKeepingaGoodNamewerebuilt.

2000TheManTakYuenManagementCommitteewasformedtotakecareoftheinstitute'sdailyoperation.

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ChanTszShek,anativeofXinhui,Guangdong,was

giventhetitle"TaosistMasterLoFung."HelearnedtheTao

fromChenKuigongoftheNamChungBranch,calligraphy

andpaintingfromGaoJianfu,andChinesemedicinefrom

ChenBotan(oneofGuangdong'sfourbestknownChinese

medicalpractitioners).AccordingtotheBiographyofChan

TszShek (陳子石先生小傳) byTseTingSham,Chan's

disciple:

Chan Tsz Shek 's hometown was Xinhui o f Guangdong. He started learning Chinese medicine at a young age, and he practised the Tao and art. His ancestor, Baisha, was famous for his meditation practices and philosophical ideas. Chan learned from his family members Chen Kuigong how to make medicinal pills. He came from a learned family. He lived in seclusion in Lo Fung, but he blessed his followers with teachings and benefited the world with virtues. He had published eight types of Taoist book.40 Followers from near and far benefited from his teaching. He had also saved numerous people.

ChanTszShekhadalsopublished theunscheduled

journalLoFungSpiritualPractice (鑪峰修養刊) (the1st

to21st issueswerepublishedfrom1958to1963).Healso

authoredTaoistRhymes (嬾道吟) andLoFungCouplet

Collections (鑪峰楹聯集).

Lo FungAcademy's lecture hall was located on

NathanRoadinKowloon.TheToYuenChinKingsiteinTai

Po'sToYuenTungVillagewasaretreat.Enteringtheretreat's

smallentrygate, the façadebearing theplaque"ToYuen

ChinKing"hadthecouplet,"Inside'Lo'('Lu'inPutonghua)

theTao ishidden,/Outside 'Fung' ('Feng' inPutonghua)a

blessedlandisconcealed."Insidethemaingate,thefrontof

thefaçadeshowedthewords"LoFung"writtenbyYuYau

Yam,while thewords"SingDei("Shengdi" inPutonghua,

meaning"theHolyLand")waswrittenbyKwokTingHung

in1965.Going further,onewouldcomeuponSanYang

TempleworshippingLiBoyang,LuChunyangandZhang

Ziyang.Thethreeholystatuesweresculptedinmarble.The

plaqueoutsidethegateread,"OneVeinunderNamChung,"

andhadthecouplet,"TheSanYangMastersareworshipped

in 'Lo,'/TheEightImmortalsareVeneratedin 'Fung'."The

coupletwascomposedbyMasterChuToKauandwritten

byMasterNgBaLing.41BesidesSanYangTemple, the

sitealsohadstreamsandbridges, templesandpagodas.

Thestructures includedWahPond,DivineBoat,Zhuangzi

Terrace,YuenTangTower,LeungYuenTempleandFungLoi

Temple.LoFungAcademywasaworldof itsown, living

up to itsname"ToYuenChinKing" ("TaoyanQianjing"

inPutonghua),whichmeans"apieceofblessedlandfrom

heaven".Besides, therewere inscriptionepitaphspaying

respectstotheteachingsofLuTsuandLaozi.In1961,the

LiBoyangEpitaphwasestablishedinMuzhainTaipeiby

membersofLoFung.ThelandonwhichLoFungAcademy

wasbuiltwasnamed"ToYuenTungTin,"andisintheshape

ofagourdupsidedown.PoSumLake,infrontofthesite,

andPatSinLengareconnectedtoTaiMoShan.Twoofthe

coupletsatthesiteread:

ChanTszShekwrites:

The view is exceptional. In early tides a small boat bathes under the sun. Lights of the fishing boat illuminate half of the river of Yuen Chau Island. The dusk of Pat Sin Leng flutters. The green top of Tai Mo Shan pierces the sky. These scenes paint a picture of nature, of freedom, of superb view, of grandeur. The leisure flows under the eyes. Refined visitors come to search for ancient relics.

Many saints pass on the Tao through the ages. Emperor Xuanyuan rides the dragon in Ding Lake. Master Boyang rides the bull in Han Valley. Lu Dongbin casts his sword in Qing City. Pingshu receives his calling in Tiantai. Each generation seeks a mission, to create, to establish, to raise, to accomplish. One remembers virtues in abundance. I seek to revive the spirit of the Tao.

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TheviewofYanLo'sLuTsuChamber.Thecoupletwasadoptedfromthespirit-writingofLuTsu.(PhotographybyYauChiOn,2008)

ThemainhallofSungSumToTakTan.ThedeityimageofLaoziisinthecenterwhile thedeity imagesofTianheandTiandeareonthetwosides.(PhotographybyYauChiOn,2008)

SungSumToTakTan(PhotographybyYauChiOn)

ThefirstfloorofYanLoistheLuTsuChamber.TheupperlevelhoststheJadeEmperorChamberandKwunYumHall.(PhotographybyYauChiOn,2008)

ChuToKauwrites:

Boats travel the winding river of Pat Sin Leng. Who says there is no spiritual land in Tai Po?San Yang Temple hosts the immortal masters of the Tao, I dare say there is heaven within To Yuen.

TheTaoists of Lo Fung not only placed a strong

emphasison spiritualpractice,but alsocaredabout the

elderlyandthepoor.Theyhaddistributedriceto200senior

citizens inTaiPo,42andhaddonatedclothingfordisaster

relief.43In1959,theTaoistsofLoFungrespondedtothecall

by theWahKiuYatPo tohelpchildrenstruckbydisaster

throughsellingcalligraphyandpaintings.Theyalsowrote

theforewordforthecharityexhibition.44LoFungAcademy

hadplannedanexpansionofthesiteandtheestablishmentof

freeschoolsandelderlyhomes.Unfortunately,thisheavenly

retreatdisappearedfromthefaceofHongKongastheHong

KongGovernmentdevelopedresidentialareasinthe1980s.

Today,thedescendantsofChanTszShekliveabroad,andhis

followersarefoundinHongKong,Taiwan,Malaysiaandthe

Philippines.45TheinscriptionepitaphsatLoFunghavebeen

movedtoWunChuenSinKooninPingChe,Fanling.

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(PhotographybyYauChiOn,2008)

TheinteriorofFunLoiLeungYuen'sLuTsuTemple.(PhotographybyNgaiTingMing)

ThefrontpartofLeungYuenisaLuTsuTemple.StandingnexttotheLuTsuTempleisatwo-storeybuildingwithKwanTaiChamberonthegroundfloorandLungFungHallonthesecondfloor.(PhotographybyYauChiOn,2008)

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FungLoiLeungYuen(PhotographybyYauChiOn)

ManTakYuen'sLuTsuTemple.(ProvidedbyMasterChoiHiu) AviewofManTakYuenfromadistance.(ProvidedbyManTakYuen)

TheinterionofLuTsuTempleofManTakYuen.(ProvidedbyMasterChoiHiu)

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Theplaquereads"OneVeinunderNamChung."MasterChanTszShekworeadarkgownstandinginthemiddleofthefirstrow.(ProvidedbyMasterLaiTszHing)

FellowmembersoftheLoFungAcademytookphotographyintheLoFungAcademy,whichhadstreamsandbridges,templesandpagodas.Thesiteisconsideredapieceofblessedlandfromheaven.(ProvidedbyMasterLaiTszHing)

Afaçadebearingtheplaque"ToYuenChinKing"waserectedattheentrygateoftheLoFungAcademy.ThesecondpersonfromtherightwasMasterChanTszShek.(ProvidedbyMasterLaiTszHing)

In1961,LoFungSpiritualPractice Institutewasat the foundingstage.(ProvidedbyMasterLaiTszHing)

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Buddhist Monasteries

Foreword

Theearliest recordof the introductionofBuddhism

intoHongKongcanbetracedbacktotheNorthandSouth

Dynasties(428B.C.).ItissaidthatIndianZenMasterPuiTo

stayedinTuenMun,HongKong,whilehewaswaitingfora

boatbacktohiscountryandfoundedTsingShanMonastery

inTuenMunandLingToMonastery inHaTsuen,Yuen

Long.Although theseedsofBuddhismhadbeenplanted

longago,HongKongneverreallyhadanyfamousBuddhist

templesor seniorBuddhistmonks.The foundingof the

above-mentioned Buddhist sites was more a matter of

convenientcircumstances, and therewerenosignificant

developmentsthereaftertospeakof.Concretedevelopments

cameonlyafterHongKonghadbecomeaseaport.

During the lateQingDynasty,Buddhism inChina

experiencedvariouscrises, includingamoralitycleanup,

theuseoftemplepropertyforeducationandthe"NewLife

Movement".The traditionaleconomicorderofBuddhist

temples was completely destroyed and movements to

strengthen and reform Buddhism arose against this

backdrop.ScholarlyBuddhistfollowerslikeYangXianshan

andOuyang Jingwupromoted "LayBuddhism",which

injectednew life intoBuddhism inChina.The ideawas

toreviveBuddhismwith themotto,"savetheheartbefore

saving theworld."The fateofBuddhismwasultimately

linkedtotherevivalofmoralityandthenation'sfate,anda

theoreticalmodelwasdevelopedfor thisnewidea,sothat

Buddhismcouldbepractisedinapragmaticcontext.Master

Taixuledtheideaof"HumanitarianBuddhism"andobliged

practitioners toparticipate in theaffairsof theworldand

toalleviatesufferings, therebyconfirmingtheprincipleof

MahayanaBuddhism,"to seekBuddhahood fromabove,

teachandliberatesentientbeingsfrombelow."Theseideas

addressed the fact that thepreviouspracticeof reclusive

"ShanlinBuddhism"encouragedan individualisedpursuit

inbeliefandenlightenmentbyescaping to themountain

monasteries,and the leadersof thenewschoolcalledon

BuddhiststopractiseUrbanBuddhismandpreachbybeing

engaged in theworld.Fromaneconomicperspective, the

newmovementschangedthetraditionalself-relianteconomy

ofmonasteries:thecontemporarymonasteriesweremanaged

by lay Buddhists, and the modern monastery economy

depends on the preaching of Buddhism, the religious

servicesofferedandtheservicesprovidedtosociety.

ThedevelopmentofBuddhism inHongKongwas

connectedtothatinChinainsomeways,butinmanyother

ways itdiffered, largelybecauseBuddhismhadahistory

of itsown inHongKong'senvironment.During the late

QingDynasty,ZenMastersDayue,DunxiuandYueming

travelledsouthand foundedBigHut inOnPing,Lantau

Island.BigHutwasthepredecessorofPoLinMonastery.In

1911,MasterMiaocancametoHongKongtotakeoverthe

Tangclan'sancestralmeditationhall,LingWanMonastery,

anddevelopedit intoaBuddhistworshipsite.In1918,lay

BuddhistLoKaCheongestablishedKickLokYuenon

HongKongIsland,offeringdailychantingofscripturesand

weeklylecturesonBuddhism.Witheffortsbymonksandlay

followers,BuddhisminHongKongfinallyembarkedonits

owndevelopment.

