It's Been a Wet Week

Wuchuan, 2012

Bicycles aren't as popular as they once were in China. But my guess is that bicycling as a sport, or even as a prefered form of transportation, will catch on here eventually like it has in the West in recent years.  

Myself, I like riding, if the way is not overly strenuous, but I haven't really done it as often as I'd like. And you? 

Joining Weekend Reflections.

Yellow Blossoms in Wuchuan

After a hard week's work my eyes craved to look at something pretty. So I collected a series of yellow blossoms I captured on my walks to and back from the office I occupy here in Wuchuan this spring.

As usual, I haven't a clue what these plants and trees are called. I'll stick my neck out and guess that the first are watermelon blossoms. Am I right?

Wuchuan, 2012

These are linked with others who adore flowers at Floral Friday Foto, Flowers on Saturday, Today's Flower and Weekend Flower.

Walk in a Rural Town Street

Wuchuan, 2012

Linking with Walk in the Street and Weekend in Black and White.

Chinese Bacchanalia Mural

Wuchuan, 2012

Not a mural subject one would expect to see on an otherwise very ordinary tile house in this rural town of Wuchuan.

But this is no ordinary revelry.

This painting depicts the legendary Eight Immortals. These ancient folk heroes possess knowledge and powers that combined encompass the secrets of nature. They are revered by Daoists. Still popular today, they are often depicted together as a symbol of good fortune and longevity.

Linking with Monday Mural.

Tea Kettle Reflections

Have a headache? Flu? Body aches? Is your system too hot? Too cold?

Don't despair; there's a Chinese herbal tea remedy for it.

In most, if not all, Chinese towns you can find any number of small tea shops or street vendors offering a quick cup of herbal "make you feel better" for whatever ails you.

And at one such street stall not long ago I found my reflections for Weekend Reflections. The first photo is also my contribution to Weekend in Black and White. Better viewed enlarged.

Wuchuan, 2012

A Blossom Better Up Close

Not all flowers are beautiful, I think. Some are downright homely.

So I thought of the blossoms on this tree as I approached it on a dull gray day recently.

Wuchuan, 2012

But as I got closer, I began to change my mind.

And when I looked more carefully, I came to appreciate its unique beauty.

There's a life lesson in there, isn't there?

Of course I haven't the foggiest notion what the tree or its blossoms are called. Do you?

Sharing with the flower loving communities at Floral Friday Foto, Flowers on Satuday, Today's Flower and Weekend Flower.

Qingming Rituals

Qingming Festival (aka Ching Ming or Tomb Sweeping Day), like many traditional Chinese festivals, involves family, food and firecrackers.

Much like a western memorial day, this is a time for the living to remember those who have passed on. For the Chinese people, it is significant to celebrate their enduring lineage. Families take this day to clean and restore their ancestors' resting places.

Qingming in Chinese means "clear and bright," a solar term indicating when the sun is exactly at the celestial longitude of 15°. On our calendar, it begins around 4th of April. Thus last week Wednesday was official Qingming day.

Yet it was early morning the day before when my honey and I boarded a bus in Wuchuan with the extended family of our friend and spent until late afternoon visiting nine separate graves to pay tribute to their forebears.

On this first hot spring day after a wet chilly winter, we had a first-hand look at the rituals of the day. While specific details of traditional customs may vary from place to place in China, and even overseas in Chinese communities, here is a much abbreviated account of what people generally do at gravesites on Qingming:

1. Sweep the grave or clear it of all debris and plant overgrowth.



clearing the gravesite or sweeping a grave

2. Strategically place amulets around the grave to protect against evil unearthly influences. (This practice may be distinctive to certain regions.) Here it was in the simple form of small mounds of dirt with pieces of paper and rocks.

cleared grave with amulets

3. Burn candles and joss sticks (incense) to call the ancestors, imaginably like ringing the doorbell to announce one’s arrival.

4. Offer foods – such as a full roasted suckling pig, boiled chicken, barbecued pork, rice, fruits – and drink and place them in front of the tomb. Typically white rice wine is first poured into small glasses then spilt onto the grave.

5. Burn joss paper – fake money and other symbols of wealth like gold, silver, clothes, jewelry, gadgets (cell phones are popular these days!) – anything that gives us comfort as humans. (I’ve even seen miniature mansions and cars before.) Traditional belief holds that when burned, these symbols will transform into real wealth for their ancestors to enjoy in their place beyond.

"hell" money and other goodies burned for the spirit world

6. Pay respect and show devotion to the ancestor with kowtows; the number varies by region.

7. Surround the grave with firecrackers (this too may be unique to here) and light them to scare away gremlins or other nasty spirits hovering around the grave.

