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Qing Ming (2010)
During March 2010 several special days are observed,
most notable of which are: Women's Day
(1st March), which is a fixed calendar date each year,
but is not a holiday. So it seems women have to work
on their special day. However, there is no complimentary
men's day so please don't feel so bad girls. This is
followed by Long Tai Tou or Dragon
Raises it’s Head Festival, which falls according to
the lunar calendar and is on the second day of the second
month and marks the official beginning of spring. This
year that was Wednesday 17th March. The last is Qing
Ming, or Annual Grave Sweeping Day which is
a solar festival.
Long Tai Tou
It is routed deep in the history and mythology of Chinese
people, and predates the earliest Chinese Empires by
millennia. It originates in the festival of ‘fu yi shi’.
On this day the Queen would cook for the commoners,
and the King would soil his hands with farming. This
was to ensure full bellies and fields. Huang Di (5000bc),
the first great Chinese emperor, widely established
the tradition. By the Western Zhou Dynasty (Circa 800bc),
the ritual had expanded to include all high officials,
getting their court robe hems dirty and dainty palms
calloused.
During the Tang Dynasty (Circa 750ad), inevitable taboos
crept in. No one dared sew, for fear of poking the dragon's
eyes, or ground seed, to protect his skin. However fabled
Tang empress Wuzi Tian, in a move to do away with traditional
Tang cultural practices, banned Long Tai Tou, angering
the Emperor of Heaven, who retaliated by cursing China
with three years of drought.
The Jade Dragon had more compassion
than his master, and at last took pity on the
parched earthlings. In charge of the celestial
river, he directed a life-giving rain on the land.
Naturally the Emperor of Heaven found out, and
punished the Jade dragon by burying him underneath
a great mountain. A massive headstone at the foot
of the mountain read, "The dragon made rain,
disobeying heaven's rule. The dragon will suffer
as humans suffer, and may not return to heaven
until the golden bean flowers."
Image source Google images
Everyone wanted to rescue the Jade Dragon, as much to
ensure rainfall as to repay his kindness, and began
scouring the land for a golden bean that flowered. Years
passed without success, until some farmers picking at
the scant remains of their dried corn noticed that the
kernels resembled golden beans. One creative soul remarked
that if they made popcorn, the golden bean would come
to resemble a flower.
Within a few hours, mounds of popcorn were heaped on
family altars, where the Emperor of Heaven would notice
them. The Jade Dragon noticed, at any rate, and roared
to the skies, "The golden bean has flowered, release
me!" The Emperor of Heaven, all powerful though
he may be, was nonetheless constrained to his word,
and a promise fulfilled, however metaphorically. He
freed the dragon and reinstated him to his rain-making
duties by the celestial river.
This explains why people still make popcorn on this
day, as well as leaving mounds of beans on family altars.
It also explains why people rename foods. On Long Tai
Tou, dumplings become dragon ears, rice patties become
dragon scales, rice dragon seeds, and won-tons dragon
eyes. What it doesn't explain is what any of this has
to do with a dragon raising its head.
In answer, the Chinese tell another legend. Long ago,
but not so long ago as the Jade Dragon's misadventure,
there was another drought, in Shaanxi Province. At last
a village hero named Shui Sheng set out to look for
water. After a week's travel, he came to another village.
The eldest man there told him that the task of tending
to the celestial river had fallen to the grandson of
the Jade Dragon.
A youthful, forgetful magic lizard, the grandson had
been sent to dispense rain to parched Shaanxi, but upon
arriving had shirked his chore to go cavorting about.
Shui Sheng asked the village elder how to put the young
dragon back on task, and learned that he would have
to fashion a fighting staff from "defeat dragon"
wood. Shui Sheng roamed far and wide to find the rare
tree, extinct today, which bore such wood. Even after
making the staff, Shui Sheng was hard put to find the
dragon, as on earth dragons favor caves, mountain tops,
and other lairs similarly inaccessible.
But find the dragon he did, and succeeded in beating
the stuffing out of the errant rain-maker. Gradually
returning to consciousness, the dragon lifted his head
and whirled up to the sky, which suddenly filled with
black rain clouds and rumbling thunder. A rather elaborate
story to justify a dragon's head raising, but powerful
enough that on this day a few superstitious souls still
venture out to pray at a dragon temple. True, just a
few, but many others, equally superstitious, view this
day as the first safe one after New Year's to get a
hair cut. Ask an old Chinese person or two. They'll
verify this.
Huang Di, The Yellow Emperor lived about 5, 000 BC,
and he is still highly respected as being the first
ruler of ‘China’. He is attributed with instigating
Long Tai Tou, which is by tradition the day all Chinese
begin planting the annual crops. Given China is a large
Country with dramatic changes in weather, then you will
not be surprised to learn that in 2010 some areas are
still experiencing the snowfalls of winter. Other areas
are subject to the worst drought for over 100 years,
most notable of which are Southeastern parts of Yunnan,
Guangxi, and Guizhou Provinces. This drought has severely
affected farming, and is so bad in some areas that 20
million people have no drinking water.
In the local areas of neighbouring
Guangdong, my home territories of Foshan and Toisan
have abundant water and no frost in any year.
Crops such as lettuce have been grown throughout
the winter period, and the first rice was planted
around the beginning of February. This is seed
rice which tends to be bought for growing rice
seedlings. Strips of land some 30 inches wide
by 20 or 50 yards are prepared on a slightly raised
soil platform in which seed trays measuring 30
inches by 25 inches are set. The rice grain is
then scattered over the trays, and the rows are
then covered with a semi-spherical tent of opaque
plastic, which is vented every 10 yards or so
to allow draught for ventilation. Once the seedlings
are established the plastic tent is removed to
allow direct sunlight to tend the trays and encourage
vigorous growth and from germination to planting
takes about 1 month.
As with contemporary Western equivalents, the rice grown
tends to be one of several popular and reliable hybrids
that are drought and disease resistant, and produce
heavy crops. This is exactly the same as wheat grown
in cooler regions of the world. For much of its long
history China has suffered from famine and the oft associated
factors of flood, drought, and war. During the early
days of the present communist regime, much emphasis
was placed on farming and improving agricultural resources.
It is during this time that one of China’s foremost
unsung heroes changes the course of Chinese history
– through sheer hard work and perseverance. His name
is Yuan Long Ping, and he invented
hybrid rice
“Yuan Longping is a famous Chinese agriculturalist who
was born in Qianyang, Hunan Province in 1930. Professor
Yuan graduated from Southwest Agriculture College in
1953 and has since devoted himself to agricultural education
and research. He is currently hold many prestigious
titles, most notably Director General of China National
Hybrid Rice Research and Development Centre. Please
note that this is not a typo, and that Chinese often
combine first names into a single word, as they often
do with city names also.
Professor Yuan pioneered hybrid rice research in China
and made remarkable achievements in this area by developing
the first hybrid rice in the world. His achievements
greatly resolved food shortages, and have provided one
solution to worldwide starvation. He is recognised around
the world by the unofficial title ‘The Father of Hybrid
Rice’.
Yuan Longping began research
on ‘indica’ hybrid in 1964. At the beginning,
he discovered male-sterile rice. Then he brought
forward a third hybrid paddy and carried out experiments
on field grown rice. His pioneering work in hybrid
rice production techniques has revolutionized
rice cultivation in China, establishing China's
world leading position in hybrid rice research.
Yuan went on to solve several following major
problems. In 1970, he found another important
specie of wild rice for the creation of high-yield
hybrid rice species. In 1973, in cooperation with
others, he was finally able to establish a complete
process of creating and reproducing high-yield
hybrid rice species.
The next year they successfully cultivate a type of
hybrid rice species which had great advantages. It yielded
20 percent more per unit than that of common ones, putting
China in the lead worldwide in rice production. For
this achievement, he was dubbed the "Father of
Hybrid Rice."
The new hybrid was tested in many areas of Southern
China during 1974 and 1975, and then extended to other
areas. China became the first country that was capable
of producing hybrid rice. Yuan Longping is the first
scientist who successfully altered the self-pollinating
characteristic of rice and realized large-scale farming
of hybrid rice.
At present, as much as 50 percent of China's total rice
fields grow Yuan Longping's hybrid rice species and
yield 60 percent of the rice production in China. Due
to Yuan's hard work, China's total rice output rose
from 5.69 billion tons in 1950 to 19.47 billion tons
last year, about 300 billion kilograms more have been
produced over the last twenty years. The annual yield
increase is enough to feed 60 million people.
The "Super Rice" Yuan he is now working on
yields 30 percent higher than those of common rice.
A record yield of 17,055 kilograms per hectare was registered
in Yongsheng County in Yunnan Province in 1999. From
1976 to 1987, the total cultivated area of the hybrid
rice developed by Yuan reached 1.1 billion mu (15 mu=1
hectares), and increased rice yield by 100 billion kg.
In 1979, the hybrid rice was transferred as China's
first agro-technology patent to the United States. At
present, the hybrid rice developed by Yuan is planted
on the farmlands all over China, which played an important
role in increasing China's grain production. It made
possible the feeding of 22% of the world population
on only 7% of the world's total arable land.”