ThebuildingofBuddhistmonasteriesinTaiPobegan

inthe1920s,anearlyperiodofdevelopmentforBuddhism

in Hong Kong overall.This was also the time when

BuddhismunderwentdramaticchangesinChina.Although

onlya fewmonasterieswerebuilt in thebeginning, the

different ideologieswithinBuddhismwereall represented,

fromthetraditionalShanlinBuddhism,totheemergingLay

Buddhismandtheall-newUrbanBuddhism.Itisespecially

worthnotingthatMasterTaixu,paramountleaderofmodern

Buddhism,hadlivedandtaughtBuddhisminTaiPo.When

MasterTaixupassedaway,hisdiscipleMasterYinshunalso

stayed inTaiPo toeditTheCompleteVolumeofMaster

Taixu(太虛大師全書).Indeed,thebookwasfinishedinTai

Po,yetanothermilestoneforBuddhisminHongKong'sor

evenChina'shistory.

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Ma Wo Shan Ting Wai Monastery : Earliest Buddhist Site in Tai Po

TingWaiMonasteryofMaWoShan,establishedin

1923, is theearliestBuddhistworshipsite inTaiPo.The

founderof themonasterywasMonkMasterZengxiu,who

wasoneoftheyoungmonkswhotravellednorthtoChinato

studyBuddhism.AmongthefamousmonksinHongKong,

the first to studyBuddhism inChinawasMonkMaster

Hairen,yetMonkMasterZengxiustudiedBuddhismwith

himinShanghai.AccordingtoYuLingBo:

Master Hairen held high status among an older generation of senior monks in Guangdong. He was the earliest Guangdong monk to visit the Three Jungles of Jiangnan. After he went back to Guangdong to preach, a number of other monks followed his footsteps and visited the Jiangzhe area. These monks, including Fa-ke, Rongqiu, Lingzhan and Maorui, have spread Buddhism to the benefit of many afterwards. Therefore, Master Hairen was a pioneering figure for Chinese Buddhism during the late Qing and early Republican Period.46

Master Zengxiu was a na t ive of Kaiping in

Guangdong,andhissecularnamewasHuang.Borninthe9th

yearoftheGuangxuReign(1883),hedecidedtorenounce

hissecularlifeattheageof22.Histonsurewasperformed

byMasterChuanghuiatDajueMonastery inQixingyan,

Zhaoqing. In the twelve lunarmonthof the sameyear,

QingyunMonasteryofDinghuShanrecruiteddisciplesand

MasterZengxiu took thevowto followthe fullBuddhist

preceptsunderMasterConghuaandbecameadiscipleofthe

bhikşuprecepts.Whenhewas27yearsold,hewasappointed

byMasterShouanasheadofthemonastery.MasterZengxiu

feltthatDinghuShanfocusedonBuddhistritualsandlacked

theoreticalbasisforBuddhistteachingsandresearch,sohe

followedMasterZhanfenandheadednorth forBuddhist

study.HevisitedJinshanMonasteryofZhenjiang,Tianning

Monastery of Changzhou, andTiantong Monastery of

NingboforZenstudy.Trainingwasrigorous.Laterhewent

toHuayanDaxueinShanghaitoattendlecturesontheSutra

TheoldmaingateofTingWaiMonastery(ProvidedbyTingWaiMonastery)

TheoldmainhallofTingWaiMonastery(ProvidedbyTingWaiMonastery)

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ofGreatWisdombyMasterYuexia.Amonghiscompany

wereGuangdongmonksHairenandYuancan.47

InthevastlandofChina,transportationwasdifficult

in thepastandthereweredifferencesbetweenthefaithof

theLingnanareaandthatofcentralChina.Buddhismhas

experiencedadecline in themodern times,butBuddhism

in theLingnanareawasfurther influencedbytheregion's

changes andbecame secularised.Worse still,Buddhist

preceptsanddisciplineswereoftenbreached.Monkhood

wasconsideredanoccupation,andthepractitionersdidnot

wearBuddhistattire.Onlywhen therewereritualswould

themonkswearBuddhist robes, thus theexpression"be

aone-daymonkandring thebell for theday."Buddhism

underwentaseriouscrisisand theurgentneedfor reform

arose.Notonlywerenon-believersdisgusted,butalso the

practitionerswereoutraged.Inthislight,tostudyBuddhism

upnorthbecameamuch-aspiredpursuitforthetrulydevout

youngmonks.Itwasalsocommonpracticetoinvitemasters

fromtheMainlandto lecture in thesouth.AsHongKong

is thegatewaybetweenChinaandoverseas,manymonks

stoppedoverintheirjourneysandgavelectures.Buddhism

of thenorthandthesouth interactedhere,andlaterHong

Kongwouldbecomeapopularrespiteformonksfleeingthe

warsinthenorth.Theseconditionsspurredthedevelopment

ofBuddhisminHongKong.

ThemaingateofTingWaiMonastery(PhotographybyNgaiTingMing)

MonkMasterZengxiu(ProvidedbyTingWaiMonastery)

TheGreatHallofTingWaiMonasterywasonce themostmagnificentBuddhistbuildinginHongKong.(PhotographybyNgaiTingMing)

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AftertwoyearsinJiangnan,MasterZengxiureturned

toGuangdongand stayed atDajueMonastery.He also

frequentedQingyunMonastery inDinghu,and twicehe

opposed the closingofDajueMonastery and turning it

intoarestaurant.Healsoledtheothermonksindefending

themonasteryagainstroguegangsandstoppedthemfrom

ascending themountain.48WhenMasterZengxiuwas38,

heonceagainresignedfromhispositions inDinghu,and

was referredbyMasterZhanfen toLingWanMonastery

on KwunYum Shan in the NewTerritories to practise

purification.ThemasterofLingWanMonastery,Miaocan,

also studiedBuddhism in Jiangnanwhenhewasyoung.

InHongKong,hetookoverthemanagementofLingWan

Monastery,aswellasguided theconversion toBuddhism

ofChanGutCheungofTsingWanKoon inTuenMun.

Chanwent on to becomeamonk andwasknown later

asMasterHinHay.Akey figure in the revivalofTsing

Shan Monastery, Master Hin Hay also foundedYuen

TungMonasteryandTszTsukLamMonastery inKwum

YumShan.AsaBuddhist leader,hehadmadesignificant

contributions to thedevelopmentofBuddhism inHong

Kong.WhenMasterZengxiucametoLingWanMonastery,

hewasmuchrespectedbyMasterMiaocan,whointroduced

himtoabroadnetworkofBuddhistfollowers.49

ManyfollowersofLingWanMonasteryweremembers

of Hong Kong's Chinese upper class. Master Zengxiu

establishedgood relationswith the thirdwifeof famous

merchantLiBoKwaiofSanhui,ChowYeeGuandLauSei

Gu,possiblybecausetheyalloriginatedfromtheWuyiarea

(Xinhui,Taishan,Kaiping,EnpingandHeshan).50LingWan

MonasteryislocatedatthefootofKwunYumShan.Atthe

time, theNewTerritorieswasnot readilyaccessible from

therestofHongKong.TogettoLingWanMonastery,one

hadtotakeasedanchairfromTaiPoandtravelalongsmall

mountainouspaths. Itwasa longandstrenuous trip.51 In

ordertoencouragefrequentlecturesbyZengxiu,andalsoto

providebelieverswithaconvenientplacetoworship,itwas

proposedthatanotherBuddhistsitebebuilt.Miaocanwas

infavourofthisproposal,andwiththehelpofhisdisciples,

ZengxiubeganlookingforasiteinTaiPo.

In termsofgeographical convenience,TaiPowas

accessiblebyboatandrailduring the1920s. In this light,

itwasamuchbetter location thanLingWanMonastery,

whichwashiddeninthemountains.Intermsofcommunity

acceptance,TaiPowasgenerallymorereceptivetooutsiders

and the culture that they brought with them as it was

populatedbyHakkavillagers.Forinstance,theintroduction

of Catholicism intoTai Po had never encountered any

opposition. Since Buddhism is a traditional Chinese

religion, thecommunitygenerally recognised it.Besides,

themonasterieswereself-reliantandrequirednofinancial

supportfromthelocalcommunity.Theyhadlittleimpacton

thevillagers'livelihood,thusBuddhismwaseasilyaccepted

bythelocalcommunity.Furthermore,MaWoVillagewasa

HakkavillageinTaiPo'sLuenYeeHeungwitharelatively

shorthistory.Localaffinitieswereyettobeformedandso

therewasnoresistanceagainstoutsidersatthetime.

Master Zengxiu ......searched for blessed land in the To Yuen Tung area, and found the current location of Ting Wai Monastery in Ma Wo Shan. He was drawn to the serenity of the landscape, created by lush bushes and long streams. He raised funds to buy the land, with an area of over 10,000 square feet, from the Hong Kong Government. It was decided that fruit trees would be planted to support the Monastery and benefit others. There was a devout follower Kwan Ng Gu, who came from a wealthy background and showed immense respect for Master Zengxiu. She was prepared to give full financial support to the construction of the Monastery, but passed away two months after construction began. At the time, the foundations had just been laid. Master Zengxiu lamented the misfortune, but the Monastery would still be built with support from other followers. At its grand opening, the Monastery was named Lan Yeuk Yuen to convey a sense of tranquillity.52

ThenameLanYeukYuenand thedevelopmentof

farmlandforself-supportareindicatorsof theMonastery's

intention topractiseZen agriculture (a combinationof

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agriculturallifeandthereligiouspracticeofZen).Although

TaiPowasmoreconvenient thanKwunYumShan, itwas

still in theratherremotecountryside.ManyBuddhistsites

inTaiPo, therefore, had "yuen" ("yuan" inPutonghau,

meaning"garden") in theirnames todenoteagarden-like

environment,suchasLanYeukYuen,TaiKwongYuenand

PunChunYuen.According toAnExplanationofPhrases

andWords (說文解字),"'yuen'iswherethefruittreesare."

Indeed,until the1960s,MaWoShanwasonlyaccessible

by mountain trails fromTai Po Market and was still

isolatedfromtherestofHongKong.Duringthesixyears

ofZengxiu'sstayinLanYeukYuen,hespentmuchtimein

contemplationbutalsoheld lecturedinnergatherings.At

onegathering,MasterXiaohangfromQingyunMonasteryin

Dinghugavealecture.Duringthelecture,aseventeenyear-

oldfemalestudent,GuofromGuangzhouNormalSchool,

askedmanyquestions.SheeventuallybecameaBuddhist

TingWaiMonasterywasoncenamedLanYeukYuen.Thenameplaqueisstillbeingkepttoday.(PhotographybyNgaiTingMing)

nunandfoundedTaiKwongYueninTaiPo.Again,seeds

weresownbutgrowthwouldonly takeplacemanyyears

later.

