1938-08-10 — Page 5

THE HONGKONG TELEGRAPH,

WEDNESDAY,

AUGUST 10,

1938.

AID HONGKONG REFUGEES CHINESE CELEBRATE

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PLUMBING

مم

GHOST FESTIVAL”

By T. Paul Gregory

What to Europeans are perhaps the most singular and curious of all the strange religious beliefs of the Chinese masses are found in connection with the so-called Kwai-tsit or "Ghosts' Festival" of the fifteenth of the seventh moon, which occurs to-day:

This is popularly regarded as the greatest religious drama of the Far East and is of Buddhist origin. It is observed not only in China, but in Japan and Korea, and under its proper designation of Yuc-laan-tsit is in reality a "feast of wandering spirits"—a sort of Oriental All Souls' Day-and is celebrated with a peculiar sense of pious ecstasy. In the Sanskrit tongue, which was incidentally the original language of the Buddhist sutras or sacred books, the festival is known as Ullambana, and has been transliterated into Chinese as Yue-laan Poon, signifying literally "dish fragrant-plant bowl.”

The meaning, of course, conveys nothing, and gives no indication of the great import of the festival which the has been celebrated during

LESS IN THE LONG naked, and destitute, but vested with

a most terrible power to seek food, clothing, und money on earth.

is

of the Chinese prople, and one, top, in which practically all the celebrants were women, assisted occasionally by the small boy or girl of the household, This was the offering of clothes, money und food to the ghosts' who

01 **the

Y.M.C.A.seventh moon since the eighth cen- tury A.D. by the entire population of China without distinction of birth were early this morning due to be or rank. It is pre-eminently, how-released from Tel-yuk, ever, a woman's religious fete for Earthly Prison"the Hades or Purga- tory of the Westerner-and permitted nowadays in the Orient, the most

to wander back to the world of the devout believers in the doctrines of

the the Buddha are the fuir sex. It is living in order to visit the old familiar

These spectres from scenes. they who are the most versed in the nether sphere are considered by all

Chinese to significance of these various

be in dire plous

old- devout The average occasions, and

will want and distress, and in order that Chinese woman fashioned

to their hunger may be appeased, their conviction relate with the firmest

the nakedness clothed, and, too, that they that on this day, Yim-lol-wong, the

wherewithal to ruler of Hades throws open the gates might possess the of the infernal regions and permits purchase what they desire in this world, the offerings are made to them. the shades of the departed to swarm

The ceremony as viewed last night up through the portals, hungry,

carried out in the following manner: Waxen tapers are inld along the edge of the kerb, and after being lighted together with the customary incense,

a basket Alled with i-chi or paper replicas of clothing and "money" consisting of men-pol or stamped paper notes, along with a quantity of so-called kam-ngan, or imitations of gold and silver bars, directly are dumped on the pavement

on behind the flaming candles and sel fire. Whilst this pile of offerings is woman will throw briskly, a woman. onto the

dish of bean-sprouts, some few squares of bean-curd, as well as certain of the remnants from the evening meal, possibly some choice bits of fowl. In addition, she will pour upon the ground a small quantity of wine.

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'' · SUNK ́TRAVIS

S. FRITZ FELD

TOM KENNYDY

of

COMMENCES AT SUNSET Properly speaking this "feast the wandering spirits" commenced at sundown yesterday; for the Chinese, like the Jews, the Mostems and other Oriental people reckon time as being About four

froin sunset to

o'clock in the however,

0

preliminary ceremony was carried This maintain An ancestral shrine. was the the worship of the spirits of the departed, and the offering of food, such as reast

pork, chicken and duck. There was niso carried out the cus- tom of presenting to the ancestors of the household replicas in paper of of articles of

out in sets known

out in all those Chinese families who burning a bal

were apporting apparel. These

in the vernacular as cheap, con- miniature sisting of complete out

of rice, a

It must be mentioned that prepara-

-hat, jacket, trousers, shoes and astory to the actual firing of the offer- Ings there has gathered around a many sets, of course, as there were

crowd of noisy street urchins, some ancestral tablets on the

on the of them endeavouring to assist in shrine. These were burn of the;

the emptying the baskets of paper para- stone flagging which edges phernain on square of

the ground, and to set the domestic well in the l'eng

them alight at the

prescribed mo the old-style Chinese ment by thrusting a wisp of blazing parlour of house. Whilst this was the custom

caught ablaze from all paper

the candles. ary procedure in practically

young patience These and country districts in Kwangiung, in those villages on

the Island which scarcely conceal their"

for

soon- us the paper are still largely unspoiled by Western burning briskly and the womenfolk Influences, there was u general ten-burn dency in most Chinese homes in the have bestowed their gifts of

upon the burning pile, custom d2000 Colony to curtall and simplify to a considerable extent the sacrifice to that pennies should be thrown from the verandah above into the street, there is a merry scramble

the ancestors. although

a pretence of bring pious***

stere

con

nune who and the rowd of ragged urchins dart i

Tits the

donr

made ed

the occasion altogether, hither and thither in order to pick up fact, yesterday every Chinese family

ind. As soon as

they

have who could afford it had either duck the coins.

to their this, they depart to the next house or chicken as an adjunct Evening

rice; for certain remnants of and walt for the female inmates to come down into the street in order

their

repast were singularly enough co

to conduct an identical ceremony.

curious reserved to play a part in ceremony known as shiu-kaal-vi or "burning the clothes on the street", which was carried out along the kerb in front of almost every dwelling be- tween the hours of 7 and 0.30 p.m.

CHILDREN ASSIST

Consequently, those foreigners who were abroad at this time had an opportunity of witnessing at Arst hand one of the strangest ceremonies

and the excited scampering for the "lucky money" throwing is repeated.

Throughout to-day many Chinese women will also engage in worship of there "wandering souls of the dead" and in their sincerity and devotion wil utter prayers that the dead will be happy and contented in their re- turn to thir earthly homes, and when their sojourn is ended, depart to their underworld prison in peace.

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