Today's farmers have benefited greatly from Yuan Long
Ping’s efforts, which have since been refined, with
versions of rice being developed to suit differing regions
and conditions around China. Many foreigners have a
mental picture of waterlogged fields and peasants planting
rows of rice by hand. This type of rice is what I will
term “Water-logged” rice; and is perhaps more correctly
a representation of Cambodia under the harsh Khmer Rouge
regime. Whilst rice remains a water intensive crop,
modern Chinese rice is normally of the shallow sown
variety.
Spring in Toisan
This year the first rice sown
in the fields south of Toisan was during January,
although planting in my wife's village is a few
weeks later. Baba still prepares their plots using
a traditional Ox drawn wooden plough with metal
share. Other residents are now embracing the modern
soil cultivators that are quite similar to British
rotorvators. I think Americans call them something
else that is similar, cultivators perhaps? These
are the front part of a Chinese tractor with the
truck body being replaced with a plowing attachment
that can be ridden. These are currently supplied
by contractors, who will plough a field for payment.
Smallholder's in UK still use the same method
for some cropping, such as renting a combine harvester
for a day or two.
In Toisan the rate is Y300 (£30)
per Mu, or Y75 per paddy field. We therefore now
know there are four paddy's in a Mu (Cantonese
‘Mo’), and a Mu is equivalent to 0.165 acres or
0.06’ hectares. Therefore: 1 acre = 6 Mu, and
1 hectare = 15 Mu (there, that's easier isn't
it).
Water is delivered to each Paddy field via a complex
system of irrigation ditches that bear the hallmarks
of both Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and Heath Robinson.
My in-law’s village is located to one side of
a wide plain that appears to be totally flat,
and is perhaps 5 miles wide by 20 miles long.
The area is defined by mountainous outcrops that
ring the western head of the plain and mark its
sides as it gradually widens on its meandering
expansion southeastwards. The juxture of hillside
and plain is marked by a major canal, from which
smaller channels take water to the immediate villages.
Whilst your immediate perception is that the land
of the plain is totally flat, this is in fact
an illusion. Over the width of a mile, the height
of land may fall by as much as 5 feet. This is
managed by a series of interconnecting channels
and fields. It would therefore be normal for 5
or 15 paddy's to be ringed by a small drainage
channel. Each paddy is enclosed in its own small
dyke a few inches high. This can be broken in
a suitable place to allow water to enter, or exit.
This in turn enters other small channels that
are set at a level perhaps 9 inches lower than
the preceding one above. Whilst it might be reasonable
to expect human labour to level an area of say
one acre over time, it is not viable to do this
on a larger scale. Therefore the plain is in fact
a very carefully interwoven mix of levels and
irrigation channels.
Of course, all this water has to go somewhere, and allowing
for evaporation, the large remainder eventually flows
out to village fishponds, or finally into another major
canal set at the lowest local altitude. This may in
turn become a high level feeder for other areas set
further to the southeast. Great skill and planning are
required in formulating the layout and managing the
fields – as all water is manipulated in ways that can
affect other irrigation channels and field systems lower
down.
At a practical level, Baba has 4 adjoining paddy's set
in a field system of perhaps one dozen paddy's This
is bordered on two sides by a small irrigation channel
that supplies water to the field. Baba is able to broach
this in a suitable place to flood his paddies individually,
and he can also broach the wall of each paddy this flooding
all of his land as required. The breaches are then repaired
thus cutting off the water feed. A neighbouring paddy
has a sub-channel which allows water to reach more inaccessible
paddies in the centre. These are very important to local
farmers, as not all are as fortunate as Baba, and some
may only have one or two paddies's scattered around
in the centre of larger fields.
With the paddies flooded to a
height of a couple of inches, the land is then
ploughed repeatedly until it is made ready for
planting. The soil is allowed to settle for a
few days, when any excess water is allowed to
drain into a second ditch set at lower level for
the purpose. They aim to have a water coverage
of about 1 inch only at planting time. Trays of
seedlings are then taken from the nursery seedbeds
described above, and by walking around the paddy,
seedlings are separated and individually thrown
into place from a standing position. I bet you
thought they planted them by bending over and
setting nice straight parallel rows? So much for
Hollywood, this is how it actually occurs in real
life!
Chinese farming communities are run by village collectives,
which today have a relatively large autonomy. Whilst
they are held responsible to local government, which
in turn is duty bound to town and city government’s
in turn; they can determine things as which crops to
grow (Within the larger framework of national policy).
Therefore if a village or group of villages decided
they would benefit from growing tea instead of rice,
then they could do so. Often such changes are suggested
by local or regional government; and often develop through
external intervention. However, the basic economy of
most regions is based upon the value of rice. This is
set by central government through its provincial offices,
and guarantees each Province a set reward for a standard
quantity of harvested rice. Without confusing you with
traditional Chinese weights and measures, it is indicative
to state that each Mu of land will produce ‘X’ amount
by weight of rice on average; and that each sack of
rice is worth a specific amount or Renminbe. The Central
government fixes this price for each Province; and Collectives
or regional distributors are not allowed to sell this
to collection centres in other Provinces. This acts
to regulate the local market economy and offers stable
prices for consumers within any given Province. This
is highlighted in my local Province, as Guangdong is
one of the richest areas of China. By comparison, neighbouring
Guangxi is a poorer Province, and guaranteed price for
rice is lower. Of course, a regional economy is far
more complex, so as the price of rice is the major factor
governing household budgets, it is not the only one
where regulation is employed. In Guangxi for example,
1 Mu of land will yield rice to the conservative value
of Y600 (ie. A poor harvest). In Guangdong this figure
is nearer Y800 per year, based upon only one crop of
rice annually. Guangdong usually produces 2 crops each
year, but there is a fallow year every few years.
Throughout Chinese history, local farming communities
have changed little, although the means of their administration
has varied over the centuries. In early times this was
based upon feudal models, with specific political flavours
as powerful empires became undermined by local warlords
and influential landowners – who given time also were
themselves replaced in the annals of history. Much of
this was politicking and of little or no concern to
the local farmers who tilled the fields. It would be
obvious that some periods and administrations were preferred
to others by the peasants concerned; but essentially
life went on in similar fashion down through the ages.
You would imagine that a major
change gripped the nation with the overthrow of
the Qing Empire circa 1911; but from a peasant
farming perspective, not a lot altered. Regional
power still rested with the same people or their
successors. When the Japanese invaded China during
1937, heralding the dawn of WW2, local peoples
lives were already compromised by the on-going
civil war and life had become that of survival.
However, many communities were left untouched
by the ongoing civil war that sandwiched the Japanese
incursion, whilst others were devastated. You
can read more about this confusing and very interesting
period of Chinese history in our complimentary
supplement “Modern Chinese History”.
Therefore it would be an indicative generalisation to
infer that the lives of ordinary Chinese peasant farmers
had not changes substantially over millennia. This did
change in 1949 when Chairman Mao become China’s first
communist president. Mao's aspirations were grand and
very practical: “Mao's first goal was a total overhaul
of the land ownership system, and extensive land reforms.
China's old system of landlord ownership of farmland
and tenant peasants was replaced with a distribution
system in favour of poor/landless peasants.
Mao laid heavy emphasis on class
struggle and theoretical work”. He instigated
major reforms, based upon 5-year plans. The first
significant one was in 1958, and called ‘The Great
Leap Forward’. The theory was great and resembled
a ‘make it at home’ stance. However, due to local
intensified mini-steel co-operatives, workers
were taken from their fields, and harvests withered
un-gathered. This in turn led to a famine, with
China’s birth rate halving due mainly to malnutrition.
Ordinary farmers were set a specific goal of yield,
which was always met. However, there was no incentive
to harvest extra produce, as they would not be
allowed to keep any of it and be donated for the
greater good of the people.
Mao's other two major initiatives: ‘1966: The
Cultural Revolution’ and ‘The Anti-Rightist Campaign’,
resulted in cementing a rural peasant version
of China. Famine continued, exacerbated by floods
and droughts, whilst crops that could be grown
or harvested were not, due to the quota system.
Basically there was no incentive for anyone to
work for nothing. I am trying very hard not to
be political here, and simply state facts as I
have researched them. These views are not expressly
my own either.
Policies were adjusted after Mao's time, and a
series of reforms coupled with the advent of the
‘Policy of Openness’ (The brainchild of China’s
other great modern leader: Deng Xiao Ping), has
given rise to the village collectives that produce
a staple crop such as rice. This is supplemented
by the market economy allowing collectives and
individual farmers to increase their annual income
by producing as much as they can for reward, and
in other more diverse ways.
Returning to a practical daily situation at home in
Toisan, this effectively means that whilst there remain
intensive periods of farming activity - obviously based
around sowing and harvesting seasons, there is much
room for other endeavours during intervening periods.
Regards my own Chinese relatives, the immediate close
group of families work co-operatively to ensure basic
household food supplies, with one perhaps focusing on
particular crops, whilst another produces something
else. This is extended by maintaining small stands of
sweet bamboo (Think sugar cane here), mango trees and
other fruits and vegetables. For instance, Baba produces
a large amount of potatoes for the greater family all
year round. More than is required is often grown, the
extra being sold at local wet markets. Also, all land
that does not come under the direct control of a farming
collective or administrative jurisdiction is classified
as belonging to the people. Therefore small allotments
spring up everywhere to sustain the needs of a home.