In the Mainland, the "New Life Movement" was

gainingmomentum,and its followersattacked traditional

religion.EvenfamousmonasterieslikeQingyunMonastery

ofDinghuwereunder threat.Themonks there requested

helpfromZengxiu,andhereturnedtoQingyunMonastery

in1928tosaveitfrompossibledemise.ZengxiuleftHong

KongforsixyearsandonlyreturnedtoLanYeukYuenin

1934. In thesameyear, theMainShrinewasbuilt inLan

YeukYuenwithfundscontributedbyZengxiuandthethird

wifeofLiBoKwai tohonour thewishof the lateLauSi

Gu,co-founderofLanYeukYuen.Thestructureis talland

grand,andstoodoutfromtheMainShrinesofHongKong's

monasteriesat the time.Ayear later,Zengxiureturned to

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QingyunMonasteryagainandstayedthereuntil1938,when

theJapanese invadedGuangdong.As thewarprogressed,

manyBuddhistmonksandnuns fled toHongKong,and

theywerereceivedbythemonasterieshere.Eventhoughlife

wasdifficult,LanYeukYuenstill tookinsixtypeopleand

providedtemporaryrefugetothem.

In December of 1941, Hong Kong fell under

Japaneseoccupation.The Japanesemilitarygovernment

inHongKong implementedapolicyof"returning to the

countryside" inorder to reducepopulationdensity and

alleviatefoodshortage.Manycitizenswereforcedtoreturn

totheirhometowns,andthepopulationinvillagesinTaiPo

decreaseddramatically.Manyvacanthomesbecamerefuge

forthievesandlooters.Theindigenousvillagerswouldonly

farm their fieldsduring theday,and return to thesafety

of themountainsorTaiPoMarketatnight.Somepublic

buildingsinTaiPo,suchasNgSheungTaiinWunYiu,were

destroyedasthetilesandconstructionmaterialsweretaken

andexchangedformoney.Zengxiuhadintendedtoreturnto

Guangdong,but thevillagersremindedhimthatLanYeuk

Yuencouldcollapsewithouthis leadership.Sohestayed.

Agedsixty,hesurvivedonwhateverfoodthatwaspreserved

andalsoatepapayarootsandwildvegetation.Hepulled

throughthreeyearsandeightmonthsunderextremelyharsh

conditions.Manypeoplediedfromstarvationduring that

period.Onceagain,Zengxiuwasfacedwiththedilemmasof

lifecausedbyuncertainties,andthisexperiencebecamethe

basisforhisBuddhistteachingafterthewar.

After the Japanese occupation in 1947, Zengxiu

returned toQingyunMonasteryasmastermonk.In1950,

hereturned toLanYeukYuenbecausehedidnotwant to

leave it inruins.53HebecamethemastermonkofPoLin

MonasteryonLantau Island in1951but resignedaftera

year.Atthistime,anincidenthappened,sparkingLanYeuk

Yuen'sevolutionintoTingWaiMonasterytoday.

When Master Zengxiu returned to Hong Kong from Dinghu, he brought a disciple of his with him. The disciple and a secular man, Leung, later lived in Lan Yeuk Yuen. Leung claimed that he was producing

agricultural products for sale and asked Master Zengxiu if he could lease land in Lan Yeuk Yuen for farming. The kind-hearted Zengxiu......agreed. Yet, the disciple and Leung cheated on the contract, taking advantage of the fact that Zengxiu did not understand English. They rushed the lawyer to finish up the contract and asked Zengxiu to sign it. Zengxiu was a truly honest man, and was not aware that he had lost his land to a calculated trap. With the contract, the two men assumed management of the land and even told Zengxiu to retire and give up ownership.54

Aftertheincident,theotherdisciplesofZengxiuwere

enraged.CheungKwokSheungSau, thewifeofCheung

ChukShan(nativeofXinhui,Guangdong)wasparticularly

furious.TheCheung familywas a traditionalmerchant

family.Mrs.Cheungwasadevout followerofBuddhism

andavery influential figure in thefamily.SinceZengxiu

wasfromKaipingand the twoflagrant thieveswerefrom

Taishan,Mrs.CheunginvitedmediationbytheFiveDistricts

(Wuyi)BusinessWelfareAssociation.Aftermuchhassle,

Zengxiumanaged to reclaim themonasteryproperty.He

realisedthat themonasterywasthefruitofhardworkand

shouldbeadequatelypreservedandprotected.Adopting

thesuggestionsbymany,hechangedLanYuekYuenintoa

monastery("shifangconglin")–TingWaiMonastery–and

registeredtheestablishmentasalimitedcompany.55

BesideslecturingonBuddhismalloverHongKong,

Zengxiu also invested a lot of effort in improving the

Monastery.HeclearedthelandinfrontoftheMainShrine

andbuilt threepavilions.Onthe left isManMingChung

Ting(PavilionoftheBellofTenThousandNames),witha

bellweighing1,000catties.Thenamesof10,000sponsors

areinscribedonthebellandthisishowthebellgotitsname.

WaiTorHall is inthecentre,whileYauHeiTingisonthe

right. In1966,ZengxiuretiredfromhispositionasChief

MasterofTingWaiMonastery,andtheBoardofDirectors

appointedMasterMaorui inhis succession.TheDharma

ProtectionCommitteewasestablishedtopromoteBuddhism,

withlayBuddhistYeungYatLamaschairpersonandCheung

KwokSheungSauasvicechairperson.Meanwhile,Master

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MaoruiwasalsofromGuangdongandhishometownwas

Kaiping.Herenouncedhissecularlifewhenhewastwenty

yearsold. In1931,whenhewas28,hewentona study

tourof the famousmonasteries in Jianggnanandvisited

MasterDa-de.In1932,hecametoHongKongandfounded

NamTinChukMonasteryinTsuenWan.Afterthewar,he

donatedlandforthebuildingofTungLumNienFahTong.

Laterhebecameoneof thefamousmonksinHongKong.

MasterLeguosucceededMaorui.Amonkfromthenorth,

LeguocametoHongKongaftertheLiberation.Hewasone

ofthe"threeeldersfromtheNortheast"andalsowellknown

inHongKong.LeguowassucceededbyRuitao,whowas

alsofromnorth-easternChinaandwhostudiedBuddhismat

BanyueBuddhistSchoolinChangchun.AfterMasterRuitao,

MasterYanWai,alsochairmanof theBoardofDirectors,

tookovermanagementof themonastery.Duringhis term,

hebuiltPoTungTowerand theZengxiuMemorialHall.

YanWai'ssecularnamewasNganSiuTongandhewasalso

knownasSaiLeung.YanTsanwashisBuddhist title.He

wasanearlygraduateoftheUniversityofHongKonganda

well-knownlayBuddhist.HavinglearnedaboutBuddhism

whenhewasyoung,Nganhadnot left thepursuitof the

faithandstudiedZenwithMonkMasterXuyun.In1948,

Ms.JenningscametoseeXuyunfromtheUnitedStates,and

Nganwastheinterpreter.Hisinterpretationwasdescribedby

knowledgeablepeopleasjustright,"withoutanyredundancy,

norwasanymeaninglost.XuyundeliveredBuddhismwith

TheWaiTorHallintheTingWaiMonasteryinthepast.(providedbyTingWaiMonastery)

MonkMasterZengxiu'sAppointmentCertificateofTeacherissuedbytheHongKongBuddhistSanghaAssociation.(ProvidedbyTingWaiMonastery)

Zengxiu Memorial Hall for the founding Monk Master Zengxiu.(PhotographybyNgaiTingMing)

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friendsforvacation,she learned thatMasterXiaohangof

QingyunMonastery inDinghuShanwas lecturing inLan

YeukYuen.Since shewas interested inphilosophy, she

went to the lecturehoping to learnaboutBuddhism.She

wasdeeplymovedbythelecture,andstudiedtheBuddhist

scripturegiventoherbyMasterXiaohang.Sherealisedthat

uncertaintywasa factof life,andsowished to renounce

hersecular life.ShewasordainedatLingWanMonastery

onKwunYumShan,andbecameadiscipleofXiaohang

andwasgiventheBuddhistnameKokYan.Shecontinued

topursuewisdom,andacceptedthepreceptsthefollowing

yearatQixiaMonasteryinNanjing.ShealsoinvitedMaster

Rongtongtobethemasterofhergrandpreceptceremony.

Hernewlifebeganasshejoinedstudytours, lecturedand

preached.

TaiKwongYuenused tobe themeditationhalland

lecturevenueforKokYan.Thereareafewtheoriesregarding

thedateof its founding.Theearliest isbetween1927and

1928;some think itwas1930.Somesaid1931andeven

1937.GiventhatKokYanrenouncedhersecularlifein1928,

itwasquiteunlikely that shewouldpurchaseaBuddhist

siteimmediatelyaftershehadbecomeanun.Astothedate

of1937,itwasalsounlikelybecausetherearerecordsofa

lecturebyMasterTaixuatTaiKwongYuenin1935.Thus,

thefoundingdateofTaiKwongYuenshouldhavebeenin

theearly1930s.AccordingtoMasterChukMo,TaiKwong

YuenwasoriginallyorganisedbythepeopleofTaiKwong

Daily (大光報).ItwaslatersoldtoMasterTszCheung.57Tai

KwongDaily (大光報)wasfoundedintheearlyRepublican

PeriodbyagroupofChristians,AuFungChi,WanManKai

andCheungChukLing,anditsestablishmentwasproposed

byDr.SunYatSen. In1927,TaiKwongDaily (大光報)

invitedLuXun toHongKong,whodelivered speeches

toHongKong's intellectualsat theYMCAhall inSheung

Wan.Thespeeches,entitled"TheOldTune isOver" (老

調子已經唱完)and "AVoiceless China" (無聲的中國),

sparked thespreadof thenewculture toHongKong.The

name"TaiKwong("DaGuang"inPutonghua,meaning"the

great light")"for thenewspaperwastakenfromtheBible.

Matthew4:16 reads, "thepeoplewhich sat indarkness

sawgreat light;and to themwhichsat in thereligionand

depth,Yan interpreteddeftly.TheAmericanMs.Jennings

couldfullyunderstandthePerfectSchool(Yuanzong),andit

washerblessing."56WhenNganwasseventyyearsold,Yan

renouncedhissecularlifeafterhiswifepassedawayandhis

childrengrewup,andbecameamonkatPoLinMonastery.

