My Excellent Adventures in China
Feb 21, 2013 2:07:38 GMT -5
Post by douglaslam on Feb 21, 2013 2:07:38 GMT -5
On with my walking tour of my own village. Only tens of metres away along the stone-slab foot way, which the village is famous for, from the main village hall ( see earlier photo), is this more modern building.
It was the hospice, built in 1921 according to the genealogy book. It must have been the most imposing building for its time. Four villagers were mainly responsible for its erection. The four gold characters (obscured) etched in granite proclaimed 廣善醫局 was the work of a well known clan calligrapher. I can't say I've seen a dedicated hospice in any other village, like the one shown here. It says something about the size, population, and prosperity of my village in the past. It is now closed from its role as a senior citizen centre. I had been inside some years back. I'd like to go back to take a few snap shots.
I believe my village was enclosed by a wall centuries back. Population expansion and housing needs made the wall redundant. This is what is remained of the once defensive wall, just a gateway. Fellow villagers call it 閘門仔, Little Gate. It was built in 1684 during the reign of Emperor Kangxi.
This temple is always an integral part of the village. It is the Tin Hau Temple. It was re-built after Mao's complete destruction of the original. The first photo is the main hall, the secondary hall is directly opposite joined by a short foot bridge across a narrow waterway.
Tin Hau the Heavenly Goddess is revered under many different names. She is our clan's Patron Goddess. Tin Hau is also called Mazu, Sea Goddess amongst her many titles. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazu_%28goddess%29 This Wiki entry gives a good account of the origin of Tin Hau. This next web link elaborates www.chinatownology.com/Mazu_Culture.html on the legend. It is significant because Tin Hau is a member of our clan. She was born in Fujian province. Our clan emigrated from the same province over seven hundred years ago to Guangdong province.
scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/handle/10125/8307/lum%20sai%20ho%20tong.pdf?sequence=1 This pdf gives a brief history of how our family name came about and why we moved from Henan province to Fujian, and some of us then moved to Guangdong.
To the people who speak our dialect, and my clan in particular, Tin Hau Temple is called Gu Por Temple. Gu Por is a term for a great aunt. To us, Tin Hau is a member of the clan, she is one of us, thus the affectionate name of Gu Por, our great auntie. My late mother always reminded me to pay my respects to Great Aunt on each visit, and I was always happy to obey. On the current visit, the caretaker was out to lunch, therefore I could not do it. I had to wait until my return to Hong Kong for my flight home, on a visit to Stanley to do so. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley,_Hong_Kong
This is the temple and the footbridge that links the two halls. The waterway or what is becoming of it , is an absolute disgrace. It is polluted to the point of no return. This was once a muddy but clean tributary that flows to the main river. I used to see sampans glide by with effortless grace. Now, it is a dumping ground of industrial effluent, most likely from a denim factory (s),untreated sewerage and all manners of rubbish. Hard to imagine people used to fish here.
Yet another shot of the same polluted river from another foot bridge. You can see plastic bags and takeaway food containers. It the hot summer months, the stench is unbearable. The only salvation is heavy monsoon rain which would flush some of the putrid waste to the open sea. But that is no solution at all.
Sixty years ago, this was my favourite spot to watch life go by. I watched farmers going to the fields, sometimes I'd see a man and wife team, with the man carrying two wicker baskets on his shoulder. In one basket I'd see his cooking vessel for a simple meal of rice at the work site. Balancing on the other basket was their little child. The woman would follow closely behind. What a heart-warming image of a family unit.
In the afternoon, I'd stay here for a long time, just to watch the water buffaloes bathing, cooling themselves in the muddy water after a hot day under the sun. When it was time to go, it would take the farmer all his strength and patience to coax them out of the water. This is the village of my childhood I want to remember.
A short walk to the right of the footbridge were the paddy fields and fish pond that we owned. I can't pin point the exact spot. Further along the meandering river, we had lychee tress lining one side of the river banks. In harvesting time, the lychee were dangling above the water. Grandfather had planned well for his return to China one day and for the welfare of his family. One vile character spoilt his party. All the fertile farmland is now filled in and overgrown with weed.
Not far away is this vacant lot. Ming told me this was the most fertile part of the village. It is called 新基下, the concrete covered area was likely an irrigation channel. It would not surprise me the former owner of this fertile land might have been shot under Mao's policy for being a cruel land owner.
Everywhere I go in China, I can see valuable farmland, where there is reliable rainfall, lost to urbanisation, and industry. It is no wonder China is buying up farms in Africa, South America, and even in Australia. Food security is looming as a top priority.
This paved walk was once a storm water drain. Again, it was filled in because it was so badly contaminated. I used to go with my grandmother to catch little crabs here, then smashed them up to feed the ducks. We caught the crabs by dangling a little piece of meat on a string. The crab would hold on to it and wouldn't let go.
An old house on the same walk in between two newer ones. I have a soft spot for he graceful old buildings.
Looking into the village is this new gateway built with funds donated by another villager. It is called the Nine Dragon Gate. I can honestly say I have no recollection of the original gate and its location. The gate is standing on what used to be rice fields.
This is the high school which serves a large area. High schools are divided into junior, up to year 9, and senior, to year 12. This is a junior high. Students go on to senior high on the basis of their academic results, usually away from home as boarders. This high school is very well known and has been around for a long, long time.
The buildings are fairly new. This is the main building, to the left it bears the name of Stanley Yee from Sydney. He donated a large sum for its construction.
