Local Festivals Around the Year
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Birthday of Saint Yiu the Virgin

The 16th day of the 10th month of the Lunar Calendar


Being a society composed of migrants from all over mainland China, Hong Kong accommodates a diversity of worshipped deities; some of them are not well known or even hardly heard of. The Lieniu Temple that venerates Saint Yiu the Virgin on Fu Yung Shan, Tsuen Wan is one of the temples that hardly known, but a number of faithful local believers in the community always come and worship Saint Yiu on the dates of her birth and death every year and the tradition has been kept alive even today.

About Saint Yiu the Virgin


But who is Saint Yiu the Virgin? According to the stele ‘In Memorial of Yiu the Virgin of Luoyang’ (Luoyang town is located in the Huizhou City, Boluo prefecture in Guangdong) on the gate wall of the temple that the Yiu clan of Kiu Kong offered in 1979, during the reign of the Hongzhi Emperor of the Ming dynasty (A.D. 1487 – 1505), a 17-year-old girl from Yiu family in Jingjidu escaped away to a valley, when a gang of robber ransacked her village. Chased after by the gang, the girl climbed up to the top of the clip and jumped to her death for the integrity as a virgin. The Emperor heard about the story and was moved by Yiu so he rewarded her in name of ‘Lieniu’ (literally “a female martyr”) and recorded her behaviour to set a good example for the following generations. Subsequently, a Lieniu Temple was built up to pay homage to her and Yiu was known and worshipped as Saint Yiu the Virgin.

The Lieniu Temple on Fu Yung Shan


The first person who initiated the belief of Saint Yiu in Hong Kong is believed to be a Hakka woman from the Tang clan. Ms. Tang and her husband came to Hong Kong after the World War II. The couple settled down in Ma Sim Pai village in Tsuen Wan and Ms. Tang started worshiping Saint Yiu at home in 1959. When the government took the land, Ms. Tang built the Lienui Temple beside a huge rock on Fu Yung Shan in 1966, where the Sun Shan Village is located today.

Festival


Since the location of the temple is rather remote and not easily accessible, the temple is rarely visited. It was most visited on the 16th day of the 10th lunar month when worshippers came all the way over mountains to celebrate Saint Yiu’s Birthday. Others who came and helped to create the festival atmosphere were the lion dance and unicorn dance troups bringing along with their ‘Choi Ching’ (literally meaning plucking the green) performance, lively beating the load drums and cymbals, which breaks the silence in the village.

When the performance ended, a banquet of eight tables full of food and drinks was ready to treat everyone who comes. During the dinner, various sacred objects were sold by auction, which included red flower balls, gold necklaces, jade pendants, paper lanterns, models of sailboat, swords made up of coins. Each item was given auspicious names. For examples, a gold necklace was a ‘Peace Leash’, a sailboat model was a ‘Gold Sail in Tailwind’, a lantern was a ‘Light of Prosperity’ and a coin-made sword becames a ‘God Sword’. Reserve price was higher than the price in market, but because all the items were from the temple and convey positive meanings, the auction enjoyed good attendance and items were sold out at their highest prices. The auction had become the main source of income to organisers of the ceremony while helping to create a boisterous atmosphere for the festival.

The Fall of the Tradition


As squatter areas in Tsuen Wan were demolished and the faithful generation passed on, the worship to Saint Yiu is losing its practitioners. When the tradition was in its hayday, worshippers came on the Birthday of Saint Yiu in such a continuous steam that the temple had to set twenty to thirty tables and served non- stop for the whole day. In addition, six firework clubs organised by neighbour communities would come and perform fireworks. Today, most believers are elder Tsuen Wan residents. Although they may take young people to the temple, the scale of ceremony today cannot be compared to that in the past.

There are three temples for worshipping Saint Yiu in Hong Kong now. The other two, the Shing Nui Kung on Ha Fa Shan, Tsuen Wan and the Saint Yiu Temple in Yau Tam Mei Village, Yuen Lung, are also built by believers. These two temples also have ceremonies on the 16th day of the 10th lunar month, but are not in the same scale as it is in Fu Yung Shan. The 16th day of the 6th lunar month is the date of Saint Yiu’s death and villagers come and pay their homage as well.

