The Halloween Post

Nam Koo Terrace

According to many locals in Hong Kong, the pictured mansion is an authentic haunt of spirits. Just looking at the exterior of this old mansion causes the imagination to run wild. While it's true that the Chinese generally tend to lean toward belief in superstition, I have a healthy respect for any place that elevates the myth of urban legend to something more real and terrifying. 

Several years ago, a group of young students wanted to stay overnight in that mansion in an attempt to see ghosts they believed haunted the rooms. According to reports published in the local papers, events did not go as planned for the young ghost hunters. At some point in the evening, the students decided they had had enough and wanted to leave. They made their way to the gated entrance when suddenly the girls in the group began growing agitated, became emotionally distressed and appeared to lose control of their own bodies.

Two police officers patrolling Ship Street that evening saw the group and noticed the commotion. The officers investigated, offering their assistance. The reports say that when the officers attempted to restrain the girls, who by now had grown aggressive, the officers required the support of additional officers at the scene. It took the efforts of everyone assembled at the gate of the mansion to physically restrain the female students. The troubled students were finally subdued and sent to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation.

Today, the former Japanese brothel still stands on Ship Street in Wan Chai, desolate, save for the feral cats who call it home, haunted by the spirits of deceased comfort women.

True story?

Surprisingly Short Entries

Given all the resources available to him, Samuel Couling did an excellent job with his Encyclopaedia Sinica (1917). However, I couldn't help but note that some entries were surprisingly short given their importance in Chinese culture. I've listed the shorter entries that could have a been a bit more detailed (in my opinion anyway) and one omission. To Couling's credit he did include a great many articles related to missionary activity so that even the most obscure religious group is likely to have been included in his reference work.

1) Bird's Nest - interesting that Couling had more to say about bird saliva than rice gruel. But given that bird's nest is considered a delicacy, I think he could have done a bit more with this one. Perhaps commenting on the perceived health benefits or efficacy.

2) Congee - the humble dish enjoyed by Chinese all over the world, including myself when I'm sick (though I'm not Chinese). What's more, there are several shops around Hong Kong that are famous for their congee. The last time I visited Hong Kong International Airport there was a new restaurant inside that specialized in different kinds of congee. Couling doesn't seem particularly keen on it though as he only devoted 5 short lines of text to the subject.

3) Filial Piety - for such an important Confucian concept, Couling includes only a brief paragraph here. Walking the streets of Hong Kong or mainland China, it's still quite amazing to see how strong the practice is, having been passed from generation to generation all the way to the 21st century.

4) The Five Classics - the works are listed but nothing else about their use in the imperial examinations (科舉).

5) The Use of Chinese Herbs - nowadays referred to as Traditional Chinese Medicine or TCM. This omission is perplexing because Couling was certain to have heard about, and likely to have seen, the of use Chinese herbs when interacting with the local population. Couling has entries for a few varieties of tea, as well as the lychee and the longan, two fruits popular with the Chinese, but no herbs. In present day China, the use of herbs is a regular occurrence. In Hong Kong there are many medical clinics devoted solely to the dispensing of Chinese herbs for conditions such as fatigue, headache, cold, etc. Because the practice and use of Chinese herbs involves the Chinese concepts of hot, cold, wet, etc. perhaps Couling thought of this in a different way. Also of note is the absence of moxibustion, a form of treatment associated with Traditional Chinese Medicine.