Also evident is the wide use
of natural resources. At appropriate times of
the year, firewood and tinder is collected, dried,
and stored for future use. Tinder is often bracken,
which is a bit of a large weed, as prevalent in
my Blighty home of Staffordshire. Brushes are
still made by hand when necessary using local
materials such as brushwood – perhaps where the
word originates? Whilst most homes have a reel
of modern plastic string at their disposal, most
families still use reeds or stout grass with which
to tie produce for market or storage. Also evident
are the traditional skills of keeping eggs, salting
pork, and dried salted fish
.
Dai Lo (Big Brother, or Number
1 Brother), is traditionally the one to follow
in his Father’s footsteps, and carry on the family
business; and maintain family values and traditions.
You could view this as him being the one responsible
for continuing the family line. His first duty
is to provide a son with a suitable and approved
wife. Siu Ying's Dai Lo has followed his own path
in life, and now has a very good job in the sister
city of Hoipeng (Kai Ping in Mandarin). They have
a nice modern home, one male child, and possess
a car and other contemporary comforts. Whilst
still acknowledged as the heir of the family,
he is a little outside of the main family's daily
lives in the village. During Qing Ming (Which
I will eventually get to below), he was first
to perform certain specific and symbolic acts,
but not all of them. Yee Lo and I played similar
important parts that I considered to be a little
unusual. Obviously Dai Lo in his absence is making
very good money, so he supports the greater family
in other ways that do not require his personal
attendance on a daily basis. I do like him a lot,
and we recently met by chance in Toisan, which
is another story and not for this missive.
Yee Lo (Number 2 Brother in Cantonese), is a most
personable and likeable guy. He is quite chilled
and speaks Cantonese quite well and in a way I
can understand. I had a great time with him and
some other local likely lads a while ago; when
we went off with a few air-rifles and shot sparrows
at midnight down one of the nearby lanes. That
is detailed in another missive entitled ‘Village
Life in Guangdong’. Previously Yee Lo lived in
Toisan City (Tai Shan in Mandarin), and was a
chef by profession – and he is a very good cook!
When I first met him a couple of years ago, he
was living in Toisan City proper, whilst his wife
was away working in USA for a year. He was left
holding the baby, or should I say ‘Loi Loi’ his
2-year old daughter. Whilst it was obvious he
is a very nice and outgoing guy, it did not take
me long to work out that there was an imbalance
in his life.
Becoming practical about issues; his parents are in
their 50’s and still working very hard in life. His
Mother raised his daughter, and is now doing so with
my own. You could say that by profession, she is a highly
skilled Mother. His Father still works the land every
day, and is highly experienced as to crops and seasons
for planting. He intuitively knows what the weather
will bring, and adapts accordingly. Yee Lo has now forsaken
life in the city, and returned to the homestead to work
alongside his parents in the fields. His wife is now
returned from USA, and now works in Toisan. Ho-hum!
What is interesting is that Loi
Loi now attends kindergarten, and has done since
age three. She leaves the home between 7.30 and
8am on all five weekdays, returning 10 or 12 hours
later. Chinese schools and kindergartens provide
all food and beds for midday nap. Many are boarding
institutions and it is common for secondary school
children to only return home at weekends, or even
for Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning only!
I would estimate they spend about twice as much
time studying as their western peers. Meanwhile
Yee Lo spends his days learning his Father’s knowledge
on the land, and cooks whenever there is a special
meal planned.
He is taking over household ‘Boy’ duties
from his Father – like tending the Chinese Aga. Therefore,
whilst his Mother is in total control of the home, he
has the responsibility to ensure there is fire in the
stove … interesting!
Now when you follow this statement through, this also
means he is now in charge of ensuring there is enough
combustible material to keep the stove working all through
a hard winter. That in turn means gathering and drying
enough supplies of suitable materials. Not quite so
easy then? He also has to maintain the cooker = clearing
out the soot from the chimney periodically, and using
the soot and ashes suitably and where needed on the
fields. In Blighty I know about this, because I was
raised upon a farm with solid fuel hearths. This could
represent a parallel universe for many western teenagers.
Yee Lo’s wife is the breadwinner, in the sense that
all the money she earns goes into their private savings,
which in turn will buy a house. Perhaps you would consider
that she has a ‘proper job’.
Yee Lo funds her expenses, funds
Loi Loi’s kindergarten (About Y1, 000 for 20 weeks),
and makes all the money his family live on – outside
of continuing the family business. This means
that he has developed his own business based upon
supplying prawns to a local trader, a regular
contract that sees his food on tables at local
schools. However, this also means that at 8 o'clock
at night, he then goes off to tend to his own
business – trolling the local ditches for prawns.
He also catches other things, such as: crabs,
snakes and eels. These all have a value, and I
now know that an eel 6” long by ¼” wide is worth
Y2. His day often finishes around midnight or
2 am, when the rest of the household is fast asleep.
However, the point of these paragraphs is to relate
how Yee Lo has taken over the role that would have been
expected of Dai Lo, had he remained at home to continue
the family business. Therefore during Qing Ming it was
Yee Lo that did a lot of the organising and attended
small rituals. However, for the major events it was
Dai Lo who took control. I will now turn to Qing Ming
itself, so lets move on to next part of this missive.
Qing Ming
This annual festival is also known as Grave Sweeping
Day, and is basically a day for attending to graves
for annual maintenance, and for honouring the family
ancestors. This day is not universally fixed throughout
China, and can fall anywhere over a two-week period,
even in Guangdong.
Officially, Qing Ming should fall on the day after Cold
Food Day, which itself is 105 days following the winter
solstice, which then falls on either April 3rd or 4th
of any year. My good friend Uncle Sam related that his
Hong Kong family festival fell on Friday 26th March.
My own Chinese family in Toisan reserved Tuesday 23rd
this year, although I am sure the actual day varies
each year. I asked Mama about it last night, and she
waxed lyrical in Toisanwha (Taishanese). Then she pointed
at the dates: 7th, 14th, 26th, and 29th as all being
related to this years date. I readily admit to losing
the plot on this one, and with no translator handy at
the time (Well, it was close to midnight), I thanked
her and made a hasty retreat. However, it was patently
clear that there was a lot more to this, so when I have
the facts I will replace this paragraph with the updated
information. This could take a while, so don't hold
your breath – just know it will be so eventually.
To understand the modern Qing
Ming Festival, we need to delve deep into the
annals of Chinese history, and begin with Cold
Food Day. Again I will adapt from other
materials found on the internet by way of explanation:
“Qingming, meaning clear and bright, is the day
for mourning the dead. It falls in early April
every year and corresponds with the onset of warmer
weather, the start of spring plowing, and of family
outings. Before we talk about Qingming, we must
say something about another ancient event, Hanshi,
which nowadays comes one day before Qingming,
and is the reason Qingming came into existence.
Hanshi literally means ‘cold food’. It is said that
in the seventh century BC during the Spring and Autumn
Period, Duke Xiao was the monarch of the state of Jin.
His eldest son, Shen Sheng should have inherited the
throne upon the death of his father. But Duke Xiao had
other plans. He wanted the son of his favorite concubine,
Li Ji, to succeed him as the ruler of Jin. Not exactly
a loving father, Duke Xiao had Shen Sheng murdered and
would have done the same to his second eldest son, Chong'
er, But Chong' er got wind of this plot and fled.
For 19 long years, Chong' er and his entourage of loyal
officials and servants wandered homeless, and were no
strangers to cold and hunger. One day, Chong' er was
actually starving and close to death when one of his
most faithful followers, Jie Zitui, cut a slice of muscle
from his own leg and served it to his master, thereby
saving his life. Finally in 636 BC, Chong'er managed
to take the throne that was rightfully his; and also
took the official title of Duke Wen of the state of
Jin.
After becoming the ruler of the state, Chong' er decided
to reward the officials who had stayed loyal to him
throughout his years of wandering. But he forgot about
Jie Zitui who had sacrificed the flesh of his leg. Jie
Zitui was heartbroken and disappeared. Later Chong'
er remembered Jie Zitui's sacrifice and sent people
to look for him. Eventually they found him. Chong' er
went in person to apologize and ask him to return to
the royal court. But Jie Zitui left them and went deep
into the mountains so no one could find him again.
Someone advised Chong' er to set fire to the area in
order to force Jie Zitui into the open, where he could
be talked into returning to the comforts of life in
the royal house. Chong' er took this advice and set
fire to the mountain where Jie Zitui was believed to
be hiding. The fires raged for three days and Jie Zitui
was found leaning against a large tree, carrying his
old mother on his back. Both Jie Zitui and his mother
were dead. From this you should imply that they were
burned to death in the fires.
Chong' er was deeply saddened by this tragedy. He ordered
that a temple be built in memory of his most loyal follower.
He also ordered that no fires were allowed on the anniversary
of Jie Zitui's death. So people had to eat their cold
food on that day, or the Day of Hanshi as it came to
be known. In addition, people began to visit Jie Zitui's
tomb and pay their respects to his memory. It was not
until the Qing Dynasty about 300 years ago that the
practice of Hanshi or eating cold food was replaced
by that of Qingming , which had now become an important
occasion for people to offer sacrifices to their ancestors.
