Hau Wong

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]

Hau Wong Temple at Junction Road, Hong Kong

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 (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

Location	Notes	Status	References	Photographs
Tai O, Lantau Island 22.259088°N 113.86275°E / 22.259088; 113.86275 (Yeung Hau Temple, Tai O)	Yeung Hau Temple (大澳楊侯古廟) Built in 1699.[4] Managed by the Chinese Temples Committee. Pictures of Hau Wong Festival:	Declared[5] (2017)
Shek Pik, Lantau Island	Inundated by the Shek Pik Reservoir in 1960.[6]	Non extant
Sha Tsui Tau (沙咀頭), Tung Chung, Lantau Island 22.280283°N 113.931228°E / 22.280283; 113.931228 (Hau Wong Temple, Tung Chung)	Hau Wong Temple, Tung Chung (東涌侯王古廟) Built in 1765,[6] it is the largest Hau Wong temple in Lantau island.[7]	Grade II

Sha Tin District

Location	Notes	Status	References	Photographs
Tai Wai Village, Tai Wai, Sha Tin District 22.376043°N 114.178108°E / 22.376043; 114.178108 (Hau Wong Temple, Tai Wai Village)	Hau Wong Temple, Tai Wai (大圍侯王宮) Built in 1983.[8] It replaced an earlier temple, probably built in 1884 and demolished in 1982.[9] Pictures of Hau Wong Festival:	Not listed

Tsuen Wan District

Location	Notes	Status	References	Photographs
Top floor, 75 Ham Tin Street, Shek Pik New Village, Tsuen Wan 22.368131°N 114.117094°E / 22.368131; 114.117094 (Hung Shing Temple, Shek Pik New Village)	Hung Hau Temple (洪侯古廟) 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.	Not listed

Tuen Mun District

Location	Notes	Status	References	Photographs
Ng Lau Road (五柳路), Tuen Tsz Wai, Lam Tei, Tuen Mun District 22.420324°N 113.979252°E / 22.420324; 113.979252 (Sam Shing Temple, Tuen Tsz Wai)	Sam Shing Temple (三聖宮) Dedicated to the Marshal Yuen Tan Fuk Fu (玄壇伏虎元帥; 'Tiger Suppressing General'), Hung Shing and Hau Wong. It was rebuilt in 1993.	Nil grade

Wong Tai Sin District

Location	Notes	Status	References	Photographs
Kowloon 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. 22.332783°N 114.187464°E / 22.332783; 114.187464 (Hau Wong Temple, Kowloon City)	Hau Wong Temple, Junction Road (九龍城侯王廟) Built around 1730.[10] 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.[11] Managed by the Chinese Temples Committee.	Declared (Previously Grade I)	Archived 2020-06-27 at the Wayback Machine

Yuen Long District

Location	Notes	Status	References	Photographs
Hang Tau Tsuen, next to Sheung Cheung Wai, Ping Shan, Yuen Long District 22.446447°N 114.0077°E / 22.446447; 114.0077 (Yeung Hau Temple, Hang Tau Tsuen)	Yeung 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.[12][13]	Grade III
Tong Yan San Tsuen (唐人新村), Ping Shan, Yuen Long District 22.433877°N 114.012505°E / 22.433877; 114.012505 (Yeung Hau Temple, Tong Yan San Tsuen)	Yeung Hau Temple, Tong Yan San Tsuen (唐人新村楊侯古廟). 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 (沙井路),[14] it was built in 1711.[15]	Grade III
Tung Tau Tsuen (東頭村), Ha Tsuen, Yuen Long District 22.453628°N 113.993086°E / 22.453628; 113.993086 (Yeung Hau Temple, Tung Tau Tsuen (Ha Tsuen))	Yeung Hau Temple, Ha Tsuen (廈村楊侯宮) also known as Tung Tau Miu (東頭廟; 'eastern temple')[16]	Declared[17]
San Wai (新圍), Ha Tsuen, Yuen Long District 22.452783°N 113.989659°E / 22.452783; 113.989659 (Yeung Hau Temple, San Wai (Ha Tsuen))	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]	Nil grade
Sik Kong Wai (錫降圍), Ha Tsuen, Yuen Long District 22.449026°N 113.992141°E / 22.449026; 113.992141 (Yeung Hau Temple, Sik Kong Wai)	Yeung Hau Temple (楊侯宮) 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]	Nil grade
No. 26C Cheung Shing Street, Yuen Long Kau Hui, Yuen Long 22.447341°N 114.032422°E / 22.447341; 114.032422 (Tai Wong Temple, Cheung Shing Street)	Tai Wong Temple, Yuen Long Kau Hui (元朗舊墟大王廟) 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]	Grade I
Wong Uk Tsuen, Yuen Long District 22.448398°N 114.037999°E / 22.448398; 114.037999 (Yi Shing Temple, Wong Uk Tsuen)	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]	Nil grade
Yuen Kong Tsuen (元崗村), Pat Heung, Yuen Long District 22.425563°N 114.077705°E / 22.425563; 114.077705 (Chung Shing Temple, Yuen Kong Tsuen)	Chung Shing Temple (眾聖宮, Temple of All Saints) The main deity of the temple is Pak Tai with some others including Hau Wong and the Earth God.[25]	Grade III

