Perfection Place 1-5, I. L. 2040 [????-????]

I've added a marker at the location of IL 2040 as shown at https://www.hkmapservice.gov.hk/OneStopSystem/map-search#

Hi Jill,   I've just been doing random searches and one led back to an old Gwulo posting, that we both contributed to. It was the "Kot Tang Shi" and  "So Tang Shi"  link. I was looking at the map insert and I see this location was quite close to Moreton Terrace.  

My original discovery of Kot Choy was due to a letter involving the sale of a property located at 4 Moreton Terrace. It was owned by Kot Choy! It was sold in 1937 and the proceeds were disbursed in 1941. At that time I had no idea of the relationship of Kot Choy to my family. The coincidence in the similarity of the two names and now the site locations being so close? The Moreton Terrace developement I think began about 1925. There's not much info on it.

Anyway, I trust all is well with you. 

Regards, Brian

With some luck, I could find below info within a few clicks. See if it may help for your connections on the timeline.

The I.L. 2040 was on sale by auction as early as Sept. 1913 (link).
In the notification, some description of the lot is like :

Cost of removal of existing pig-sties at present and boundary stones are specified as conditions to the purchaser. _[1] Pigsties may suggest it is more 'rural', kept towards the hillside ?

Some of its development over time may be more or less seen in maps. e.g on the gwulo maps :

    1901  'Tai Hang Village' is marked on the east of the area, but some different strips on the west side (near this place);
               School Street, King Street, Shepherd Street and the Lanes exist already, but no Warren Street yet. It is said that many of these Tai Hang street names are related to government officers of the late 19th century and after.
    1905  'Tai Hang Village' is put over the west side of this wide area, some blank space towards the hillside ^[*]

On the plan of Victoria 1914, the lot no. 2040 is marked there, near 165. It does not exist in the 1913 plan. _[2]

A photo of this area of Tai Hang from the Harvard-Yenching Library of Harvard University (👈click to view). _[3] Possibly from the 1950s. 
I think the related houses are near middle left, beneath the hillside.

Your inputs and comments are welcome, to fill in more context.

The name of the terrace Perfection Place in Chinese is not a direct translation (十全). It is kind of Chinese thinking/idiom about being perfect. 
 

sources
1. Government Gazette, 1913
2. hkmaps.hk
3. cityintime.hk

[*] in the 1897 Plan, the west side of it is denoted as 'Hoong Heong Lo Valley' (literally, the name is Red Incense Burner), which the map of 1880 also shows, here

A known recent usage of this ancient term 十全 is from the noted emperor (1711-1799) of the Qing Dynasty, when he boasted of the conquests in his reign and proclaimed himself '十全 Old Man' in 1792.

But in usual Chinese naming, I think 'perfection' is seldom put on as-is. In the Chinese University HK, we have the Lake of Ad Excellentiam 未圓湖, which comes close with the Chung Chi College's motto and Chinese philosophy.
I try to jot down two translations for Perfection Place :

 1. 完全台  :  全 signifies 'wholeness', sufficient

 2. 完全坊  :  坊_[+] appears a recent reinvention for translating 'Place' by developers in HK

Above information is generally available in the public domain.

   _[+] Fong - as in 'Kau U Fong' (Central), Yi Pei 'Fong' / Yi Pei Square (photo in 1966) 
 

This subject caught my eye!  I have been familiar with #1 Perfection Place since my childhood in HK during the 50s and 60s. My grandparents lived there! I don't know exactly when their occupation started, but I have collected old pictures of my grandparents and family at that house with the earliest dated as 1922 (as appeared in an American trade magazine 'The Creamery and Milk Plant Monthly). My grandfather founded the old On Lok Yuen business which included an ice cream factory. Grandfather passed away in 1963. My grandmother continued to live there. After her passing in 1983, the family sold the property (probably to the developers of the current high rise building at that location)

Grandfather's name Cheung Kat Shing

Yes Jill. The picture you posted is a pretty good match. I visited my grandparents quite often during the 50s and 60s and had overnight stays. I still remember the interior of the terrace house very well. It had 2 stories of living space and a roof top via internal stair case.  From the street level, we had to go up a flight of steps before reaching a neighbour's front courtyard, then through that yard before reaching the gate to grandparent's courtyard.  Their house was the slightly taller one on the left of the picture.

The high rise residential building currently at that location is named Warrenwoods, and they use Tai Hang Rd as their main entrance. 

Looking at this recently posted photo at https://gwulo.com/media/53881 and 1970 map at: https://www.hkmaps.hk/viewer.html, there appears to be a mismatch of IL 2040 and address 1-5 Perfection Place.

The current place marker is correct for IL 2040 but 1-5 Perfection Place was slightly to the west of Warren Street and opposite Jones Street. 

It may well be that 1-5 Perfection Place was originally on IL 2040 but later at some point (through private sale ?) the large lot became sub-divided and Perfection Place took on its own lot number.

A small mention made in a guide book published in 1991: Jones Street boasts a row of old homes called  "Perfection Place".

