This work investigates how colonial administrative practices in the New Territories of Hong Kong fundamentally altered the perception and reality of land ownership and social structure. Allen Chun, an anthropologist, utilizes historical records and ethnographic data to analyze the discrepancy between colonial bureaucratic categories and the lived experiences of the indigenous population. The book argues that the imposition of Western legal frameworks created a new, artificial social reality that often conflicted with traditional land-tenure systems.

Scholars in the field of Hong Kong studies and colonial anthropology recognize this text as a rigorous examination of the intersection between administrative policy and social change. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which serves as a foundational resource for understanding the complexities of land rights in post-colonial contexts.