Temples outside of Hong Kong

Location	Notes	Status	References	Photographs
Herberton Road in Atherton, Queensland, Australia	The 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 dynasty[26]

See also

• Hou Wang Temple, Queensland, Australia
• Sung Wong Toi
• Places of worship in Hong Kong

References

1. 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
2. "Deities". Chinese Temples Committee.
3. Antiquities and Monuments Office website
4. Chinese Temples Committee. Hau Wong Temple, Tai O
5. Clark, Robert (2017-10-22). "Tai O's 300-year-old Yeung Hau Temple declared a monument". Lantau News. Archived from the original on 2020-03-20. Retrieved 2020-02-08.
6. Siu, Anthony K.K. (1980). "Distribution of temples on Lantau Island as recorded in 1979" (PDF). Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch. 20: 136–139. ISSN 1991-7295.
7. "Tung Chung Hau Wong Temple". Archived from the original on 2012-10-06. Retrieved 2012-08-31.
8. "Tai Wai Walled Village and its Hau Wong Temple". Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
9. "Old Hau Wong Temple, Tai Wai, Sha Tin", in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch, Vol. 23, 1983. p.233-240
10. Chinese Temples Committee. Hau Wong Temple, Junction Road
11. Lim, Patricia. [2002] (2002). Discovering Hong Hong's Cultural Heritage. Central, Hong Kong: Oxford University Press. ISBN Volume One 0-19-592723-0
12. Ping Shan Trail at hkoutdoors.com
13. Ping Shan Heritage Trail - Yeung Hau Temple, Hang Tau Tsuen
14. Antiquities Advisory Board. "Introduction to 1444 Historic Buildings. Item #1045" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
15. Antiquities Advisory Board. Historic Building Appraisal. Yeung Hau Temple, Tong Yan San Tsuen
16. Antiquities Advisory Board. Historic Building Appraisal. Entrance Gate, San Wai, Ha Tsuen
17. Antiquities and Monuments Office. Declared Monuments in Hong Kong. Tung Tau Tsuen, Ha Tsuen Yeung Hau Temple
18. Antiquities Advisory Board. Historic Building Appraisal. Yeung Hau Temple, San Wai, Ha Tsuen
19. "Brief Information on proposed Grade Nil Items. Item #1415" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-10-15. Retrieved 2017-07-24.
20. Antiquities Advisory Board. Historic Building Appraisal. Brief Information on proposed Grade Nil Items, pp.361-362 Archived 2012-10-15 at the Wayback Machine
21. Antiquities Advisory Board. Introduction to 1444 Historic Buildings. Item #190
22. Antiquities Advisory Board. Historic Building Appraisal. Tai Wong Old Temple, No. 26C Cheung Shing Street, Yuen Long Kau Hui
23. Antiquities Advisory Board. Historic Building Appraisal. Yi Shing Temple, Wong Uk Tsuen
24. Antiquities Advisory Board. "Introduction to 1444 Historic Buildings. Item #1265" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
25. Antiquities Advisory Board. Brief Information on Grade III Items. Item #1065 Archived 2017-03-11 at the Wayback Machine
26. Houwang. "Houwang Archived 2007-05-09 at the Wayback Machine." Australian Temple website. Retrieved on 2007-05-08.