The Tsui Sing Lau Pagoda () is the only surviving ancient
pagoda
A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, ...
in Hong Kong near
MTR Tin Shui Wai station
Tin Shui Wai () is an MTR station on the , located in Ping Shan near Tin Shui Wai New Town, Yuen Long District. It is the only heavy rail station serving Tin Shui Wai, which has a population of around 300,000.
History
On 20 December 2003 ...
and
Light Rail Tin Shui Wai stop
Tin Shui Wai () is a Light Rail stop and interchange station for Tuen Ma line. This Light Rail stop is located at Tin Fuk Road in Tin Shui Wai, at the ground level of the MTR Tin Shui Wai station
Tin Shui Wai () is an MTR station on the , ...
. It is part of the
Ping Shan Heritage Trail and a
declared monument.
History
According to
Tang Clan
The Tang Clan of Hong Kong () is one of the Five Great Clans of the New Territories (). The others are Man (Wen; 文), Hau (Hou; 侯), Pang (Peng; 彭) and Liu ( Liao; 廖).
The Tangs are one of the region's oldest families and can trace their li ...
legend, Tsui Sing Lau was originally located at the mouth of
Deep Bay. It was built at least 600 years ago, by the seventh-generation ancestor,
Tang Yin-tung, to avoid
evil spirits
A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, anime, ...
from the north, prevent floods and help the Tangs win a title in the
imperial examination
The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to a civil-service examination system in Imperial China, administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by ...
. Numerous Tangs have been granted titles.
It was
declared a monument on 14December 2001.
A further Tang legend relates how in 1382, Tang Yin-tung dreamed that a group of stars all gathered together and dropped onto the place where the pagoda now stands. Tang was reminded of the words of a ''
fung shui'' master who had complimented the good ''fung shui'' of Ping Shan, but who also gave two comments on its geographical weaknesses. The Tangs had not fully comprehended the second comment, so Tang Yin-tung immediately consulted a Fung Shui master. The master advised him to build a Buddhist pagoda on that spot in order to gather the 'scholarship' for the clan, hence the name. After the building of the pagoda, the Tang clan produced numerous scholars and officials in the Ming and Qing dynasties.
Built on a low foundation, the hexagonal pagoda is believed to have had an initial total of seven floors, but this was reduced to three due to erosion. It is made of mud bricks and granite.
Fui Shing is worshipped on the top floor, where the words Over the Milky Way were inscribed. Fui Shing was a god who determined which scholars were to pass examinations and receive titles. The words The Pagoda of Gathering Stars and Light Shines Straight Onto the Dippers and the Enclosures were inscribed on the second and ground floors respectively.
See also
*
Ping Shan
Ping Shan () is an area in the New Territories, Hong Kong. It is located west of Yuen Long Town and Shui Pin Wai, and south of Tin Shui Wai. Administratively, it is part of the Yuen Long District.
Geography
Although sandwiched between Yuen L ...
*
Architecture of Hong Kong
References
External links
{{Commons category, Tsui Sing Lau Pagoda
Tsui Sing Lau Pagoda on Antiquities and Monuments Office website
Buildings and structures completed in 1486
Ping Shan
Declared monuments of Hong Kong
Pagodas in China
Ming dynasty architecture