Hau Wong

Hau Wong Temple at Junction Road, Hong Kong

Hau Wong or Hou Wang (Chinese: 侯王; Jyutping: hau4 wong4) is a title that can be translated as "Prince Marquis" or "Holy Marquis". It is not any one person's name.^[1] Hau Wong refers usually to Yeung Leung-jit (楊亮節), a loyal and courageous general. Despite his failing health, he remained in the army to protect the last emperor of Southern Song Dynasty when he took refuge southwards in Kowloon.^[2]

Temples

Hong Kong

There are several temples dedicated to Hau Wong in Hong Kong, including six temples in Yuen Long.^[3] These temples can be named Hau Wong Temple or Yeung Hau Temple. The table provides a partial list of these temples:

Location	Notes	Picture
Tai O, Lantau Island	The "Yeung Hau Temple" in Tai O was built in 1699.[4] It is a Grade I historic building.[5] Pictures of Hau Wong Festival:
Tung Chung, Lantau Island	This Hau Wong Temple was built in 1765[6] and is the largest Hau Wong temple in Lantau island.[7] It is a Grade II historic building.[5]
Kowloon City. At the junction of Tung Tau Tsuen Road and Junction Road, right opposite the Kowloon Walled City Park.	This Hau Wong Temple was built around 1730.[8] If coming off Lai Chi Kok Station, the temple is at the end of Tung Tau Tsuen Road near Kowloon City Plaza. Historic characters in the temple is said to have been worked on by Chang Yu-tang, Commodore of Dapeng, general of Kowloon Walled City. It is believed that Emperor Bing of Song and his brother Emperor Duanzong of Song made their last stance in the Song Dynasty.[9] Previously a Grade I historic building,[5] the temple has been declared a monument.
Hang Tau Tsuen, next to Sheung Cheung Wai, Ping Shan, Yuen Long District	This Yeung Hau Temple is partly dedicated to Hau Wong. The temple is part of the Ping Shan Heritage Trail.[10][11] It is a Grade III historic building.[5]
Tong Yan San Tsuen, Ping Shan, Yuen Long District	Situated to the east of Tong Yan San Tsuen near Sha Tseng Road, this temple was built before 1711.[12] It is a Grade III historic building.[5]
Tung Tau Tsuen, Ha Tsuen, Yuen Long District	This Yeung Hau Temple is a declared monument of Hong Kong.[13]
San Wai, Ha Tsuen, Yuen Long District	This Yeung Hau Temple was renovated in 1901. It serves as the social venue which plays the dual roles as a temple and an ancestral hall of San Wai. Basin meal feasts are organized in front of the Temple during Yeung Hau Festival and Lunar New Year.[14]
Yeung Hau Temple, Sik Kong Wai, Ha Tsuen, Yuen Long District	This Yeung Hau Temple is situated at Sik Kong Wai, a Tangs' walled village in Ha Tsuen with its name recorded in the Xin'an Gazetteer of 1820.[15]
No. 26C Cheung Shing Street, Yuen Long Kau Hui, Yuen Long	This Tai Wong Temple was probably built between 1662-1722. It is the main temple of Nam Pin Wai as well as Yuen Long Kau Hui.[16] It was built for the worship of the two "Tai Wongs", Hung Shing and Yeung Hau.[17] Other than for worship, the temple was a venue for solving disputes and discussing market affairs among the villagers.[18] It also once served as a yamen and the officials lived there.[16] Grade I Historic Building.
Wong Uk Tsuen, Yuen Long District	No Grade. Yi Shing Temple (二聖宮) in Wong Uk Tsuen is conventionally called Tai Wong Temple. It is mainly for the worship of Hung Shing and Yeung Hau deities. Renovation was carried out in 1924. It still acts as an alliance temple of the Tung Tau Alliance formed by the seven villages around Tai Wai Tsuen. In the old days, the temple operated a credit society serving the alliance villages.[19][20]
Tai Wai Village, Tai Wai, Sha Tin District	Built in 1983.[21] It replaced an earlier temple, probably built in 1884 and demolished in 1982.[22] Pictures of Hau Wong Festival:

A Hau Wong Temple in Shek Pik, Lantau Island was inundated by the Shek Pik Reservoir in 1960.^[6]

Outside Hong Kong

The Hou Wang Temple in Australia is dedicated to bodyguard commander Yang Liang Chieh in 1280 AD, who was responsible for the life of the 8 year old Emperor Bing of Song losing to the Mongols in the falling Song Dynasty^[23]

See also

• Sung Wong Toi
• Places of worship in Hong Kong

References

1. Frederick, Holder. Livernash, Edward James. [1892] (1892). The Californian Illustrated Magazine: December, 1892 to May 1893 Volume III. The Californian Publishing Company. No ISBN digitized text
2. Chinese Temples Committee website
3. Antiquities and Monuments Office website
4. Hau Wong Temple, Tai O, on the Chinese Temples Committee website
5. List of Graded Historic Buildings in Hong Kong (as at 6 November 2009)
6. "Distribution of temples on Lantau Island as recorded in 1979", in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch, Vol. 20, 1980. p.138
7. Tung Chung Hau Wong Temple
8. Hau Wong Temple, Junction Road, on the Chinese Temples Committee website
9. Lim, Patricia. [2002] (2002). Discovering Hong Hong's Cultural Heritage. Central, Hong Kong: Oxford University Press. ISBN Volume One 0-19-592723-0
10. Ping Shan Trail at hkoutdoors.com
11. Ping Shan Heritage Trail - Yeung Hau Temple, Hang Tau Tsuen
12. Introduction to 1444 Historic Buildings, p.987
13. Declared Monuments in Hong Kong - Tung Tau Tsuen, Ha Tsuen Yeung Hau Temple
14. Brief Information on No Grade Items, pp.496-497
15. Brief Information on No Grade Items, pp.361-362
16. Introduction to 1444 Historic Buildings, p.178
17. thaiworldview.com - Nam Pin Wai and Sai Pin Wai villages
18. Brief Information on Proposed Grade I Items, p.354
19. Brief Information on No Grade Items, pp.214-215
20. Introduction to 1444 Historic Buildings, p.1207
21. Tai Wai Walled Village and its Hau Wong Temple
22. "Old Hau Wong Temple, Tai Wai, Sha Tin", in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch, Vol. 23, 1983. p.233-240
23. Houwang. "Houwang." Australian Temple website. Retrieved on 2007-05-08.