King Law Ka Shuk
Ancestral Hall

 King Law Ka Shuk is the ancestral hall of the Tang clan in Tai Po Tau Tsuen.
Its year of construction could not be established. The Tang clan originally
inhabited in Kam Tin, Yuen Long and they moved to Tai Po Tau Tsuen not
until the 13th century and built the walled village. According to the descendants
of the Tang clan, King Law Ka Shuk Ancestral Hall was built by the 13th
generation ancestors, Tang Yuen-wan, Tang Mui-kei and Tang Nim-fung ,
in the Ming dynasty to commemorate their 10th generation ancestor, Tang
King-law. King Law Ka Shuk was once used as a ‘study hall’ to educate
the young male of the Tang clan. ‘Bok Bok Chai’ (the Chinese traditional
teaching method) was practised in the study hall. In 1953, the clansmen built
another school in Tai Po Tai Tsuen to replace King Law Ka Shuk to serve as
the study hall. At present, King Law Ka Shuk is no longer a study hall but it
still serves as a venue for clan members to hold meetings and traditional
functions. They also perform ceremonies to worship their ancestors.
The ancestral hall was once restored in 1932 and during its restoration, a lot of
modern materials had been used, which destroyed its original simplicity. It
declared a monument in 1998 and in the same year, restoration work was
carried out by the Antiquities and Monuments Office with the support of its
villagers in order to reinstate its original charm. The renovation work was
finally completed in about 2 years time. The restoration project had won
the Award of Merit of UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage 2001 Awards for
Culture Heritage Conservationin 2001.
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