The “Chi Sau” Voluntary Team of Mong-Ha Village

After the First Opium War, the colonial government of Macao advanced its influence to the northern area of the city. In 1849, the assassination of Governor João Maria Ferreira do Amaral caused the magistrate of Xiangshan County to withdraw his attention from Macao. Having no dedicated Qing officials within close reach, the residents of Mong-Ha Village turned to Zhang Zhidong, the Governor-general of Guangdong and Guangxi Provinces by then, for help. Nevertheless, the Qing government was domestically occupied and could spare no time to take care of Macao’s colonial affairs. In 1888, the villagers mobilized themselves into the “Chi Sau” Voluntary Team and proposed to build a temple consecrated to Seng Wong (tutelary god of city). They hoped to have the divine aid of Seng Wong to protect Mong-Ha Village against the colonial aggression and use the premises as the meeting place of the voluntary team. After the Temple was completed, it became a symbol of solidarity against foreign aggressions and the open space next to it was the martial art-training ground of the villagers.