Atpresent,TingWanMonasteryischieflymanagedby

MasterTsorWai,whousedtobeMasterZengxiu'sdisciple.

PreviouslyheadofPoLinMonasteryonLantauIsland,he

ishighlyreputedinHongKong.Sincehis incumbency,he

hasactivelyengagedinreligiousteachingandthechanting

of the scriptures.Besides regularworshipservices,Ting

WaiMonasteryalsoprovidesreligiousservicestofollowers,

whocometothemonasterytohonourtheBuddha.However,

theworldthatthemonasteryisinhaschangedrapidly.Itis

nowlocatedbehindtallandbeautifulbuildings,andappears

decrepitincomparison.Inaddition,themainstructures,such

asLanYeukYuenandtheMainShrine,haveshownvisible

signsofdecay.Themonasteryiscurrentlyraisingfundsfor

renovation.

Tai Kwong Yuen in Shek Kwu Lung: First Buddhist Lectorium to Promote Free Schooling after the War

ShekKwuLung,asecludedplace, is locatednextto

KamShaninTaiPo.Inthe1960s,eventhechildrenlivingin

KamShanwouldnotplayinShekKwuLungbecauseitwas

deeplymysterious.Yet,theywouldrememberaBuddhistnun

fromthere,whoalwaysbroughtalongherradioandstrolled

inaleisurelymanner.Thiswell-likedBuddhistnunwasNun

MasterTszCheung, founderofBuddhist siteTaiKwong

Yuen.

Asmentionedabove, the renouncementof secular

lifebyNunMasterTszCheung,whosesecularnamewas

Guo,was awell-knownstory.Shewasborn in1911 in

Shunde,Guangdong.Aftergraduation fromGuangzhou

NormalSchoolat theageofseventeen,shehadplannedto

continueherstudyofphilosophyatZhongshanUniversityin

Guangzhou.WhileshewasinHongKongwithherschool

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TheviewofTaiKwongYuenfromadistance(PhotographybyNgaiTingMing)

TheinteriorchamberofTaiKwongYuen(PhotographybyNgaiTingMing)

TheKwunYumChamberofTaiKwongYuen(PhotographybyNgaiTingMing)

TheChamberofBuddhaofTaiKwongYuen(PhotographybyNgaiTingMing)

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role in thedevelopmentofBuddhism.During thisvisit,

TaixualsovisitedTaiKwongYueninTaiPoandtheSiteof

EnlightenmentinShekKong,andgaveimportantspeeches

at these twovenues. InTaiKwongYuen,hedelivered the

speech, "ThePracticeofSeclusionand theTreasuresof

Monkhood"(阿蘭若行與養成僧寶),whichcouldhavebeen

animpromptuarisingfromhisobservationsofTaiKwong

Yuen:

A retreat enables followers to live among the mountains for meditation, which encourages in-depth understanding of Buddhism. Observations and thoughts are pure, where the mind is not tainted by the affairs of the world. Soon, the Zen will descend upon the thoughtful observer, who will be blessed with enlightening wisdom. The understanding of the universe comes after that.

I come here to Tai Kwong Yuen today, and feel this sense of self-motivated liberation. Serenity comes naturally to the one in retreat. Having learned Buddhism, you can practise the principles here in both thought and action. The three trades can be practised and the six roots eliminated. Thus in your daily lives, you will be engaged in the principles of Buddhism in every one of your actions and thoughts.58

Taixu explained the key points to practising

Buddhism in retreat.From this speech,onecansee that,

Taixu,pioneerofmodernHumanistBuddhism,stillplaced

much importance in thepracticeofBuddhistmeditation

inretreat.He thought that"tobuildBuddhisminmodern

times, successfulpracticeofBuddhistprinciples isvery

important. If somemonks, asopposed to all, can reach

Buddhistenlightenment,itwouldbeimmenselybeneficialto

theestablishmentofmodernBuddhism.59Attheendofhis

speech,heemphasisedonceagain:

Now that there is Tai Kwong Yuen in Tai Po. This is a very suitable venue for mediation because it has all the favourable conditions for quiet meditation. This place can be the central meditation venue with

shadowofdeathlight issprungup.""Thegreat light"can

beinterpretedashopeandredemption.It isunknownwhy

KokYandidnot change thenameafter sheboughtTai

KwongYuen.Nevertheless,thegreatlightisnotaprivilege

ofChristians. IntheAmitabhaSutra (佛說阿彌陀經), the

Amitabha(infinite light)Buddhaisoneof theBuddhasof

thewest.Ithasbeensaidinthescripturethat"thegreatlight

illuminatesall,"thus"thebroadsweepofwisdomandlight

illuminatesthecommonpeople,"andwisdomandlightcan

reacheverylife.WithKokYan'seducationalbackground,it

isnotsurprisingthatshepreservedthenameofTaiKwong

Yuen.

WhenKokYanwas24yearsoldin1935,shepreached

inFoshan.Oneof themonkmastersheardher lectureand

thought that her lecture style resembled that ofMaster

Hairen,andheaskedherifshewasHairen'sstudent.When

helearnedthatshehadnevermetHairen,herecommended

hertovisitHairenonLantauIsland.Atthetime,Hairenwas

49yearsold,andwasmeditatinginaBuddhistlodgeinOn

Ping.HairenwasthefirstmodernmonkfromGuangdong

toseekBuddhisminthenorth.Hehadspenttenyearsinthe

monasteries inJiangnanandacquiredvastknowledgeand

wisdom.Hewashailed"KingoftheSuramgamaSutra"of

HongKong'sBuddhismandwashighly respected.When

hewasonLantauIsland,Buddhist followersoftensought

his teaching. His disciples included lay Buddhist Lam

LingChen,bhikşusuchasWaiKwong,ChoYun,Chuen

Wai,ChenSheung,LiuChi,YuenWai,WanLeungand

ShingYeung,andbhikşununssuchasTszCheung,Foon

Wing,FoonYu,ManSangandWaiKwong.Thesewereall

prominentBuddhistsinHongKong.KokYan'snewBuddhist

nameTszCheungwasgivenbyHairen.

UnderHairen'sguidance,TszCheungmadefurther

progress inherunderstandingofBuddhism.SinceHairen

waslongconnectedtoBuddhisminJiangnan,MasterTaixu,

aprominentleaderofBuddhism,cametoTaiKwongYuen

topreachinDecemberof1935.ThatwasTaixu'sfifthvisit

toHongKong.InTaixu'sspeechdeliveredatLeeGarden,

hediscussesBuddhisminaglobalcontext,andrecognises

thatHongKongas an international cityplays a special

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others as supplementary. We have the old scriptures as reference for the study of Buddhism. As for teachers, we have Master Hairen to provide guidance. You should deem this place an invaluable resource, and with a devout heart, seek accomplishments and progress in your meditation and enlightenment. You will eventually become a strong group of Buddhist followers.60

Thesewordsofencouragementbecamethemotivation

fordevout followersatTaiKwongYuen,even though the

surroundingshadchangedsignificantlysinceTaixu'svisit.

After thisvisit,a long lasting relationshipwascultivated

betweenTai KwongYuen and the disciples ofTaixu.

ExchangesbetweendisciplesofTaixu,suchasMasterChuk

MoandMasterYinshun,andTaiKwongYuenlastedtillthe

1950s.YinshunlivedinMuiShauJingSeh(present-dayTai

WoMonasteryhostingtheTaimonks)foraperiodoftime,

whichwasclosetoTaiKwongYuen.ThereYinshunedited

TheCompleteWorksofTaixu(太虛大師全書),asignificant

developmentforBuddhisminHongKong.

MasterKokKwong, chairmanofTheHongKong

BuddhistAssociation,saidMasterTszCheung("Cixiang"

inPutonghua,meaning"kind-hearted")had truly livedup

toherBuddhistname:"Shehasakindheartandalwaysacts

inkind-heartedways."61Sherespectedherprofessionand

charitywork.DuringtheJapaneseOccupation,TaiKwong

Yuenwas self-reliant andwell respected for providing

refugefor thoseaffectedbytheWar.After theWarended,

sheestablishedTaiKwongFreeSchoolandtaughtchildren

whohadlosttheopportunityforeducation.Theschoolwas

indeedthefirstpioneeroffreeschoolinginHongKongafter

theWarandwasanexemplary forgenerations tocome.

AccordingtoMasterChukMo,TaiKwongFreeSchoolhad

thefollowingbeginning:

The establishment of Tai Kwong Free School in Tai Kwong Yuen began in spring of 1946, according to Master Tsz Cheung. After the War, Hong Kong embarked on the reconstruction of education and

culture. Master Tsz Cheung felt that her monastery was becoming too quiet and thought it could use a little liveliness. In the New Territories, the War took away many poor children's opportunity for education and the urgent need for free schooling arose. Master Tsz Cheung followed the principle of Buddhist education, to mutually benefit herself and the children, and decided to provide free Buddhist schooling.62

The free school was established under diff icult

circumstances.However,MasterTszCheungperseveredand

ledherdisciplesthroughhardtimes:

The society had only just begun to stabilise after the War. The economy has been severely interrupted and the circumstances were not favourable. Besides, the Government provided little subsidy. Master Tsz Cheung put in all that she had, probably only a few hundred dollars, and started recruiting students despite the risks and uncertainties. The facilities were poor, but fortunately several supporters volunteered to teach at the school and funds lasted for a while. From 1947 to 1948, conditions improved and more students were recruited. The small classroom could no longer meet the increasing demand and Master Tsz Cheung once again took the risk to construct a school building. She was only able to complete construction of the new building by selling her farmland and raising funds from the community. The building now houses the classrooms for Primary One to Five.63

Initially, Master Tsz Chueng turned three bays in one of the halls into classrooms and provided basic education for orphans or children without education. In 1950, three more classrooms were added; in 1952 the school had two additional classrooms. After the War, the rural economy hardly revived. The two-dollar tuition fee and stationery expenses charged to private schools were paid by Tai Kwong Yuen, thus it was a free school. The funds came from the self-reliant monks and followers in Tai Kwong Yuen, who

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sold produce such as lychee, longan, papaya, honey and seasonal flowers. The school was maintained for a few decades, until the Hong Kong Government implemented compulsory free primary education.64

Besidesmanagingtheschool,MasterTszCheungalso

participatedactivelyincurriculumdesign:

It is not easy to set up a Buddhist school, but it is even more difficult to write textbooks systematically, from easier levels to more difficult ones. Master Tsz Cheung referred to Textbooks for Buddhist Primary Schools , published by the Hong Kong Buddhist Association, and edited the textbooks herself. She has already finished the textbooks for Primary Five, and is working on illustrations for the textbooks to make them more accessible to young minds."65