   


   


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The 16th day of the 10th month of the Lunar Calendar


Being a society composed of migrants from all over mainland China, Hong Kong accommodates a diversity of worshipped deities; some of them are not well known or even hardly heard of. The Lieniu Temple that venerates Saint Yiu the Virgin on Fu Yung Shan, Tsuen Wan is one of the temples that hardly known, but a number of faithful local believers in the community always come and worship Saint Yiu on the dates of her birth and death every year and the tradition has been kept alive even today.

About Saint Yiu the Virgin


But who is Saint Yiu the Virgin? According to the stele ‘In Memorial of Yiu the Virgin of Luoyang’ (Luoyang town is located in the Huizhou City, Boluo prefecture in Guangdong) on the gate wall of the temple that the Yiu clan of Kiu Kong offered in 1979, during the reign of the Hongzhi Emperor of the Ming dynasty (A.D. 1487 – 1505), a 17-year-old girl from Yiu family in Jingjidu escaped away to a valley, when a gang of robber ransacked her village. Chased after by the gang, the girl climbed up to the top of the clip and jumped to her death for the integrity as a virgin. The Emperor heard about the story and was moved by Yiu so he rewarded her in name of ‘Lieniu’ (literally “a female martyr”) and recorded her behaviour to set a good example for the following generations. Subsequently, a Lieniu Temple was built up to pay homage to her and Yiu was known and worshipped as Saint Yiu the Virgin.

The Lieniu Temple on Fu Yung Shan


The first person who initiated the belief of Saint Yiu in Hong Kong is believed to be a Hakka woman from the Tang clan. Ms. Tang and her husband came to Hong Kong after the World War II. The couple settled down in Ma Sim Pai village in Tsuen Wan and Ms. Tang started worshiping Saint Yiu at home in 1959. When the government took the land, Ms. Tang built the Lienui Temple beside a huge rock on Fu Yung Shan in 1966, where the Sun Shan Village is located today.

Festival


Since the location of the temple is rather remote and not easily accessible, the temple is rarely visited. It was most visited on the 16th day of the 10th lunar month when worshippers came all the way over mountains to celebrate Saint Yiu’s Birthday. Others who came and helped to create the festival atmosphere were the lion dance and unicorn dance troups bringing along with their ‘Choi Ching’ (literally meaning plucking the green) performance, lively beating the load drums and cymbals, which breaks the silence in the village.

When the performance ended, a banquet of eight tables full of food and drinks was ready to treat everyone who comes. During the dinner, various sacred objects were sold by auction, which included red flower balls, gold necklaces, jade pendants, paper lanterns, models of sailboat, swords made up of coins. Each item was given auspicious names. For examples, a gold necklace was a ‘Peace Leash’, a sailboat model was a ‘Gold Sail in Tailwind’, a lantern was a ‘Light of Prosperity’ and a coin-made sword becames a ‘God Sword’. Reserve price was higher than the price in market, but because all the items were from the temple and convey positive meanings, the auction enjoyed good attendance and items were sold out at their highest prices. The auction had become the main source of income to organisers of the ceremony while helping to create a boisterous atmosphere for the festival.

The Fall of the Tradition


As squatter areas in Tsuen Wan were demolished and the faithful generation passed on, the worship to Saint Yiu is losing its practitioners. When the tradition was in its hayday, worshippers came on the Birthday of Saint Yiu in such a continuous steam that the temple had to set twenty to thirty tables and served non- stop for the whole day. In addition, six firework clubs organised by neighbour communities would come and perform fireworks. Today, most believers are elder Tsuen Wan residents. Although they may take young people to the temple, the scale of ceremony today cannot be compared to that in the past.

There are three temples for worshipping Saint Yiu in Hong Kong now. The other two, the Shing Nui Kung on Ha Fa Shan, Tsuen Wan and the Saint Yiu Temple in Yau Tam Mei Village, Yuen Lung, are also built by believers. These two temples also have ceremonies on the 16th day of the 10th lunar month, but are not in the same scale as it is in Fu Yung Shan. The 16th day of the 6th lunar month is the date of Saint Yiu’s death and villagers come and pay their homage as well.

