|
Post by helen on Dec 24, 2013 3:46:02 GMT -5
Merry Christmas Everyone - from new Zealand - the first county in the world to see the sun. So I guess Santa will be here first. Have fun tomorrow - where ever in the world you will be - with family and friends. All the Best to you.
|
|
|
Post by FayChee on Dec 25, 2013 11:09:46 GMT -5
Merry Christmas to all! We are just now waking up to Christmas day on the East Coast of USA!
Fay Chee
|
|
|
Post by lolly on Dec 31, 2013 18:13:28 GMT -5
I do hope everyone has enjoyed the Christmas season, and like me, are looking forward with eager anticipation to all that 2014 has to offer .... and may bring!
Douglas ... I have discovered (not surprisingly) that I still have no Cantonese or Mandarin skills! .... so surprise call to Mrs Pang may need to take another form. I will work on that. We are all very excited about our upcoming meeting with you. I think Uncle Denis' bags have been packed to go for the last month! I will indeed be sure to report back to this forum after that happy occasion.
Best wishes to all for 2014. Lolly
|
|
|
Post by douglaslam on Jan 1, 2014 5:12:25 GMT -5
Yes Lolly, I am having a solid festive season. thank you. It means I work solidly throughout Christmas, Boxing Day, NYE, and NYD. Good for my bank balance if nothing else.
I am very much looking forward to meeting your party come Jan.9. Yes, we can call your closet kin in Sing Sze on the day. I have a pre-pay phone card we can use. Because of the time difference, it'd be a good time to call and surprise Mrs. Pang from the restaurant. Of course, I'll be the one doing the talking and translating. Boy, will she be surprised !! Don't forget to bring a mobile phone.
We can each put a version of our meeting on Jan.9 on line. This has to be a first for the Forum. BTW I also stumbled onto this Forum....back in 2006 at the time of the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's apology to Chinese-Canadians for the cruel and unjust Head Tax and Chinese Exclusion laws enacted in July 1923. I cared because my grandfather copped both. Douglas
|
|
|
Post by lolly on Jan 2, 2014 1:18:51 GMT -5
OK. So now I am in a spin! Mrs Pang is not the only one in for a surprise! Calling her from the restaurant is not something I would have anticipated doing. That will be quite special. I will make need to make sure that both Uncle Denis and I are well prepared for that. So much to get my head around! What a great way to start 2014. Lolly
|
|
|
Post by douglaslam on Jan 2, 2014 5:57:34 GMT -5
Yes Lolly, it is just days away. Who would have thought all this would come together in a few months from the time you posted your appeal. -------------------------------------------------------- The village market is a central part of life. It was much more so in the past. Market days are still determined by the lunar calendar, and passed down through the centuries. They are designed so as not to clash with market days in nearby districts. I remember as a little boy, on market day, small vendors would spread their goods on the ground from the next village onto my own. There used to be farm produce, fish, eels, frogs from the ponds and rivers, poultry, piglets, cats and dogs, wild games, medicinal herbs....etc., etc. In 1958, that megalomaniac Mao put a stop to all that. He banned all free enterprise, however small. The market is now back and concentrated in one area. This is not to confuse with the daily shopping that housewives do. I went with my cousin's wife to the market on each of my return visits. It is a learning experience, and to re-live what I might have missed out in all those years I have been away. I managed to make a few shots, sometimes, I was a little hesitant to point the camera at strangers. This woman is making sesame and peanut brittle in front of your eyes. It is very tasty and not too sweet. I bought some. Today's rooster, tomorrow's feather duster. Or was it yesterday's rooster? Anyway, this is a stall selling brooms and dusters. Notice the brooms with long bamboo handles, they are for spring cleaning of the house for the Lunar New Year. The long handle is to ensure it can reach the ceiling. It is a custom to clean the house out to welcome in the New Year, with a new broom on an auspicious day. Notice too, the long brushes on the ground, they are for cleaning out the door frames and sills. They are made of a specific plant, not just any reed or grass. It is something I learned. This man is selling incense. Both the broom seller and him are meeting the needs of their customers who want to shop early in preparation for our New Year in about two months, then. The incense seller is a remarkable small businessman. He never stops smiling and answers his customers every question with patience and humour. The customers invariably all women, haggle for a cheaper price. But the seller is firm without being offending. The women know he offers the best value for money. I really enjoyed watching this mundane everyday thing played out in front of me. It is so lively and noisy. It brings home the message of just how important the New Year still is to us. Whatever the women's faith or belief, I don't ever want to see them stop doing it. There can't be another Mao, who tried so hard to wipe from existence all that defines us. The incense seller came to the market in a small truck. I am sure he'd sell all his goods on this day. He'd move to the next township on market day and carry on his business. Good on him. Long may he prosper. This is inside the covered market. Here we have a tobacconist, well almost. A woman from a neighbouring province is selling raw cut tobacco and tea. He didn't mind me taking photos. The tobacco is very cheap, probably