So to interpolate for you readers,
it took about 2, 000 years from the original day
of remembrance, for this to become a day of mourning
and respect for all Chinese peoples. Bear in mind
also, that these related events took place in
what is regarded as Northern China, but in reality
is a fairly small area between the Yellow and
Yangtze Rivers, east of Xi’an and West of Beijing
(About where they come closest to each other on
a map). The later city did not exist then, and
neither did the Chinese Empire. In fact, it is
not until the Mongol invasion that modern China
takes its modern shape, and this was in the latter
Empire under The Kublai Khan – who incidentally
built his ‘Pleasure Dome’ just outside what is
modern Beijing.
In ancient China, Qingming was by no means the only
time when sacrifices were made to ancestors. In fact
such ceremonies were held very frequently, about every
two weeks, and in addition to other important holidays
and festivals. The formalities of these ceremonies were
in general very elaborate and expensive in terms of
time and money. In Guangdong the Spring Festival = Chinese
New Year and the 15 days following, is a time for family
remembrances, honouring family forefathers, and cold
food for 3-days out of respect. You can see by this
how over time, the original ‘Cold Food Day’ has expanded
its role to cover all periods of ‘Family Time’, whilst
Qingming has become the special day for attending family
shrines.
In an effort to reduce this expense, Emperor Xuanzong
of the Tang Dynasty declared in 732 AD that all respects
would be formally paid at the tombs of ancestors only
on the day of Qingming. This is the custom that continues
to this day. People will visit their ancestors' graves.
They will tidy up, remove weeds and sweep away leaves.
This is why Qingming is also known as the Grave Sweeping
Day. However, the day is also important for the living,
who carry food and wine to share with their ancestors
– leaving it for them to take their fill first – before
eating and drinking the remains themselves. This can
actually turn into a party in many respects – so perhaps
it would be fair to summarise that the day begins with
mourning and honouring departed souls. Then there is
a lot of work to be done cleaning and tidying the graves.
Then a fabulous picnic for the extended family … which
can sometimes degenerate into a fully blown party, celebrating
just how good the family as a whole is -well, look to
the ancestors for guidance. In this way it can be something
akin to an Irish Wake. The term ‘Wake the Dead’ actually
comes from this Irish tradition, and is a pun on the
two distinct meanings of the word ‘wake’.
Nowadays in modern Hong Kong, Qingming is not just a
day of remembrance; it is also a day to celebrate the
coming of spring, often by going out for a picnic. With
the coming of spring, nature wakes up, dressing the
world in green. All is new, clean and fresh. However,
I also see where this has come from in my annual visit
to my Chinese family during Qingming. But in reality,
the switch from winter to spring is actually a couple
of weeks before, at Long Tai Tou Festival = pretty meaningless
for well to do city folks.
The welcome transition from winter
to spring represented by Qingming was an inspiration
for many Tang Dynasty poems. The following one
by Han Hong is an example.
Cold Food
By Han Hong
All over the capital catkins flew wantonly,
A scene of the spring so significant,
On Cold Food the east wind willfully,
Made the imperial willows slant;
Now as the dusk approached quietly,
Within the Han palace candles glowed,
Towards the five mansions of nobility,
The silvery smoke of the tapers flowed.
Qing Ming has also been a favorite subject for painting.
Zhang Zeduan of the Song Dynasty produced
one of China's most famous works of art: ‘Qingming Shanghetuor
Life Along the River at Qingming’. This silk scroll
is now exhibited at the Imperial Palace Museum (Forbidden
City) in Beijing. Almost five and a half meters long
and a quarter of a meter wide, it is bursting with life:
riverside roads full of traffic, fairs in farmers' fields,
lively village, noisy city streets crowded with all
kinds of people, officials, merchants, soldiers, scholars,
porters, men and women, young and old. There are about
550 people in the painting, as well as scores of different
animals, carriages and sedans, bridges and boats. It
is a vivid record of the festivities and hustle and
bustle of the special time of Qing Ming.
I personally love this scroll, and have a full-sized
copy at home. My wife think’s I am very crazy (Me?),
but it is so very detailed and amazing. You can see
the whole scroll from the Palace Museum Beijing here:
and the modern interpretation (Housed in Taipei) here
These are both extremely long paintings, and begin at
the right, not the western default left of scroll. You
may have to increase zoom by a factor of 10 clicks or
more to view them properly. Therefore to view them in
detail you will need to save the linked images to your
computer and use your system image application to increase
the zoom. If you need a good one, then we advise you
download Irfanview
Why are Kites associated with Qingming?
Springtime, especially in North China, is the windy
season, just right for flying kites. It is not surprising
that kite flying is very popular during the Qingming
season. The history of the kite in China is very interesting.
It is said that the kite was invented by the famous
legendary carpenter Lu Ban over 2,000 years ago.
The earliest Chinese kites were made of wood and called
Mu Yuan. Mu means wood and Yuan means sparrow hawk,
a type of bird. Therefore: Mu Yuan means: wooden sparrow
hawk. The invention of paper did not escape the attention
of kite makers and soon the kite was called Zhi Yuan.
Zhi means paper, so Zhi Yuan means: paper sparrow hawk.
Kites were not just used for fun. They were also used
for military purposes. There are historical records
describing enormous kites, some large enough to lift
a man high in the air to observe enemy movements. About
1,500 years ago, Emperor Wudi was surrounded in Nanjing
by the rebel troops. He used a kite to send out an SOS
for outside help.
During the Tang Dynasty, people began to attach thin
bamboo strips to kites. When the kite was high in the
air, the wind would make these strips vibrate, producing
a low-pitched twanging noise, very like that of the
Zheng, a Chinese stringed instrument. Thereafter, another
popular Chinese name for kite was Feng Zheng, which
means ‘wind Zheng’.
In the Qing Dynasty, people would
fly their kites as high as possible, then let
go of the string. Off went the kite, taking with
it bad luck and illness. Conversely, to pick up
a kite lost or released by someone else could
bring bad luck. Some enthusiasts enjoy flying
kites at night. They hang small coloured lanterns
on the string with candles burning inside. With
dozens of kites up together, arc lines of flickering
multicolored lights decorate the night sky.
Visitors should go to “Tiao'anmen” (Tiananmen)
Square to see kites of all shapes and sizes. The
biggest could be a hundred meters long, made of
a hundred sections to form a dragon or even a
centipede. The annual Weifang Kite Festival held
every April in East China's Shandong Province
has become a major event, attracting thousands
of tourists and kite flying competitors all over
the world.
China also has Fighting Kite tournaments, where
the winner is the last person left with a kite
still flying. These kites are usually small and
highly manoeuvrable, and often have: powdered
glass, sharp sand, ground pottery, or even sharp
knives are attached to their strings. The object
is to cut competitors strings and this requires
great skill. Whilst it sounds like great fun,
would probably be banned in the West for health
and safety reasons.
This thing about good luck and bad luck, does immediately
relate to ghosts in Chinese psyche. In this respect,
Chinese people are incredibly superstitious, and even
my wife has come trembling into our home after ‘seeing’
a ghost. I never have, but then, I am not superstitious,
nor Chinese. Chinese fire crackers were invented to
scare away ghosts, and these are deployed after visiting
Chinese graves at Qingming. I think the theory goes
something like this: We have awoken our ancestors from
their slumbers and brought them food and drink. Now
they need to go back to sleep, and we also may have
awoken other malevolent being who should not be here
at all. Now is the time to send them back to rest, or
scare outsiders away – Bang, Bang, Bang…
Travelling to Qing Ming
I traveled to my Chinese family home on Sunday 21st,
so as to be in good time for the festival on Monday.
Ahha! This was actually to celebrate ‘Cold Food Day’
on Monday; as I subsequently found out. Their own family
Qingming was on Tuesday 23rd, and was also a day when
all food was served cold. Hmmm; cold, cooked, Cos lettuce?
Yummie! Western vegetarians haven't a clue what culinary
delights they are missing … probably?
On Sunday I had arranged to meet a local family for
lunch in their home, very near the ferry ramp in Gaogong,
and one of the very posh places nearby. David met me
from the ferry and escorted me to his nearby home. He
is a great person whom has become a very good friend
of late. I receive a phonecall from Uncle telling me
he is stuck in traffic at the major island interchange
(Which is being re-routed today), and he will be late.
This is one mighty fine gaff, and we enter via a courtyard
passing the fishpond full of expensive Koi Carp, and
enter the main reception room directly. I am greeted
by his wife, and many kids ranging from babies through
to college years. We shake hands and say ‘Hello’, before
they all disappear off in shyness. Meanwhile the parents
are encouraging them to practice their English with
me. This is basically a non starter, as they appear
to view me as a mouse does a hungry snake. Asi es la
vida! I do try and be amenable to them, but shyness
is overwhelming – that is apart from their 3-year old
daughter who did the same to me the first time we met,
but now seems to think I am rather cute and good to
play with.
Their gaff is very fine, and similar to my last pad
in Foshan city; re intricate woodwork to walls and ceilings,
matched by contemporary marble floor tiles. However,
this is new, modern, and a couple of hikes up the ladder
from what I had before. If you can imagine a wood such
as Teak, modeled with intricate designs and marble insets
of white and slightly striated, then this is about what
I walked into. I love this place already. Large and
roomy, with 90 inch plasma TV screen in the first room,
which later reveals a common plan to the second reception
room, which is more like the adults ‘Den’. Then I notice
there is a 12-seater dining table tucked away in the
far corner of the room. Behind the adjoining wall, a
woman is working very hard cooking and timing lunch.
