At last, I can put the photos on for all to see. In a departure from my past practice, I am doing it not in a chronological order. It is in fact in reverse.
Fay Chee, this is your father's village, and rightfully, you and your siblings' ancestral village, home to the Seto clan, whose members are found in every corner of the world.
Our first priority was to find Dajin village near Chishui. As evening was closing in on a drizzly day, we stopped at Dajin just long enough to ask for direction. There was time to take a shot of the Seto Ancestral Hall. Seto must be the dominating clan in nearby villages and hamlets. As you can see the building is in total neglect, a reminder of Mao's destructive ways.
Here it is Chaoyang Li reading left to right, we have found what I had come all the way to Toishan (in part) from Australia for. This narrow paved track, which is wide enough only for one small car to travel on, leads us to to the tiny village , hamlet or li. A minute or two later we arrived at Chaoyang proper, just in time to see the free ranging hens, roosters, and chickens scurrying to their coop. The hamlets has only six or seven households.
The car stops on a tarmac, which is used to dry rice or vegetables. To the left , there is a fish pond, beyond that are rice fields and vegetable patches. Fay Chee's house opens to the tarmac, it is at the front of the village. It has three connecting chambers, and there is a loft above.
There is an entrance on either side of the house. A wall is shielding the house from the tarmac and the pond. It may have been a feng shui thing. The two side-entrances are the doors to the house. Very unusual.The front section of the house is heavily shored up to stop it from collapsing.
This is the central chamber. Like the rest of the house it is bare. This little kerosene lamp may have been the main source of lighting for the last occupant. All the tablets carrying the names of your ancestors and generation numbers had been removed from the ancestor altar by Mao'a Red Guards. In every traditional Chinese household, ancestors have a high place of honour and rightly so. The step ladder leads to the loft.
The central chamber and the loft has windows to allow fresh air and natural light to stream in.
This is probably the family altar and was whitewashed. The remains of incense sticks look fairly new. Shicheng is snapping away.
To the right of the ladder is this gem, a big mortar and pestle if you like, but with the foot operated pounder missing. There used to be a device similar to this in every few households. The work is a team effort, a neighbourly effort, usually done by women. There is no room for error or someone's hand might get crushed. Rice is separated from the husk, or pounded into powder, filtered by a fine sieve, and then pounded again to fine powder form. I loved watching two women working in unison on the pounder, and hearing the rhythmic beat. Such was village life, you had to be self-reliant, you just can't go out and buy things.
Various shots of the loft, it is normally used as storage area. There are earthen or clay pots, jars,and containers. They were perhaps for water storage, pickling vegetable, making salty eggs as food supplement. There are still piles of fuel . I said the place was bare is an understatement. I did not see an item of bedding.
I could not even make out the kitchen because a kitchen is normally dominated by a large fuel stove and a equally large wok. But, I may have overlooked it, see the recessed alcove here, it could be the kitchen or bathroom.
This is the back of the house, looking towards the pond. I can't see any cracks. Think you'd want to spend money to do it up a little, and perhaps spend a couple of days here every two or three years to live the experience of your father? Your father must have cherished thoughts of returning one day. The call of the village and home country was very strong amongst the old timers.
Smiles and laughter all round, I am sure I wasn't wise-cracking, but speaking with expressive hand gestures. Fay Chee, if you still harbour doubts of an uncertain welcome, don't. You and your brother will be warmly received as son and daughter of the village, a Seto. It will be the biggest thing to happen in the village for years. You will not be ignored. When I refer to your father, I always call him Kai Yip Gung in front of the villagers. Gung (grandfather) is a term of respect to a male elder.
I didn't see one young man, I was told the young men are in Hong Kong, overseas or working in towns and cities, just like in your father's time. The tradition of young men seeking their fortune abroad lives on.
Fay Chee, your village is an exceptionally well preserved example of rural Chinese community. Unlike my own, which is heavily urbanised with department stores and high rise units, its essential character is lost for ever. Treasure it.
Even after visiting many homes and villages, my approach to taking details in a forensic fashion, for example, is lacking.I can't give you height and length estimates. I'll let you and your brother fill in the void.