no excise or duty is placed on it. Raw tobacco like this used to be popular for the smokers. many peasant farmers used to grow a small quantity for their own use. Nowadays, people smoke filter cigarettes. You won't find too many of the men who roll their own, or smoke and pass around a bong made of bamboo. Smoking is still prevalent among men. My two companions smoke at the table every time. It didn't bother me. I myself tried smoking long ago. I had two bamboo water-pipes (bong) brought back with me back in the 1970s. I tried the raw tobacco which was hang out to dry on a ceiling beam. Boy, it was potent stuff, one draw and it almost knocked me out. Shopping for food is not what we would expect, things are hardly hygienic or clinical like. All meat and fish counters would not meet food safety or hygiene standards we are used to. This is a fishmonger's stall, and it is bloody. To kill a large freshwater fish, the seller, sometimes two persons would hold on to it firmly, then hit it over the head with a blunt lump of wood or a heavy chopper. It is a good thing fish cannot sequel. Fish blood is then smeared on the flesh to show that it is a fresh kill. If you are shopping for poultry, it is a similar story. You pick your chicken, its throat is slit and then dunk in hot water to remove the feather. All done in a matter of minutes. Some stall would also slaughter your dog for you for a fee. Just bring your dog, one you bought or bred for the table, and he or she would do the rest. I just can't watch killing of dogs. I guess I have been away from village living for too long.
|
|
|
Post by FayChee on Jan 2, 2014 9:46:43 GMT -5
Nice pictures and narratives of marketplace activities Douglas! Of course the dog reference was a little icky....
I enjoyed this peek into real China life.
Fay Chee
|
|
|
Post by douglaslam on Jan 3, 2014 5:09:04 GMT -5
Yes Fay Chee, I always like going to the market. When it is your turn to visit Toishan, don't forget to remind Shi Cheng to take you to a big local market for the sights and sounds. It isn't often to see someone who wants his dog killed for the table. Attitude can be hardened. The service is there for a fee. Douglas
|
|
|
Post by douglaslam on Jan 9, 2014 8:59:29 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by douglaslam on Jan 13, 2014 6:48:24 GMT -5
In spite of the big strides made in economic terms and a large middle class, there are still the little people to whom progress comes slowly. This woman is going around the villages buying your unwanted household items for recycling or scrap value. On any day you are likely to find a dozen or so collectors, hitting a piece of metal to attract your attention whilst doing the rounds. They buy cardboard boxes, old newsprint, scrap metal, discarded TV sets, computers, fridges, styro-foam boxes, cans, containers, and just about most things we would throw away. The collectors are mostly migrant workers. They are usually peasant farmers, tend to be older, not employable in the service or manufacturing sectors. They would be on the bottom rung of the economic ladder. This is not new to me of course. I have vivid memories of the early fifties, a woman would come round calling out for your poultry feather 雞毛, 鵝毛, 鴨毛 換火柴 to swap for boxes of matches. This is all part of the sights and sounds of old China I so cherish. I would never want to live in a gated estate, shutting myself out of this lively interaction. There are from time to time, tradesman like an electrician, or plumber on a bicycle or motorbike calling out his availability. I love it. There are also people on motor bikes calling out to buy your unwanted dogs and cats for the table. Brazen thieves are known to come out early in the morning to catch dogs on the streets for the same purpose. A small three-wheel delivery van for a small business in a traditional narrow village thoroughfare. The small businesses are dying after the initial economic reform boom years. The big supermarkets and chain stores are killing them off. Just look around you and the number of corner stores in your neighbourhood, and you'll get the picture. I decided to include my companion Ma Gor as one of my champion village little people. This is the small house he and his wife live in. Their children are married and lived away. This is the front view of the house. It is very narrow, and quite small. But it was an improvement from an even smaller one. It used to house his mother and the children as well. The house is one still having a fuel stove i.e. dead wood, sawdust or the like as fuel. Most households now use CNG for cooking and hot water. Calling the pots black. Don't expect to see his kitchen to be spotlessly clean, or find shiny stainless utensils. This is the food preparation and washing area. It would not meet hygiene or cleanliness standards you are accustomed to. But the couple brought up their healthy family and worked the land. Their son is well-educated to tertiary level. Ma Gor and his wife are illiterate. Don't get me wrong, I am not belittling them. I like them as they are, good simple village people I am comfortable with. His late mother was a woman who my mother had very high opinion of. She stood by my mother in the dark Mao years, something education cannot teach you. These are coffin nails salvaged in the course of Ma Gor's calling as a bone picker 執骨 or exhumation expert. You can get an idea of the nails by the size of a cigarette box. There are only seven intact ones. The nails are getting rarer because there are no more burials allowed. He would not now sell the remaining ones as a lot. The nails are sought after as they are or melted down to make a bracelet to ward off bad luck and evil spirits.
