Kellett tell it summer 2015

Tell It KELLETT PREPARATORY SCHOOL, JUNE 2015

Festive Music and Dancing

by Olivia Woolhouse Chinese Dancing and music is a very interesting way to entertain people in festivals and celebrations.

The most popular music performance is Cantonese opera, Dragon dance and Lion dance. These are usually used for festivals and are very popular in Hong Kong.

!

The Chinese created all of their own musical instruments for the performances.

Some instr uments are adaptations of existing instruments and some are entirely made up from scratch, for eg a harp like instrument called Gou Zhang which is unique to the Chinese culture.

use different colours to show their personality.

Like if they were evil or good. As well as having colour, the costumes also have amazing detail, fabulous patterns, that are outstanding to the eye. The clothing is actually one of the many reasons that it is so popular.

Usually in most performances you would try to use lots of Chinese instruments, this is because in opera or a big performance like that you would need a big orchestra to perform so the Chinese try to fit in as many instruments they can.

One of the most popular dances in Chinese culture are the Lion and Dragon dance. They are mostly per for med during the New Year celebrations. The difference between Lion and Dragon dancing is that the Dragon dance is performed by lots of people. The dragon is long and its body is held up by sticks which are then held by lots of people. Whereas a Lion dance is only performed by two people and the body of the lion it is held up by body parts instead of sticks.

!

The Cantonese opera is one of the most popular festival performances in Hong Kong. The most performed Cantonese opera performances is called the Tin Kay Shon Zi, performed at the Tin Hau Festival. It is a legend about a man who falls in love with a beautiful woman but find outs that she is a goddess. They have a baby but then the goddess has to go back up to heaven and leaves her child with her husband. The opera is about their love and their parting. It is popular because baby means good blessing.

!

The elderly usually teach younger generation about the cantonese opera, and some schools also help teach children about what people used to enjoy watching to encourage them to watch it as well. In May the Chinese have activities for the rising star of Cantonese opera and create a special performance band which includes all the traditional Chinese instruments like the Guo Zheng.

!

In the Tin Kay Shon Zi, the dancers will dress up in costume, they will wear different things and

!

!

Another performance to enjoy is the Fire Dragon Dance which is performed in the mid autumn festival in Repulse Bay. The Fire Dragon Dance is very special dance in Hong Kong it is also part of Hong Kong’s cultural heritage. The Dragon is 50 metres long and made with lots of different materials- a hemp rope makes the spine which is wrapped in pearl straw to makes up the body. It is carried around through the streets. The Fire Dragon dance is usually for celebration and also for the committee and the villagers to seek blessing.

!

I recommend you to watch as many performances during your time in Hong Kong especially the Tin Kay Shon Zi, the cantonese opera per for mance as it sounds ver y entertaining and is quite popular.

Take a look at what’s inside Myths and legends by Leo Barnes Chinese culture has many different myths and legends, many of which are based around the many gods and goddesses.

!

We went to interview a well-known feng shui master and fortune teller called Chow Hon Ming and his daughter Thierry at their office in Causeway Bay. In their office they had a massive stone statue of the goddess Guan Yin, the listening goddess, who has 32 different forms.

!

Ms. Chow told us that her favourite Chinese myth is the one about a monkey that steals some holy peaches from a garden in Heaven.

This legend is about a monkey who is very naughty and has to learn a lesson. He is sent by the gods back down to earth to protect a monk. He has all sorts of adventures, through which he learns to respect people and not to be so greedy.

!

Hong Kong has lots of legends, many of which are about different places in the New Territories. Most of them are quite violent and scary! My three favourite Hong Kong legends are:

!

The Legend of Hung Shui Kiu: The Red Water Bridge.

“Red Water Bridge”, a small river opposite Pak U Middle School, was so called because, in olden times, a Manchu official tried to marry a girl by force. This greatly angered the people of the village, who revolted against him. To take his revenge, the official ordered his soldiers to massacre the whole village. As so many people were killed, the river was reddened with their blood and the bridge over the river was thereafter called “The Red Water Bridge”.

!

