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DISTRICT GRAND LODGE OF
HONG KONG AND THE FAR EAST
T
he District Grand Lodge of Hong Kong and the Far East is responsible for administering Freemasons’ Lodges under the United Grand Lodge of England that meet in Hong Kong and the Far East. The District Grand Lodge of Hong Kong and the Far East began as the Provincial Grand Lodge of China in 1847 and initially comprised two Lodges in Hong Kong: Royal Sussex and Zetland. Subsequent Lodges were established in Shanghai and other treaty ports in China. Given the distances involved and the difficulty of travel, it was decided to divide the District of China into two Grand Lodges: the District Grand Lodge of South China (1875), headquartered in Hong Kong; and the District Grand Lodge of Northern China (1877), based in Shanghai. By the early 20th century, the number of treaty ports in China had grown to more than 50 and there were some 20 Lodges in the two Districts, with a combined membership of around 1,000.
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In 1937, the Japanese army invaded China, then in 1941 occupied the British and American concessions in the treaty ports. After the end of World War Two, membership rapidly dwindled due to issues in mainland China. A few of the former treaty port Lodges moved to Hong Kong in the late 1940s and early 1950s and a couple moved to the UK, where they are still going strong, but the rest had to close. The District Grand Lodge of Northern China ceased to exist in 1952. Before World War Two, there were five English Lodges in Japan, but only one – Rising Sun Lodge No. 1401 in Kobe – was revived after the war. The District Grand Lodge of Japan was officially dissolved in 1954. However, Freemasonry rapidly recovered in post-war Hong Kong. In 1958, the District Grand Lodge of Hong Kong and South China became the District Grand Lodge of Hong Kong and the Far East, with the addition of the Rising Sun Lodge. Today, the District Grand Lodge of Hong Kong and the Far East has 19 Lodges in Hong Kong, ugle.org.uk