|
|
|
Post by FayChee on Jan 13, 2014 10:10:11 GMT -5
Hi Douglas,
Thank you for posting more photos of village life. I love hearing anything about Ma Gor and appreciate that he allowed us a view into his home.
I know that you have mentioned several times that no more burials are allowed and am not sure exactly what is done with the bodies of the deceased? In my mind, China is so large and there is so much land, why can you not bury the dead in cemeteries? And what happens if they find out you did bury someone?
Fay Chee
|
|
|
Post by douglaslam on Jan 14, 2014 7:10:40 GMT -5
Fay Chee, you have to understand China did not used to have cemeteries as we know them. The villagers buried their dead on the hillsides according to feng shui. The hills provide support, and it can affect the prosperity of future generations. Some hillsides are particularly well used as burial plots, and they may resemble a cemetery.
With the economic boom, land is getting scarce. Hills are flattened to fill the paddy fields and ponds. Graves are dug up or bulldozed if no one came forward to exhume the remains. There is no regard for sentiments and historical significance. Two years ago, my village brothers and me were in Da Ling village, home of the Au Yeung clan. I wanted to visit the grave of the first Chinese-American female dentist. I only remember her name as Faith. She died while trying to save her son in a motor accident. Her grave was of some significance. After rigorous pleading, it was allowed to stand. Her story is on line.
Only cremation is allowed in all the places I know of in my home province. The big crematorium in my part of the county, you guessed it,is owned by Party heavyweights. There are cemeteries in some places, but they are only for interment of the ashes. I heard of a cemetery set aside for the rich and famous from Hong Kong, Macau or locally. It is purely a business venture, each plots would cost megabucks.
In HK., there are cemeteries, but for a good many years, each plot is only for say seven years or so. At the end of which the relatives must exhume the remains and make available the plot for someone else. Thus the bone pickers can still carry on their trade in HK. The skeletal remains would be cremated, and placed in a Buddhist or Daoist shrine. That too is big business. There are very few permanent burial places in HK. Sometimes, police, firefighter, or medico who died in the course of their duty are allotted a permanent plot. Thus cremation is the way to go these days.
I can still see old "arm chair" style graves not disturbed because the land is not resumed by the government. Ma Gor does exhumation work because it is still a custom to dig up the deceased after a number of years lest the remains would completely disintegrate. That would never do. The bones are cleaned and dried in the sun during the exhumation, and then placed in an urn. The urn may then be moved to another location or reburied at the same site. I took photos of reburial sites with many names on the tombstones. They probably signified the skeletal remains of a man with his wives or concubines. Again, my faulty memory card failed me. I could not show them on line.
Funerary rites are also different in rural China. The deceased is placed at the front living room for all to view and say their good byes. Then it is taken to the crematorium. The cremation is done in front of you, and the still hot ashes are handed to you. That was the case with my mother. I did record my mother's funeral in one of my early posts, but can't remember under which thread.
In the 19th. and early 20th. centuries, our men who could not come home to die would have their remains shipped to HK., and then transshipped to their ancestral villages. It was an essential part of many trading firms' business. The urge to return home even after death was so strong that I could feel for them. The old timers, most of them lonely old men, did not want to be neglected at Ching Ming time, they wanted to be honoured and remembered. This practice ceased when World War ll broke out, then Communism. The staging point Hong Kong was stuck with a large number of skeletons.
This is just a jumble of my understanding of our customs and traditions in regard to burial, exhumation and reburial..
|
|
|
Post by FayChee on Jan 14, 2014 10:45:26 GMT -5
Thank you for trying to explain this concept to me Douglas. Being raised Catholic, it wasn't until 1963 that the Church allowed cremation, so we have plenty of cemeteries. I would be happy to have my relatives cremated remains in my home rather than lost forever by bulldozer, but I am sure the rest of my family would not have the same sentiments and would dispose of us all one day. For some reason, I feel very comforted visiting my dad's grave and knowing that his body is still there. It makes Ching Ming very special for me.