The Legend of Fung Wong Shan: The Phoenix Hill The Phoenix Hill in Lantau Island was named because two of its peaks, rise so high that they look like the crest of a Phoenix. In ancient times, people say that on this hill there was a tea plant which could be used to help to reduce fevers. The tea leaves could only be picked on the day of the Tsing Ming Festival. Some footprints of a fairy were found in the peaks too, so it is believed to be a sacred place.

!

1

Festive music and dancing

2

Myths and Legends

3 The Chinese Zodiac 4

Cheung Chau Bun Festival

5

The Qīngmíng festival

6

The Dragon Boat Festival

7 Chinese New Year 8

The Mid Autumn Festival

9

The Hungry Ghost festival

10

Buddha’s Birthday

11

Colours and Symbols

THANKS TO THE TEAM

Olivia, Sebastian, Sofia, Leo, Gayatri, Neel, Tyler, John, Alex, Yannis and Harry.

Thank you to Mr Dawes and Mrs Bull for all their help and

use of the Learning Tech Room!

The Legend of Sun Ngeung Tam :The Bridal Pool The “Bridal Pool” is a waterfall in the Sha Tau Kok district of Hong Thank you Jo, Nimmi & Mr Kong, near a village known as Luk Kang. It was so named because Bromwich for our interviews, during the Ming Dynasty, a bride and her group of friends, who writing and editing. were accompanying her home from her mother’s village, all slipped and fell into the pool while passing by it in heavy rain. The night was dark, the rocks were very slippery and the bride, who was with her friends in a sedan chair carried by her servants, all drowned. Some believe that even after so many years, whenever it rains, you can still hear the band playing the wedding march and the Kellett Tell It girls’ shrieking cries for help.

!

As so you can see Chinese Culture is extremely gory and violent, unlike anything I have experienced or heard like the Lockness monster who lives in the lake!

!!

!

SummerTerm Edition !

June 2015

The Chinese Zodiac and Feng Shui

!!

The Western and Chinese forms of astrology are actually quite similar. For one, they both have twelve symbols. However, according to Chow Hon Ming and his daughter Thierry, the Chinese zodiac is much more complicated and detailed. While the Western zodiac makes more general predictions, the Chinese fortune-telling can be very precise and will use the very second you were born in to see your future.

!

In fortune-telling, you look at a person’s birthday with the aim of creating balance in their life. Every year is a different element. This year, 2015, is the year of wood and earth and is represented by the goat or sheep. So if you are missing the wood and earth elements in your birth year, this year would be perfect for you, as balance will be restored! But if you were born in this year, you would need to add other elements such as fire and water to achieve your balance.

by Neel Mehta The Chinese Zodiac was invented over 2000 years ago. Some people say that the symbols of the astrological chart were decided after a race among animals from all around the world. The first twelve animals to win the race each had a year named after them. There was also a cat in the race, but it ended up getting half-drowned by the crafty rat!

The rat wins the race and has a year named after it, but the poor cat does not feature in Chinese astrology.

!

!

To learn about the Chinese Zodiac, we went to see Feng Shui masters Chow Hon Ming and his The season in which you were born is also a big daughter Thierry. factor in finding your balance. If you were born in a winter month, you already have your cold colours, so you need to balance these out with warm colours such as yellow. You could, for example, have more yellow lights in your home and dress in summer colours.

!

Most people who come to see Mr. Chow and his daughter seek advice about relationships, especially with regard to marriage dates, compatibility with prospective spouses or baby names. They also seek information about their career. Fortune tellers don’t tell people exactly what is going to happen - they just reveal if you have a problem or advise on ways you can avoid problems or take advantage of opportunities that will arise.

!

Feng Shui is based on the same system as the zodiac and is all about bringing harmony, balance and good luck into your house or workplace. Feng Shui masters will look at all the aspects of your life and house, especially the front door and windows.

Front doors are very important, because you go through them a lot of times in the day. The windows are important because they let light into your house.

!

Here are a few tips to bring good luck in your house: Have a mix of white and warm yellow lights Keep coloured fish, like goldfish, in your home

!

