The Economy and lifestyle of Hakka people
As the Chinese saying goes, “People are shaped by the land they inhabit.” Environmental settings significantly influence the traditional way of living and customary practices. Before the outbreak of World War II, the economy of the New Territories in Hong Kong relied mainly on fishing and farming. Local inhabitants efficiently utilised the natural resources available […]
World geopolitics and the birth of Ap Chau
The story of Ap Chau begins with the True Jesus Church (「真耶穌教會」). ♦ The True Jesus Church initiated its missionary efforts in mainland China at the start of the 20th century. Before the outbreak of World War II, missionaries founded churches and offered medical assistance in the Sha Tou Kok Market (Tung Wo Hui, 東和墟) […]
Yellow rice wine chicken
Yellow rice wine chicken is a popular dish in the Hakka culinary tradition. One might be familiar with red and white wine, but what about yellow rice wine? Historically, villagers in the New Territories used to produce their own wine using glutinous rice for personal consumption. Made from simple ingredients like glutinous rice, water and […]
Stone-ground rice flour: the everyday life of farmers
Stick rice flour (粘米粉) and glutinous rice flour (糯米粉) are essential ingredients of traditional Hakka pastries. In bygone days before the establishment of supermarkets, pre-packaged rice flour was not available in rural areas. To make Ban-kwo (Hakka rice cake,茶粿和糕粄), farmers had to crush rice grains into powder by manually grinding the ingredients with a stone […]
Hakka Year Cake: Family steamed rice cakes in bamboo steamers
Known as ‘gou’ (糕) in Cantonese and ‘ban’ in Hakka, this traditional delicacy is a form of cake created using ground rice. During the Lunar New Year, the Hakka people place great importance on making Hakka Year Cake (‘circular steamer cake’, 圓籠粄), serving both as gifts and for household consumption. A prevalent theory circulating online […]
Kwan Tai (God of War) Festival
關公信仰是客家人最重要的的信仰，雖然客家人是多神崇拜，但是建主廟的話還是關帝為首，客家人的關帝廟的名稱多數為「協天宮」是關公的另一個封號「協天大帝」，在沙頭角很容易看到祂的身影，例如上面說到的荔枝窩，無獨有偶發現協天 宮包圍著沙頭角海，有谷埔、南涌、膊頭下、烏石角、山咀，非常有特色的協天宮 圈
Stone Tablets of New Territories Villages
如果對香港鄉村歷史有興趣的話，你會怎麼開始？先以鄉間最常見的文字資料 – 石碑作頭炮：眾籌修建公共設施（道路，橋，船，學校，廟宇）＝〉反映地區社群關係
宗族內籌款修建祠堂 ＝〉反映宗族內部關係
糾紛仲裁的結果 ＝〉反映村民如何處理糾紛及當時的社會環境/法律
標示地界，指明道路方向 等等
The Crafts of Vernacular Architecture
【1. Walls – Mud Bricks, Blue Bricks, Rubble Masonry】 Vernacular houses in Hakka villages tend to be constructed with 3 main materials, mud bricks, blue bricks, and rubble masonry. Old village houses tend to be constructed with mud bricks. Wealthier villagers would construct the front façade of the house with blue bricks and construct the […]
Multipurpose temples: A Map of Deities in Sha Tau Kok (Part II)
In addition to worshiping, temples serve three additional purposes: 1. As a regular meeting place for village and village alliance discussions, negotiations and arbitrations, and as a symbol of unity. Some temples were only worshipped by one village originally, yet they evolved to become the core temple of the whole village alliance after the formation […]
A Map of Deities in Sha Tau Kok (Part I)
It is easy to encounter temples of different sizes in Hong Kong. This ranges from large-scale Tin Hau temples that occupy the space of a few shops on ground floors to shrines in shops. If you look closely, you see deities everywhere in the city. Part 1 – Religions Believers are free to worship different […]
Clothing | Ethnobotanical Study of Plants in Villages
RamieBoehmeria nivea The ubiquitous plant grows everywhere but it is also very functional. The leaves can be used as pig feed or made into hakka rice cakes named ‘coarse-leaf tart’. Its stems can be made into rope, clothing, and shoes after being soaked and torn. Dioscorea cirrhosa Lour. The ball-shaped rhizome of cirrhosa reveals its […]
Food | Ethnobotanical Study of Plants in Villages
Chinese MugwortArtemisia argyi The Hakka people believe that Chinese mugwort has the properties of removing dirt and filth, and the plant grows exceptionally well near Ching Ming Festival, thus Chinese mugwort leaves are added into Hakka rice cake as an ingredient near Ching Ming times. The Chinese mugwort Hakka rice cake, also referred as ‘Ching […]
Rituals | Ethnobotanical Study of Plants in Villages
Pomelo Citrus maxima People bathe in fragrant water made by boiling pomelo leaves in hot water on Chinese New Year’s Eve. The practice can ward off negative energy and improve one’s luck. The leaf has an invigorating aroma. The correlation between pomelo leaf and luck might be related to how the plant’s name sounds like the […]