Update 

1913-14 Land Purchases made by Mr. C. E. Warren

(1) Tracing back, IL 2040 was offered for sale by public auction on 15 September 1913. See: https://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkgro/view/G1913/33426.pdf (double click). The Tai Hang Village lot was sold to Messrs. Warren & Co. for $7,100 or about 35 cents per foot. There was brisk competition from Chinese bidders. HK Telegraph 16 September 1913 refers. See here and scroll to Page 5.

(2) For reference, IL 2050 and 2051 in Tai Hang Village were sold to Mr. C. E. Warren on 17 November 1913. See: https://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkgro/view/G1913/33564.pdf (double click) and China Mail 18 November 2013 (Sale).

(3) IL 2087 in Tai Hang Village was also sold to Mr. C. E. Warren on 28 September 1914. See: https://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkgro/view/G1914/38624.pdf (double click) and China Mail 29 September 1914 (Sale).

Thanks for checking the location. I've moved the marker west to its correct location. 

The terrace of houses 1-5, and the two houses 6-7 to their south, are also visible on the recently added 1980 map: https://gwulo.com/node/54944?a=1#19~22.27828~114.19141~Map_by_GovHK-Mar…

Hi Jill, I have written a short story about this place. It is translated from Chinese in this link: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/14a6Ngvxpqj/

‎‎The English name “Perfection Place,” is quite distinctive. It appears to be a translation of the Chinese phrase “十全十美” (meaning “perfect in every way”), taking the first two characters “十全,” and using “Place” instead of the more commonly used “Terrace” for “臺.”

‎‎Although Perfection Place was located in Tai Hang, the site was not part of the Tai Hang Inland Lot (T.H.I.L.), but rather Inland Lot No. 2040, near Tai Hang Village (T.H.I.L. 165), covering about 20,250 square feet. The lot was auctioned on September 15, 1913, and purchased by C. E. Warren for $7,100. Newspapers reported that Warren would "build on the lot just acquired a modern tile factory, equipped with up-to-date plant, in extension of of the factory which they built a few years ago and which has already proved inadequate for the growing requirements of their business".  C. E. Warren (for whom Warren Street in Tai Hang may have been named) operated C. E. Warren & Co., a company engaged in building construction and the sale of bricks and tiles, with its factory also located in Tai Hang.

‎‎Public Works Department reports from 1913 onward help trace the development of the site:

‎‎- The 1913 report mentioned that a “godown and quarters” would be built on I.L. 2040.  
- The 1914 report stated that construction of the godown and quarters had not yet been completed by the end of the year, and also mentioned plans to build five Chinese houses on the same lot.  
- The 1915 report recorded that both the godown and quarters, as well as the five Chinese houses, had been completed. It also referred to a scavenging lane for the site, then named Nos. 1–5 Tin Keng Terrace.  

‎‎In the "Index to the Streets, House Numbers, and Lots of the City of Victoria (1915)", I.L. 2040 is listed under the final section of “Second Lane” in Tai Hang, but under a different name: Perfection Place Nos. 1–5, with the Chinese name “什全台.” The character “什,” when used as a number, is equivalent to “十,” so “什全台” is the same as “十全臺.”

‎‎Putting this information together, the lot was originally intended for factory use, but plans later changed. Part of the site became a godown and quarters, while the rest was developed into housing. Five Chinese houses were constructed, initially named Tin Keng Terrace, but soon renamed Perfection Place, a name that continued thereafter. Since these were tenement houses rather than European-style houses, it seems C. E. Warren never intended to live there himself.

‎‎According to information provided by Jill, a descendant of C. E. Warren (see Gwulo link below), the 1916 Rate Book shows that Nos. 1–5 Perfection Place were originally owned by C. E. Warren & Olson (Olson being John Olson, Warren’s brother-in-law). However, this entry was crossed out and annotated with “So Tang Shi 27.5.16,” suggesting that on May 27, 1916, Warren transferred the ownership of Perfection Place to "So Tang Shi". Very little is known about this new owner.

‎‎I have previously read 《測量香港五十年》(Fifty Years of Surveying in Hong Kong) by So Chun-hin, Albert, which includes a memoir of his surveying career and mentions "Perfection Place". Upon revisiting the text, it was discovered that the place had once been owned by the So family.

‎‎While working at Urban Estate, Albert So handled a lease modification case that required a site visit to Tai Hang. He described the scene:

‎‎“Walking from Lai Yin Street in Tai Hang toward the slope beside Tai Hang Road, I saw a platform about ten feet above ground level. Stone steps on both sides led up to it, and on a wall in front of the steps were three large carved characters: ‘Perfection Place.’ On the platform stood an old pre-war building - two stories high, consisting of five connected units. It had been vacant for many years and was in a dilapidated state. Later, from Land Registry ownership records, I found a 1913 owner surnamed So, named So Tang Shi. She was recorded in the family genealogy as my grandfather’s third wife.”

‎‎The date mentioned here may be inaccurate, since the lot was owned by C. E. Warren in 1913 and only changed the ownership in 1916. This passage helps resolve a long-standing mystery: “So Tang Shi” is not a full personal name, but a way of combining the surnames “So” and “Tang,” with the given name omitted, usually used to refer to a woman after marriage.

Hi Jill, my previous post here is the main part of the story but without any photos. You can read the original post in https://www.facebook.com/share/p/14a6Ngvxpqj/, even you don't have facebook account.