Fortune-telling and palm reading are also closely connected to Chinese astrology and play a role in Feng Shui. Fortune-telling, like the zodiac, uses the time and exact location of your birth and can also include reading your facial features!

!

!

Maybe we could start school fairs on auspicious days too!

Cheung Chau Bun Festival

By Alex Hardy The Cheung Chau Bun Festival is held annually in May on the small island of Cheung Chau, which is near Lantau island in Hong Kong.

!

Apparently, in the late Qing dynasty (1644-1911) there was a great plague on Cheung Chau island.

The villagers did not know what to do. They prayed to the god Pak Tai. They were all very poor so they did not have much to offer him.

The aim is for the climbers to collect as many buns as possible in three minutes and whoever collects the most buns is the winner! The climbers must climb upwards and not sideways, and they mustn't carry any hard objects or things that can be used as offensive weapons. Pulling on another contestant’s clothing or safety harness is forbidden.

In the end they made a very tall bamboo tower and covered it in buns. Miraculously, after this offering the great plague ended. That is why every year on Cheung Chau island the people of Hong Kong hold the Cheung Chau bun festival, to celebrate the end of the plague and to stop it ever coming back.

In 1978, during the bun scrambling competition, one of the three bamboo towers collapsed! As a result, over 100 people were injured. After this incident, the bun scrambling competition was suspended for 27 years. It was then reopened in 2005 but under very strict rules such as:

! !

! !

the bamboo towers would be replaced with steel ones; there must be a maximum of 12 people climbing the tower; the climbers must have been trained by the Hong Kong Mountaineering Union.

!

The buns on the tower have also been replaced by 9,000 plastic replicas because of hygiene issues.

Spectators can buy one of these replicas as a souvenir and the remaining ones go into storage to be used the following year.

!

The next day, 20,000 real white buns are handed out to be eaten. These buns have either red bean, lotus or sesame fillings and have the Chinese character for peace stamped on them.

!

Before the week of the festival, the town gets busy baking buns, making paper mache effigies of deities, preparing costumes and making a huge tower to stick buns on. A theatre is set up for the Chinese opera.

!

On the week of the festival, the streets of Cheung Chau come alive with music, parades, lion dances, drum beating and of course the bun scrambling competition. The villagers all come out of their houses with a smile on their faces.

!

The Bun Scrambling Competition: On the stroke of midnight, twelve climbers race up the tower, which is 14 metres tall and 3 metres in diameter. Words in green, yellow and red are printed on the bottom of the buns for identification.

!

!

The Qīngmíng festival

by Gayatri Singh

!

his neighbours, but they jeered at him for believing the fortune teller. As well as taking his wife and children to the mountains, he also took his dogs and animals.

!He then stayed with his family for a whole day on

Every year, a special festival takes place in Hong the mountains. At the end of the day the man Kong called the Qīngmíng (pronounced Chin- and his family went back to their house. To their ming, or in Chinese-清明) festival, - which in surprise and horror, all of their neighbours were English means ‘tomb sweeping’. and traditional sprawled on the floor, the life taken out of them.

Chinese people have celebrated it every April No-one knew what had happened. The young since the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907). This festival man rushed to the market, trying to find the also marks the arrival of spring, and the start of fortune teller. But he had disappeared into thin air. He was never seen again. things growing.

!On this day, plants are supposed to grow better, !From that day on, on the anniversary of the and it is thought to be the best day for agriculture planning. Every year on this festival day, relatives clear up and sweep their loved ones’ tombs. Families and close friends pull out the weeds and put fresh soil in the ground. The dead person’s favourite food is made and brought, and so is their wine.

!Relatives also bring paper resembling money

and lay it on the tombs. This is so that the dead people know that they are not lacking food or money. These days, however, since cremation is becoming more popular, the Qīngmíng traditions are becoming simpler in big cities like Beijing, with relatives mainly putting flowers on the tombs. But the day is still marked as a form of respect for the dead.

!It is also a day for families to enjoy themselves.

As it is spring time, people go out to admire the lush green trees and colourful flowers, as well as beautiful birds.

