336
Jau and Wong, among the gods invited to the jiu festival.
The origin of the Jau and Wong Temple, and its central position in the jiu festival is recorded on the stone inscription at the 5th rebuilding of the Jau and Wong Temple in 1965. It says that
in the Kangxi [1662-1722] period, pirates were a serious problem in the area, and the residents of the sea coast were forced to leave home and wander about. Fortunately the two officials Wong and Jau were in charge of the Guangdong Prefecture. Thanks to their petitions the old clans were allowed to return. To express their gratitude, [the Dangs of Kam Tin] built a place for the worship of the two and for education. The construction started in 1684 and finished in 1685, when the practice of performing the jiu rites and to stage opera was begun.
The oral tradition has elements that are not found in the official account. The version of a Mr. Dang, born in the 1920s, was that there was a time when the villagers fought with bandits, many of the villagers died and the central government was asked for support. Jau and Wong were sent leading an army to help. The festival was to commemorate the villagers who died fighting the bandits. Some men born in the 1940s explained that the jiu was to commemorate the officials Jau and Wong who had died in Kam Tin, it was in a way a chiu-dou service for the dead. These two versions agree with the official one in that Jau and Wong are regarded as having helped the Kam Tin villagers in a period of disorder.
Although the Jau and Wong Temple was built to express the gratitude of the villagers for the efforts of the two officials in getting royal permission for the villagers to come back after the 17th century Coastal Evacuation, the two are now believed to have god-like powers. There is, for example, the anecdote of Jau and Wong hiring the opera troupe on behalf of the villagers. During the Japanese occupation it was difficult to get the material needed for the festival. So the villagers decided not to hold the celebration. But in the form of two old men Jau and Wong made arrangements for opera players to come. When the villagers learnt about what had happened, on the arrival of the opera players, they changed their mind and celebrated the festival as usual.
336
Jau and Wong, among the gods invited to the jiu festival.
The origin of the Jau and Wong Temple, and its central position in the jiu festival is recorded on the stone inscription at the 5th rebuilding of the Jau and Wong Temple in 1965. It says that
in the Kangxi [1662-1722] period, pirates were a serious problem in the area, and the residents of the sea coast were forced to leave home and wander about. Fortunately the two officials Wong and Jau were in charge of the Guangdong Prefecture. Thanks to their petitions the old clans were allowed to return. To express their gratitude, [the Dangs of Kam Tin] built a place for the worship of the two and for education. The construction started in 1684 and finished in 1685, when the practice of performing the jiu rites and to stage opera was begun.
The oral tradition has elements that are not found in the official account. The version of a Mr. Dang, born in the 1920s, was that there was a time when the villagers fought with bandits, many of the villagers died and the central government was asked for support. Jau and Wong were sent leading an army to help. The festival was to commemorate the villagers who died fighting the bandits. Some men born in the 1940s explained that the jiu was to commemorate the officials Jau and Wong who had died in Kam Tin, it was in a way a chiu-dou service for the dead. These two versions agree with the official one in that Jau and Wong are regarded as having helped the Kam Tin villagers in a period of disorder.
Although the Jau and Wong Temple was built to express the gratitude of the villagers for the efforts of the two officials in getting royal permission for the villagers to come back after the 17th century Coastal Evacuation, the two are now believed to have god-like powers. There is, for example, the anecdote of Jau and Wong hiring the opera troupe of behalf of the villagers. During the Japanese occupation it was difficult to get the material needed for the festival. So the villagers decided not to hold the celebration. But in the form of two old men Jau and Wong made arrangements for opera players to come. When the villagers learnt about what had happened, on the arrival of the opera players, they changed their mind and celebrated the festival as usual.
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