Forest Guard
Lin Hu (1871–1933), courtesy name Qiu Zhuo, was a Hong Kong builder and early 20th‑century Chinese revolutionary. He was born in 1871 in Feilong Village, Shangsheng Township, Niuwan Town, Xinhui District, Guangdong Province, China, and died of illness in 1933 at age 62.
Early life and construction career
Lin was born into a poor farming family in Xinhui, Guangdong, and received only a few years of private schooling. At age 14 he emigrated to Australia, working by day and attending night classes in construction engineering. He converted to Anglicanism in Melbourne, where he lived for five years, followed by two years in Sydney, before settling in Hong Kong.
In 1895 he and a Western partner, Mr Mori, founded Hey Yee Company. In 1897 Lin invited his elder brother Qiu Mou to Hong Kong and together they established Lam Woo & Co.,[1] [2][3]Engineers & Builders. Lin’s fluency in English and his brother’s engineering expertise—plus their use of modern construction machinery—earned them many major contracts in Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Macau, Hunan, Shantou, Wuzhou, and Zhongshan.
One of their earliest landmark projects was Saint Paul’s Church in 1911, now a declared Grade I historic building in Hong Kong. Lin was among the four founding members of the church congregation. The firm also built many schools and institutions in Kowloon and Hong Kong Island, including Saint Paul’s College, Diocesan Boys’ School, St. Stephen’s College, and the Fung Ping Shan Library, as well as Kai Ming Building, Jardine House, Hong Kong Hotel, Whampoa Dock, the Western Youth Association hall, Yau Ma Tei ferry pier, and major reclamations at Wanchai, Tai Kok Tsui, and Lai Chi Kok. Lin’s company was also reportedly involved in the design of the former Legislative Council building.
In 1932 Lin founded Qiu Zhuo Primary School in his hometown of Niuwan, Xinhui, with a campus of 798 m², and established an educational charity foundation for social welfare.
Revolutionary activity
Lin believed that commerce could save the nation and joined efforts to support industrial and commercial investment in South China. In the early 1900s he became a close associate of Sun Yat‑sen and joined the Hong Kong branches of the Revive China Society in 1903 and the Tongmenghui in 1905, alongside fellow Xinhui patriots such as Yang Xiyan and Tan Zhaokang. He provided significant financial and logistical support for revolutionary uprisings and the establishment of military governments. Sun Yat‑sen praised Lin as a “perfect revolutionary.”
Family
Lin had two wives in succession—his first wife Xu Meng’en and his second wife He Fengji—and six children: Lin Zhisheng, Lin Zhihao, Lin Zhixuan, Lin Suiyi, Lin Suien, and Lin Suilian. His grandchildren included Lin Guozhu, Lin Liang, Lin Xiong, Lin Xian, Lin Hui (children of Lin Zhisheng); Lin Bainian, Lin Songnian (children of Lin Zhihao); Lin Jue, Lin Xu (children of Lin Zhixuan). His nephews included Lin Zemin and Lin Yimin (sons of his brother Qiu Mou), and the writer Li Jianhua is his great‑niece (daughter of Lin Yimin).
Biography
- Chen Muhua (author), Fung Yihong (translator), Lin Hu: The Hong Kong Builder Behind Sun Yat‑sen, The Chinese University Press, 2017.
Legacy
Institutions named for Lin Hu family
- St Paul’s School, Lin Hu Memorial Secondary School
- Meng’en Memorial Hall
- Lingnan University Lin Hu Hall
- S.K.H. Meng En Primary School Lin Hu Building
- St Mark’s School Lin Hu Hall and Lin Zhihao Building
- S.K.H. Fung Kei Primary School
- St Paul’s College Qiu Mou Memorial Secondary School