The Six-Day War of 1899: Hong Kong in the Age of Imperialism (Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Studies)

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Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Studies Series Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Studies Series is designed to make widely available important contributions on the local history, culture and society of Hong Kong and the surrounding region. Generous support from the Sir Lindsay and Lady May Ride Memorial Fund makes it possible to publish a series of high-quality works that will be of lasting appeal and value to all, both scholars and informed general readers, who share a deeper interest in and enthusiasm for the area.

Other titles in RAS Hong Kong Studies series: Reluctant Heroes: Rickshaw Pullers in Hong Kong and Canton 1874– 1954 Fung Chi Ming For Gods, Ghosts and Ancestors: The Chinese Tradition of Paper Offerings Janet Lee Scott Hong Kong Internment 1942–1945: Life in the Japanese Civilian Camp at Stanley Geoffrey Charles Emerson Watching over Hong Kong: Private Policing 1841–1941 Sheilah E. Hamilton

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Patrick H. Hase

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Hong Kong University Press 14/F Hing Wai Centre 7 Tin Wan Praya Road Aberdeen Hong Kong

© Hong Kong University Press 2008 ISBN 978-962-209-899-2

All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Secure On-line Ordering http://www.hkupress.org

Printed and bound by Kings Time Printing Press Ltd., Hong Kong, China.

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For Aileen

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vi

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Hong Kong in the Age of Imperialism

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Contents Foreword

ix

Preface and Acknowledgements

xi

Introduction

1

1

1899: Hong Kong in the Age of Imperialism

5

2

Riots, Disturbances, Insurrection, and War: Armed Opposition to the Imperial Ideal

23

3

July 1898–March 1899: The Road to War

39

4

April 1899: The War

61

5

Blake and Lockhart: Conflicts and Casualties

103

6

The Campaign: An Assessment

149

7

The Villagers: Leaders and Led

169

8

The Aftermath of the War

185

Appendices Appendix 1 Appendix 2

Appendix 3 Appendix 4 Appendix 5 Appendix 6 Appendix 7 Appendix 8

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Proclamation of the Governor, 7–9 April 1899 The Speech by the Governor, Sir Henry Blake, to the elders of the villages of the Kowloon area, on 17 April 1899 Report on the Fighting 15–18 April: Capt. Berger, as taken from Stewart Lockhart’s Diary Report on Operations: C. S. Simmonds, Capt. Royal Artillery The Spirit Tablet Inscription in the Tin Hau Temple, Tai Shue Ha The Six-Day War and Kam Tin The Biography of Man Tsam-chuen The Biography of Ng Shing-chi

191 194

196 203 205 206 208 210

Notes

215

Index

261

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Contents

viii

Maps Map 1 Map Map Map Map Map

2 3 4 5 6

Places Taking Part in the Insurrection, or mentioned in the text The Fighting on 15–17 April The Battle of Mui Shue Hang The Battle of Lam Tsuen Gap The Battle of Shek Tau Wai British Troop Movements, 18–19 April

4 66 68 76 88 94

Plates Plate Plate Plate Plate Plate Plate Plate Plate Plate

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Plate 10 Plate Plate Plate Plate Plate

11 12 13 14 15

Plate 16 Plate 17

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British Officers of the Hongkong Regiment, 1897 British Officers of the Hongkong Regiment, 1902 Viceroy Commissioned Officers of the Hongkong Regiment, 1902 The Tai Po Area The Flag-Raising Ceremony at Tai Po, 16 April 1899 The Lam Tsuen Gap The Sheung Tsuen/Shek Tau Wai Area Proclamation issued by Sir Henry Blake on 9 April 1899 Sir Henry Blake K.C.M.G., Governor of Hong Kong 1898–1904 and the Viceroy of the Double Kwang, Tan Chung-lin James Stewart Lockhart, C.M.G., Colonial Secretary, Hong Kong, 1895–1902 The Tat Tak Kung Soh, Ping Shan The Tin Hau Temple, Tai Shue Ha The Hero Shrine in the Yau Lun Tong, Kam Tin The Communal Grave at the Miu Kok Yuen Nunnery, Sha Po Tang Fong-hing, one of the leaders of the insurrection, shortly after 1899 Ng Shing-chi, one of the leaders of the insurrection, shortly before his death in 1938 Two Village Trained-Band Fighters from the Hong Kong area

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Foreword The appearance of this volume, the fourth in the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Studies Series, records a forgotten but very significant series of events in the history of Hong Kong. Dr Patrick Hase has made an important contribution by his scholarly research and lively description of the serious fighting that took place as the British asserted their control over the New Territories. The publications in the Studies Series have been made possible initially by the very generous donation of seeding capital by the Trustees of the Clague Trust Fund, representing the estate of the late Sir Douglas Clague. This donation enabled us to establish a trust fund in the name of Sir Lindsay and Lady Ride, in memory of our first Vice President. The Society itself added to this fund, as have a number of further generous donors. The result is that we now have funding to bring to students of Hong Kong’s history, culture and society a number of books that might otherwise not have seen the light of day. Furthermore, we were delighted to be able to establish an agreement with Hong Kong University Press which sets out the basis on which the Press will partner our efforts. This book is the fourth in the series which began in 2005. The Trustees of the Ride Fund are actively pursuing a further dozen or so titles, all in various stages of progress.