   


   


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Birthday of Saint Yiu the Virgin

The 16th day of the 10th month of the Lunar Calendar


Being a society composed of migrants from all over mainland China, Hong Kong accommodates a diversity of worshipped deities; some of them are not well known or even hardly heard of. The Lieniu Temple that venerates Saint Yiu the Virgin on Fu Yung Shan, Tsuen Wan is one of the temples that hardly known, but a number of faithful local believers in the community always come and worship Saint Yiu on the dates of her birth and death every year and the tradition has been kept alive even today.

About Saint Yiu the Virgin


But who is Saint Yiu the Virgin? According to the stele ‘In Memorial of Yiu the Virgin of Luoyang’ (Luoyang town is located in the Huizhou City, Boluo prefecture in Guangdong) on the gate wall of the temple that the Yiu clan of Kiu Kong offered in 1979, during the reign of the Hongzhi Emperor of the Ming dynasty (A.D. 1487 – 1505), a 17-year-old girl from Yiu family in Jingjidu escaped away to a valley, when a gang of robber ransacked her village. Chased after by the gang, the girl climbed up to the top of the clip and jumped to her death for the integrity as a virgin. The Emperor heard about the story and was moved by Yiu so he rewarded her in name of ‘Lieniu’ (literally “a female martyr”) and recorded her behaviour to set a good example for the following generations. Subsequently, a Lieniu Temple was built up to pay homage to her and Yiu was known and worshipped as Saint Yiu the Virgin.

The Lieniu Temple on Fu Yung Shan


The first person who initiated the belief of Saint Yiu in Hong Kong is believed to be a Hakka woman from the Tang clan. Ms. Tang and her husband came to Hong Kong after the World War II. The couple settled down in Ma Sim Pai village in Tsuen Wan and Ms. Tang started worshiping Saint Yiu at home in 1959. When the government took the land, Ms. Tang built the Lienui Temple beside a huge rock on Fu Yung Shan in 1966, where the Sun Shan Village is located today.

Festival


Since the location of the temple is rather remote and not easily accessible, the temple is rarely visited. It was most visited on the 16th day of the 10th lunar month when worshippers came all the way over mountains to celebrate Saint Yiu’s Birthday. Others who came and helped to create the festival atmosphere were the lion dance and unicorn dance troups bringing along with their ‘Choi Ching’ (literally meaning plucking the green) performance, lively beating the load drums and cymbals, which breaks the silence in the village.

When the performance ended, a banquet of eight tables full of food and drinks was ready to treat everyone who comes. During the dinner, various sacred objects were sold by auction, which included red flower balls, gold necklaces, jade pendants, paper lanterns, models of sailboat, swords made up of coins. Each item was given auspicious names. For examples, a gold necklace was a ‘Peace Leash’, a sailboat model was a ‘Gold Sail in Tailwind’, a lantern was a ‘Light of Prosperity’ and a coin-made sword becames a ‘God Sword’. Reserve price was higher than the price in market, but because all the items were from the temple and convey positive meanings, the auction enjoyed good attendance and items were sold out at their highest prices. The auction had become the main source of income to organisers of the ceremony while helping to create a boisterous atmosphere for the festival.

The Fall of the Tradition


As squatter areas in Tsuen Wan were demolished and the faithful generation passed on, the worship to Saint Yiu is losing its practitioners. When the tradition was in its hayday, worshippers came on the Birthday of Saint Yiu in such a continuous steam that the temple had to set twenty to thirty tables and served non- stop for the whole day. In addition, six firework clubs organised by neighbour communities would come and perform fireworks. Today, most believers are elder Tsuen Wan residents. Although they may take young people to the temple, the scale of ceremony today cannot be compared to that in the past.

There are three temples for worshipping Saint Yiu in Hong Kong now. The other two, the Shing Nui Kung on Ha Fa Shan, Tsuen Wan and the Saint Yiu Temple in Yau Tam Mei Village, Yuen Lung, are also built by believers. These two temples also have ceremonies on the 16th day of the 10th lunar month, but are not in the same scale as it is in Fu Yung Shan. The 16th day of the 6th lunar month is the date of Saint Yiu’s death and villagers come and pay their homage as well.

