The Rock That Marked the End of a Dynasty

It is an often-forgotten fact, but for a (very) short span, Hong Kong was home to the Chinese Imperial Court. Unfortunately, the story ended tragically with the suicide of a seven-year-old Southern Song Emperor. Today, an ancient engraving reminds us of the tragic events that unfolded in Hong Kong.

Sung Wong Toi is a massive boulder originally located on top of 45-metre-tall Sacred Hill, south of the Kowloon Walled City, which was leveled by the Japanese army during World War II to make way for Kai Tak Airport. The relic was named after the inscription it bears, 宋王臺 (Sung Wong Toi), which literally means "Terrace of the Song Kings."

In the second half of the thirteenth century, as Mongol hordes overran the Song Empire, the Imperial Court of the Southern Song fled further south. Eventually, eight-year-old Zhao Shi (Emperor Duanzong) and his brother, Zhao Bing, set up court near Sacred Hill.

Unfortunately, Zhao Shi fell ill and died, leaving his seven-year-old brother Zhao Bing (Emperor Bing) to inherit the throne. In 1279, however, the Song lost the decisive naval Battle of Yamen. Rather than letting the Song Emperor be captured by the Mongols, a loyal court official jumped from a cliff into the sea while holding Emperor Bing, bringing a definitive end to the Song Dynasty.

To honor the memory of the only Emperors to set foot in Hong Kong, local villagers carved 宋王臺 into the massive boulder. However, to avoid drawing the ire of the newly established Yuan Dynasty, they used the character 王 (wong), which means king, instead of the character 皇 (wong), which means Emperor.