Ching Ming Pur Brightness Festival...........Advice please

[kathryn]

Re: Qing Ming Pure Brightness Festival



I am writing to you in regards to the above, we recently conducted a Ching Ming (Experience) on the 10 October 2015 at the Burning Towers in the Chinese section of the Beechworth Cemetery... where several Chinese ancestor’s graves where swept, money burnt and offerings made... To honour deceased ancestors.

A Brief history into the Ching Ming and customs was delivered to a small but interested group of Australians by myself a 4th generation Chinese/Irish living in Beechworth

Brief Insight

Beechworth had a population of around 7,000 Chinese with their own Village at the height of the gold rush in the  1854-1870

Some Chinese made their fortune and returned home, to their families unfortunately several thousands were less fortunate, are laid to rest in Beechworth without families to tend to their mounds.

I have in the past conducted several of these Ching Ming –pure Brightness or sweeping of the tombs ceremonies out of respect for the forgotten Chinese and at no time did we mean any disrespect.

My intention was to educate and pay respect to the lost generation of Chinese.

We now have some people in the community stating that we are wrong to carry out a Festival that is only done in April and that we should not use the name.

I write to you today to seek some clarification on the Ching Ming Festival-( Qing Ming)

I am aware this is carried out in China on the 4 or 5th day of April and that it is also a public holiday, and that the Ching Ming is only observed in Australia

My question is

Can we use the word Ching Ming experience here in Australia? At the time of the Chinese Moon Festival or Mid-Autumn Festival in September/October.

If this is not politically correct, can you please advise us on a more suitable name?

Thanking you in advance
Kathryn

[douglaslam]

Hi Kathryn, I am hearten by the good people of Beechworth who show such empathy and respect for their ancestors or past community members the traditional way.

Ching Ming strictly refers to that particular date, just like Easter or Christmas. Going to the cemetery or "by sahn" as it is in Cantonese, is understood by everyone. Ching Ming is significant in that it calls for everyone to come together for the occasion. If people can't make it, they would send money home. Traditionalists like myself still send money back to China each year to cover the expenses of Ching Ming. Among other things I'd have a roast pig prepared and be divided up by those who would do it in my absence.

In fact any time is a good time to " by sahn" honour and pay respect to the dear departed. For example, a visitor returning from overseas may want to pay respect to his or her ancestors at the time of his visit, not wait for Ching Ming to happen. If it is a new burial, then the proper rituals should be performed before Ching Ming.

Another time when people go to the cemetery in numbers is on the Double Ninth, the ninth day of the ninth lunar month. It is a public holiday in Hong Kong and I think in Taiwan also. This is less well-observed in China these days. But the whole ninth lunar month is marked as the month to lavish love and respect for the elders. I happened to be in China at the time. There were village banquets, gifts for the elderly and Cantonese opera staged to entertain everyone. I love it.

Google Ching Ming, there are many entries. This old post may interest you.

siyigenealogy.proboards.com/thread/1609/ching-ming-sydney

Please let us know and post photos of Beechworth by sahn activity.

Douglas

[andrewAU]

Hi Kathryn

DouglasLam has captured most of the key answers. Just want to add a few points.

Grave visit is call “Bye-Sahn”. This is translated to Worshipping-Mountain. Sahn (mountain) refers to ancestor graves.

There are two major dates for grave visits. Ching Ming (around April in Western calendar) and Cheung Yeung (the ninth day of ninth month, around Oct in the Western calendar). These tend to be organised community or clans events. In HK and China, Ching Ming is a public holiday. That may be the reason why Ching Ming is more popular.

Of course the primary reason is to pay respect, honour and remember the ancestors. It is also an opportunity for the decedents to have a ‘one-on-one’ conversation with the departed close relatives. This typically involved summarising the latest life events as they are making the incense offering. (yes may sound a bit weird) .

There are also the practical tasks of grave site maintenance. This usually included weeding, cleaning up the area, small repairs such as repainting the faded words on the grave stone etc. In fact, in HK, there are vendors who set up a 'pop-up' businesses on the mountain, repainting words on the grave stone for you, for a small fee. Because of this, the days are also referred to as Grave Sweeping.

There are many Chinese miners cemeteries in Victoria. I am glad that someone in Beechworth is taking the initiative in maintaining them. Maintaining grave site is the primarily the responsibility of the decedents, distant relatives, and clans man (people from the same village, province etc).

It is always sad to see neglected grave - meaning the lost of lineage. I know the SeeYup society and Chinese Masonic society in Melbourne had organised grave visits for gold fields in the past. I have contacted them to check the plan for this year. Do let me know what your plans are for Ching Ming or Cheung Yeung this year.

Andrew Wong, in Melbourne