Tai Wai Village, where the name of the area came from, was the largest and oldest walled village in Sha Tin. It was built in 1574 during the Ming dynasty,[2] and was called Chik Chuen Wai (積存圍) at the time. It was originally made up of 16 families, Wai (韋), Chan (陳), Ng (吳), Yeung (楊), Wong (黃), Lee (李), Hui (許), Cheng (鄭), Tong (唐), Yuen (袁), Yau (游), Lam (林), Lok (駱), Tam (譚), Mok (莫) and Choy (蔡).
The Wai family, being the largest family, is thought to be the direct descendants of the famous founder general of the Han dynasty, Han Xin, who purportedly fled there to escape executions ordered by Emperor Gao of Han's empress Empress Lü Zhi. The Han descendants changed their surname into Wai by splitting the word Hon (韓) in two halves and took up the character on the right hand side.
The Cheng family, on the other hand, originated from a place called Xingyang in Zhengzhou, Henan which is the place where Chang'e supposedly flew to the Moon. It is also the birthplace of Li Shangyin, one of the most famous poets in the late Tang dynasty.
At the time of the 1911 census, the population of Tai Wai Village was 350. The number of males was 164.[5]
Features
The village was walled to protect the villagers from bandits, pirates and/or unfriendly neighbours. It was rectangular in shape with 4 watch towers at its four corners. The towers and the walls have long been demolished leaving only the entrance gate and part of the front wall. The houses inside the walls are in rows, and many houses have been built outside the walls due to later development.[6] Historic and traditional buildings include the Entrance Gate, a Hau Wong Temple, the Wai Ancestral Hall and several old houses.
A Hau Wong Temple is located within Tai Wai Village. Originally sited outside the walled village, it was moved inside during the reign of Xianfeng (1850–1861).[6] The current temple has replaced an earlier temple, probably built in 1884 and demolished in 1982.[8]
The Wai Ancestral Hall was built in the 18th or 19th century, outside of the village walls.[3]
^ abFaure, David (1986). The structure of Chinese rural society: lineage and village in the eastern New Territories, Hong Kong. Oxford University Press. pp. 117–118. ISBN9780195839708.
^Hill, Ronald D. (1985). "Fragments and speculations: the walled villages of Hong Kong". Journal of the Hong Kong Archaeological Society. 11. Hong Kong Archaeological Society: 25–38. OCLC02465191.