   


   


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  • {{8+1}}
{{isAutoplayM? 'Stop' : 'Go'}}

The 16th day of the 10th month of the Lunar Calendar


Being a society composed of migrants from all over mainland China, Hong Kong accommodates a diversity of worshipped deities; some of them are not well known or even hardly heard of. The Lieniu Temple that venerates Saint Yiu the Virgin on Fu Yung Shan, Tsuen Wan is one of the temples that hardly known, but a number of faithful local believers in the community always come and worship Saint Yiu on the dates of her birth and death every year and the tradition has been kept alive even today.

About Saint Yiu the Virgin


But who is Saint Yiu the Virgin? According to the stele ‘In Memorial of Yiu the Virgin of Luoyang’ (Luoyang town is located in the Huizhou City, Boluo prefecture in Guangdong) on the gate wall of the temple that the Yiu clan of Kiu Kong offered in 1979, during the reign of the Hongzhi Emperor of the Ming dynasty (A.D. 1487 – 1505), a 17-year-old girl from Yiu family in Jingjidu escaped away to a valley, when a gang of robber ransacked her village. Chased after by the gang, the girl climbed up to the top of the clip and jumped to her death for the integrity as a virgin. The Emperor heard about the story and was moved by Yiu so he rewarded her in name of ‘Lieniu’ (literally “a female martyr”) and recorded her behaviour to set a good example for the following generations. Subsequently, a Lieniu Temple was built up to pay homage to her and Yiu was known and worshipped as Saint Yiu the Virgin.

The Lieniu Temple on Fu Yung Shan


The first person who initiated the belief of Saint Yiu in Hong Kong is believed to be a Hakka woman from the Tang clan. Ms. Tang and her husband came to Hong Kong after the World War II. The couple settled down in Ma Sim Pai village in Tsuen Wan and Ms. Tang started worshiping Saint Yiu at home in 1959. When the government took the land, Ms. Tang built the Lienui Temple beside a huge rock on Fu Yung Shan in 1966, where the Sun Shan Village is located today.

Festival


Since the location of the temple is rather remote and not easily accessible, the temple is rarely visited. It was most visited on the 16th day of the 10th lunar month when worshippers came all the way over mountains to celebrate Saint Yiu’s Birthday. Others who came and helped to create the festival atmosphere were the lion dance and unicorn dance troups bringing along with their ‘Choi Ching’ (literally meaning plucking the green) performance, lively beating the load drums and cymbals, which breaks the silence in the village.

When the performance ended, a banquet of eight tables full of food and drinks was ready to treat everyone who comes. During the dinner, various sacred objects were sold by auction, which included red flower balls, gold necklaces, jade pendants, paper lanterns, models of sailboat, swords made up of coins. Each item was given auspicious names. For examples, a gold necklace was a ‘Peace Leash’, a sailboat model was a ‘Gold Sail in Tailwind’, a lantern was a ‘Light of Prosperity’ and a coin-made sword becames a ‘God Sword’. Reserve price was higher than the price in market, but because all the items were from the temple and convey positive meanings, the auction enjoyed good attendance and items were sold out at their highest prices. The auction had become the main source of income to organisers of the ceremony while helping to create a boisterous atmosphere for the festival.

The Fall of the Tradition


As squatter areas in Tsuen Wan were demolished and the faithful generation passed on, the worship to Saint Yiu is losing its practitioners. When the tradition was in its hayday, worshippers came on the Birthday of Saint Yiu in such a continuous steam that the temple had to set twenty to thirty tables and served non- stop for the whole day. In addition, six firework clubs organised by neighbour communities would come and perform fireworks. Today, most believers are elder Tsuen Wan residents. Although they may take young people to the temple, the scale of ceremony today cannot be compared to that in the past.

There are three temples for worshipping Saint Yiu in Hong Kong now. The other two, the Shing Nui Kung on Ha Fa Shan, Tsuen Wan and the Saint Yiu Temple in Yau Tam Mei Village, Yuen Lung, are also built by believers. These two temples also have ceremonies on the 16th day of the 10th lunar month, but are not in the same scale as it is in Fu Yung Shan. The 16th day of the 6th lunar month is the date of Saint Yiu’s death and villagers come and pay their homage as well.

   


   


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