She is very nice, but extremely busy, and is the family's
cook and nanny to three children. I'm pretty sure you
could hold a Basketball tournament using these two rooms,
as they are both light and airy. I am seated in their
leather couch and offered drinks and nibbles.
One is yellow chunks of something,
and turns out to be a large bowl of fresh pineapple
which is delicious. Meanwhile the kids are introduced
to me again, by seniority, and I play a game of
Hide and Peak with the young girl. She seems to
be getting the hang of foreigners now, although
it does appear she is not keen on the other one
in these parts. This is later confirmed in Cantonese
conversation after lunch (Which I understand),
where they decide I am very likeable, and the
other foreigner does not have time for people.
What made me chuckle was, that after talking about
this for 5-minutes, most of which I readily understood,
they then related the translation as being: David
wants to be your Brother.
This is a typical Chinese family home, in that David's
parents live with them and look after the children when
the housekeeper has other duties. We both received txt
and phonecall's from Uncle re his progress (1 Mile away),
meanwhile the kids have all disappeared (Excepting the
young daughter who is still playing ‘peek-a-boo’). Having
met David three times, I then discover he is a social
smoker, and he offers me one of Shanghai’s finest brands.
I had never seen the packet before, but he informs me
it is a new brand, and a gift from a company he visited
there recently. He then gives me both packets. They
are ok, but not Chinese ‘B&H’. Later I offer him
one of mine, which is when he brings out the ‘Shanxi’
smokes, which are the local stalwart = he is a Guangdong
Boy.
As conversation progresses, it turns out he used to
be a bit of a wild child. After Uncle rocks-up, he shares
some private things about his life with us, and we gave
offers to help him. Obviously everything is not perfect
in paradise, and the problem regards his eldest brother,
and the contents are none of your business. However,
to have a Chinese person open himself so readily is
very refreshing, and we both (Uncle Sam and Myself)
offer to assist in our own ways.
Ahha! Yes Uncle did eventually arrive, and subsequently
went through the same greetings I did. He has again
brought with him his real and elder sister, who I quite
like. I think Uncle Sam is 67 this year, and his sister
is a good bit older. However, she likes a drop of beer
and eats meat; something Uncle has forsaken since he
became quite a strict Buddhist. He doesn't say much
about his standing, although relates to every and anyone
about Chinese Buddhist teachings: Don't eat meat, don't
drink, don't smoke, don't chase the girls; etc… sounds
pretty boring to me, but what do I know?
He used to do all this before
in Hong Kong of course when he was younger, but
now is a very much reformed character. He also
has a way with him that demands much respect.
I don't understand half of it all, but we are
very good friends all the same. His sister is
very good company, and more to thinking the way
I live my life: If there is a beer, then I will
drink it, if there is meat then I will eat it.
We get on well together. However, people sort
of form their own cliques, and then lunch is served.
We have ended up with 16 people at the table,
so the kids and housekeeper set a new table for
themselves, thus allowing all room for manoeuvre,
and the kids also get to watch cartoons on the
plasma TV.
The meal was superb! Obviously it was normal Chinese
cuisine, but very well cooked with the best of ingredients.
It ranks as one of the very best meals I have ever eaten
in China; and do you know what? I cannot describe one
dish without making it sound ordinary. There was simply
great subtlety in the flavours which made the whole
lunch very memorable.
Everyone is aware that my personal plan is to catch
a coach to Toisan around 2pm. This is not written in
stone of course, but the general idea is there. Therefore
at 1.30, it becomes time to leave. David offers me his
personal private driver to take me to Toisan, and the
guy is waiting patiently at my side. This is crazy!
The bus is fine for me, and I already have a plan to
meet my wife to go shopping on Toisan City anyway's.
Eventually he gives way on this offer, but does insist
on driving me to the bus stop himself. I actually decline
the offer, stating that first I need to visit an ATM
to withdraw funds – as I am brassic just at the moment.
Apparently this is not an option, as first Uncle, and
then David offer me some money. This is off my radar,
as I have money, just not in my wallet at this moment.
I actually need to withdraw funds to support Siu Ying
in Toisan, plus dosh to fund my own expenses and commitments.
It is in the bank already, so all I need is to be delivered
to the one and only ATM that functions with an international
visa card in this small town. I give up, and David over-rules
Uncle Sam, so we head for the main road. I have to direct
him, as I am sure he has never caught a coach to Toisan
before in his life.
The vehicle is pukka – a Toyota
Landcruiser! I first came across these beasts
in Blighty during the 70’s; a time when Brit's
and Americans were arguing over whether a Landrover
or Willis Jeep was the best in the world. No contest!
Landcruiser every time – those things were phenomenal!
I am taking about the original Jeep version here.
David does not own one of those, but he does drive
one of the next generation (Before they became
‘Kiddie-wagons’). It has the full air intake pipe
going above the roofline, and is absurdly phenomenal
across bumpy tracks. He apologises because the
vehicle is old, whilst I really love this thing
and hanker after putting it through its paces!
However, in recent weeks Toyota has really been stuffed
through the mill internationally, and I am not sure
everything is fair? Well, you see, this happens a lot
in motor industry circles. A small fault is found, identified,
recalled for correction, and everything is fine again.
Unfortunately, the US motor moguls, one of whom is directly
responsible for the current ‘Smoking is bad for your
health’ scam, (that all governments worldwide are accepting
incidentally), having been bankrupt but bailed out by
the US Treasury; are now using diverse protectionist
tactics – which basically means that Toyota as the world’s
largest vehicle producer, is in for a very rough ride
through the American ‘Sue’ courts culture. Who wins?
The lawyers get even richer for lying, and USA regains
its motor industry. Who loses? The consumer, but then,
did consumer choice ever matter to global businesses?
Meanwhile, both China and India have long-since copied,
and are now determined to produce true eco-friendly
cars for the future. You may remember at this point
that the world’s oil resources are scheduled to expire
before 2030 – in 20 years time. You can also be assured
that what oil resources remain will be shepherded buy
the world’s major countries = for defence and to deliver
warheads of mass destruction. Well, they will also need
oil to make new warheads also.
So let’s look to around 2023 for the major shift in
machinery that uses oil. My daughter will just be in
secondary education by then. As responsible parents,
we are already planning her University finances … but
what if the world has run out of oil, and we have to
walk her to UK or USA from China – in order for her
to study? No cars, no aeroplanes = all gone. No oil
to power them.
China is now the world’s largest
investor in ‘Green Solutions’. In 2009 they invested
10 times more in this field than USA. Now, please
get your mind right: USA is generally run my oil
and auto moguls. Their products depend on an infinite
supply of oil; and as we know – this will run
out before my baby finishes schooling …and I wonder?
But let’s return to the present, where David has
dropped me off at the bus stop, and then decided
to wait with me. The bus I wanted to catch actually
passed us as we joined the main highway, so I
know I will have 20 minutes to wait for the next
one. I eventually convince David that I am fine
and know exactly which bus too catch. He wants
to take me somewhere else to catch a posh coach
– but I do need to arrive at a particular bus
station to meet Siu Ying, and he eventually accepts
this. I then convince him there is no need to
wait in this hot and dusty place, so he departs.
The bus duly arrives and I head for Toisan.
Arriving some 80 minutes later (These really are the
fastest coaches in the whole of China!), I know Siu
Ying will be late – simply because she always is. I
settle in a nearby street restaurant and order a nice
cold beer. They are pretty amazed I speak good Cantonese,
and much hilarity follows. The bottle is almost finished
by the time my wife arrives, and it is very good to
see her again. I think she likes meeting me here as
it gives her a great excuse to escape from the confines
of the village for a while. I relate about the cash,
and that I still need to go to an ATM (David kindly
let me have Y500, whilst I need to withdraw about Y4K).
Having decided she would go off shopping locally whilst
I would be forced to have another beer, she then says
that Toisan is used to international currency, and there
are bound to be cash points here. She talks to the restaurant
owner, and is pointed to one that suitable. We catch
a cab, and ten minutes later are deposited at the main
shopping mall in town. This is not the pedestrianised
area which I like so well, but it is handy. We find
the Bank of China, which has three CRS machines (China
cards and banks only), one bank book machine, and one
international ATM. Trying my visa card first, the machine
whirs into life, and immediately gives me funds. Blimey!
I then try my Hong Kong HSBC Company card, and it also
works first time. Crikey! This is quite bizarre and
an extremely welcome experience.
I give Siu Ying her monthly pocket money, and we head
for the nearby supermarket. Inside she buys girls things,
whilst I buy a couple of loaves of edible sandwich bread.
We then meet-up again and go off to buy her mother a
large melon, and some yellow things that must be a fruit
of some description? They look a little bit similar
to yellow chicken livers. Then she asks me to help her
choose the best melon. Hello? I am a boy. Then I remember
that succulent melons should give slightly at one end.
Meanwhile Siu Ying is testing them by tapping the outside,
selecting the ones with the highest and hollowest sound.
Both methods appear to bring forth similar results,
which I find quite encouraging. We eventually agree
that one of them is the best, and have it weighed whereupon
a price sticker is attached.
