Hau Wong or Hou Wang () is a title that can be translated as "Prince Marquis" or "Holy Marquis". It is not any one person's name.Frederick, Holder. Livernash, Edward James. (1892). The Californian Illustrated Magazine: December, 1892 to May 1893 Volume III. The Californian Publishing Company. No ISBN digitized text Hau Wong refers usually to (), also referred to as Yeung Hau (). While in failing health he remained in the army to protect the last emperor of the Southern Song dynasty when he went with to take refuge in Kowloon.
Temples in Hong Kong There are several temples dedicated to Hau Wong in Hong Kong, including six temples in Yuen Long.Antiquities and Monuments Office website 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 (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.
Islands District LocationNotesStatusReferencesPhotographsTai O, Lantau IslandYeung Hau Temple (大澳楊侯古廟) Built in 1699.Chinese Temples Committee. Hau Wong Temple, Tai O Managed by the Chinese Temples Committee. Pictures of Hau Wong Festival: Declared (2017) Shek Pik, Lantau IslandInundated by the Shek Pik Reservoir in 1960.Non extantSha Tsui Tau (), Tung Chung, Lantau IslandHau Wong Temple, Tung Chung (東涌侯王古廟) Built in 1765, it is the largest Hau Wong temple in Lantau island. Grade II
Sha Tin District LocationNotesStatusReferencesPhotographsTai Wai Village, Tai Wai, Sha Tin DistrictHau Wong Temple, Tai Wai (大圍侯王宮) Built in 1983. It replaced an earlier temple, probably built in 1884 and demolished in 1982."Old Hau Wong Temple, Tai Wai, Sha Tin", in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch, Vol. 23, 1983. p.233-240 Pictures of Hau Wong Festival: Not listed
Tsuen Wan District LocationNotesStatusReferencesPhotographsTop floor, 75 Ham Tin Street, Shek Pik New Village, Tsuen WanHung Hau Temple () 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 () in Tsuen Wan. The two temples, Hau Wong Temple and Hung Shing Temple, were combined into the current Hung Hau Temple.Not listed
Tuen Mun District LocationNotesStatusReferencesPhotographsNg Lau Road (), Tuen Tsz Wai, Lam Tei, Tuen Mun DistrictSam Shing Temple () Dedicated to the Marshal Yuen Tan Fuk Fu (), Hung Shing and Hau Wong. It was rebuilt in 1993.Nil grade
Wong Tai Sin District LocationNotesStatusReferencesPhotographsKowloon City area, at the southwestern corner of Wong Tai Sin District. Corner of Tung Tau Tsuen Road and Junction Road, opposite Kowloon Walled City Park.Hau Wong Temple, Junction Road (九龍城侯王廟) Built around 1730.Chinese Temples Committee. Hau Wong Temple, Junction Road Historic characters in the temple are said to have been worked on by Chang Yu-tang, Commodore of Dapeng, general of Kowloon Walled City. It is believed that Emperor Bing and his brother Emperor Duanzong made their last stance in the Song dynasty.Lim, Patricia. (2002). Discovering Hong Hong's Cultural Heritage. Central, Hong Kong: Oxford University Press. ISBN Volume One 0-19-592723-0 Managed by the Chinese Temples Committee.Declared(Previously Grade I)
Yuen Long District LocationNotesStatusReferencesPhotographsHang Tau Tsuen, next to Sheung Cheung Wai, Ping Shan, Yuen Long DistrictYeung Hau Temple, Ping Shan (屏山楊侯古廟) Partly dedicated to Hau Wong. The temple is part of the Ping Shan Heritage Trail.Ping Shan Trail at hkoutdoors.comPing Shan Heritage Trail - Yeung Hau Temple, Hang Tau Tsuen Grade III Tong Yan San Tsuen (), Ping Shan, Yuen Long DistrictYeung Hau Temple, Tong Yan San Tsuen (). The temple is also known as Yee Ling Temple and Za Ling Temple Situated to the east of Tong Yan San Tsuen near Sha Tseng Road (),Antiquities Advisory Board. it was built in 1711.Antiquities Advisory Board. Historic Building Appraisal. Yeung Hau Temple, Tong Yan San TsuenGrade III Tung Tau Tsuen (), Ha Tsuen, Yuen Long DistrictYeung Hau Temple, Ha Tsuen (廈村楊侯宮) also known as Tung Tau Miu ()Antiquities Advisory Board. Historic Building Appraisal. Entrance Gate, San Wai, Ha TsuenDeclaredAntiquities and Monuments Office. Declared Monuments in Hong Kong. Tung Tau Tsuen, Ha Tsuen Yeung Hau Temple San Wai (), Ha Tsuen, Yuen Long DistrictYeung Hau Temple (), also called the Sai Tau Miu ()Antiquities Advisory Board. Historic Building Appraisal. Yeung Hau Temple, San Wai, Ha Tsuen 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.Nil grade Sik Kong Wai (), Ha Tsuen, Yuen Long DistrictYeung Hau Temple () 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.Antiquities Advisory Board. Historic Building Appraisal. Brief Information on proposed Grade Nil Items, pp.361-362 Nil grade No. 26C Cheung Shing Street, Yuen Long Kau Hui, Yuen LongTai Wong Temple, Yuen Long Kau Hui () It was probably built between 1662 and 1722. It is the main temple of Nam Pin Wai as well as Yuen Long Kau Hui.Antiquities Advisory Board. Introduction to 1444 Historic Buildings. Item #190 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.Antiquities Advisory Board. Historic Building Appraisal. Tai Wong Old Temple, No. 26C Cheung Shing Street, Yuen Long Kau Hui It also once served as a yamen and the officials lived there.Grade I Wong Uk Tsuen, Yuen Long DistrictYi Shing Temple (), 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 () 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.Antiquities Advisory Board. Historic Building Appraisal. Yi Shing Temple, Wong Uk TsuenAntiquities Advisory Board. Nil grade Yuen Kong Tsuen (), Pat Heung, Yuen Long DistrictChung Shing Temple (, Temple of All Saints) The main deity of the temple is Pak Tai with some others including Hau Wong and the Earth God.Antiquities Advisory Board. Brief Information on Grade III Items. Item #1065 Grade III
Temples outside of Hong Kong LocationNotesStatusReferencesPhotographsHerberton Road in Atherton, Queensland, AustraliaThe Hou Wang Temple is dedicated to bodyguard commander Yang Liang Chieh in 1280 AD, who was responsible for the life of the 8 year old Emperor Bing of Song losing to the Mongols in the falling Song dynastyHouwang. "Houwang ." Australian Temple website. Retrieved on 2007-05-08.Queensland Heritage RegisterBocas Town, Bocas del Toro Province, PanamaThe How Fang Temple arrived to Bocas Town in 1904, coming from Kowloon.
See also Sung Wong Toi Places of worship in Hong Kong
References