Just to the left before the main building, is this one still under construction. It is the replacement for the primary school which was destined for demolition as mentioned in my earlier post
.
The high school is well-equipped for for what I can see. There are basketball courts and a grass playing field with a running track.
It was the hospice, built in 1921 according to the genealogy book. It must have been the most imposing building for its time. Four villagers were mainly responsible for its erection. The four gold characters (obscured) etched in granite proclaimed 廣善醫局 was the work of a well known clan calligrapher. I can't say I've seen a dedicated hospice in any other village, like the one shown here. It says something about the size, population, and prosperity of my village in the past. It is now closed from its role as a senior citizen centre. I had been inside some years back. I'd like to go back to take a few snap shots.
I believe my village was enclosed by a wall centuries back. Population expansion and housing needs made the wall redundant. This is what is remained of the once defensive wall, just a gateway. Fellow villagers call it 閘門仔, Little Gate. It was built in 1684 during the reign of Emperor Kangxi.
This temple is always an integral part of the village. It is the Tin Hau Temple. It was re-built after Mao's complete destruction of the original. The first photo is the main hall, the secondary hall is directly opposite joined by a short foot bridge across a narrow waterway.
Tin Hau the Heavenly Goddess is revered under many different names. She is our clan's Patron Goddess. Tin Hau is also called Mazu, Sea Goddess amongst her many titles. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazu_%28goddess%29 This Wiki entry gives a good account of the origin of Tin Hau. This next web link elaborates www.chinatownology.com/Mazu_Culture.html on the legend. It is significant because Tin Hau is a member of our clan. She was born in Fujian province. Our clan emigrated from the same province over seven hundred years ago to Guangdong province.
scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/handle/10125/8307/lum%20sai%20ho%20tong.pdf?sequence=1 This pdf gives a brief history of how our family name came about and why we moved from Henan province to Fujian, and some of us then moved to Guangdong.
To the people who speak our dialect, and my clan in particular, Tin Hau Temple is called Gu Por Temple. Gu Por is a term for a great aunt. To us, Tin Hau is a member of the clan, she is one of us, thus the affectionate name of Gu Por, our great auntie. My late mother always reminded me to pay my respects to Great Aunt on each visit, and I was always happy to obey. On the current visit, the caretaker was out to lunch, therefore I could not do it. I had to wait until my return to Hong Kong for my flight home, on a visit to Stanley to do so. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley,_Hong_Kong
This is the temple and the footbridge that links the two halls. The waterway or what is becoming of it , is an absolute disgrace. It is polluted to the point of no return. This was once a muddy but clean tributary that flows to the main river. I used to see sampans glide by with effortless grace. Now, it is a dumping ground of industrial effluent, most likely from a denim factory (s),untreated sewerage and all manners of rubbish. Hard to imagine people used to fish here.
Yet another shot of the same polluted river from another foot bridge. You can see plastic bags and takeaway food containers. It the hot summer months, the stench is unbearable. The only salvation is heavy monsoon rain which would flush some of the putrid waste to the open sea. But that is no solution at all.
Sixty years ago, this was my favourite spot to watch life go by. I watched farmers going to the fields, sometimes I'd see a man and wife team, with the man carrying two wicker baskets on his shoulder. In one basket I'd see his cooking vessel for a simple meal of rice at the work site. Balancing on the other basket was their little child. The woman would follow closely behind. What a heart-warming image of a family unit.
In the afternoon, I'd stay here for a long time, just to watch the water buffaloes bathing, cooling themselves in the muddy water after a hot day under the sun. When it was time to go, it would take the farmer all his strength and patience to coax them out of the water. This is the village of my childhood I want to remember.
A short walk to the right of the footbridge were the paddy fields and fish pond that we owned. I can't pin point the exact spot. Further along the meandering river, we had lychee tress lining one side of the river banks. In harvesting time, the lychee were dangling above the water. Grandfather had planned well for his return to China one day and for the welfare of his family. One vile character spoilt his party. All the fertile farmland is now filled in and overgrown with weed.
Not far away is this vacant lot. Ming told me this was the most fertile part of the village. It is called 新基下, the concrete covered area was likely an irrigation channel. It would not surprise me the former owner of this fertile land might have been shot under Mao's policy for being a cruel land owner.
Everywhere I go in China, I can see valuable farmland, where there is reliable rainfall, lost to urbanisation, and industry. It is no wonder China is buying up farms in Africa, South America, and even in Australia. Food security is looming as a top priority.
This paved walk was once a storm water drain. Again, it was filled in because it was so badly contaminated. I used to go with my grandmother to catch little crabs here, then smashed them up to feed the ducks. We caught the crabs by dangling a little piece of meat on a string. The crab would hold on to it and wouldn't let go.
An old house on the same walk in between two newer ones. I have a soft spot for he graceful old buildings.
Looking into the village is this new gateway built with funds donated by another villager. It is called the Nine Dragon Gate. I can honestly say I have no recollection of the original gate and its location. The gate is standing on what used to be rice fields.
This is the high school which serves a large area. High schools are divided into junior, up to year 9, and senior, to year 12. This is a junior high. Students go on to senior high on the basis of their academic results, usually away from home as boarders. This high school is very well known and has been around for a long, long time.
The buildings are fairly new. This is the main building, to the left it bears the name of Stanley Yee from Sydney. He donated a large sum for its construction.
Just to the left before the main building, is this one still under construction. It is the replacement for the primary school which was destined for demolition as mentioned in my earlier post
.
The high school is well-equipped for for what I can see. There are basketball courts and a grass playing field with a running track.