We depart the store a short time later and take a crazy
motorcycle taxi back to the same bus station. Here it
is I that spies the charabanc we need to catch = pretty
impressive I think, especially as all the characters
are in Chinese, and I haven't learnt this one yet :
-)
Qing Ming in Toisan 2010
Returning to the village, things appear as before,
except Nonni has grown noticeably. We eat alone
as the others have already had their fill. I have
options of goose, prawns, chicken, and meats.
They are all delicious, but my favourite is the
crackling pig, which is cut into long strips about
2 inches wide. I'm not quite sure how to eat this
and get quite messy trying to break bits off with
my fingers; before an intelligent person hands
me a sharp knife. Hey Ho! This night I enjoy the
last hot food for this visit, and we retire to
bed early as by 8.30 I am dead beat.
I wake at 3am, and manage to pass an hour before Nonni
awakens for feeding. I then depart and write a lot of
this missive on my laptop downstairs. I'm sure the family
think I am a little crazy, but that's not the way I
see it – and do I care = ‘no’. I make a coffee and kill
two cockroaches ahha! Zero tolerance prevails! Later
the family frog hops around as I am typing away, and
having met me on several previous occasions, he knows
me to be no threat. However, by contrast a few days
later when Mama was at our home on Hoi Sao Doh, we replaced
the gas cylinder and disturbed my own kitchen frog.
Mama was horrified and mimed that I should throw it
out of the window. I have a sneaking suspicion she does
not know her own kitchen has one also?
I don't know what Chinese kitchen frogs eat, and cockroaches
would be far too big for them, so hope they eat mossies
and the like. Yummie! I then become aware of a rather
large spider on the wall, which is trying to avoid one
of the ceiling newts. The newts are excellent value,
and a sign of good luck. The spider on the other hand
is far more disconcerting. Its body is about 1-inch
across, and has legs of around 3-inches long. All spiders
are poisonous to certain degrees, and I am not sure
I like this scenario, but am also unsure whether to
squash it or not. It is not posing me any direct threat,
so I decide to monitor it with my peripheral vision,
a lot. It disappears off up to the shelf above where
the ancestors live, and then reappears 20-minutes later.
It seems to live underneath the corner table that is
never used, so I leave it be … if only for this visit.
Dawn is now breaking, heralding Cold Food day. Yippie!
Nothing much of note happens
this day, and certainly all is covered in previous
missives. The girls cook great food, which is
then presented to the shrines around the home
for the ancestors to enjoy. This is accompanied
by offerings of rice wine and joss sticks. We
later eat what is left-over ourselves, and when
it is stone cold. This time the ancestors do not
appear to be very hungry and as far as I can tell,
they have not eaten anything. Perhaps in time
I can relate more about what ancestors like to
eat, presuming I will eventually become one myself
– though not quite sure how I will be able to
tell you all on this mortal coil - when that time
comes to pass: Hahaha!
Siu Ying awakens, and later decides to show me where
Baba is working. The whole family excepting herself
are extremely busy planting rice these days. This year
Baba has 1 Mu of prime land located near the main road
(Cart track). This is represented by four paddies, and
I later discover Mama and Yee Lo tending these. Yee
Lo has semi-drained one of them by breaking the small
retaining dyke, which he then repairs again and leaves
shortly after we arrive. Mama is sowing seedlings –
which is nothing remotely like your mental picture I
am sure. She gathers a couple of trays of seedlings
in her arm, and simply separates the individual plants
from each cell, and throws them into place from a standing
position. The water depth is average ½ inch, meaning
some patches are above water level, whilst others may
be 1-inch underneath. They are sowing Yuan Longping
hybrid rice (See above), and a version that is not the
waterlogged kind. Baba is somewhere else at this time.
That was exciting then, but perhaps quite interesting
for you. We never did catch up with Baba, as it appears
he was doing something else, somewhere else. Later in
the afternoon Yee Lo’s wife arrives, and I have an animated
conversation in Chinglish from a local villager and
Siu Ying's ‘Sister’, about her life and times in Liverpool.
Unfortunately she appears to support Everton, and whilst
understanding ‘Cod and chips with curry sauce and mushy
peas’; doesn't actually speak a great deal of anything
I recognise – so we mainly converse in Cantonese. That
night I manage to go to bed late after watching a good
romp style Jackie Chan ‘Gongfu’ (Kung Fu) movie in Cantonese.
Yee Lo arrives back from tending his prawn farm as I
head for bed, so I leave the TV on for him.
I do not sleep well, as all this day Yee Lo and Mama
have been arguing about something. Baba has also been
involved, and although my Toisanwha is not very good,
there appears to be a small matter of Y880 vs Mama’s
Y920, or 40 RMB to you and I. This goes on forever!
Baba gets out a notebook and does ‘sums’; again. Mama
continues to press for whatever it is she wants adding
– which I eventually work out as being a large joss
stick, or fire cracker. Meantime I also learn that the
suckling pig is bought and delivered, and will cost
around Y600 of the total for tomorrow’s budget. 60 quid
= awesome! I love this stuff!
A little later Siu Ying confirms that Baba is paying
for all of this greater family respects this year …
and tentively enquires if I would like to foot the bill
next year. No problem! At this very moment I would gladly
give Mama Y1K to stop her whining about whatever it
is that has her going! I joke, but seriously, China
does move in mysterious ways, and this is actually an
invitation from Baba = be a part of the family for real.
I accept and will pay for the festivities next family
Qingming … I just hope the ancestors like Big Mac and
fries to go?
I am joking of course, but it may be interesting for
me to offer a bottle of Whiskey or Pusser's Rum instead
of rice wine. You can rest assured, there will be the
largest suckling pig ever, and I have a fancy we will
roast it ourselves the night before over a hand-powered
roasting spit. I guess we better do two, as this could
be a real local community party! Now, a lot of people
talk profanely about cultural exchange, mostly Marketeers;
and those rich souls desiring extra dosh. For me, hosting
Qingming at my Chinese parental home gives me a little
leeway to make this a truly multicultural event; and
you already know I am always open to the left side…
Next daybreak heralds Qing Ming,
and the first thing I hear is a lot of banging
from firecrackers, followed by the drums and cymbals.
Uh-ho. I guess the village ‘Lion’ is doing his
rounds again. Having not slept well at first,
I let this pass for this year, but you can read
what this is all about in the missive ‘Village
Life in Guangdong’.
Eventually Rhiannon decides it is time for us
to be awake, and I go downstairs where I find
is Yee Lo is sorting out his catch from the previous
night, as the guy is coming to collect his prawns
very soon. The catch has been stored overnight
in composite enclosed nets, and reveals many large
prawns. Smaller ones are set aside for family
use or local sale. There are also many small crabs
about one inch across the body and these are not
regarded as being edible, and are later returned
to the water farm Yee Lo has established. He has
also caught a few small snakes, and by the way
he handles all bar one of these, I presume most
are not poisonous. There are also several eels
about 15 inches long by an inch wide. These are
put in a separate bin with a little water in the
bottom. The snakes have something similar going
for them also, but with a deft net canopy to prevent
them escaping. Then there are two small eels,
about 6” long and ¼ “ wide. These are put into
another container with a little water, and I learn
they are worth Y2 each at the local market. The
catch is completed by a couple of small, nondescript
toads, which are set aside for return to the water
channel, as they are too small to command monetary
value. Yee Lo has just about finished sorting
out the catch when the buyer arrives on his motorcycle,
complete with large water tank attached to the
rear of his machine.
Yee Lo and his wife then proceed to grade the
prawns for size, with most being of acceptable
dimensions. Those that are too small are again
sorted, with the family retaining the shrimp sized
ones, whilst the remainder (1-inch or less, but
more than 3/8ths inch) are headed for the local
market.
If you are a ‘Metric’ person, then I make no apologies,
because when I went to school, Metric measurements had
not been invented (regards UK). In fact I grew up and
had to learn that 1£ is composed of 20 Shillings, and
21 Shilling make a Guinea. 12 pennies make one Shilling,
and there were also happenies, farthings (1/4th penny)
and mites (1/8th penny). Silver threpenny bits were
legal tender in UK, as were Groats (Silver 4-penny piece).
I also learned that 20 drams make an ounce; 16 ounces
make a pound weight, and 14 pounds make one stone. My
Mother used ‘gills’ as a cooking measure for fluids.
I guess you have no idea what I am talking about?
However, rural China today also uses its own unique
and similar measures, of which mathematical bases: 12,
16 and 20 are very common. These measures relate to
ordinary peoples daily lives, and not some French divination
of dividing the circumference of the world into abstract
arbitrary measures based upon nothing remotely useful
to peasants daily lives. The Chinese also use native
measurements for length, so a Chinese foot is about
10” long. A British foot is actually 12” long, which
just happens to be how long my own bodily foot is. The
width of my palm is 4-inches, which is called a ‘Hand’,
and is still used for measuring Horses to this day.
Now there's a coincidence! It is a practical measure,
which has always been my problem with metrification
= it does not relate to ordinary peoples lives. Now,
I can use my own hand to measure a horse, but you will
need a suitable tape measure to define the girth of
a moving horse (4” = 0.1016 meters by the way. And this
is useful?). Anyway, Blighty is now for better or worse
(?), a european country, and I will do politics another
time – which I am very much looking forwards to writing
hehehe! I may even try to write this before the upcoming
General Election in UK, but we will see; as I have much
else in other respects to administer on my desk just
now.
