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Tai Po

Coordinates:22°26′42″N114°10′12″E/ 22.445°N 114.170°E/22.445; 114.170
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, seeTai Po (disambiguation).

Tai Po
Aerial view of Tai Po New Town, including Tai Po Market
Traditional ChineseĐại bộ
Simplified ChineseĐại bộ
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinDàpǔ
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutpingdaai6bou3
IPA[tàːipōu]
Tai Po Market. Older low-level buildings in the foreground contrast with high-rise commercial buildings in the distance
Lam Tsuen River
Tai Po Central Town Square
Tai Po Waterfront Parkand Fu Shin Estate

22°26′42″N114°10′12″E/ 22.445°N 114.170°E/22.445; 114.170 Tai Po/ˌtaɪˈpoʊ/is anareain theNew Territoriesof Hong Kong. It refers to the vicinity of the traditionalmarket townsin the area presently known as Tai Po Old Market or Tai Po Kau Hui (Đại bộ cựu khư) (the original "Tai Po Market" ) on the north ofLam Tsuen Riverand the Tai Po Hui (the current Tai Po Market; historicallyTai Wo Shi,literallyTai Wo market) on Fu Shin Street on the south of theLam Tsuen River,near theold Tai Po Market railway stationof theKowloon-Canton Railway (British Section).Both market towns became part of theTai Po New Townin the late 1970s and early 1980s. In present-day usage, "Tai Po" may refer to the area around the original market towns, theTai Po New Town(Chinese:Đại bộ thị), or the entireTai Po District.

Etymology

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In Chinese, the place, Tai Po (Đại bộ), was formerly written asĐại bộ.Treating the Chinese characters separately, the pronunciation of Po in the third tone (Chinese:Bộ;Jyutping:bou3;Cantonese Yale:bou;lit.'port') in Cantonese are shared with many words, not only Po in the sixth tone (Chinese:Bộ;Jyutping:bou6;Cantonese Yale:bouh;lit.'Step'). For example, the "Po" (埗) ofSham Shui Po,literallydeep water port.Moreover, according to theKangxi Dictionary,the wordPhụ;'port' can be written asBộ.As a coincidence, Tai Po is a seashore town. The name Tai Po Hoi (Chinese:Đại bộ hải;lit.'Tai Po sea') was appeared inNanhai Zhi(Nam hải chí) of theYuan dynasty(1271 to 1368 ofGregorian calendar), which stated that pearl was the product of the Tai Po sea.[1]InMing dynasty'sYue Daji[zh](Chinese:Việt đại ký;Jyutping:jyut6 daai6 gei3;Cantonese Yale:yuht daaih gei), recorded the names Tai Po Hoi and Tai Po Tau (Đại bộ đầu).[2][3]In the attached map of that book, the sea next to Tai Po Tau was labelled with "can shelter hurricane" (Chinese:Khả bạc cụ phong).[2]In earlyQing dynastyKangxi27th Year edition ofXin'an Xianzhi(literallyGazetteer of theXin'an County), Tai Po Tau Hui (lit.'Tai Po Tau market') as a market centre (Khư thị), Tai Po Tau as a village (under the administration ofLục đô) and Tai Po Hoi as water body, were recorded.[4]According to Hong Kong sinologist and historianJao Tsung-I,the character Po in Tai Po, should be interpreted as port or seaside.[5]

However, there was another urban legend version of the meaning of Tai Po. In the urban legend, the area around Tai Po was a habitat of a wild animal, which people have to "Big-Step".[6]

History

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See also:Tai Po MarketandTai Po New Town

Tai Po as a populated place, could be traced back to theStone Age.An archaeological site inYuen Chau Tsai,had discovered stone axe and pottery which was believed to be made inNeolithicera.[7]The indigenous inhabitants of Tai Po lived by clamming and pearl farming in Tai Po Hoi (literallyTai Po Sea;Tolo Harbour) since at least AD 963.[7]The pearl making business reached its peak during theSong dynasty[citation needed]and started to decline gradually amid theMing dynasty.Tai Po had been developed as a fishing port around the late Ming dynasty and theQing dynasty.[citation needed]While a village that belongs to the modern day Tai Po area, Wun Yiu (Chinese:Oản diêu), had developed into a center of the porcelain industry in the Ming dynasty.[8]

Tang clanmigrated from the area north of the border of modern-day Hong Kong to the modern-dayNew Territoriesof Hong Kong in theSong dynastyof China. A branch of the Tang clan was split fromLung Yeuk Tauof the modern-day New Territories, to establish the village in Tai Po Tau. The Tai Po Tau branch and Lung Yeuk Tau branch also founded the first Tai Po Hui market town (also known as Tai Po Tau Hui), despite it is now defunct and the area now known as Tai Po Old Market. The area around the first market town also lived other people that were not from the Tang clan. They formed an inter-villages allianceTai Po Tsat Yeuk(literallyTai Po Seven Alliances;each alliance contained one or more villages). The inter-villages alliance founded another market townTai Wo Shi(literallyTai Wo market) after theQing governmentruled that Tai Po Hui (Tai Po Tau Hui) belonged to Tangs, other clans cannot open shops in Tang's market town. However, Tai Wo Shi replaced the original Tai Po Hui (Tai Po Tau Hui) as the main market and took the name Tai Po Hui (anglicized as Tai Po Market). The old market town thus became Tai Po Kau Hui (anglicized as Tai Po Old Market;Jyutping:daai6 bou3 gau6 heoi1).

