When I was a boy in China

by Yan Phou Lee

CHAPTER VIII.
CHINESE HOLIDAYS.

It would be a matter of many chapters were I to describe all the holidays which we have in China. The bare enumeration of them would be as difficult as tedious. In point of fact we have almost as many holidays and festivals as there are days in the year. Each prominent idol has a birthday, also an anniversary of his death, both of which are celebrated. There are some—the Goddess of Mercy, for instance—who have half a dozen days sacred to them. There are a number of deities, great persons deified, that are common to the nation; while each city, town and hamlet, has numerous local deities who are its special protectors.

Extremely lucky it is for the aforesaid idols that their devotees are naturally fond of shows, pageantry and display; otherwise, idolatry would have little to attract the multitude. As it is, millions of dollars are spent in these celebrations every year. At the dedication of a temple in Canton, two years ago, thirty thousand dollars were spent. As I was present at this really great exhibition, I can give you an idea of it. For a long time a committee of citizens had been collecting subscriptions from dwellers far and near; and weeks before the completion of the temple, a large pavilion was reared, the material of which was mainly bamboo in the form of poles, mattings and slips. Marvelous architectural results are attained by combining a few wooden pillars with the bamboo in various forms, and soon a light and airy structure looms up in the sky, which can be seen from a great distance. This pavilion is directly in front of the temple, while smaller ones are built in vacant lots near by, all connected with the main building by awnings pitched over the streets. There is a high tower in the middle of the great pavilion, on the ceiling of which curls a dragon of many colors, gleaming with innumerable spangles, through whose mouth a rope is dropped on which is suspended an immense chandelier. The latter is finely carved so far as the body, which is of wood, is concerned, and for brilliancy of coloring has no rival in China. It is octagonal and each side throws out four branches, which uphold kerosene lamps. The centres of each side are cut out, and glass inserted, behind which automatic figures are made to move by clockwork. The finest effects of this chandelier are of course obtained when the lamps are lighted. Suspended from the roof in other parts are other chandeliers, less elaborate and smaller perhaps, but not less artistic and beautiful. Forests of pendants are attached to them, so that on all sides the light is reflected. Then, in the intervals between the chandeliers, hang oblong cases, all decorated with silks and satins, and finely carved, containing dolls, about two feet high, elegantly dressed in character, and grouped to represent historical scenes. These figures have machinery placed beneath them to make them shake their heads, or lift their hands, or sway their bodies, just as the rôle of each requires. There are also smaller cases in which are arranged tableaux from romance of which the Chinese are very fond. Sometimes, a comic tableau is given; for instance, in one case are shown a number of blind men fighting with bamboo sticks on the street, and as the blows are dealt blindly and in all directions (by means of the machinery), the crowd of spectators never fail to laugh.

Flowers of all the varieties which grow in the “Flowery Kingdom” form an important and pleasing feature of the entertainment. They are made into shapes of men or birds, and their delicious odors pervade the whole place. The walls of the different pavilions are gayly painted. On them pictures in water-colors are hung, as well as scrolls bearing the writings of celebrated men. Under these are placed, in rows, fine flower pots crowned with the choicest flowers of the season. Dwarfed trees too are placed beside them.

There are platforms in every good-sized pavilion where the musicians sit and discourse music for the pleasure of a most attentive audience. There are drums, kettledrums, immense cymbals, gongs, cornets, flutes, castanets, two-stringed fiddles and I don’t know what else besides, and when they are sounded together the effect is overwhelming on ears unaccustomed to such strange symphonies. The flutist first blows his flute, then the cornetist joins with his toot, and then the kettledrum man strikes up, which is a signal for the cymbals to clash and the gong to raise its hoarse cry, while the shrill fiddles may be distinguished in the din like the witches’ voices above the storm in Macbeth.

Worse still follows, when the musicians turn from instrumental to vocal music, and one of them gives you a solo with that falsetto-pitch which is meant to imitate a female voice.

While the crowd of people are enjoying the different sights and sounds in the pavilions, inside the temple various ceremonies are going on. The temple itself, entirely new, is finely decorated with both permanent and temporary ornamentations. Among the first are frescos and wood-carvings and figures in bas-relief; among the second, banners, flower-baskets and pictures. Buddhist priests are praying to Buddha in the central hall, while in the back hall, where the shrine of the chief deity is situated, flocks of worshipers flit to and fro making offerings of food, lighting candles, and burning incense. There is no scene in China more animated. Everybody who has any religion in him comes to worship and to ask some favor of the god, and each person leaves more or less money with the keepers of the temple. In my native city festivals similar to this occur two or three times in the week in different parts of the town. Of course the schools are kept open on such festal days, otherwise little study could be accomplished. Schoolboys go to the shows in the evening and girls too, sometimes, go by themselves to enjoy the sights.

But there are holidays which may be called national, since they are observed all over the country.

First and most important are the New Year holidays, which are celebrated with as much éclat as unceasing firing of pyrotechnics, calls of ceremony and universal good-will and joy will contribute. Debts are paid up at the end of the year, and for the first week or two little or no business is transacted. Every one gives himself up to jollity. Children, on such days, are surfeited with sweetmeats, and holes are made in their holiday clothes by burning fire-crackers. Largesses are bestowed upon both children and servants, while beggars are also remembered, so that this season is really the most joyous of the year—the time when charity is most charitable and benevolence assumes a more benevolent aspect.

Next, in order of time, comes the Feast of Lanterns. The main feature of this fête, as the name implies, is a procession with lanterns of all shapes and kinds. Soon after nightfall, men and boys get in line, each carrying upon a bamboo pole a great paper bird, or quadruped, or fish, inside of which candles are lit. Very fantastic shapes sometimes are seen, and mythological books are ransacked to procure strange creatures.