!Kite

flying is also very popular during the Qīngmíng Festival. Kites are not only flown during the day time but also in the evening.

Little lanterns are tied to the kite or to the string that holds the kite. So if you fly your kite at night, the lanterns look like twinkling stars.

What makes flying kites during this day special is that people cut the string while the kite is in the sky to let it fly free. It is said this brings good luck.

!We went to interview Professor Wicke at the

Hong Kong Polytechnic University, who told us the story behind the Qīngmíng festival. So sit back, relax, and enjoy.

It is said that once upon a time, many years ago, a young man was walking through the market when he met a fortune teller. The fortune teller said that he and his family would have to go to the mountains or great harm would befall them.

Alarmed, the young man told his family to pack their bags and go at once. He also tried to warn

deaths, the young man’s family prayed for their dead neighbours. Soon other people on that day started to pray for their deceased loved ones as well. The idea caught on, and that is how the Qīngmíng festival came to be.

!

The Dragon Boat Festival

by Tyler Jones The Dragon Boat Festival is called Duan Wu Jie in Chinese. This year the festival will be celebrated on 20th of June. In Hong Kong The Dragon Boat Festivals takes place in Stanley Harbour, East Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade at Victoria Harbour and Aberdeen.

The boats would sometimes scare the fish away as well. Professor Wicke-Hong Kong Polytechnic University encourages us all to try the Zong zi bun “They taste really good.”

He also recommended us to attend the festival.

!

Dragon boats, usually for 20 people, are long and beautiful with a dragon head at the bow.

On the festival day, you can't walk around Stanley at all because it's so packed! It feels like the whole of HKG is out there to watch you. Andrea Rodriquez Cano, Kellett mum and Dragon Boat competitor with Latin Dragon Team told us “the atmosphere on the day is loud and exciting. There are hundreds of vibrant boats competing in the race. There are people cheering and beating drums in front. When you're racing it feels like the whole world has stopped to look at you. The races only last for 1 minute and 20 seconds and that's the only time you can show what you can do”. She also told us about the annual costume competition where every team wear The Dragon boat festival originated in the a team costume and their team, the Latin Zhou Dynasty, in honour of a man called Qu Dragons have been the winners for two years Yuan. Qu Yuan was an honest and loyal running! minister who was held in high esteem in the kingdom of Chu. and did much to eliminate the corruption rampant in the Zhou court.

When a corrupt prince vilified Qu Yuan, he was disgraced and dismissed from his office.

Realising the kingdom was now in the hands of evil and corrupt officials, Qu Yuan jumped into a river. Nearby fishermen tried to save him, even threw rice in the river so the fishes spare his body but, alas, they were unable to recover the body. This festival commemorates the death of Qu Yuan on the fifth day of the lunar month in 277 B.C.

!

!

It is said that the spirit of Qu Yuan appeared in the river and said that a huge reptile in the river had stolen the rice offering and suggested that they wrap the rice in silk and bind it with threads before throwing it in the river. The tradition continues to this day as the custom of eating “Zong zi” ( glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo leaves) and rice dumplings to symbolise offerings to Qu Yuan.

!

As a spectator, you bring in anything that makes a loud noise and the loudest people win. Sounds like fun to me. There is a also a drummer in the boat who keeps the speed with his beats. So I definitely want to become The dragon boat races represent the attempts a drummer! to rescue and recover the body of Qu Yuan.

!

!! ! Chinese New Year ! by Sebastian Walsh !! !

C h i n e s e Ne w Ye a r • •i • s a t r a d i t i o n a l celebration celebrated all over China. It celebrates the arrival of the new year with lion dances, food and family.

!

The story of Chinese New Year… !

It all started long ago with a monster called Nian who terrorised people in a nearby village and ate the villagers every new year.

They tried to fight back but it was no use.

After a few years of terrorising some celestial soldiers imprisoned the monster at the edge of the earth. But that did not hold him for so long and when he escaped he was mad. So he ran back to the village and terrorised them for a few more years, until one day an old man came and said “I know how to defeat the Nian. Paint your house red and when he comes clash instruments loudly together as the Nian hates red and loud noises.” He also asked for a red cape and a staff.

banged gongs which scared the Nian so much that he ran away.