Robert Nield President Royal Asiatic Society, Hong Kong Branch March 2008

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Preface and Acknowledgements I first became interested in the Six-Day War of 1899 during the middle 1980s, while working on the history of Sha Tau Kok market.1 Dr James Hayes drew to my attention that there were translations of two interesting letters from the Sha Tau Kok elders in a collection of documents printed for the Colonial Office called Eastern No. 66: Hong Kong; Correspondence (June 20 1898, to August 20 1900) Respecting the Extension of the Boundaries of the Colony.2 Reading through this collection,3 I found my Sha Tau Kok letters, but also large numbers of documents on the Six-Day War. Shortly afterwards Dr Hayes drew my attention to two further official collections, printed for the Legislative Council, Hong Kong, entitled Despatches and Other Papers relating to the Extension of the Colony of Hong Kong and Further Papers relating to the Military Operations in Connection with the Disturbances on the Taking Over of the New Territories4 which had more material on this short war.5 I found these collections extremely interesting, but took no further action on them until 2005, when Dr Hayes urged me to put the material into some sort of order: this book is the result. It will be clear that I am greatly indebted to Dr Hayes, and it gives me great pleasure to express my thanks and indebtedness to him here. It was Dr Hayes who, thirty years ago, first opened my eyes to the great wealth of interesting material to be found on the history of the New Territories. Since then, he has been an unfailing source of material, advice, common sense, support, and suggestions. I owe him more than words can say. In every real sense, he is my master and mentor. I also owe my thanks to many others who have helped me in the preparation of this book. Lt. Col. N. Collett, Mr R. W. A. Suddaby of the Imperial War Museum, Mr Tim Ko Tim-keung, Dr Chan Wing-hoi, Mr Robert Nield, Dr Sydney Cheung, as well as Dr James Hayes saw the book at early draft stage and gave me very many valuable comments and good advice. Specific thanks are noted in the footnotes. I am also very indebted to the various village elders who have given up their time to speak to me and to answer questions, especially Mr Tang Shing-sze of Ping Shan, Mr Tang Tsim-lam and other elders of Kam Tin, and to Mr Man Chun-fai and Mr Man Pak-hang of Tai Hang. I would also like to thank the President and Council of the Royal Asiatic Society, Hong Kong Branch, for giving me the opportunity to

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xii

Preface and Acknowledgements

present this research at a public lecture of the Society: the comments made on that occasion were of great value. All errors, however, are mine alone. I am indebted to the Principal, George Watson’s College, Edinburgh (the owners of the Lockhart Papers), and to the National Library of Scotland (the custodians of the Lockhart Papers) for access to these papers. Plates 1, 2, and 3 are reproduced here with the permission of the National Army Museum, London, the owner of the copyright. Plates 4, 6, and 7 are reproduced here with the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, the copyright owner being British Crown Copyright/M.O.D. Plate 5 is reproduced here with the permission of the Mary Evans Picture Library, the owner of the copyright. Plate 8 is reproduced here by courtesy of George Watson’s College, and the National Library of Scotland. Plates 9 and 10 are reproduced here with the permission of the owner of the copyright, the Hong Kong Museum of History, Government of the Hong Kong S.A.R. Plates 11 and 12 are reproduced here with the permission of the owner of the copyright, the Antiquities and Monuments Office, Government of the Hong Kong S.A.R. Plate 15 is reproduced here with the permission of Mr Tang Hing-yip, the grandson of Mr Tang Fong-hing (my thanks are also due to Mr Tang Shing-sze for assistance in securing this photograph). Plate 16 is reproduced by courtesy of the University of Hong Kong Library. Plates 1, 2, and 3 were previously published in Hong Kong Invaded, a ’97 Nightmare, Gillian Bickley, Hong Kong University Press, 2001, together with some other photographs of the Hongkong Regiment. Plate 5 was previously published as the Frontispiece of Unequal Treaty 1898–1997: China, Great Britain and Hong Kong’s New Territories, Peter Wesley-Smith, Oxford University Press, Hong Kong, 1980 (2nd, revised, edition 1998). Finally, my thanks go to my wife, Aileen, for putting up with eighteen months in which my thoughts, speech, and often actions have been totally dominated by the Six-Day War.

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Introduction

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