During the British colonial rule, aDistrict Office,apolice station,two railway stations:Tai Po Market railway stationandTai Po Kau railway station(inTai Po Kau;Jyutping:daai6 bou3 gaau3) and other public facilities were built within the modern-day area that belongs to the new town and the administrative district. Most of them were in close distance to the market town of Tai Po at that time.

In the 1970s, the Hong Kong government began to develop satellite towns:Tai Po Industrial Estate,the first industrial estate in Hong Kong was built in the reclaimed land of the former Tai Po Hoi in 1974; Tai Po was named as a site to build "new town"in 1979,[citation needed]which the government obtains lands by reclamation of the river mouth and Tai Po Hoi. The new town was also designed to incorporate and interact with the existing market town. The firstpublic housing estateofTai Po New Town:Tai Yuen Estate – was established in 1981. The population has[when?]soared to 320,000,[citation needed]and Tai Po New Town began to prosper following the completion of theTolo Highwaywhich was integrated with the older urban areas.

At present, due to the development of the new town, the place name Tai Po may refer to Tai Po New Town or the historical area centre Tai Po Market, or the Tai Po District (excluding exclave Sai Kung North) that covers the new town andLam Tsuen Valleyand another area. However, the boundary of Tai Po was not defined. In contrast, the namesakeelection constituencyof Tai Po Market had its legally defined boundary, as well as Tai Po District; Tai Po New Town also had its officially defined boundary in urban planning regulation and law. Moreover, Hong Kong police, as well as primary and secondary schools district, had their own boundaries.

In February 2023, model Abby Choi Tin-Fung was found murdered in Lung Mei, Tai Po.

Education

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Main article:List of schools in Tai Po District
King Law Ka Shuk

In historical eras clan villages organised private study halls orsishu(Chinese:Tư thục;pinyin:Sīshú;Jyutping:si1 suk6;Cantonese Yale:sī suhk).King Law Ka Shuk,is adeclared monument of Hong Kong.It is the ancestral hall of the Tang clan Tai Po Tau branch, and historically a study hall.[9]Village schools opened with government subsidies in the early 20th century.[10]In the 1920s and 1930s secondary schools in the vernacular medium opened in Tai Po.[11]Many village schools opened after World War II. Due to a decline in the birthrate, by the 1990s the number of school students was declining and many village schools began to close.[10]

In the present day, Tai Po is in Primary One Admission (POA) School Net 84. Within the school net are multiple aided schools (operated independently but funded with government money) and Tai Po Government Primary School ( đại bộ quan lập tiểu học ).[12]

Severalinternational schoolsare also located in the district.

Schools

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The Spanish Primary School, which has education in Spanish, English, and Mandarin under theNational Curriculum for England,was organised by Adriana Chan. It opened in September 2017.[13]

Mulberry House International Kindergarten aims to equip children with the essential skills and confidence to thrive in the 21st century. This bilingual institution, with English and Mandarin as core languages, provides a holistic early childhood education based on the UK'sEarly Years Foundation Stage(EYFS).

See also

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References

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  1. ^Trần đại chấn (1304).Nam hải chí(in Literary Chinese).Retrieved3 January2019– via archive.org.
  2. ^abQuách phỉ (1595).Yue DajiViệt đại ký(in Literary Chinese).
  3. ^Vương canh võ (3 December 2016).Hương cảng sử tân biên(revised ed.). p. 49.ISBN9789620438851.
  4. ^Địa lý chí.Tân an huyện chí(in Literary Chinese) (Kangxi Years ed.). 1688.
  5. ^Jao Tsung-I(1983).Cảng, cửu tiền đại khảo cổ tạp lục(PDF).Tân á học thuật tập khan [New Asia Academic Bulletin](in Chinese (Hong Kong)).4:170–171 – via HKU Library digital scan.
  6. ^Diệp linh phượng “Hương cảng sử hệ liệt”.Quán tàng tinh túy column.Hương cảng văn học thông tấn(in Chinese (Hong Kong)). No. 150. Chinese University of Hong Kong Library. 31 January 2016.Retrieved10 December2019.
  7. ^abTiêu quốc kiện (2007).Lịch sử duyên cách.Đại bộ phong vật chí(PDF)(in Chinese (Hong Kong)) (revised ed.). Tai Po District Council.
  8. ^"Pottery Kilns at Wun Yiu Village, Tai Po - Declared Monuments - Antiquities and Monuments Office".www.amo.gov.hk.Retrieved5 June2020.
  9. ^"King Law Ka Shuk".Hong Kong: Antiquities and Monuments Office.Retrieved3 January2019.
  10. ^abPoon, Shuk Wah. "Education in Tai Po: From the Founding of Rural Normal School to the Demise of Village Schools"(Archive).Traditions and Heritage in Tai Po.p. 256.
  11. ^Hase, Patrick H.(2013)."Introduction: The Traditional New Territories, Land and Society".Custom, Land and Livelihood in Rural South China: The Traditional Land Law of Hong Kong's New Territories, 1750-1950.Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Studies Series.Hong Kong University Press.p. 18.ISBN978-988-8139-08-8.
  12. ^"POA School Net 84"(PDF).Education Bureau.Retrieved9 October2022.
  13. ^Cremer, John (4 November 2017)."Mum achieves primary objective by opening school for daughter".South China Morning Post.Retrieved18 February2022.

Further reading

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