* The Ly-ee-moon
(sic, from the book)
William Mercer (1822-1879) His service period in the HK government had spanned 1844-1866.
He joined as private secretary of the Governor Davis in 1844. He had been in the office of Chief Magistrate (1847), Treasurer (1847), Colonial Secretary & Auditor General (1854), finally Administrator (1862)
(in bracket, the year first appointed per Blue Books)
He graduated BA Oxford 1843 and conferred M.A., Oxon c.1851.
The book is titled :
Under the Peak
Jottings in Verse
Written During a Lengthened Residence in the Colony of Hongkong
The book collects many poems and some related proses he wrote amidst 'the drudgery of a colonial executive'.
In Part I, the first one is 7 sonnets about Hongkong.
The two selected poems above both contain points of reference to some historic names or places of the time.
Other interesting references in Part I include Taplichow, Fragrant Incense Urn, marriage fee (a taxation in mid 1840s) that few like the author knows of.
In the same part of the work, several poems are related to Tsin Dynasty officials around Canton, c.1845-1848.
On the Foundation of the Cathedral is about that occasion of St John's on 11 March, 1847. The one before is The Taifoong - written after a (typhoon) in Hongkong. Year not cited.
The most interesting one to a 21st century reader may be A Quatrain, which is based on the work of thinker and scholar Chaou Yung 邵雍 during Shin Tsung of the Sung Dynasty 宋神宗 (1068-1085) **
Few poems are even denoted 1844.
The other parts may be not easy to read for us layman, who are not classical literature graduates.
Mercer Street was named while Mercer was still serving in the government, unlike nameshakes of other streets in that era.
For example, nearby Hillier Street also named by mid 1850s, while Hillier already left for Siam in 1856.
** an query occurs simply :
from where Mercer may come across uncommon Chinese works in the 19th century (which is 800 years old) ?
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I only have partial answers and some initial ideas, after some brief study.
Interested readers are welcome to share your leads and inputs.