Chik
Kwai Study Hall at Sheung Tsuen, Pat Heung, Yuen Long, gazetted as historical building
A
notice was gazetted on May 4 2007 announcing that the Chik
Kwai Study Hall at Sheung Tsuen, Pat Heung, Yuen Long, would
be declared a historical building under the Antiquities and
Monuments Ordinance with effect from June 29.
Chik Kwai Study Hall, a typical traditional Chinese study
hall in Hong Kong, was built before 1899 by Lai Kam Tai, of
the Lai clan in Pat Heung, which had settled in the Pat Heung
area for hundreds of years. According to the genealogy of
the clan, the second generation ancestor, Lai Chung Heung
migrated from Jianxi to Xinhui, Guangdong, in the Song dynasty.
Clansmen later settled in the Dongguan and Kam Tin areas.
During the Ming dynasty, the 13th generation ancestor, Lai
Yui Wun, led his clansmen to settle in the present Sheung
Tsuen.
Chik Kwai Study Hall was originally built for educating young
clansmen in traditional classics and was also used for ancestor
worship starting from the 1930s. Operation of the school ceased
during World War II, but resumed afterwards as Wing Hing School
for providing modern education. It was later used as a kindergarten,
which was closed decades ago. The Study Hall also served as
a venue for clan meetings and traditional rituals, such as
wedding ceremonies and ancestor worship at spring and autumn
equinoxes.
Chik Kwai Study Hall is a typical example of a traditional
two-hall-one-courtyard building of the Qing dynasty. The impressive
facade of the green-brick study hall is distinguished by the
solemn granite-block wall base and the overhanging roof supported
by ornamental brackets, camel humps and granite columns. The
roof ridge of the entrance hall is decorated with polychrome
mouldings depicting the theme of "carp jumps over the
dragon gate". Internally, all the exquisitely carved
camel humps and eaves boards are devoted to the themes of traditional
Chinese folk stories and auspicious motifs. A beautifully
crafted wooden altar is placed at the main hall of the Study
Hall for accommodating the soul tablets of the ancestors of
the Lais.
The Chik Kwai Study Hall is exceptional due to the well-preserved
architectural components of the building. Examples include
the ornate woodcarvings, the lively decorative plaster mouldings
on the roof ridges and gable walls, and the vivid traditional
Chinese murals, which are all said not to have been repainted
or refurbished since the construction of the Study Hall. Such
features make it one of the finest examples of traditional
Chinese study halls that still survive in Yuen Long. In view
of the heritage value of the Chik Kwai Study Hall, the Antiquities
Advisory Board has recommended declaration of the Study Hall
as an historical building under the Antiquities and Monuments
Ordinance.
Chik Kwai Study Hall is currently in a state of disrepair.
To preserve this valuable historic building, the Antiquities
and Monuments Office will carry out a full restoration to
the Study Hall. A comprehensive conservation study and cartographic
survey for the Study Hall are being conducted. After restoration,
the building will be opened to the public to enhance public
awareness of the local history
and cultural heritage of the area.
Back to "News Archive"
index page
|