Meanwhile back in Toisan, the motorcycle guy tops his
prawn tank up with old water and departs. Mama then
sets about honouring the ancestors, ably assisted by
Yee Lo’s wife. Tables fill with fantastic food are prepared
and presented in the middle of the main room. All the
family shrines around the home are also suitably honoured
with fruits and sweetmeats. Then a cacophony of exuberant
diligence heralds the arrival of the suckling pig.
This is one awesome piece of
meat! My closer inspection reveals it was oven
cooked, and not spit-roasted. How do I presume
this? Well the back is totally crispy, whilst
the sides are … pliable. I took some photographs
for your understanding, but this is the central
offering to the ancestors, and is accompanied
by Goose, sundries, and rice wine served in special
ceremonial cups. Nothing is too good for the ancestors,
or so it appears. We then have a late breakfast
at 12.30, which includes an elderly couple who
are introduced by Baba as being his parents. I
am not quite sure this is factual, and perhaps
they are very important family members on his
side of the family. It is times like these I wish
I could speak to them fluently, or at least have
a translator. As it is, we treat them as honoured
guests, and I notice Baba choosing select morsels
from the table for their enjoyment. I also do
the same for his wife – who is really taken aback
(In a nice way) that I had worked out she preferred
the 100-year old eggs. Her husband who must be
in his late 80’s, smokes like a trooper and honoured
me with curious looks and a peculiar smile. It
would be safe to assume he was born in the latter
years of the Qing Dynasty, and perhaps his own
Father was afflicted by the atrocities the British
and Allied powers inflicted on China some few
decades before. However, there is only curiosity
between us, and perhaps a longing to say more.
Whilst my Cantonese is very limited, my pronunciation
is excellent of the few words I know, and over
the meal (Mainly in Toisanwha) his look changes
to one of enquiry.
After the meal he finishes his cigarette and small
glass of rice wine, and I assist Baba with their
departure. Dai Lo and Yee Lo have already gone,
and it seemed the right thing to do. They are
too frail to join us at the grave sites for the
afternoons coming festivities, but have made a
great effort to attend the home and family shrine,
so their duty is done. We subsequently tidy away
and finalise preparations for departure before
making tracks for the nearby hillsides around
2pm.
I personally think that the idea of setting one specific
day aside each year to pay respects to dearly departed
is an excellent idea. In the West we sort of muddle
through, and try to visit graves on either Birthdays
or the anniversary of the day of death. This is often
a small and personal thing done by one or two family
members; and comments like – ‘I must find time to put
some flowers on the grave today’, spring immediately
to mind.
How different is Chinese honour, when each year a whole
day is set aside specifically to respect every ancestor.
This is exemplified by Mama, who being offered a lift
in Dai Lo’s car forsakes this and chooses to carry the
burden herself on foot to the family sacred areas. This
is a short bamboo pole that has a handmade wicker basket
at either end. She carries this on her shoulders and
walks very quickly, so quickly that we arrive at the
first grave site after Mama and Baba. I also wanted
to walk, but this wasn't allowed.
We always go to this one first,
but it is not the main internment. I think this
is related to Baba's ancestors only, and perhaps
next year I can invite a translator, so I can
fully comprehend proceedings. As in previous years,
Baba leaves the rest of the family here, and ventures
further into the mountain. He respects personal
ancestors, not immediate family ones; which also
tells me there may be more to his life than I
know. Nobody nearby will attempt to explain this
phenomena to me; but Baba returns to our fold
earlier than in previous years. I have an unspoken
question here, but ride with what is happening
all the same. This year I am married to Siu Ying,
so start to perform my family duties for the first
time (last time I was not married, so was an observer
only).
Family duties appear to be sticking bits of white
paper on top of mounds of earth, and then using
three large joss sticks, bowing 3-times at various
places. Whilst the family always comes to this
place first, I am not sure of its significance,
as the last one we visit is sacred for their immediate
parents. However, Baba is very active around hereabouts,
so I presume this is some personal stuff for himself
only. Meanwhile, we move along, and Baba rushes
up to me and indicates I need to be safe-keeping
some wicker baskets. Ok Kay. Baba then disappears
off again to a remote area to clean and honour
yet another grave. He asks for help from a local
peasant and they set off with a goose and other
small offerings plus a hoe. By way of explanation,
the peasant woman I refer to here is of a low
class and not a main resident. It is likely she
is an itinerant worker coming to work in these
parts. These people are usually available at Qing
Ming to assist families tend the graves, often
doing all the hard labour. I notice Baba gives
her Y5 for her labours, paid up front. I think
she wanted less, but Baba is insistent.
Siu Ying now needs to breast feed Nonni and finds
a quiet spot to do this. Nonni is a hungry girl,
so before she finishes, Mama requires the baskets
Baba left behind. She then decides Nonni needs
changing as well, and this is accompanied by the
child being held over a small ditch whilst Mama
makes Sh-ing sounds through her teeth. This encourages
the infant to pass water, and is extremely effective.
I leave them to it and carry these on a traditional
bamboo pole; something others find enlightening.
It appears I do a good job, as people applaud
me = not what I was looking for whilst performing
a family duty. However, I did do it right and
gained much genuine respect during the process.
Cummon: I was an Exhibition Chippy for several
years, so do know how to carry stuff. Mama soon
leaves to attend to Siu Ying and the Baby, so
I carry on with the task in hand. ‘Mo-men-tai’
= ‘no problem’; and the burden is actually relatively
light.
Having walked just a short distance we pass another
grave area, and I am required to attend for a
few moments and bow etc. This is in fact the family
ancestors from Baba's Sister in Law’s side of
the family, as one of the younger people explains
in Cantonese. As this is not a main root of our
part of the family, I only stop a minute here
before pressing on with my labour. Reaching the
main area, which indicated the immediate families
parents graves, and others directly associated,
I set down my burden near the central grave site,
which is well tended and delineated. Later this
may evolve into a concrete based shrine as I have
seen elsewhere. Dai Lo, Yee Lo and I all perform
central duties, as does one of the other men.
Baba arrives a lot later, and is not central in
proceedings here, which is curious. I think what
is happening is that Baba's ancestors are remembered
at the first place we visited, whilst these are
Mama’s ancestors. In fact, I lot of Baba's relatives
have lived in Malaysia for centuries, so this
must complicate things also. Therefore the first
area must be a memorial, and not a burial site.
I’ll let you know once I have established this
as fact of course, but usually my instincts serve
me very well in China.
As others are also taking snapshots, I also add
a few of my own; taken with a poor quality Chinese
‘Nokia’ mobile phone – so whilst quality is not
what I would like, they do offer first hand witness
to proceedings. The offerings process takes about
20-minutes, and I am one of the first in line
behind the elder brothers. Once everybody has
attended, another man who is probably a Butcher
by trade, starts hacking the suckling pig, and
then the goose into portions. Yee Lo hands me
a drumstick of goose leg, which is totally delicious.
As I am finishing someone comes around offering
plastic protective eating gloves. Bit late for
me really. Then I am looking forwards to sampling
the pork crackling, but am given some amazing
ribs instead. To tell you the truth, I am pretty
stuffed with all this food, so it is not a problem
when I discover the chopped crackling has all
been eaten. Only the part from the centre of the
pigs back was chopped on this occasion (About
1/3rd), the rest being saved for later. There
are also traditional cakes and sweet breads on
offer, plus water or canned tea. Later Baba sits
near me and eats what was reserved for him.
Of interest is a group of three people who sit separately
to one site and appear to be migrant peasant workers.
However, they are not here to work, as we have passed
another nearby who is clearing other grave sites nearby.
I do enquire, but nobody is forthcoming with any information.
Therefore I will again use my intuition by way of explanation
backed up with observance. These three, two women and
a man, have brought their own food and drink as offerings,
but sit adjacent to us and do not intrude. In fact,
no verbal exchanges take place between us; but an outsider
would say we were all within the same group. They arrive
slightly after we do, and did so last time I was present
also. They then set their offering in a vacant piece
of land, and offer joss sticks, bows, wine, and everything
we did. They then eat, and hurriedly depart just before
we do. So what is this all about? Well, whilst it is
possible their family interconnects in some way – say
a concubine or bastard child. I think it more likely
that they are simply a very long way from their parental
home and so join with this family at Qing Ming to send
their honours home. Perhaps in time they will have their
own family grave site in this area?
Proceedings wind up after perhaps
an hour, and we pack up and head for home. Siu
Ying and Nonni, plus several kids pile into Dai
Lo’s car, whilst I choose to walk and am successful
this time. I need the exercise after eating two
meals within two hours. I also want to take some
snapshots of things for this missive and partake
of the countryside for a short while. Baba is
also walking, and at first we are in stride. Later
he tarries as he also has land and more seedlings
in this area. During the walk I pass by a goose
farm and take a snapshot for your benefit. There
are several of these scattered around, often being
stocked with ducks instead.
Arriving back in the village with relatives, I meet
Siu Ying who is worried about me, and once seeing I
am ok, leaves to do something else. Cummon! It’s about
a mile down a country track with the village in plain
site. Chinese are a bit weird in this respect, but it
is water off a duck’s back to me now.