Fay Chee
|
|
|
Post by helen on Jan 15, 2014 3:27:33 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by douglaslam on Mar 1, 2014 20:01:06 GMT -5
Back to my photo report of my trip to China last year. This one is all about a famous historical figure from Sze Yup whom I admire very much. That person is Leung Kai Chiu 梁啓超 or better known as Liang Qichao in Mandarin. This is just a few of the photos I have taken on the visit. ---------------------------------------- It was a great satisfaction for me to have visited Liang Qichao's historic home and memorial hall in my last trip to China. I can now tick off one of the sites I wanted very much to see. Liang Qichao or Leung Kai Chiu as we would have it in Cantonese, was a very significant figure in modern Chinese history. Liang and his mentor Kang Youwei, both Cantonese, pushed for reforms in order to save China from a chaotic, debilitating mess it found itself in, in the late 19th. century. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liang_QichaoThis is the gateway to Liang's home village in Xinhui county, which is a neighbouring one to mine. Xinhui or Sunwui in Cantonese, is one of four counties collectively called Sze Yup or Siyi in Mandarin which saw a huge flow of emigrants to all parts of the New World especially from the 19th century on. The New World takes in North America, Australasia, South America, the Caribbeans and more. These days village gateways erected always feature a couplet. The couplet here uses each character of Liang's name and his home village to create a matching or contrasting saying. It is a kind of literary wordplay unique to Chinese. It is the preserve of learned scholars. Fortunately for me, on this occasion I can make sense of it all. The matching saying has to meet strict criteria in subject matter, meaning, tone and rhyming. One must balance with the other. Books are written on couplets, challenges are issued to scholars who could produce a roundly fitting half to match the other ( upper half and lower half.) Couplets can be satirical, or whimsical. I read of duels in couplet battle and even all-in "brawl." This is a Google entry on Chinese couplet. It is a far better explanation than any I can muster en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Couplet_(Chinese_poetry) Liang would no doubt have been a master of the couplet art. I am out of my depth in this regard. This is the way leading to the historic home and memorial hall. It is obvious the road was built to cater for tourists. New houses on the right are probably on what used to be farm land. This is a statue of the great thinker, scholar, reformist and visionary in Western attire. Liang 梁啓超 is a recent historic figure I much admired. He and his mentor Kang Youwei were the prime movers in pushing China to a path of reform, to pull China back from the abyss. But their ambitious One Hundred Days' Reform was sabotaged. In 1900, whilst still in exile, Liang made a long speaking tour across Australia. He met one Edmund Barton, the first Prime Minister of the country. The speaking tour was well received by the Chinese community in all major population centres. I guess he would have espoused his views on reform, and to maintain a constitutional monarchy. Our member Brad Powe's great-grandfather must have been a great fan and supporter of Liang because he attended one of his talk(s), was presented with a commemorative fan and a parting note. Liang was well-travelled for a man of his age and time. As well as Australia, he also visited North America and elsewhere, and had lived in exile in Japan Liang's was hardly a typical village dwelling. This is the central courtyard. This is the entrance hall to the house. Up in the loft is a shrine to honour the ancestors. Nothing is left because Mao had about thirty years to destroy the country of its past, history, cultural relics, anything at all that did not remind the people of his own self-aggrandizement. This is a private chamber. I am not sure the bedding and furnishing are original. The house might have been put to other uses and all things metallic or useful would have been stripped. Liang spent much of his adult and productive years away from the village. He had two wives and seven children. He brought up his children in his own unique way. each one was accomplished in one field or other. the oldest son was a recipient of a Boxer Rebellion Indemnity Scholarship to the USA. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxer_Indemnity_Scholarship_Program Sadly, he was hounded to an early death during the Cultural Revolution. A typical village kitchen, not unlike my home from my childhood. Drying rice on the concrete road surface near the entrance to our destination. Sight like this is getting rare because the demise of agriculture in favour of industry. There weren't too many visitors on a week day. These are souvenir stalls selling native produce and product. Xinhui is well know for its mandarins. The dried peel in particular is much sought after as spice, tonic and medicine. Top quality and aged peel is worth big bucks. Finding a good place to eat is always a priority. This eating place was recommended by a villager. It is close to the gateway at the entrance to the village. This is a barn-like dining room. We were late comers, only one other table of diners were with us. The restaurant markets itself as a rural family fare diner,農家菜 A fresh water fish, which I single-handedly demolished, and a duck and yam dish we had for lunch. Looking towards the dining area we were at moments ago. The duck we just had might have been happily swimming with friends hours earlier.
|
|