Audio guide introduction: 3 minute 11 seconds
Another statutory monument in the Walled City Park is the Walled City Yamen built in the early Qing Dynasty. It is also located at the south gate entrance, making it convenient for officials to go directly to the Yamen along the Longjin Bridge after landing. The entire Kowloon Walled City is centered around the Yamen. The first entrance is the front hall; the second entrance is the court hall; and the third entrance is the official residence of the top person in charge at that time, the "Kowloon Inspection Department". It was built by the Qing Dynasty to guard against the British army. Hundreds of troops were stationed there. The man stationed there was Zhang Yutang, the deputy general of Dapeng Association. Although it cost a lot of money to build the stronghold, its defense was very weak and it was lost twice. The first time was when the anti-Qing "Tian Di Hui" captured the Kowloon Walled City. The stationed general Zhang Yutang recruited mercenaries to regain the lost territory. Another time, Zhang Yutang was captured and held hostage by British troops sent by Hong Kong Governor Baoning from the Walled City. It turned out that when the Second Opium War broke out, Xiang Yong of Xin'an County, Guangdong used Kowloon as a stronghold to attack the British troops stationed in Hong Kong. At that time, the Hong Kong Governor Sir Baoning asked Zhang Yutang to hand over Xiang Yong, but Zhang Yutang refused. So Baoning sent 200 British troops to attack the walled city and capture Zhang Yutang. Fortunately, since Zhang Yutang had been stationed in Hong Kong for a long time and often had to deal with the British, he could speak fluent English and could easily communicate with senior foreign officials at the time, so he was released after a brief interview. By the way, Zhang Yutang may be the first person to understand English in Huizhou, where he was born.
Having said that, why was such a dignified general so easily captured? It turns out that Zhang Yutang was originally a scholar, but he failed the imperial examinations many times, so he gave up writing and became an official as a military examiner. However, he still retained the character of a scholar, reciting poems and writing poems in his spare time, and even integrated writing and martial arts, writing with his fists and fingers, and wrote on his own. He created a set of boxing calligraphy and fingering calligraphy, so he was known as the "Han Mo General". There are still many calligraphy treasures left by him in the Yamen of Kowloon Walled City Park, including the boxing script with the character "Shou" and "Mo Yuan" originally placed in the Tin Hau Temple in the Walled City, both of which were written by Cheung Yut-tang with his fists. Re-engraved. In addition, the Yamen also displays the "Engraved Meeting Monument" discovered during the restoration. This monument is a record of the Yamen's soldiers' travel expenses. It stipulates the starting limit for soldiers when they travel to prevent loss of public funds. It seems a bit like the prototype of the Independent Commission Against Corruption in Hong Kong. In addition, there are six exhibition halls in the Old Yamen Official Residence on the third level, which reproduce the style of the Kowloon Walled City in the past through models, images, sound effects and other elements.
