Forgotten Heroes

This book is an attempt to clarify the history of San On County — the broader Hong Kong area — centringon the troubled years of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It is based on an in?depth study of theSan On County Gazetteer, which allows for a detailed discussion of the role, attitudes, and personalities ofthe San On magistrates, who were the heads of the county administration during this period. Particularfocus is given to Zhou Xiyao (magistrate 1640–1644) and Li Kecheng (magistrate 1670–1675). The studyfinds that they, and at least some of the other magistrates of this period, were genuinely concerned aboutthe county and its people, and tried as best they could to provide good and effective government for them.