102
War (see Table 1).
Table 1 Year of Entry of the 60 Joss Stick Factories Interviewed
Year of Entry Number of Joss Stick Factories Number of Mills Before 1920 2 0 1920s 3 0 1930s 5 0 1940s 3 2 1950s 9 0 1960s 17 1970s 1980s 9 5Source: Fieldwork, Hong Kong, 1987.
The reason for their entry into the business was attributed to the expansion of the market. Instability of the political situation and uncertainty about the future in the immediate pre-War period, and again in the 1960s, had driven many people to rest their fate on the Gods. This, of course, led to the consumption of large quantities of joss sticks.
During the Second World War, the Hong Kong joss stick industry, just like many other industries, was greatly impaired by the Japanese Occupation. Many factories were closed down during the War as the industry faced a period of exceptionally lean years. Some of the factories relocated to the New Territories where the larger and more open area offered better shelter. The majority of the factory proprietors fled to Mainland China. The years of stagnation continued until the end of the War as, after all, joss sticks were not basic necessities to living. In times of war, few people had the spare time and money to spend on such items.
After the period of Japanese Occupation, the joss stick industry was slow to recover. The Hong Kong Annual Report states in 1946, the production of joss sticks was seriously affected by the internal strife in Indo-China which was formerly the principal market for the export trade".27 The situation was no better in 1949. The Report for the Year 1949 of the Hong Kong Chinese Chamber of Commerce summarized the business condition of the Joss Stick Merchants' Union,
From the beginning of the year, the industry was having a