Wind and water of two villages : investigating a possible connection between fungshui and prosperity of two villages in Ping Shan : the case of Hang Tau Tsuen and Hang Mei Tsuen

Abstract

As someone who have studied Fungshui and offers Fungshui advice, I am aware that the collective success of a village is often qualified, traditionally, by the number of wealthy landlords, accomplished scholars, illustrious officials, male offspring, and long-life people. In modern times, the attribution to good Fungshui in a village is similar: by the number of rich businessmen and landowners, accomplished professionals, high-ranking government officials and high-profile celebrities. The emphasis is still on men, even though there are more clanswomen and many successful clanswomen. Based on this notion of attributing the success of clansmen to good Fungshui, I wonder if this could provide a means of measuring how “good” is good Fungshui of a village.

The Tang clan is one of the five great clans (i.e. Tang, Hau (侯), Pang (彭), Liu (廖) and Man (文)) residing in Hong Kong. Since the migration and settlement of the family to Ping Shan in the 12th Century by the 92nd generation ancestor Tang Yuen-ching (鄧元禎) with his son Tang Chung-kwong (alias Tang Man-lei) (鄧從光, 字萬里), the Tang clan of Ping Shan has been evolved for more than 800 years with a long period of economic prosperity and social achievements. Many villagers in Ping Shan attribute this success to good Fungshui in and around the villages. In what ways does Fungshui contribute to the economic and social success in villages in Ping Shan? How can this seemingly unmeasurable Fungshui qualification of success in Ping Shan be measured in more concrete terms? These are the research questions for this dissertation.

This is an investigative research into the land and the people of villages in Ping Shan, with focus on tracing notable clansmen from past to present as a measure of the reputed good Fungshui of the land.

It is with my interest in heritage and my lifelong dedication to the understanding of Fungshui that I attempt this unconventional research in making a connection between two pedagogies – the intangible cultural heritage of Fungshui and the cultural landscape of Ping Shan. The place Ping Shan, after all, is where I grew up, and this is a place to which I have strong emotional attachment. As such, I feel obligated to find out more about Ping Shan. I did not know the outcome of the research, and my expectation was that even if I did not find the connection, I would at least find out more about the history of the people and the geography of the place and contribute towards the understanding of the cultural landscape of two villages in Ping Shan.