I'll not be surprised if you have some questions. There is still so much I could say about our fascinating experience, as well as about Chinese gravesites and this ancient traditional day of devoted offspring demonstrating they have not forgotten their predecessors.  But that would make this post unbearably long, so I may have to return to this story in future.

For links to posts by others with an interest in graveyards and cemeteries, visit Taphophile Tragics.

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Every child deserves this minimum. Please chip in $5, $10 or whatever you like and together we can sponsor one child and give the gift of HOPE.

Project Pearls Scholarship Program.

Another Wuchuan Grave

For Taphophile Tragics today I am showing you another grave located in Wuchuan in southern Guangdong. 

We were walking right in the center of the old part of town along a roadway too narrow for motor vehicles larger than small motorbikes when we stumbled upon this:

 Wuchuan, 2012

Looking slightly more to the left here you can see parts of more recently built six-story apartments (tallest buildings erected without elevators):

Reading the grave marker, again red characters on black stone, we learned that this too was a rebuilt grave. Here's a rough translation of what it says:

Pong Xi County Tung Grave

built in 2007 by grandchildren of grandmother Yee Ran

who was Wife #1 of Tung Pei Gong, 12th generation Tung

There is, unfortunately, no indication of time or place of his first wife's birth or death. The last line on the grave, of course, is a clear sign that Mr Tung had concubines, and that would then reveal that she lived pre-1949, as Mao Zedong tried to eradicate this feudal custom. 

We continued down the street to the right of the grave and within minutes came out to this spot that shows quite well the mix of old, new, urban and rural, all in close proximity.

The Rebuilt Cheuk Clan Grave in Wuchuan

In southern China, towns are growing fast and there is often no clear line between urban and rural. One day a few weeks ago, on one of our habitual weekend walks in and around Wuchuan, Guangdong province, my honey and I stumbled on this lone grave, just a few dozen meters from busy city streets.

Wuchuan, Guangdong, 2012

The shape of the grave is rather typical for this area of China, and it's also not at all unusual to see a single grave or a small cluster of graves out in the countryside or mixed in with farm plots, as opposed to a formal cemetery within certain boundaries. 

Below you see a closeup of the burial mound with the black stone marker with red characters of the family name at the back.

As we were photographing whatever we thought interesting, this friendly farmer approached us. He eagerly engaged in conversation with my honey (who is of Chinese origin) and part of what follows is what he told us about the grave.

This farmer is a descendant of the Cheuk Clan. The grave was built in 2010 to commemorate the ancestors of this clan from Wuchuan who died anytime from one to two hundred years ago - he wasn't so sure - up to a few generations ago. 

Inset into the red brick wall behind him (above) is a complete list of living clan members who contributed funds to the project of rebuilding their ancestors' grave to honor them.

 

The small grave behind the clan grave is for the servants of the clan who were considered part of the family yet were expected to serve beyond their lives on this earth.

Most important to the living descendants is to place their ancestors in an auspicious spot that will enhance their fortune and welfare in all aspects. The farmer specifically asked whether my honey thought the family had picked a good feng shui spot, to which he answered, "yes, the spot is good, facing a fine view; however, unfortunately, the open view is cut by power lines. That must not be very comfortable for them and could diminish the good effect somehow."

I hope to write more about southern Chinese burial culture and the role feng shui plays in future posts.

This post is my participation in today's Taphophile Tragics meme.

Bridge to Cultural Island

This traditional Chinese gate marks the entrance to the bridge going to Cultural Island, an eyot in Jiangjiang River flowing through the southern Guangdong town of Wuchuan.

Wuchuan, Guangdong, 2011

I have crossed this bridge many times, and I will cross it again next week. Still, I don't know the name of the bridge, or whether it even has one.

 This bridge joins Louis la Vache's Sunday Bridges.

Note: On Tuesday I will go on the road again and expect to have sporadic internet access over the next few weeks, so you may not see me until I return. While behind The Great Firewall of China, I can receive and send email, but Big Brother is not a fan of Blogger.

[MyWorld] Dessert Buns

In the weeks before and after Chinese New Year, family and friends gather to celebrate. As in every culture I know, food is at the center of the social activities. 

In southern China, these steamed or deep fried dessert buns are offered to guests in households and restaurants everywhere. 

Some make the buns at home; others buy them from makers like this.

Wuchuan, 2011

When they are fresh, still warm, they are mouth-watering delicious.

Eating (too much) with good friends was a big part of my world during my travels in China last week. I link this with the community at MyWorld Tuesday.