MasterTszChuengwasalsoveryconcernedwiththe

qualityoftheteachers.WhenMasterWingSheungfinished

secondaryschool in1953,MasterTszCheungwantedher

to teachat thefreeschool.However,MasterWingSheung

felt thathereducationwasnotsufficientandrefused.Later

in1961,MasterWingSheungreceivedadiplomafromthe

ChineseDepartmentofUnitedCollege,andTszCheung

askedhertoteachatthefreeschoolagain.Thistime,Wing

Shuengreadilyacceptedtheofferandbecameateacher.UnderMasterTszCheung's leadershipandcare,Tai

KwongFreeSchooldevelopedrapidly:

Master Tsz Cheung saw that poor students were not able to continue with secondary education and that there were hardly enough secondary schools in the New Territories. So she applied to the Government in 1956 to start a secondary school. She registered Tai Kwong Yuen as a non-profit provider of education and began raising funds to build a school campus. The first phase of construction was completed in August of 1962, with an auditorium and four classrooms. Soon, too many students were signing up and the classrooms were unable to meet the needs. Phase 2 of construction thus began, a five-storey building with twelve classrooms, a science laboratory and a

MasterBhiksuniTszChueng(ProvidedbyTaiKwongYuen)

TaiKwongSchoolattheearlystageofestablishment.(ProvidedbyTaiKwongYuen)

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library. Construction fees exceeded the budget and the school ran into financial difficulties. Master Yuen Wai and lay Buddhist Lam Ling Chen extended helping hands and raised funds at the Tok Ling Kok Yuen fundraiser in August of 1965. Construction resumed and was completed in March of 1967. The Hong Kong Government approved Tai Kwong Free School as a private subsidised school, and in 1975 it became a fully subsidised secondary school.66

BesidesexpandingTaiKwongSchool,MasterTsz

Cheungcontinued tobreaknewground ineducation. In

1971,TaiKwongKindergartenwasestablishedinShekLei,

KwaiChung.Duringthemid-1990s,shecontributedtothe

buildingofschoolsinMainlandChinaaswell.Asaresultof

herexceptionalaccomplishments incharitywork,shewas

awardedtheM.B.EbytheBritishGovernment in1978.In

Theexistingschoolbuildinghasbeenrenovated(PhotographybyNgaiTingMing)

1997,MasterTszCheungretiredduetoillhealth,andpassed

awayin1999.Herdisciple,MasterWingSheung,succeeded

herasmanagerofTaiKwongYuen.MasterTszCheung

instructedMasterWingSheung toestablish theBuddhist

TaiKwongYuenFoundationLimitedwithherlifesavings,

andtocontinueprovidingeducationandestablishingHope

SchoolslocallyandintheMainland.MasterWingSheung,

whosesecularnamewasChow,hadheldfriendshipswith

prominentBuddhists suchasHairen,TszCheung,Lam

LingChen,HinChi,FatFong,YuenYingandManChi.

In1966, sheobtainedherBachelorofArtsdegree from

TheChineseUniversityofHongKongandbecame the

succeedingdiscipleofMasterTszCheung.Shewasalsoan

activeparticipantincharityworkandhadcontributedtime

andeffort inbetteringthecommunities inHongKongand

MainlandChina.Unfortunately, shealsopassedaway in

2002.

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ThecurrentMasterNunatTaiKwongYuenisMaster

YuenWai.ShewasMasterWingSheung'sdisciple,andshe

hasfollowedMastersTszCheungandWingSheungfor44

years.Besidesmanagingthelectorium'saffairs,sheisalso

adirectorof theHongKongBuddhistAssociationandthe

chairpersonofBuddhistChiWaiDayNursery.

Pun Chun Yuen of the Lotus Association of Hong Kong in Shek Kwu Lung: Lay Buddhist Lectorium for the Worship of the Bodhisattva Tata

OnefeatureofmodernBuddhisminChinaisthatlay

Buddhistshavebecomeincreasinglyinfluential.Duringthe

lateQingDynastyandearlyRepublicanPeriod,intellectual

layBuddhistswhohad in-depthknowledgeofBuddhism

gaveadviceforthereformanddevelopmentoftheBuddhist

faith inChina.Entering theRepublicanperiod,Buddhism

becameincreasinglyurbanised.ManyBuddhistmerchants

werekindbenefactors and theyhadassumed important

roles in Buddhist organisations.There emerged joint

effortsbymonksand layfollowers todevelopBuddhism.

In Hong Kong, lay Buddhist merchants supported the

religioninmanydifferentways,suchascontributingfunds

tobuildtemplesandmonasterieslikeTingWaiMonastery,

sponsoringprominentmonkstolectureinHongKong,such

asthe1920visitbyTaixuandhislectureinQuarryBay,or

foundinglayBuddhistorganisations.Someevenestablished

layBuddhistlectoriumsliketheHongKongMantraSchool

forLayBuddhistssetupin1925.

ThemainentranceofPunChunYuenof theLotusAssociationofHongKong(PhotographybyNgaiTingMing)

TheoldmainentranceofPunChunYuenoftheLotusAssociationofHongKong(PhotographybyNgaiTingMing)

ThemaingateofPunChunYuen(PhotographybyYauChiOn)

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SceneofthegardenofPunChunYuen(PhotographybyNgaiTingMing)

LocatedinShekKwuLung,TaiPo,PunChunYuen

of theLotusAssociationofHongKong isa layBuddhist

lectorium.It isnowmanagedby theLotusAssociationof

HongKong,establishedin1933.Yet,theassociationdidnot

foundthelectorium.TheoriginalnameofthesitewasPun

ChunYuen.In1967,itwasdonatedbytheoriginalowners

totheLotusAssociationofHongKong,whichchangedits

name.Accordingtoabriefintroductionfoundatthesite,

Pun Chun Yuen, with an area of over 20,000 square feet, is located at No. 17 Shek Kwu Lung in Tai Po. Originally it was owned by the family of the late gentry Wong Siu Wai. The lectorium has had a long history. Even before the War, it was a Buddhist lectorium frequented by many followers. Pun Chuen Yuen's name came from the fact that lay Buddhist Wong Siu Wai used to take a half-day trip to the site to discuss Buddhism with two close friends. "Pun Chun" ("Banchun" in Putonghua, literally meaning "half spring") implies "three people and half a day".

TheoldmaingateofPunChunYuen(PhotographybyYauChiOn)

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WongSiuWai,alsoknownasWongTakWai,was

aHongKongmerchant.Hewas theownerofWingLee

WaiWine Merchants, which was founded in 1876 and

began itsHongKongbusiness in 1905.WingLeeWai

WineMerchantswasavery importantwinebusiness in

modernChina– itsWujiaPijiu(alsoknownas"WuChia

PiChiew")andMeiguiluJiu(alsoknownasas"MeiKuei

LuChiew")wereverywell known.The success of the

winerycouldbeattributedlargelytoWongSiuWai'sefforts,

ashesaid, "I rememberhavingabandonededucation for

businessovertwentyyearsago.SincethenIhavetravelled

alloverAsiaandtheAmericas.WhereWingLeeWaiwine

wassold, Iwent there tounderstandthemarket. ......Iwas

averybusymananddidnothave timefor thepursuitof

spiritualknowledge."67Thewinerybusinessgrewunderhis

leadershipandthewinesoldverywellintheMainlandand

abroad.

Wong SiuWan became interested in traditional

religionsin1924.ThefirstgodhecametoknowwasWong

TaiSin:

Around five years ago, a friend, who worshipped Wong Tai Sin, gave fortune telling readings and cure for illness through spirit calling in his spare time. The advice he gave was always good, and he invited me to one of his spirit calling sessions. Many people were seeking advice there. Wong Tai Sin was always right in his advice, and the people left contented because their requests had been answered. I was amazed. Later, my son slipped on his way to school on a rainy day and hurt his left hand. His hand still had not healed after a few months, and both Chinese and western doctors were not able to find out why. I brought him to see my friend, who told him to kneel down and pray to Wong Tai Sin. My friend, Wong Tai Sin's spirit in fact, directed us to get herbal dressing from a certain bone setting practice that would heal my son's hand immediately. I followed the instruction, and the dressing indeed worked. I started believing in Wong Tai Sin. Less than a month later, a

partner at the winery had severe stomach ache. The Chinese doctors offered little help, and many western doctors said he had to have his appendix removed or he would die. He did not want the operation. He was the only son in his lineage and could not take the matter lightly. Yet at the same time, his condition deteriorated and became critical. I thought Wong Tai Sin was powerful, and wanted to see if advice could be obtained for this situation and to prevent surgery. A prescription was obtained, with advice on how to use the traditional Chinese medicine. Shortly after starting treatment, the partner emerged well from the most critical condition. The next day, another prescription was obtained. A black sesame concoction was made, and just after one dose his condition improved significantly. The third prescription was a very common herbal concoction and he was completely healed after taking it. From then on, I decided to worship Wong Tai Sin.68

LayBuddhistWongSiuWan(ProvidedbyPunChunYuen)

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Afterthisincident,WongSiuWaibecameimmensely

interestedintraditionalreligion.Inordertobemoreclosely

connectedwithWongTaiSin,he started learning spirit

calling,althoughhewasnotsuccessfulinthebeginning.He

laterlearnedthatthespirit-callingpenwouldonlymoveifhe

hadchantedtheHeartSutrainhismindallday.Hefollowed

the instructionand thepen finallymoved.Afteramonth

WongSiuWaicouldworkacompletepieceofadvicefrom

thespirit.Sincethen,helearnedthereligionandpractised

spirit calling at night andwhenever hewas away from

work,andbecamequiteknowledgableinthesubject.Most

peopleusedspiritcallingforadviceandhealing,butWong

thoughtof itasawaytolearnaboutreligion.Thisreflects

his immensepassionfor traditionalreligion.However, the

teachingsofWongTaiSin,accordingtoWong,weremostly

onBuddhism:

I studied the Diamond Sutra, the Dharani of Great Compassion and True Scripture of the Peach Garden Holy Emperor Kuan Who Illuminates the Sacred daily. I also printed Buddhist books for distribution, books that guide followers to do good for society. The spirit always urged followers to never do evil and only do good deeds. I felt strongly that these words of caution were beneficial to the world. When I called the spirit every night for guidance, the first words were always "everything we do we do for goodness' sake". I continued my quest for spiritual faith and was joined by more and more people. My young son also became religious and started to perform spirit calling. He was a better medium than I was. The messages he got were usually about how to differentiate between right and wrong, and sometimes the pen moved for a thousand words in just a few minutes. When he was not yet ten years old, he could write hundreds of poems with the spirit and we made a volume of the poetry, Collected Poems of the Wind and the Waves. When he grew up, he learned more about Buddhism and explained to us the concepts of "form

and emptiness", "human", "I", "living beings" and "life", as well as the difference between the Buddhas and immortal beings. This information was our basic understanding of Buddhism.69