!

So every year we light firecrackers and have perform dragon dances to keep the Nian away. We stay in groups so if the Nian comes back he won’t find us easily.

!

We usually eat traditional foods on Chinese New Year - fish, cakes, tangerines, long noodles and an assortment of candies served in a special ‘tray of togetherness’.

The food is always served in sharing bowl so Next year, when the Nian came he was everyone can share and eat it together. confused about why a feeble old man had confronted him but then he noticed I have lived in Hong Kong all my life and this something red behind him. He tried to lunge is how I celebrate the festival - We get a at the old man but the old man hit the gate week off and we usually go to see the Dragon a flabbergasting show! that enclosed the village and the doors burst dance which is open with loud banding sounds and a burst People pretend to be dragons and perform of red. The villagers lit firecrackers and acrobatics such as handstands, parkour and balancing.This how my new year is celebrated. I sometimes visit friends and family in other countries in true Chinese New Year tradition.

!

!

The Mid Autumn Festival by John Hardy The Mid-Autumn festival is a very special Chinese celebration which is held in September or October on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar. It is a time to worship the biggest full moon of the year and to pray for a good harvest.

!

Some people also celebrate the mythical lady who lives on the moon, according to legend.

This year, the Mid Autumn festival will be held on Sunday, September 27th.

!

During the Mid-Autumn festival, all the children take out their brightly coloured lanterns in the evening and play with them outside. Most people in Hong Kong go to places like the beaches, or to West Kowloon waterfront promenade, Hong Kong Cultural Centre Plaza and Victoria Park, where the festival is celebrated with activities like Cantonese opera, dancing, concerts and fortune-telling. Fire dragon dances are performed over three nights. This custom has been passed down from generation to generation.

!

Originally a celebration of the autumn harvest in ancient China, the festival emphasises family reunion. On this day families gather and have a big meal together, just like Thanksgiving in the U.S.

!

Like other festivals that have special foods for example, red bean or sesame buns during the Cheung Chau bun festival and sticky rice cakes for the Dragon Boat festival - during the M i d - Au t u m n fe s t i v a l , m o o n c a ke s a r e traditionally given and eaten.

!

Mooncakes are round and have red bean or lotus seed paste and sometimes a duck’s egg inside! The origins of mooncakes date back to the Yuan Dynasty, when rulers prohibited communication between rebels to stop efforts to overthrow their harsh rule, so people hid messages inside the mooncakes to prevent them from being found by the Mongolian rulers.

!

In the old days, people celebrated the festival only on one day - the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month. More recently though, as people have become more prosperous, the festival has gained in popularity so that the

celebrations can now last for three days.

!

The first Mid-Autumn festival was over 3000 years ago, when people worshipped the moon in the belief it would give them a good harvest.

!

According to one myth, there was a young, beautiful lady whose husband was a strong, powerful hero. The legend says that people in those days believed that there were ten suns in the sky and it was so hot that the villagers were dying, so they asked the hero, who was a very good archer, to shoot down nine of the ten suns.

!

As a reward, a kind-hearted goddess gave the hero a magical pill and she told him that if he took the pill, he would become immortal.

!

The hero was very happy, so he saved the pill in his house, but one day when he left for work, his wife took the pill because she was greedy and wanted to be immortal. As she did she flew up to the round, glowing moon with her rabbit and stayed there. That is why in the paintings of the Mid-Autumn festival you see her carrying the rabbit. The Japanese and Vietnamese also celebrate the Mid-Autumn festival, although they do not eat mooncakes, as that is mainly a Chinese custom.

The Hungry Ghost festival

Originally the Hungry Ghost festival was a day to honour ancestors, but once Buddhism was introduced in China, the holiday was called Yu

By Sofia Schwarzwalder Lan Pen Festival, a Chinese transliteration of the Sanskrit term Ullambana. Taoists refer to The Hungry Ghost festival is celebrated in the festival as Zhong Yuan Jie. many different countries across Asia. It is a Buddhist and Taoist festival, that is celebrated on the 15th day of the 7th month. Like all festivals, there is a story behind the celebration.

