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Saturday 4 April 2009
Cultural celebrations walk thin line between myth and greed
“Public ceremonies should be organised by the public and the costs covered voluntarily by participants, not by government funds,” Mr. Ge said. “Otherwise, it will damage the interests of those who don’t want to take part.”
Cultural celebrations walk thin line between myth and greed
Lilian Zhang 4 April 2009
It was a huge event. Last Sunday, authorities in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province, organised nearly 20,000 people into an extravaganza to pay tribute to Huangdi, the fabled Yellow Emperor of China.
The gala featured dragon dances, Shaolin kung fu and folk dances, fireworks and rituals - such as wreath offerings, prayers, a eulogy and singing, mainland media reported.
The city invited celebrities such as Beijing Olympic champions, earthquake heroes and Shenzhou VII astronauts, and put on tourism and trade promotions to push Zhengzhou’s ties to the historic leader.
The city sought to stake its claim to the imperial legend on the grounds that Huangdi was born in the city - even though similar rituals are held each year in Shaanxi province, the site of his tomb.
Meanwhile, media reports said the Kuomintang’s honorary chairman, Lien Chan, would again lead a delegation to the Shaanxi capital, Xian, for the Ching Ming Festival - the grave-sweeping day - in a repeat of his 2007 trip.
Such mass events are examples of the mainland’s growing fervour for grand, ceremonial set-pieces to worship ancestral heroes, particularly around Ching Ming, the traditional Chinese time to mourn the dead. The day was approved as a public holiday last year. In recent years, provincial and city governments have rushed to declare themselves the birthplace of cultural heroes such as Fuxi, the legendary inventor of writing, and his wife, Nu Wa; as well as historic figures like the philosophers Confucius and Laozi. They have tried to forge the links by organising extravagant commemorative rituals, but the festivals have raised eyebrows among the public and analysts, who increasingly dismiss them as lavish “image projects”.
Shandong province received its share of public attention last year when it decided to reinstate a tradition of commemorating Confucius in his hometown of Qufu. The activities are set to continue this year with a carefully choreographed ceremony for 1,600 people next month at Mount Ni, where the sage was born in a cave.
Governments have trumpeted such ceremonies as strong steps towards rejuvenating the Chinese nation and passing on traditional culture and values to subsequent generations. These attempts to help people get in touch with their roots are unifying influences, they claim.
But some observers are sceptical about their effect, saying they are just government “image projects” focused mainly on generating profits.
Yu Hai, an outspoken professor at Fudan University in Shanghai, said: “It’s not proper for local governments to take part in such events. Instead, they should be held by people and social institutions spontaneously. Since we are a country with a separation between state and church, governments should not intervene in religious or folk activities.
“But actually, they play this role because they are motivated by economic interests and reputation. So the result is that there will only be formalism, rather than the real inheritance of our cultural heritage.”
Professor Yu’s view is shared by Shanghai historian Ge Jianxiong.
“Public ceremonies should be organised by the public and the costs covered voluntarily by participants, not by government funds,” Mr. Ge said. “Otherwise, it will damage the interests of those who don’t want to take part.”
Instead of worshipping ancestors, Professor Yu suggested it would be more significant for the central government to set up a formal National Mourning Day for more recent dead such as revolutionary martyrs, Nanjing massacre victims and even those killed in the May 12 earthquake.
“That should also include the Kuomintang soldiers who contributed a lot to the anti-Japanese war,” he said.
But mainland authorities often offer little more than silence in response to such suggestions.
Four years ago, Nanjing professors submitted a proposal to the mainland’s parliament, calling for the establishment of such a day on December 13, the anniversary of the Nanjing massacre. They are still waiting for an answer.
China does have a tradition of paying respect to national heroes at patriotic martyrs’ cemeteries, but media reports said many cemeteries had been destroyed and others converted into entertainment venues and chicken farms.
There are some examples, though, of more modern approaches to national mourning that strike a chord with the public, such as last year’s three-day mourning period for earthquake victims last year.