ThefollowersbecameclosertotheBuddhaasaresult

ofthespirit'sguidance:

A few months later, the spirit named a few faithful followers and told us to go to the fourth floor of the Wing Lee Wai Building in Hong Kong. There Wong Tai Sin told everyone, "In this world today, the hearts of men are corrupt and Buddhism is the only salvation. You are all followers of the Buddha, so I now tell you I am the Bodhisattva Tata. You must follow the Buddha's way and stop spirit calling at once. The spirit-calling altar was never a part of Buddhism, so you must renounce the practice and follow the righteous way. If you continue to do spirit calling, you will go against the Buddha. I saw that you did not have much wisdom, and you would not believe unless something close to a miracle had happened. Thus I spoke through the spirit to open the door to Buddhism for you. Yet is it important for you to understand that, you must stop spirit calling because it can cause evil. Why? Since many spirits responding to your call are not true immortal beings and gods, but the evil spirit pretending to be them. You must stop spirit calling, and study the Diamond Sutra and the Dharani of Great Compassion regularly. It is not yet time to promote Buddhism. Wait three more years, then you may make your own plans for preaching. It will be the right timing then.70

WithguidancefromWongTaiSin,stepsweretakento

practisethetransitiontotrueBuddhism.This incidentwas

recordedindetailbecause,toseekBuddhistguidance,Wong

SiuWaiwenttoShanghaiandbecameadiscipleofMaster

Yinguang, themodernmasterofBuddhism inChina. In

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1928,WongSiuWaifoundedtheTataBuddhistAssociation

inSanPoKong,Kowloon.Themottoofthesocietywas"to

practiseandlearnBuddhism,withthehopesthatknowledge

canbeacquired; topreachBuddhism, inorder tobenefit

theselfandothers."71HesenttheprogrammeofBuddhist

learning toMasterYinguangforhis review,whoreplied,

"after the studyofBuddhism,Guanyin followed.Then

addingtheworshipoftheBodhisattvaTata.MayIaskhow

youdecidedonthis?"72Wongthenwrotedownthereasons

andsoughtYinguang'sguidance.MasterYinguanggavehim

detailedinstructions,andremindedhimtostrikeabalance

between his gratitude for the BodhisattvaTata and the

respectformainstreamBuddhism.

From your reply, I can tell that the Bodhisattva Tata has been good with his guidance. The Bodhisattva Kok Ming Miu Hang and the Bodhisattva Tata are very much like each other. You should understand that spirit calling cannot be relied upon. The Bodhisattva has used an unconventional way to guide you to true Buddhism – desires drive actions, leading you to Buddhist epiphany. The Bodhisattva Tata has helped you immensely and should not be forgotten, but you should not include the Bodhisattva in the formal worship rituals. If Buddhist rituals do not even include the Bodhisattvas Manjusri, Samantabhadra, Ksitigarbha, and Maitreya, then others should not be a part either. Yet these Bodhisattvas are among the Bodhistsattvas of Mahasthamaprapta. I do not see any harm in your worshipping the Bodhisattva Tata at the society, but if other people did not understand, there would be trouble. Thus it is better to worship the Bodhisattva Tata in a separate place.73

Wong Siu Wai was a merchant. His pursuit of

traditionalreligionarosefromapracticalneed,butoncehe

beganhispursuit, therewasnogoingback.Heoriginally

soughtthewaythroughspiritcalling(hebecameadisciple

ofSikSikYuenWongTaiSinTemple), thenhebecamea

spiritmediumandeventuallyconverted toBuddhismand Thewallisdecoratedwithcharms(PhotographybyNgaiTingMing)

organisedalayBuddhistorganisation.Duringthe1930s,he

boughtPunChunYueninTaiPoanduseditasavenueto

discussBuddhismwithhisfriends.Thevenuelaterbecame

aproperworshipsite,alectoriumforlayBuddhists.In1953,

theTataBuddhistAssociationmoved toPunChunYuen,

andthesitebecameanofficial lectorium.74WongSiuWai

transportedthreestatuesofthewesternThreeNoblesfrom

Jiangsu to the lectorium,andplacedrarebronzekylins to

guard thehall.TheMainShrine,where theBuddhasare

worshipped,hasbeenthoughtfullydesignedanddecoratedto

giveitabeautifulgardenlandscapeandanairofgrandeur.

Nevertheless, theBodhisattvaTatahasnotbeenforgotten.

A small chamber in the garden is used to worship the

Bodhisattvaanddaily incense isoffered.Themasterof

PunChunYuensaidthat,eventoday,followersworshipthe

Bodhisattvainthelectoriumfrequently.

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ThethreeBuddhaimagesintheGreatHallofPunChunYuen.TheimageswerecraftedbyfamousJiangsucraftsmen.(PhotographybyNgaiTingMing)

WongSiuWai respectedMasterYinguanggreatly.

HehadalwayswishedtoinviteYinguangtopreachinHong

Kong,butunfortunatelythemasterpassedawayin1940and

nevercametoHongKong.AfterMasterYinguangpassed

away,WongSiuWaiaskedafriendofhistoseekasariraof

themasterfromMonkMiaozhen,alongwitharobe,shoes

andsocks, tobeplacedtemporarilyinPunChunYuen.He

wasgoingtobuildapagodatopermanentlyhosttheitems.

However,tenyearswentbyandtheplanwasneverrealised,

not even afterWongSiuWaipassed away.However, it

eventuallyfacilitatedtheconstructionof theSariraPagoda

ofMasterYinguangbyTungLumNienFahTongin1960.

Hong Kong lay Buddhist Wong Siu Wai had asked

his friend, Chow Ching Shui, to acquire a sarira, a headgear, a robe, and a pair each of socks and shoes [of Master Yinguang], to be placed temporarily in Pun Chun Yuen in Tai Po. He had planned to seek the right site to build a memorial hall. Lay Buddhists Ma Foon Kwong, Lo Chi Chung and Shek Shun Fook heard about the plan and suggested that Tung Lum Nien Fah Tong in Village Wan build the sarira pagoda. Mrs. Wong Siu Wai and her nephew Yiu Suen agreed immediately and Mrs. Wong contributed 1,000 dollars as a start. After two years and with efforts by many lay Buddhists, the pagoda was completed. Construction costs stood at approximately 60,000 dollars.75

InMayof1967,Ms.WongSiuWaifollowedthewish

ofherlatehusbandanddonatedPunChunYuentotheLotus

AssociationofHongKongso that itcouldbedeveloped.

TheLotusAssociationofHongKongwasestablished in

1933byTsangPikShan,LeeKungTatandChaoFutWai.It

wasalayBuddhistassociationfor thepreachingofAmida

Buddhism.TsangPikShan,anativeofPanyuinGuangdong,

wasawell-knownBuddhistactivistandeducator inHong

Kong. In 1964,Tsang was awarded the M.B.E. by the

Queenof theUnitedKingdomto recognisehis immense

contributiontoHongKong.Tsangwasthefirsteducatorto

receivethisrecognition.

PunChunYuenwasrenamedPunChunYuenof the

LotusAssociationofHongKong,andimprovementswere

made.The lotuspond in theMainShrinewas renovated,

andnewadditionsweremade, including theBodhisattva

Ksitigarbha Chamber, KwunYum Chamber, Buddhist

ScriptureLibraryandMemorialHall.Structuredamaged

duringtheWar,suchasTakWaiTongandtheGlassHouse,

havebeenrestoredpreservingtheirpre-warcharacteristics.

In 1979, Master Daoyuan conducted the consecration

ceremonyfortheKwunYumStatueinKwunYumHall.He

alsopreachedforsevendaysinthelectorium.In1999,the

AntiquitiesandMonumentOfficedeclaredtheMainShrine,

TakWaiTong and the Glass House in Pun ChunYuen

protectedmonuments.

AbronzeplaqueoftheBodhisattvaTataSocietyishungonthemaindoor(PhotographybyNgaiTingMing)

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TheKwunYumChamberofPunChunYuen(PhotographybyNgaiTingMing)

AposterinthegardenintroducingPunChunYuenoftheLotusAssociationofHongKong(PhotographybyYauChiOn)

Ahouseinthegarden(PhotographybyYauChiOn)

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TheGreatHallofPunChunYuen(PhotographybyYauChiOn)

ApairofbronzeunicornsguardtheHall(PhotographybyYauChiOn)

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Footnotes1 Faure,David,LukHungKay,NgLunNgaiHa,eds.,Inscriptionsand

Epitaphs inHongKong (香港碑銘匯編)vol.3 (HongKong:Hong

KongUrbanCouncil,1986),p.81.

2 NgBaLing,SceneriesandCulturesoftheNewTerritories (新界風光)

(HongKong:OverseaChineseDaily,19601sted.,19623rded).

3 "TheGrandOpeningoftheRenovatedYanLoBuddhistMonastery"(隱

廬佛社重修大埔堂落成記),1968; the inscription isfoundatYanLo

BuddhistMonastery'sTaiPositeinKamShan.

4 TheresearchonWunYiu'sFanSinTemplewasbasedonYauChiOn's

researchproject:GodofPotters,TemplesandCommunityHistory:

WunYiu,TaiPo,2007-2008,commissionedby theAntiquitiesand

MonumentsOffice,LeisureandCulturalServicesDepartment.

5 SeeFaure,David,LukHungKay,NgLunNgaiHa,eds.,Inscriptions

andEpitaphsinHongKong(香港碑銘匯編),p.307.

6 SeeFaure,David,LukHungKay,NgLunNgaiHa,eds.,Inscriptions

andEpitaphsinHongKong(香港碑銘匯編),p.83,p.307.

7 See"TraditionalFestivals:AllEyesonTaiPingQingJiao"byChoiChi

CheungandLuiWingSinginthisbook.

8 Formoredetails,seeTanakaIssei,LineageandTheatreinChina (中國

の宗族と演劇)(Tokyo:TokyoUniversityPress,1985),vol.2,chapter3.

9 LeungYuWah,WalkingThroughtheVillages:History,Folkloresand

AffectionsfortheCountryside (穿村:鄉郊歷史、傳聞與鄉情)(Hong

Kong:CosmosBooks,2002),pp.54-55.

10 InscriptionepitaphofFanSinTemple's1976Renovation,placedinside

thetemple.

11 It isanacceptedview thatToYuenTungwas founded in1924,but

accordingtoTheOriginofSinTinTao(道脈總源流),"ToYuenTungin

TaiPowasestablishedduringtheJiayinyearoftheRepublicanPeriod

toprovideanescapefromworldlyaffairs.Constructionwascompleted

inWuwu.TwoscrollsofCollectedPoemsofToYuen(桃源詩聯集)

weredistributedtofriends."ThusToYuenTung'sconstructionshould

havebeencompletedin1918(theWuwuyear)insteadof1924.SeeTin

SiuTsuen,TheOriginofSinTinTao(道脈總源流)(1924),p.28.

