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 in 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 (楊侯古廟). The table provides a partial list of these temples.
Note 1: A territory-wide grade reassessment of historic buildings is ongoing. The grades listed in the table are based on this update (10 September 2013) unless otherwise stated. The temples with a "Not listed" status in the table below are not graded and do not appear in the list of historic buildings considered for grading. Note 2: While most probably incomplete, this list is tentatively exhaustive.
Sam Shing Temple (三聖宮). Dedicated to the Marshal Yuen Tan Fuk Fu (玄壇伏虎元帥; 'Tiger Suppressing General'), Hung Shing and Hau Wong. It was rebuilt in 1993.
This Yeung Hau Temple is also known as Yee Ling Temple and Za Ling Temple. Situated to the east of Tong Yan San Tsuen near Sha Tseng Road (沙井路),[14] it was built in 1711.[15]
This Yeung Hau Temple is also called the Sai Tau Miu (西頭廟; 'the western temple').[17] It 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.[18]
This Yeung Hau Temple is situated at the end of the central axis of Sik Kong Wai, a walled village of the Tang Clan in Ha Tsuen, with its name recorded in the Xin'an Gazetteer of 1820.[19]
Tai Wong Temple, Yuen Long Kau Hui (元朗舊墟大王廟). It was probably built between 1662–1722. It is the main temple of Nam Pin Wai as well as Yuen Long Kau Hui.[20] It was built for the worship of Hung Shing and Yeung Hau. Other than for worship, the temple was a venue for solving disputes and discussing market affairs among the villagers.[21] It also once served as a yamen and the officials lived there.[20]
Yi Shing Temple (二聖宮), 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 (東頭約) formed by the seven villages next to Yuen Long Kau Hui. In the old days, the temple operated a credit society serving the alliance villages.[22][23]
^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