For the Journey to the West character, see Monkey King.
Hau Wong or Hou Wang (Chinese: 侯王; Jyutping: hau4 wong4; pinyin: Hóu Wáng) 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 [zh] (楊亮節; 杨亮节; joeng4 loeng6 zit3; Yáng Liàngjiē), a loyal and courageous general. Despite his failing health, he remained in the army to protect the last emperor of the 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 (侯王廟) 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 these updates [1][2] (8 June 2023). 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.
At the time of the construction of the Shek Pik Reservoir on Lantau Island, in the late 1950s, most of the villagers of Shek Pik Village moved into five-storey apartment blocks in the urban Shek Pik New Village (石碧新村) in Tsuen Wan. The two temples, Hau Wong Temple and Hung Shing Temple, were combined into the current Hung Hau Temple.
Yeung Hau Temple (楊侯古廟), also called the Sai Tau Miu (西頭廟; 'the western temple')[18]
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.[19]
Shrine of a walled village. 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.[20]
It was probably built between 1662 and 1722. It is the main temple of Nam Pin Wai as well as Yuen Long Kau Hui.[21] 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.[22] It also once served as a yamen and the officials lived there.[21]
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.[23][24]
^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