Ng Hung On

Ng Hung On was born in 1935 in his home in Mau Chin, which was part of Nga Tsin Wai. The residential address shown in his birth certificate was No. 10 Nga Tsin Wai. The houses in Mau Chin were larger and more comfortable than those inside Nga Tsin Wai. Outside Nga Tsin Wai, the air was fresher and there was also large open space for drying the grains under the sun. The houses outside Nga Tsin Wai had a pigsty where the villagers reared pigs, cows and poultry such as chickens. In the earlier days, people even had a cowshed outside the house. The houses inside Nga Tsin Wai were small and had no toilets. There were only a room for sleeping and a wok for cooking.

Ng Kwong Yip Tso (the father of Ng Hung On’s great grandfather) was wealthy. He owned 5 houses in Mau Chin, each occupied by one of his 5 families. That is, one for great grandfather, one for grandparents, one for granduncle Kuen Sang and his elder brother, one for granduncle Wing Cheung and one for Ng Hung On’s parents. These 5 houses were enclosed by a wall. A large entrance was opened in front of Nga Tsin Wai, inside was a large yard for sun-drying grains, and chickens might walk about in the yard too. Granduncle Kuen Sang owned a 3-storey building at No. 59 Tak Ku Ling Road. He lived in the building on Tak Ku Ling Road, and his elder brother lived in the house in Mau Chin with his family.

Ng Hung On grew up in a mulit-generation and polygamous family.  His great-great grandfather, Ng Kwong Yip, was the owner of 15, 5th Lane in Nga Tsin Wai. His eldest son, Ng Tam Tong, was Ng Hung On's great grandfather. Ng Hung On had seen Ng Kam Tong when he was 4 or 5 years old. He believed that his great-grandfather was more than 80 years old then. In Ng Hung On’s memory he had taken food to his great-grandfather and had talked with him. His great-grandfather could not walk. Ng Hung On had never seen him out of his bed. Ng Hung On learnt from his father that his great-grandfather attended school when he was young, but he believed that did not have high academic qualifications. He had worked in the Whampao Dockyard in Kowloon and his duty was to distribute tickets to the staff who signed in for work. (Editor’s note: Similar to the time and attendance system adopted nowadays.) His great-grandfather had two wives. The principal wife’s family name was Tang and her family lived in the vicinity of Nga Tsin Wai. The concubine’s family name was Cheung. She left her family in Guangzhou for Kowloon and married his great-grandfather. Ng Hung On had games and conversations with the concubine. His great-grandfather dubbed her the ‘fresh water lady’ because Nga Tsin Wai was located in a salt water region. His great-grandfather used to make his concubine serve him, such as serving him with the ‘straw paper’ (toilet paper) which only the wealthy families could afford. 

Ng Hung On thought that the residents in Mau Chin led an affluent life with no financial worries. The families had superior status than the ordinary people. His father owned extensive farmlands in Mau Chin, and had leased one of them to Law Sam Kee the sauce manufacturer. Besides the clan house in Mau Chin, he also owned 3 to 4 houses which he leased out. Generally speaking, his family was better off than the ordinary villagers. Ng Hung On had celebrated various festivals in Mau Chin, such as the Mid-Autumn Festival, Dragon Boat Festival and Lunar New Year. To celebrate the Lunar New Year, all households would prepare the rice flour cookies, New Year pudding and sesame seed balls. Ng Hung On was a little boy when he lived in Mau Chin and seldom played outside the house. When he grew older, he went up the mountain with other children to catch jumping spiders or play in the water of the gullies.  

After the Japanese armies occupied Hong Kong, they razed Mau Chin to the ground, and resumed land for construction of roads and the nullah. (Editor’s note: Kai Tak Nullah) Ng Hung On moved to the Kwok Wah Textile Mill near Sung Wong Toi with his parents and brothers. The living conditions there were even worse than today’s subdivided units. The residents moved in with a bed or bed board. They were not allocated a room and the adults would screen themselves off with a curtain when they were sleeping. Later on, Ng Hung On’s family moved into a pre-war Chinese tenement on Kai Yan Road. The 3-storey building had 4 pillars, a kitchen and a toilet. His family shared the flat with several households. Some clansmen of Kwong Yip Tso also lived there, such as Ng Wing Cheung and his family. Ng Hung On’s mother worked as a cleanser for the Japanese armies, carrying out duties such as turfing, cutting grass and feeding the horses with them, and disposal of horse excrement. She left his 3 sons at home when she went to work. Ng Hung On was 7 years old then and prepared the congee himself. On one occasion when he climbed up the stairs with a bowl of congee, he had an accident and had his feet scalded by the hot congee. The Chinese tenement was demolished less than one year after they moved in. Ng Hung On’s family was rehoused to Model Village in Kowloon Tong. His father grew vegetable but income was meager. He also did cleaning work for the Japanese army occasionally. They faced great living hardship. 

