************************************************

Following a large-scale restoration work, the original elegance of the 200 years old Hau Kui Shek Ancestral Hall has been recovered and a rehabilitation ceremony was held today (June 13) to celebrate the completion of the restoration project.

Speaking at the rehabilitation ceremony, the Director of Leisure and Cultural Services, Mr Paul Leung Sai-wah, noted that the Hau clan in the New Territories, Hong Kong could trace their lineage back to the remote past. In the Song Dynasty, the clansmen moved southward from Central Plains and made Ho Sheung Heung their home during the Ming Dynasty. Mr Leung said with a span of more than 600 years, the Haus had become one of the Big Five Clans in the New Territories.

The Hau Kui Shek Ancestral Hall in Ho Sheung Heung, Sheung Shui was built some 200 years ago. Mr Leung said, "With the continued and concerted efforts of the Hau clan, the Ancestral Hall has now restored its original appearance and served as a venue for ancestral worship and clan meetings.

"Among the historical buildings in the New Territories, ancestral halls inherit the most significant cultural value. As the landmark of a village, ancestral halls not only strengthen the cohesion among the clansmen, but also enable the public to have a glimpse of their history. Regarding the ancestral halls of the Big Five Clans in the New Territories, Tang Chung Ling Ancestral Hall in Lung Yeuk Tau, Fanling, Liu Man Shek Tong Ancestral Hall in Sheung Shui and Man Lun Fung Ancestral Hall in San Tin, Yuen Long have already been declared as monuments. We are glad to see that these ancestral halls are under proper protection and opened to the public. They serve as an unconventional educational guide to the history of Hong Kong," said Mr Leung.

Mr Leung also noted that the Hau Kui Shek Ancestral Hall was declared as a deemed monument in 1987 with the support of the Hau clan, and the Antiquities and Monuments Office (AMO) was consulting with the villagers about further declaration of the Ancestral Hall as a monument.

The Hau clan in the New Territories first settled in "Shanggu Prefecture", i.e. in the middle and western parts of Hebei Province. In the Song Dynasty, the clansmen emigrated southward, from Central Plains to Guangdong. During a visit to Bao'an, Hau Ng-long, a "Jui-shi" in the Song Dynasty, was impressed by the scenic landscape and the pleasant ambience, he then decided to move from Panyu to Bao'an where his offspring were born and raised. In the Ming Dynasty, his eleventh generation descendant Hau Cheuk-fung discovered that Ho Sheung Heung was endowed with a vast piece of farmland irrigated by the nearby Sheung Yue River. He then made Ho Sheung Heung his home. Since then, the Haus, from generation to generation, have inhabited the area. Today, the dwellers in Ho Sheung Heung, Kam Tsin, Ping Kong, Yin Kong and Hung Leng are the descendants of Hau Ng-long.

As a landmark in Ho Sheung Heung, the Hau Kui Shek Ancestral Hall was built in the Ming Dynasty to commemorate the seventeenth generation ancestor Hau Kui-shek (1554-1628). The most historical relic in the Ancestral Hall is the name plaque hung at the main entrance engraved with the year of twenty-seventh year of Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1762).

The Ancestral Hall is built in the traditional three-hall-two-courtyard style. The doorframe and bracket on the facade are built with red sandstone, fully demonstrating its imposing style and superb craftsmanship. Auspicious motifs engraved on the lintel and brackets inside the hall are exquisitely crafted. The two-storey rear hall was once used as a village school. During the period of Japanese Occupation, the study hall was closed. After the war, a new village school known as Ho Kai School was established near the Ancestral Hall. As its prime, there were over 400 students, and it was the earliest subsidised primary school in Sheung Shui.

The Hau Kui Shek Ancestral Hall has undergone full restoration in 1992 and 2001 respectively under the supervision of the AMO and the Architectural Services Department.

Also officiating at today's rehabilitation ceremony were Chairman of the Antiquities Advisory Board, Professor David Lung; Director of Architectural Services, Mr Pau Shiu-hung; District Officer, North, Mr Wong Hon-ho; Member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Mr Liu Ching-leung; Director General of the New Territories Sub-office of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr Yang Ying-qiang; Chairman of North District Council, Mr Pang Hang-yin; District Lands Officer, North, Mr Chan Ting-ching; Chairman of the Sheung Shui Rural Committee, Mr Kan Ping-chee; Chief Executive of North District Hospital and Fanling Hospital, Dr Lai King-kwong; and District Commander, Border District, Mr Fung Kin-man.

End/Wednesday, June 13, 2001

NNNN