"Shui Tau Tsuen ('Water Head Village') and Shui Mei Tsuen ('Water Tail Village') are believed to be the oldest villages in Hong Kong. Founded some 900 years ago by Tang Fu, the villages are the birthplace of Hong Kong's clan-based society and are a fascinating microcosm of a traditional Cantonese way of life." "Lee Ho Yin and Lynne D. DiStefano have for the first time in the villages' history studies all the extant written sources about them, documented their architectural remains, and interviewed many inhabitants. They have produced a rich, unique, and highly readable account of the social, cultural, historical, and political aspects of village life as it has existed in Hong Kong for a millennium."--Jacket.