Ng Hung On was sold to Sai Kung’s village as child labour during the Japanese occupation. Hong Kong was occupied by the Japanese armies when Ng Hung On was 7 years old. The villagers were too poor to have 3 full meals. In order to get money for food, Ng Hung On was sold to Sai Kung as a child labour when he was 9 years old. Ng Hung On’s grandmother was a villager of Sha Kok Mei, Sai Kung. When she got married, she left Sha Kok Mei for her husband’s home in Tseung Kwan O Village. His grandmother came to know that a household in Sai Kung wanted to hire a child labour and informed Ng Hung On’s parents of it. Through his grandmother’s referral, Ng Hung On’s parents sold him to Sai Kung for 300 military yen. In Sai Kung, Ng Hung On worked for the Tse family who was an indigenous household. The Tse family was his grandmother’s remote relatives. Ng Hung On carried out duties such as chopping firewood, herding cattle, feeding the cows at night and farming.. He worked in the fields with his elder uncles’ wives and his aunt. He had been arranged to study in a rural school (The word ‘Public’ was shown in the school’s name.) He quitted school after a fortnight. His aunt would not let him study because she thought there was no need to support his studies. 

Ng Hung On continued to live away from home even after pease was restored. Ng Hung On was sought to Sai Kung for two years during wartime. When his elder uncle (Editor’s note: The cousin elder uncle of Ng Kwong Yip Tso.) who worked as a sailor returned from the US to Hong Kong after the War and was told the conditions of Ng Hung On’s family, he redeemed Ng Hung On from Sai Kung. He arranged Ng Hung On to live in his home on Tak Ku Ling Road, and sent him to school.

Two years later, Ng Hung On was seriously ill. His cousin elder uncle’s wife, who was a Buddhist, resorted to mediumship. The medium said it was unsuitable to keep him with the family, and he should be sent back to his parents’ home. At the time, Ng Hung On’s family also lived on Tak Ku Ling Road. Ng Hung On’s younger brother was also sold as a child labour in wartime. He was redeemed by a relative after the War. After Ng Hung On returned to his parents’ home, he took care of his younger siblings. At the time, her younger sister was a newborn, and her mother worked as a launder in the airport. Ng Hung On had attended the evening school for 1 to 2 years.

Ng Hung On had one daughter and two sons. Although none of his children had lived in Nga Tsin Wai, they would certainly return to the Village for ancestral worships and festive activities such as celebration of the Birthday of Tin Hau if they had the time. It is because Ng Hung On had told them that their ancestors came from Nga Tsin Wai. Ng Hung On said he had a strong sense of belonging to Nga Tsin Wai. He had personally repaired the ancestral hall jointly with Ng Siu Hung, a member of his branch. Although he lives in Tsuen Wan now, he always visits the Village for a chat with his uncles and granduncles. This gives him more fun than staying at home. It was his parents’ decision that they lived on Tak Ku Ling Road. His mother did not want to live in a rented house in Nga Tsin Wai. It is because the thought that others’ ancestors died in the house upset her. But, this is inevitable as far as their own ancestral house is concerned: Ng Hung On’s great great grandfather, great grandfather and grandfather all died in their ancestral house. 

Ng Hung On’s father was originally a descendent of the eldest branch (Kwong Un Tso). He was adopted by the 4th branch (Yat Un Tso) when he was 7 or 8 years old. His new branch Hon Ko Tso was a sub-branch of the 4th branch. In those days, adoption of children was uncommon. When a family had too many children to support, they would have some of them adopted so the adopted children had better living. The eldest and 4th branches had a common founding ancestor. Although being adopted, his father kept in touch with the eldest branch (his family), but he was not eligible for inheritance of the eldest branch’s properties and attendance of their ancestral worships. Ng Hung On had never met his natural grandfather. His natural grandmother was a Sha Tin villager. He had heard about his natural grandfather’s children from his father.
 
Ng Hung On had close relationship with uncle Tei Hing, who was a member of the eldest branch. Uncle Tei Hing was 10 years older than him. When Ng Hung On was a child, uncle Tei Hing used to take him out for entertainment, they would have tea at a Chinese restaurant. After the Second World War, uncle Tei Hing worked in the military service where he was the ‘No. 1 of coolies’. Later on. He went to Britain where he worked and settled. At first, he worked as a waiter in the restaurants and later opened his own restaurant. When uncle Tei Hing was 70 years old, he returned to Hong Kong for celebration of his birthday. In those days, it was uncommon for the Nga Tsin Wai villagers to migrate to Britain. His uncle’s eldest son Sui Kuen returned to Hong Kong more frequently. He returns to the village every year for the ancestral worship. Occasionally, he would return with his younger brother for the Jiao Festival.