12 SeeYauChiOn,ed.,AHundredYear'sTaoism:TaoismandTaoist

TemplesinHongKong(道風百年)(HongKong:LeemanPublishing,

TaoistCulture&InformationCentreofFungYingSeenKoon,2002),

pp.87-88,thesectiononToYuenTung.

13 SeeFaure,David,LukHungKay,NgLunNgaiHa,eds.,Inscriptions

andEpitaphsinHongKong(香港碑銘彙編),p.467.

14 LiXin,NewTerritoriesOverview(新界概覽)vol.1(NewTerritories:

NewTerritoriesPublishingHouse,1954),p.70.

15 RitesofGratitude inCanton (粵境酧恩) (16thyearof theGuangxu

Reign),p.5.

16 Yip Chu Ming, "The Fragrance of Confucianism"(芳草儒林),

GuangzhouWenyi (廣州文藝),vol.339,issue3,2004,p.66.

17 Author'snote:thebronzestatueMasterGuangchengwaslostduringthe

Japaneseoccupation.Afterthe1990reconstructionoftheestablishment,

thecurrentceramicstatuewasmadebasedonaportrait.Interviewwith

WongWingYinandLeeKwongTai,19April2008,atHongKongSing

KungChoTong.

18 HongKongSingKungChoTong,ed.,ABriefRecordofHongKong's

GuangchengTemple (港堂廣成宮事略)(1961),pp.5-7.

19 HongKongSingKungChoTong,ed.,ABriefRecordofHongKong's

KwongShingGong(港堂廣成宮事略),pp.1-2.

20 HongKongSingKungChoTong,ed.,ABriefRecordofHongKong's

KwongShingGong(港堂廣成宮事略),pp.7-9.

21 For thedatesofcelebrationsforSingKungChoTong'sgods,please

refertoSayingsofMasterGuangcheng(廣成仙師信語)(HongKong:

SingKungChoTong,1992,2nded.),p.10.

22 SeeYauChiOn,ed.,AHundredYear'sTaoism:TaoismandTaoist

TemplesinHongKong (道風百年),pp.168-173, thesectiononSing

KungChoTong.

23 SiuKwokKin,ShumSze,ManCheukFei,eds.,ATourofAncientSites

onHongKongIsland (香港島訪古遊)(HongKong:ChunghwaBook

Company,1992),p.37.

24 LamHingSau,ed.,SpecialCommemorative Issue for theThirtieth

AnniversaryofSungSumToTakTanand theReconstructionof the

AncientTemple (崇心道德壇創壇卅周年暨古廟重建紀念特刊)(Hong

Kong:SungSumToTakTan,1978),p.4.

25 LamHingSau,ed.,SpecialCommemorative Issue for theThirtieth

AnniversaryofSungSumToTakTanand theReconstructionof the

AncientTemple (崇心道德壇創壇卅周年暨古廟重建紀念特刊),p.57.

26 CheungSinTin,"Forewordon theDebut Issue:WellWishesfor the

Establishmentof theAltarand theRenovationof theTemple"(創刊

詞:立壇修廟紀祝),SpecialCommemorativeIssuefor theThirtieth

AnniversaryofSungSumToTakTanand theReconstructionof the

AncientTemple (崇心道德壇創壇卅周年暨古廟重建紀念特刊),p.3.

27 ChoiMukShui, "ABriefHistoryof theTaiPoChiuChowNative

AssociationLimited"(大埔潮州同鄉會會史紀略),Commemorationof

the25thAnniversaryoftheFoundingoftheTaiPoChiuChowNative

AssociationLimited (大埔潮州同鄉會成立二十五週年紀念特

刊)(HongKong:TaiPoChiuChowNativeAssociationLimited,1995),

p.20.

28 InterviewwithCheungYingShun,12April2008,atSungSumToTak

Tan.

29 (Yau)ChingMiu,"OurTemple'sFiftyTurbulentYears"(本社五十年的

滄桑史),CommemorativeIssueonYanLo'sFiftiethAnniversary (隱廬

五十週年紀念刊)(HongKong:YanLoBuddhistMonastery,1980),pp.

17-18.

30 Taoist Wan Neng, "The Origins ofYan Lo" (本社的起源), in

CommemorativeIssueonYanLo'sFiftiethAnniversary (隱廬五十週年

紀念刊),p.16.

31 FoundingofYanLoBuddhistMonasteryinTaiPo (隱廬佛社重修大

埔堂落成記),1968,theinscriptionepitaphislocatedatYanLo'sTaiPo

SiteinKamShan.

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32 ManTakChiSinSeh,QiaoYangYuShu(樵陽玉書)(HongKong:Man

TakChiSinSeh,1957),p.2.

33 InterviewwithMasterChoiHiuandYipTung,8May2008.

34 FordivineportraitspaintedbyMasterChoiHiu(alsoknownasSung

King),seeChoiSungKing,ed.,DivineArt:CollectionofConfucian,

BuddhistandTaoistArtisticMasterpieces (道裏仙風:三教文化藝術

搜神集)(HongKong:EvergreenTaoismSocietyLimited,2007).

35 Informationregardingtheyear(s)ofconstructionofManTakYuenis

largelybasedoninterviews.Informationonthesite'sarchitecturallayout

hasbeendrawnfromChuKwunChun,ed.,AJewelintheDepthsofthe

Mountains:ManTakYuen,HongKong'sHeavenlyParadise (養在深山

人未識:香港的世外桃源——萬德苑)(HongKong:ManTakYuen,

yearofpublicationunknown),pp.30-31.

36 InterviewwithMasterPoonKaLai,21April2008.

37 ManTakChiSinSeh,ed.,Special IssueCommemoratingManTak

Yuen'sLunarNewYearPrayerofBlessingFair (萬德至善社林村萬德

苑新春祈福大會特刊)(HongKong:ManTakChiSinSeh,2001).

38 ChanTszShek,"ThePastandFutureofLoFungAcademy"(本院過去

與未來),NewYearSpecialIssue,LoFungSpiritualPracticeInstitute (鑪

峰精神修養學院新年特刊) (HongKong:LoFungSpiritualPractice

Institute,1958),p.6.

39 InterviewwithMasterLaiTszHing,23April2008.MasterLaiTsz

Hingwas thediscipleofChanTszShek.Hewasborn in1921and

becameChan'sfollowerwhenhewasalittleolderthanthirty.HisTaoist

nameisTingTsz.HestillworshipstheportraitsoftheSanYangMasters

athishome.

40 ChanTszShekhasauthoredover100books,manyofwhichareon

Taoism,suchasExpressionsofLuTsu(呂祖口訣),TheSecretofLife

(一孔竅),TheLifeExtensionMirror (延命鏡),TheBookofLongLife

(長生集),Onlife (性命篇),etc.AlistofChan'sbookscanbefoundon

thebackcoverofExpressionsofLuTsu (呂祖口訣)(HongKong:Lo

FungTaoistPublishing,1953).

41 Fordetails,seeChanTszShek,"AQuickTourofLoFung'sBlessed

Land"(鑪峰聖地小遊記);alsoChanTszShek,ed.,TheHeavenlyTo

Yuen (桃源仙境) (HongKong:LoFungSpiritualPractice Institute,

1969).

42 SeeChanTszShek,ed.,TheHeavenlyToYuen(桃源仙境),photograph

onthebackcover.

43 SeereportintheOverseasChineseDaily (華僑日報),14January1963.

44 ChanTszShek,ed.,CommemorationofMasterSitToKwongbyLo

FungSpiritualPracticeInstitute (鑪峰精神脩養學院薛道光祖師紀念

刊).

45 ChanTszShek,ed.,BriefRecordsoftheConstructionoftheSpiritual

PracticeInstitutebyLoFungAcademy(鑪峰學院籌建精神脩養院簡

章),inNamesofOfficialsfortheConstructionoftheSpiritualPractice

InstituteofLoFungAcademy(1961),p.6.Therewereatotalofeighty

disciplesunder theChanTszShekSchool,whoallhadTaoistnames

startingwiththecharacter"Ting("Ding"inPutonghua)".

46 YuLingbo,"MasterHairen"(海仁法師) (http://www.china2551.org/

Article/gafj/r/200712/2609.html).

47 ElderWingSing,ed.,BuddhistWorshipSitesinHongKong(香江梵宇)

(HongKong:EditorialBoardofBuddhistWorshipSitesinHongKong,

1999).

48 ElderWingSing,ed.,BuddhistWorshipSitesinHongKong(香江梵宇).

49 NgTaiLap,ABriefBiographyofMonkMasterZengxiu (增秀老和尚

傳略)(HongKong:BuddhistCommitteeofTingWaiMonasteryofTai

Po,1948).

50 InscriptionoftheGrandOpeningofTingWaiMonastery'sRenovation

andIts70thAnniversary(定慧寺佛殿重修落成暨建寺七十周年紀念

碑記),theInscriptionEpitaphisfoundinsidetheMainShrine.

51 NgTaiLap,ABriefBiographyofMonkMasterZengxiu (增秀老和尚

傳略).

52 NgTaiLap,ABriefBiographyofMonkMasterZengxiu (增秀老和尚

傳略).

53 NgTaiLap,ABriefBiographyofMonkMasterZengxiu (增秀老和尚

傳略).

54 NgTaiLap,ABriefBiographyofMonkMasterZengxiu (增秀老和尚

傳略).

55 NgTaiLap,ABriefBiographyofMonkMasterZengxiu (增秀老和尚

傳略).

56 ShenXuelu,ed.,ATimelineBiographyofMasterXuyun,inthe37th

Yearof theRepublicanPeriodwhenhewouldhavebeen109Years

Old (虛雲老和尚年譜•民國三十七年戊子一百有九歲) (Jiangxi:

ShanzhenRuTemple,Yunju,2004).

57 MasterChukMo,"BeginningwiththeVisitofTaiKwongSchool"(從

參觀大光學校說起)(http://www.mba.net.my/NewsEvents/FaHaiYunJi/

zhumo/zhumo-b21/zhumo-b21-34.htm).

58 SpeechbyMasterTaixu,transcribedbyMasterChukMo,"ThePractice

ofSeclusionandtheTreasuresofMonkhood"(阿蘭若行與養成僧寶),

seeHoiChiuYum(海潮音),vol.13,issue7.

59 SpeechbyMasterTaixu,transcribedbyMasterChukMo,"ThePractice

ofSeclusionandtheTreasuresofMonkhood"(阿蘭若行與養成僧寶).

60 SpeechbyMasterTaixu,transcribedbyMasterChukMo,"ThePractice

ofSeclusionandtheTreasuresofMonkhood"(阿蘭若行與養成僧寶).