I am seriously up for a nap, but before I can get into
motion, Siu Ying rushes in and asks for my help with
cooking. What, again! Once Siu Ying has cooking under
control, we head off to watch Dai Lo and his wife plunder
Baba's cabbage patch. This reminds me instantly of my
own parents, who were always offering me things to take
home – mostly food of one sort or another. They already
have a large carrier bag full of weeds from the local
verges, and now have a second full of what looks like
red plantain, but is actually a type of cabbage. We
sit down to eat again at 6pm. So that means three meals
inside six hours. Chinese are like this. The food is
great, and I am completely stuffed now. This meal was
unusual in that the family next door (Baba's brother’s
wife and children) also join us. Yee Lo sites this one
out, quite wisely as I later discover him tucking into
fresh ceremonial suckling pig; which was not on the
table for our meal. Drat! Missed it again!
Au San's restaurant on the Hoi
Sao Doh Island where I live is actually very good.
You may recall from previous missives that there
main business is a fish farm with large holding
tanks set in the river. Here they raise fish and
buy from local water traders, most of which are
fishermen and their families who usually live
on board these small vessels. Au San and his wife
sometimes net fish in the river to add to their
stock. They also have a regular supply of prawns
and softer shelled crabs than we are used to in
Blighty.
They supplement this by running a crazy restaurant,
completely manned by just themselves. On my last
visit a few weeks ago the place was rammed, with
extra tables being set outside on the patio, and
a relatives family being called upon to assist.
You can read more about this restaurant in the
missive "Carry On Up the Restaurant".
Anyway, the point of this inclusion is to relate
that they make one of my favourite dishes in China.
It is very simple and has sliced Chinese potatoes
and chopped suckling pig in it. And that's about
it. The taste is truly phenomenal, and it has
no bones in it. Yippie! The top picture was taken
that day, which is around mid March 2010, and
shows Au San gathering cabbagey things for our
lunch. Now that's what I call fresh vegetables!
The second picture is what you may call sliced
suckling pig, but I know as 'Siu Yuk'. I bought
this fresh this morning by coincidence, and half
is already gone! The remainder shown is about
8 inches long by a country inch wide. It cost
me Y7, or 70 pence to you I guess. I usually pay
a little more for better quality version with
very crispy rind, but seeing as this is official
Qing Ming, many local traders are having a well
deserved day off.
Dai Lo then departs and the others leave also.
Siu Ying, Nonni and I are in bed my 9pm, and later
wake around midnight and have a hearty ‘couple’s
discussion’. I will leave early the next day as
I have work to attend to. My dear friend Dave
is in China again a few days later, and I asked
if she would bring Nonni to meet Dave, Candy and
Lawrence. Mama agrees, and so it is set. I was
not actually expecting this, as it is three hours
by the bus they will use (Not my fast one that
isn't posh, but is driven by total maniacs and
covers the distance in 2-hours).
Back to the story...
So next morning I depart and Siu Ying is my wife again.
This living in different places is putting a small strain
on our relationship, and is something I need to address
in the near future. Our plan is to rent a gaff in Toisan
City, so we can again live as three people, whilst being
a short bus ride from her Mother. I have no problems
with living in this city, as it is very ok and something
new. However, having lived in 10 different locations
in the last 8 years, moving home is becoming irksome
to me. This is complicated by the fact that whilst the
decision is easy to make and the right call i.e. move
to Toisan. In the future we may travel to Blighty for
an extended stay, and I see no reason to move home for
a few months, only then to pay rent out on an empty
gaff for 6-months, whilst also funding living expenses
in England. Doesn't make sense until we have a definite
plan in place, does it?
This in turn brings into the situation other necessities,
like: getting a UK visa for Siu Ying – and this in its
turn is greatly helped by her having a foreign holiday
somewhere else first, like Thailand for instance. For
her visa, we need to show both Chinese and British governments
she intends to return to China; and this is an unofficially
approved means to do that. Its also an excellent excuse
to visit one country on my 'to do' list. Siu Ying is
also looking forward to meeting my ex Yupa, who lives
in Bangkok. Yupa is also very up for this, and I find
it a bit weird. No doubt they want to talk about me
behind my back - no problem hahaha!I was also hoping
my great American friend Jim may still be in those parts,
but it seems he may be in either Namhoi or Seattle by
then. As es la vide!
Well that's a bit of money gone. If Nonni travels with
us to Blighty, then I first have to decide her Nationality,
and get appropriate papers processed. This decision
also has ramifications re her education and citizenship,
and everything in these realms costs a couple of thousand
RMB; and takes time. So, its not quite as easy as you
would imagine. However, my gut feeling is that we will
actually go to UK next May (2011), in which case renting
for one year in Toisan makes a lot of sense. It would
also allow me personal insights into writing a true
city guide for this famous worldwide city. For information
it was the Cantonese from Toisan that physically built
the twp great American transcontinental railways, and
in 1920, 90% of all Chinese living in USA were from
Toisan City. In 2008 Toisan City district had a population
of just over 600, 000; whilst overseas Toisan people
numbered One and a Half Million. You may have guessed
I have already started my research on this very famous
City. No doubt you will read what actually transpires
regarding my own life in this column at a later date.
Meanwhile, I am still left with the comprehension that
dedicating one single day each year to remembering your
own family ancestors is excellent. However, this does
entail travel and commitment. On the other hand, you
do get to meet your immediate relatives annually, and
of course what grows from this is a sense of belonging
and composite family history dating back a very long
way. Chinese people know all about their own family,
and this is reinforced over many years at Qing Ming.
By contrast, I know of all four
of my Grandparents, and met one Great Grandmother
when I was very young (Great Nan). I do know where
all my Grandparents are buried, but nothing more
before their time. Well, I do actually know a
little more detail, but it is a tad scant. Great
Nan was a Victorian figure, and always wore long
black clothes. I recently discovered we had a
relative, who I am pretty sure was either a cousin
or my Mother’s, Father's, Brother’s wife (?).
The relative, Miss Margaret McKee of Derryogue,
Kilkeel; lived in China during the Boxer Uprising.
How bizarre! I discovered a couple of her letters
relating to that time whilst sorting through my
own mother’s personal effects. I also have a poem
'wot she wrote' at aged 90, in which she misses
the Mountains of Morne She died of fever in China,
presumably near Tianjin. However I am still trying
to unearth corroborating facts about her life
(Another missive in the making).
Being Qing Ming I thought it fitting to scan the
image of Great Nan and add it to this tale. It
was taken in her home at Newport Road in Stafford
Circa 1950, and has my own parents wedding picture
in the background. I wonder how many readers have
a photograph of any of their Great Grandparents?
Given that cousins from my mothers side mainly life
in Ireland, Brazil, and Scotland, whilst my fathers
side goes back a generation to Pershore fruit farmers
and nautical men who travelled the world from Gosport;
it is hardly surprising that I have ended up here in
China now. Apparently one of my Father’s, Father’s,
Brothers was a ‘black sheep’; and I find this fascinating!
But here lies the crux of the matter, because I do not
have a name for any of them, and do not know where they
were born nor buried. Meanwhile in Toisan, they can
name every individual family member dating back for
centuries, and show you either their burial mound, or
memorial. This is significantly divergent from modern
western culture. I have also met several family elders
who would wax lyrical about their dearly departed –
except we can hardly understand each other. My own Mother
used to do the same, but at the time I never thought
to write any of it down, and neither did anybody else.
By the time I did, I was living in China, and she was
too old to wield a pen with any pleasure.
Just so you should know: on this Qing Ming I also stood
aside for a moment and remembered my own Mother and
mourned her passing in my own small way. It was good
therapy, and perhaps next year I will understand all
this enough to make a small private mound to honour
her individually on my own, but preferably with Siu
Ying and Rhiannon also.
In this world of globalisation, it is often regarded
as stupid and a waste of money by corporate resources
and company moguls; to offer any time for living family,
let alone the dearly departed. Modern China is I think,
several steps ahead in this respect; and it has come
to my attention that we as individuals often share many
features about our being with particular Grandparents.
We should know these people better, a lot better; and
also their own Grandparents – for that is our core being
translated into this modern world. The Chinese take
this one step further, and learn from the particular
traits of any ancestor that is in tune with their own
soul. Sometimes this is bravery in battle or skills
in arts: Creativity. At other times it represents mistakes
that if known, can be avoided by future generations.
I will finish this missive with a short question: “How
well do you know your own ancestors. What did they do
in life?”. All Chinese people can answer this question
immediately from memory, and trace their family roots
back several centuries. I consider our own bowls to
be less full without this inherent knowledge.
Thank you for your tolerance of my ramblings, and know
we will pick up life in China again very shortly.
"Bai San" as we say in Foshan Cantonese...
(Lit: 'Attend Mountain' = Respects and best wishes for
Qing Ming Festival to you, your family and ancestors)
This work including text and associated
photographs is Copyright of Jonno Morris (Unless
stated otherwise), and may be reproduced for personal
and private use under Collective Commons 3 Licence.
An email would be appreciated in such circumstances.
You are not allowed to use this information to make
money from my work - regardless of how fancy or well
paid your lawyers may be.
Disclaimer:
Some artistic licence has been used arbitrarily in some
of these Letters, and whilst most facts are in essence
correct, some personal and literary interpretation may
have been employed to greater or lesser degrees.
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