Confucianism

Confucius was born in the Kingdom of Lu (what is at present Qu Fu of Shandong Province). He is an educator and philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period, and was revered as “the Saint”, “the Supreme Teacher” and “the Model of all teachers of all time”. He advocated the thoughts of “kindness”, “rites”, “education through ethical rule”, and was upheld as the founder of Confucianism. He passed away in 479 B.C at the age of 73. His thoughts have been passed down the ages and pervaded through every aspect of Chinese living and culture, influencing even the neighbouring regions.

The Ceremony of Worshipping Confucius

According to the Books of History, the worship of Confucius by the Imperial Emperor began in the 12th year in the reign of Emperor Gaozu of Han Dynasty (195 B.C.E). During the reign of Emperor Wudi of Han Dynasty, he held Confucianism in supreme regard and dismissed all other schools of thought. This helped to establish the predominant status of Confucianism. It is also the reason why the rites passed down over the ages display a hint of Han Dynasty styles. During the Republican Era, the ceremony of worship of Confucius was simplified, though from a modern perspective it remains highly elaborate, with each detail performed to great exaction.

The Eight-row Dance

On the 10th Anniversary of the reunification of Hong Kong with Mainland China, the Confucian Academy of Hong Kong organized at the Hong Kong Stadium the “Worldwide Ceremony of the Worship of Confucius”, with a turnout of over ten thousand. A 200-strong team from Qu Fu of Shandong was also invited to participate in the traditional ceremony, re-enacting the Confucian worship procedures as conducted by the Emperor of Han some two millennia ago.

The Eight-row Dance performed in the ceremony was participated by 64 Yisheng (a rite dancer). The Yi Dance was a dance of rite performed in the Han Imperial Court, which accentuated neatness and formality. The Eight-row Dance was the highest order of such a form of dance, and was performed only during the heaven worship ceremony of the Emperor. It involved six separate passages of songs, each composed by 8 lines of poetry of 4 character each – a total of 32 characters. Each Yisheng would hold a tail feather (a dance instrument) in the right hand, and a short Chinese flute in the left hand (a musical instrument), and dance in harmony with the poetry. Each character and movement would serve to demonstrate the life, thoughts, political views and educational ideals of Confucius.

Hau Wong’s Identity

No conclusion has been drawn on Hau Wong’s identity. According to Chan Pak-to, a scholar of Qing Dynasty, Hau Wong should be the Prince Marquis Yeung Leung-jit, who was a general known for his loyalty in the late Southern Song Dynasty. He was bestowed the title ‘Marquis’ when he was alive and ‘King’ upon his death. Since he courageously protected the last emperor of that dynasty, the temple was built to venerate him. Other scholars suggest that Hau Wong was a person named Yeung Hau, people called him 'King Yeung Hau', who had cured Emperor Bing, the last emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty. Nonetheless, the unidentified origin does not undermine adherents’ devoutness to Hau Wong.

Different Birthdays

In Hong Kong, there are three birthdays for Hau Wong, namely, 6th day, 16th day of the 6th Lunar month, and the 18th day of the 8th Lunar month. The celebrations for Hau Wong’s Birthday in Tung Chung are of the largest scale for Hau Wong’s Birthday. According to the local elders, the birthday was on the 6th of the 6th Lunar month in the early years, however, farmers were normally busy with planting rice during that period, so the festival was rescheduled and became a five-day celebration after the Mid-Autumn Festival. During the festival, live Chinese operas and dramas for deities were performed free of charge for the residents in the neighborhood. Dinner gatherings and auctions for holy relics were also arranged. This heated festival had become an important celebration which connected residents from both the sea and inland in Tung Chung.

Auctions for Flower Cannon

Opposite to the Hau Wong temple was a large theatre shed for the deities and villagers to enjoy Cantonese operas. The area in front of the stage could accommodate one thousand people. Dozens of small sheds were also built on both sides of the stage for members of Flower Cannon Associations to take rest. At 1pm on the fourth day, all associations gathered in the sheds to bid for floral tributes. The stand-in Hau Wong statue was invited from the Hau Wong temple by members of Tung Chung Rural Committee to ‘monitor’ the process.

There were 22 tributes in total for the bidders with the highest prices. The ‘first tribute’ and the ‘second tribute’ ‘auxiliary first tribute’? were the most popular ones. This unique redistribution approach was different from ‘fighting for the tributes’ or ‘lucky draws’ in all the other places in Hong Kong. The associations that obtained the tributes (that is, the deity statues) could keep them for a year and then return in the following year for another auction.

The legend of the fire dragon dance

Tai Hang was once a Hakka village. The tale goes that a serpent attacked the village after a typhoon in 1880 and was killed by the villagers after a typhoon hit in 1880. At that night, the villagers took the body of the serpent to the police station, but it disappeared next morning. After that, a plague spread and claimed the lives of many young villagers, which made the villagers panic. An elder in the village had a prophetic dream telling him that the plague could be driven away if the villagers made a dragon out of straw and incense sticks and paraded it around the village while lighting fire crackers, and so the villagers followed suit. The sulfur in the fire crackers and the smoke from the incenses were indeed able to drive away the disease. Since then, the Tai Hang residents perform the Fire Dragon Dance for blessings every year, and it has been practiced for more than a hundred years till now.

How to Make the Dragon

The body of Tai Hang fire dragon was 220 feet long, or 24 feet including head and rope. The body was divided into 32 straw stuffed segments. The dragon’s head was the most delicate part: baked willow wickers for the frame, paper for teeth, and torches for eyes. Each segment was controlled by a bamboo pole held by one dancer. Since more than 300 men were required to take turn, such performance has become an activity for the whole community’s participation.

Dragon Dance

At 7:00 pm on the first night, people from the Tai Hang Welfare Association went to the lotus temple and prayed to Kwun Yam. The chief commander of the fire dragon dance consecrated the straw dragon in Hakka and prays for peace, safety, and good fortune. Later on, the dragon was decorated and inserted with thousands of incenses sticks, so it is known as the “Fire Dragon.” After the praying ceremony, the Fire Dragon led by the dragon balls would leave the Wun Sha Street and paraded through the main streets in Tai Hang. The Fire Dragon looked amazingly beautiful surrounded by smokes and sparkles in the darkness at night.

At 9:15 pm, the staff removed the used incense sticks from the dragon and gave away the still burning incense sticks to the crowd to bring home. Then the dragon began to dance again through the streets. This time the dancers showed more fancy moves like “dragon circles with colorful lights”, “dragon crosses the bridge”, “dragon dances around two poles”, “dragon-twining makes pyramids”, etc. The event ended at 10:00 pm.

Meaning of the Custom

The fire-dragon dance is a celebration event that unite the whole community and promotes fraternity, but it is difficult to preserve this tradition partly because the dragon makers in the village are of old age with no successors, and there are not many young people in Tai Hang. Helpers from outside the community are thus needed. The Tai Hang Welfare Association is also considering breaking the tradition to include woman performers in the dance.