This year, the central government has launched an official website for young people to commemorate martyrs on the internet. The site has received tens of thousands of hits, with many of them posting comments, Xinhua reported.
1 comment:
Cultural celebrations walk thin line between myth and greed
Lilian Zhang
4 April 2009
It was a huge event. Last Sunday, authorities in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province, organised nearly 20,000 people into an extravaganza to pay tribute to Huangdi, the fabled Yellow Emperor of China.
The gala featured dragon dances, Shaolin kung fu and folk dances, fireworks and rituals - such as wreath offerings, prayers, a eulogy and singing, mainland media reported.
The city invited celebrities such as Beijing Olympic champions, earthquake heroes and Shenzhou VII astronauts, and put on tourism and trade promotions to push Zhengzhou’s ties to the historic leader.
The city sought to stake its claim to the imperial legend on the grounds that Huangdi was born in the city - even though similar rituals are held each year in Shaanxi province, the site of his tomb.
Meanwhile, media reports said the Kuomintang’s honorary chairman, Lien Chan, would again lead a delegation to the Shaanxi capital, Xian, for the Ching Ming Festival - the grave-sweeping day - in a repeat of his 2007 trip.
Such mass events are examples of the mainland’s growing fervour for grand, ceremonial set-pieces to worship ancestral heroes, particularly around Ching Ming, the traditional Chinese time to mourn the dead. The day was approved as a public holiday last year. In recent years, provincial and city governments have rushed to declare themselves the birthplace of cultural heroes such as Fuxi, the legendary inventor of writing, and his wife, Nu Wa; as well as historic figures like the philosophers Confucius and Laozi. They have tried to forge the links by organising extravagant commemorative rituals, but the festivals have raised eyebrows among the public and analysts, who increasingly dismiss them as lavish “image projects”.
Shandong province received its share of public attention last year when it decided to reinstate a tradition of commemorating Confucius in his hometown of Qufu. The activities are set to continue this year with a carefully choreographed ceremony for 1,600 people next month at Mount Ni, where the sage was born in a cave.
Governments have trumpeted such ceremonies as strong steps towards rejuvenating the Chinese nation and passing on traditional culture and values to subsequent generations. These attempts to help people get in touch with their roots are unifying influences, they claim.
But some observers are sceptical about their effect, saying they are just government “image projects” focused mainly on generating profits.
Yu Hai, an outspoken professor at Fudan University in Shanghai, said: “It’s not proper for local governments to take part in such events. Instead, they should be held by people and social institutions spontaneously. Since we are a country with a separation between state and church, governments should not intervene in religious or folk activities.
“But actually, they play this role because they are motivated by economic interests and reputation. So the result is that there will only be formalism, rather than the real inheritance of our cultural heritage.”
Professor Yu’s view is shared by Shanghai historian Ge Jianxiong.
“Public ceremonies should be organised by the public and the costs covered voluntarily by participants, not by government funds,” Mr. Ge said. “Otherwise, it will damage the interests of those who don’t want to take part.”
Instead of worshipping ancestors, Professor Yu suggested it would be more significant for the central government to set up a formal National Mourning Day for more recent dead such as revolutionary martyrs, Nanjing massacre victims and even those killed in the May 12 earthquake.
“That should also include the Kuomintang soldiers who contributed a lot to the anti-Japanese war,” he said.
But mainland authorities often offer little more than silence in response to such suggestions.
Four years ago, Nanjing professors submitted a proposal to the mainland’s parliament, calling for the establishment of such a day on December 13, the anniversary of the Nanjing massacre. They are still waiting for an answer.
China does have a tradition of paying respect to national heroes at patriotic martyrs’ cemeteries, but media reports said many cemeteries had been destroyed and others converted into entertainment venues and chicken farms.
There are some examples, though, of more modern approaches to national mourning that strike a chord with the public, such as last year’s three-day mourning period for earthquake victims last year.
This year, the central government has launched an official website for young people to commemorate martyrs on the internet. The site has received tens of thousands of hits, with many of them posting comments, Xinhua reported.
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