61 MasterKokKwong,"OpeningSpeech:SuccessionCeremonyofMaster

YuenWai"(圓慧法師陞座大典致詞),inHongKongBuddhist (香港佛

教),issue523,2003.

62 MasterChukMo,"BeginningwiththeVisitofTaiKwongSchool"(從

參觀大光學校說起).

63 MasterChukMo,"BeginningwiththeVisitofTaiKwongSchool"(從

參觀大光學校說起).

64 ElderWingSing,ed.,BuddhistMonasteriesinHongKong(香江梵宇).

pp.240-241.

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65 MasterChukMo,"BeginningwiththeVisitofTaiKwongSchool"(從

參觀大光學校說起).

66 ElderWingSing,ed.,BuddhistMonasteriesinHongKong(香江梵宇),

p.241.

67 WongSiuWai,"LettertoMasterYinguangbyLayBuddhistWongSiu

Wai" (黃德煒居士上印公法師書), inMasterYinguang,PureLand

Essentials (II)Footnote:DeedsofBodhisattvaKokMingMiuHang

andBodhisattvaTata (淨土輯要(下篇)•附錄:覺明妙行菩薩及哆

哆婆娑呵菩薩應化事迹) (Taipei: theCorporateBodyof theBuddha

EducationalFoundation,2001).

68 "LettertoMasterYinguangbyLayBuddhistWongSiuWai"(黃德煒居

士上印公法師書).

69 "LettertoMasterYinguangbyLayBuddhistWongSiuWai"(黃德煒居

士上印公法師書).

70 "LettertoMasterYinguangbyLayBuddhistWongSiuWai"(黃德煒居

士上印公法師書).

71 "LettertoMasterYinguangbyLayBuddhistWongSiuWai"(黃德煒居

士上印公法師書).

72 MasterYinguang,"LayBuddhistBookofFookKongKingChun(II)"

(覆江景春居士書二), inMasterYinguang,CollectedWorksofMaster

Yinguang(vol.Iofthecontinuededition) (印光法師文鈔(續篇卷上))

(Beijing:ChinaReligionPublishingHouse,2000).

73 MasterYinguang,"ReplytoLayBuddhistWongSiuWai"(覆黃德煒居

士書),inMasterYinguang,CollectedWorksofMasterYinguangvol.3,

issue3 (印光法師文鈔(三篇卷三))(Beijing:ChinaReligionPublishing

House,2000).

74 WongSiuWaiworshippedWongTaiSinunderthenametheBodhisattva

Tata.Fordetails,seeYauChiOn,"FusionofThreeReligionsinWong

Tai Sin Cult in Guangdong and Hong Kong Regions" (粵港地區

黃大仙信仰的三教兼融), inLaiChiTim,ed.,PeaceandConflicts

ofReligions:ACollectionofAcademicDissertations forReligious

ResearchofTheChineseUniversityofHongKongand thePeking

University (宗教的和平與衝突:香港中文大學與北京大學宗教研

究學術論文集) (HongKong:ChunghuaBookCompany,2008),pp.

142-144.

75 MasterTingSai,"ReportontheSariraTowerCommemoratingMaster

Yinguang" (印光大師紀念堂舍利塔落成報告經過), inTung Lum

NienFahTong,eds,TungLumRecords:RememberingMasterTingSai

(東林小志:定西大師紀念集合刊)(HongKong:TungLumNienFah

Tong,1962).

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Bibliography

1. Chinese References

ChanTszShek,ed.,CommemorationofMasterSitTo

KwongbyLoFungSpiritualPracticeInstitute (鑪峰

精神脩養學院薛道光祖師紀念刊) (HongKong:Lo

FungSpiritualPracticeInstitute,1959).

ChanTszShek,ed.,TheHeavenlyToYuen (桃源仙

境)(HongKong:LoFungSpiritualPracticeInstitute,

1969).

ChanTszShek,ExpressionsofLuTsu (呂祖口訣)

(HongKong:LoFungTaoistPublishing,1953).

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刊)(HongKong:LoFungSpiritualPracticeInstitute,

1958).

Choi Sung King, ed.,DivineArt: Collection of

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EvergreenTaoismSocietyLimited,2007).

ChuKwunChun,ed.,AJewel in theDepthsof the

Mountains:ManTakYuen,HongKong'sHeavenly

Paradise (養在深山人未識:香港的世外桃源——萬

德苑)(HongKong:ManTakYuen,yearofpublication

unknown).

ElderWingSing,ed.,BuddhistWorshipSitesinHong

Kong (香江梵宇) (HongKong:EditorialBoardof

BuddhistWorshipSitesinHongKong,1999).

Faure,David,LukHungKay,NgLunNgaiHa,eds.,

InscriptionsandEpitaphsinHongKong(香港碑銘匯

編)vol.3 (HongKong:HongKongUrbanCouncil,

1986).

HongKongSingKungChoTong,ed.,ABriefRecord

ofHongKong'sGuangchengTemple (港堂廣成宮事

略)(unpublished,1961).

LaiChiTim,ed.,PeaceandConflictsofReligions:A

CollectionofAcademicDissertations forReligious

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thePekingUniversity (宗教的和平與衝突:香港中文

大學與北京大學宗教研究學術論文集)(HongKong:

ChunghuaBookCompany,2008).

LamHingSau,ed.,SpecialCommemorativeIssuefor

theThirtiethAnniversaryofSungSumToTakTanand

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創壇卅周年暨古廟重建紀念特刊)(HongKong:Sung

SumToTakTan,1978).

LeungYuWah,WalkingThroughtheVillages:History,

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村:鄉郊歷史、傳聞與鄉情) (HongKong:Cosmos

Books,2002).

LiXin,NewTerritoriesOverview (新界概覽)vol.1

(NewTerritories:NewTerritoriesPublishingHouse,

1954).

ManTakChiSinSeh,QiaoYangYuShu (樵陽玉書)

(HongKong:ManTakChiSinSeh,1957).

ManTakChiSinSeh,SpecialIssueCommemorating

ManTakYuen'sLunarNewYearPrayerofBlessing

Fair (萬德至善社林村萬德苑新春祈福大會特刊)

(HongKong:ManTakChiSinSeh,2001).

MasterYinguang,CollectedWorksofMasterYinguang

(vol. Iof thecontinuededition) (印光法師文鈔(續

篇卷上))(Beijing:ChinaReligionPublishingHouse,

2000).

MasterYinguang,CollectedWorksofMasterYinguang

vol.3, issue3 (印光法師文鈔(三篇卷三)) (Beijing:

ChinaReligionPublishingHouse,2000).

MasterYinguang,PureLandEssentials(II)Footnote:

Deeds of Bodhisattva Kok Ming Miu Hang and

BodhisattvaTata (淨土輯要(下篇)•附錄:覺明妙

行菩薩及哆哆婆娑呵菩薩應化事迹) (Taipei: the

CorporateBodyoftheBuddhaEducationalFoundation,

2001).

Ng Ba Ling,Sceneries and Cultures of the New

Territories (新界風光)(HongKong:OverseasChinese

Daily,19601sted.,19623rded).

NgTai Lap,A Brief Biography of Monk Master

Zengxiu (增秀老和尚傳略) (HongKong:Buddhist

CommitteeofTingWaiMonasteryofTaiPo,1948).

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Trad

ition

al R

eligio

us A

ctivi

ties

SayingsofMasterGuangcheng(廣成仙師信語)(Hong

Kong:SingKungChoTong,1992,2nded.).

ShenXuelu, ed.,ATimelineBiographyofMaster

Xuyun,inthe37thyearoftheRepublicanPeriodwhen

hewouldhavebeen109yearsold (虛雲老和尚年譜•

民國三十七年戊子一百有九歲) (Jiangxi:Shanzhen

RuTemple,Yunju,2004).

SiuKwokKin,ShumSze,ManCheukFei, eds.,A

TourofAncientSitesonHongKongIsland(香港島訪

古遊)(HongKong:ChunghwaBookCompany,1992).

TanakaIssei,LineageandTheatreinChina (中國の宗

族と演劇)(Tokyo:TokyoUniversityPress,1985).

TinSiuTsuen,TheOriginofSinTinTao(道脈總源流)

(1924).

TungLumNienFahTong,eds,TungLumRecords:

RememberingMasterTingSai (東林小志:定西大師

紀念集合刊)(HongKong:TungLumNienFahTong,

1962).

YanLo,Commemorative IssueonYanLo'sFiftieth

Anniversary (隱廬五十週年紀念刊)(HongKong:Yan

LoBuddhistMonastery,1980).

YauChiOn,ed.,AHundredYear'sTaoism:Taoismand

TaoistTemplesinHongKong(道風百年)(HongKong:

LeemanPublishing,TaoistCulture& Information

CentreofFungYingSeenKoon,2002).

2. Chinese Essays

ChoiMukShui,"ABriefHistoryof theTaiPoChiu

ChowNativeAssociationLimited"(大埔潮州同鄉會

會史紀略),Commemorationof the25thAnniversary

of the Founding of theTai Po Chiu Chow Native

AssociationLimited (大埔潮州同鄉會成立二十五週

年紀念特刊)(HongKong:TaiPoChiuChowNative

AssociationLimited,1995).

MasterKokKwong, "OpeningSpeech:Succession

CeremonyofMasterYuenWai"(圓慧法師陞座大典

致詞),HongKongBuddhist (香港佛教), issue523,

2003.

SpeechbyMasterTaixu, transcribedbyMasterChuk

Mo,"ThePracticeofSeclusionand theTreasuresof

Monkhood" (阿蘭若行與養成僧寶), seeHoiChiu

Yum(海潮音),vol.13,issue7.

YipChuMing,"TheFragranceofConfucianism"(芳草

儒林),GuangzhouWenyi (廣州文藝),vol.339,issue3,

2004,p.66.

3. Ancient Work

RitesofGratitudeinCanton(粵境酧恩)(16thyearof

theGuangxuReign).

4. Interviews

InterviewwithCheungYingShun,12April2008.

InterviewwithMasterChoiHiuandYipTung,8May

2008.

InterviewwithMasterLaiTszHing,23April2008.

InterviewwithMasterPoonKaLai,21April2008.

InterviewwithWongWingYinandLeeKwongTai,19

April,2008.

5. Newspaper Archive

OverseasChineseDaily (華僑日報).

6. Websites

MasterChukMo, "Beginningwith theVisitofTai

Kwong School" (從參觀大光學校說起) (http://

www.mba.net.my/NewsEvents/FaHaiYunJi/zhumo/

zhumo-b21/zhumo-b21-34.htm).

YuLingbo,"MasterHairen"(海仁法師)(http://www.

china2551.org/Article/gafj/r/200712/2609.html).

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