學塾與塾師
Study Halls and Tutors

私塾圖
墨水紙本，十九世紀
圖片來源：香港藝術館藏品

Drawing of study hall (sishu)
Ink on paper. 19th century.
Source: Hong Kong Museum of Art Collection

鄧氏族人在宋代遷入現今新界錦田，約於1106至1110年間建立力瀛書院，是香港甚至是嶺南地區最早的學府之一。其他定居於新界的氏族亦大多重視子弟教育，以應考科舉，當中更有不少於聚居的村落興建書室或學塾，教授《三字經》、《百家姓》、《千字文》等傳統啟蒙課本，以及四書五經等儒家典籍，通常只由一位塾師主持。塾師有致仕歸鄉的退閒官員，也有秀才、舉人，以及未能入仕的知識分子。

The Tangs moved into Kam Tin in the New Territories during the Song dynasty and established Nik Ying Study Hall between 1106 and 1110, making it one of the earliest educational institutions of learning in Hong Kong and even in the wider Lingnan region. Most of the clans that settled in the New Territories prioritised preparing their children for the Imperial Examination (keju). Many built study halls in their villages to teach traditional initiation texts, such as the Three Character Classic, the Book of Family Names and the Thousand Character Classic, as well as Confucian texts, such as the Four Books and the Five Classics. A study hall was usually run by a single tutor. Tutors included retired officials who had returned to their hometowns, graduates of preliminary examinations (xiucai), graduates of provincial examinations (juren), and intellectuals who had not been able to enter the civil service.