Beyond Lion Rock book written and published by Nancy Kwan, HK stone breaking connection

June 18, 2019 Hugh Farmer Articles, General, Mines, Quarries + Dredging, Property

HF: I am very pleased to able to offer a little publicity on the publication of Nancy Kwan’s recently published book, Beyond Lion Rock, self-published, 2019. The book is part biographical but also includes the effects of political and historical events on her family and the people of Hong Kong.

Nancy contacted me a few months ago, explaining she was writing the book and asking for permission to use the image below which was included in our article, Stone Cutters’ Lives in Hong Kong – 1952 article. I readily agreed, and was very interested to note on receiving Beyond Lion Rock from Nancy that she had included this paragraph, on page 33, recalling the her family involvement in the stone breaking industry in Hong Kong.

“Gung and Kau-fu worked as stone breakers in a quarry. Since the 1800s, granite had been Hong Kong’s only natural resource for export, and the industry demanded a great number of labourers. However, the companies did not formally employ the stone-breakers, but some middle men paid them based on the amount of the stones they broke. Because of the flexible working times and instant cash payments, the job became popular with many tough Hakka peasants, particularly the new comers. A lot of stone breakers went to work with their wives and children, but Mum and Po preferred to sell Hakka dumplings on the streets. Sometime later, Gung became a construction worker and Kau-fu a chef.”