History of Hong Kong under Imperial China
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Education - Geography - Politics Hong Kong Portal |
The History of Hong Kong in Imperial China began in 214 BC under the Qin Dynasty. The territory remain largely unoccupied until the end of the Qing Dynasty when Imperial China lost the region to the British Colony in the 1800s.
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[edit] Qin Dynasty
The territory was first incorporated into China during the Qin Dynasty (221 BC - 206 BC). The first emperor in China, Qin Shi Huang sent Yam Hiu (任囂) to occupy Guangdong, Guangxi and Guailin in 214 BC. Hong Kong is located in Nanhai Commandery and near the capital city Pun Yue
When the Qin became unstable in the north, Chiu To, a general succeeded Yam Hiu and declared independent state Nam Yuet (203 BC - 111 BC). The area was firmly consolidated under Nam Yuet. Unfortunately, the artifacts of these periods have not yet been found in Hong Kong.
[edit] Han Dynasty
Nam Yuet was incorporated into Han Dynasty in 111 BC. Archaeological evidence indicates that the population has increased since the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220). In the 1950s, the tomb at Lei Cheng Uk from the Eastern Han Dynasty (25 – 220) was excavated and archaeologists began to investigate the possibility that salt production flourished in Hong Kong around 2000 years ago, although conclusive evidence has not been found.
Tai Po Hoi, the sea of Tai Po, was a major pearl hunting harbour in China since Han Dynasty. The activities peaked during the Southern Han (917 to 971) and continued till Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1644)
[edit] Tang Dynasty
During the Tang Dynasty, the Guangdong region flourished as an international trading center. The Tuen Mun region in what is now Hong Kong's New Territories served as a port, naval base, salt production centre and later, base for the exploitation of pearls. Lantau Island was also the salt production centre where the salt smugglers riots broke out against the government.
[edit] Song Dynasty
During the Northern Song Dynasty, village schools like Li Ying College were established around 1075 in the New Territories to provide Imperial Chinese education[1].
In 1276, during the Mongol invasion, the Southern Song Dynasty court moved to Fujian, then to Lantau Island and later to today's Kowloon City, but the child emperor, Zhao Bing, after being defeated in the Battle of Yamen, committed suicide by drowning with his officials. Tung Chung valley, named after a hero who gave up his life for the emperor, is believed to have been a base for the court. Hau Wong, an official of the emperor is still worshipped in Hong Kong today. By the end of the Song Dynasty, the first major clan to arrive was the Tang's (Deng, 鄧). They mostly settled in the valleys and plains of the New Territories area[2].
[edit] Yuan Dynasty
However, during the Mongol period, Hong Kong saw its first population boom as Chinese refugees entered the area. Five families of Tang (Deng, 鄧), Hau (Hou, 候), Pang (Peng, 彭) and Liu (Liao, 廖) and Man (Wen, 文) were claimed to be among the earliest recorded familial settlers of Hong Kong[2]. While they are recognized by family surnames, they arrived first mostly in the form of clans. Despite the immigration and light development of agriculture, the area was still relatively barren and had to rely on salt, pearl and the fishery trades to produce income.
[edit] Ming Dynasty
In the early 16th century during the Ming Dynasty, Hong Kong's earliest recorded non-Asian visitor came from the Portuguese mariner Jorge Álvares who arrived in 1513[3][4]. After his settlement, Portuguese merchants began trading in Southern China. At the same time, they invaded and built up military fortifications in Tuen Mun. Military clashes between China and Portugal ensued and the Portuguese were expelled. In the mid-16th century, the Maritime Prohibition came into effect. Designed to prevent contact with foreigners, it also restricted local sea activity. Villagers in Hong Kong coastal areas were ordered to move to mainland China. To further reduce the population of an estimated 16,000 in the territory, the transition from Ming to Qing Dynasty led to the flushing out of Ming rebels. Qing officials forced many Hong Kong villagers back to the mainland with destruction of villages, crops and famine[2].
[edit] Qing Dynasty
In 1685 Kangxi Emperor became the first emperor to open limited trade on a regular basis starting with Canton territory. He imposed tough terms for trades such as requiring foreign traders to live in restricted areas. They could only stay during the trading seasons. They could not bring in firearms, warships or women. Trading was to be done in silver[5].
The British East India Company made the first sea venture to China in 1699, and Hong Kong's trade with British merchants grew rapidly thereafter. In 1711, the Company established a trading post in Canton. Hong Kong was governed under Xin'an County (新安縣) and became one of the foremost military outposts for Imperial China. By 1773 the British reached a landmark 1,000 chests of opium in Canton with China's consuming 2,000 chests yearly by 1799[5].
The Hakkas became the dominant group to occupy the territory[2], and were referred to as the "gypsies of China". They made an art of salting and preserving ingredients. While their Hakka cuisine today is recognized as serving offals such as deep fried intestines (炸大腸), salt baked chicken (鹽焗雞) and poon choy (盆菜)[6]. It may be difficult to prove these were the actual diets of the old Hakka custom, giving any insight to the first generation of cuisines. Henry Pottinger would be on his way to Asia, eventually becoming the first governor of Hong Kong.
[edit] References
- ^ Sweeting, Anthony. [1990] (1990). Education in Hong Kong, pre-1841 to 1941. HK University Press. ISBN 9622092586
- ^ a b c d Barber, Nicola. [2004] (2004) Hong Kong. Gareth Stevens Publishing. ISBN 0836851986
- ^ Porter, Jonathan. [1996] (1996). Macau, the Imaginary City: Culture and Society, 1557 to the Present. Westview Press. ISBN 0813337496
- ^ Edmonds. [2002] (2002) China and Europe Since 1978: A European Perspective. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521524032
- ^ a b Discovery Channel guide. [2005] (1980). Insight Guide HK. APA Publications. ISBN 981-2582460
- ^ Sterling, Richard. Chong, Elizabeth. Qin, Lushan Charles. [2001] (2001) World Food Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Lonely Planet Publishing. ISBN 1864502886