!

!

!

There are many variations of the origin of the Hungry Ghost festival - one of the most common stories is this one: Once, a long time ago in ancient times, there was a monk who came to a farmer’s house, asking for something to drink. The farmer had to go somewhere, but as he left he told his wife to give the monk a drink. The wife filled a small bowl with water but before she gave it to the monk she slipped some poison into the water.

When she gave it to the monk, he did not drink it, but he just left it and he went away. Days later, the wife of the farmer died and she came back as the hungry ghost.

!

There are lots of ways to celebrate the festival.

Sometimes during the night of the festival, the people put on a play for the Hungry Ghosts.

People come to watch the plays but they always leave the front row of the audience open so the ghosts can sit, watch and be entertained.

!

The reason the ghosts come out on the 15th day of the 7th month is because it is supposed to be the day when the gates of Hell are opened and the evil ghosts must return. Some people ask why the ghosts don’t just run away and don’t go back to Hell. The answer is: if they do not come back other ghosts will come out and catch them and bring them back!

!

Traditionally, it is believed that ghosts haunt the island of Taiwan for the entire seventh lunar month, when the mid-summer Ghost Festival is held.

The month is known as Ghost Month. The first day of the month is marked by the opening of the gates of a temple, symbolising the gates of hell. On the twelfth day, lamps on the main altar are lit.

!

So next time on July 15th, when you see people laying out lots of food on the streets, you will Since there are so many different religions that know why! celebrate this festival, there are many different stories and beliefs about the Hungry Ghost. At some Hungry Ghost festivals, like in Keelung, Taiwan, a Chinese character of a family’s last name is placed on a lantern that the family has sponsored. It is believed the farther the lantern floats on the water, the more good fortune the family will have in the coming year.

! !

!

During the day of the festival, many people lay out food on the side of the street for the Hungry Ghosts to eat.

!

Buddha’s Birthday

by Yannis Sittas Buddha’s birthday, probably the most important event in Buddhism, is a festival that is celebrated each year. Yet how do we celebrate? How did he become the Buddha we all know? And most importantly: who is he?

!

The Buddha’s birthday this year was on the 25th May 2015. It is a national holiday here in Hong Kong and is celebrated on the eighth day of the fourth moon in the Chinese lunar calendar. On this day, Buddhist temples and monasteries are packed with worshippers, who come to pay their respects and join in the celebrations.

!

Approximately 500,000 Buddhists live in Hong Kong. Probably the best place to celebrate in Hong Kong is at the Po Lin Monastery on Lantau island. Here you will find a giant statue, which happens to be the largest seated outdoor bronze Buddha in the world!

At the age of 29 curiosity got the better of the Prince and he left his kingdom and had a series of encounters with ordinary people that changed his outlook on life. These four encounters, known to Buddhists as the four sights - where he met an old man, a sick man, a corpse and a holy man - made him confront and finally understand the suffering of life.

These encounters were so important to the Prince that he abandoned his royal life of luxury and searched for a way to end universal suffering. So he took up an “ascetic” life. This was a very simple way of life with extreme discipline, meditation and studying with religious teachers. But he was never fully satisfied. He would sit for a long time without enough food or water and this caused his body to become as shrivelled and appear to be like the bark of the tree he was sitting under.

!

A young girl noticed this and offered the Prince a bowl of rice, he accepted it and realised that without food one can do nothing and so he stopped harming his own body. He also saw that Shaka, the king of gods, played a harp which had 3 strings, one of which was too tight, one of which was too loose and one of At temples and monasteries throughout Hong which was just right.

Kong, thousands of worshippers come to pay their respects and join in the celebrations. From then on he encouraged people to follow a Lanterns are lit to symbolise the Buddha’s way of balance rather than extremism, this he enlightenment. Images of the Buddha are called the “Middle Way”. He continued to washed to signify spiritual purity. Vegetarian meditate and eventually became spiritually enlightened at the age of thirty five after 7 food is also served. days of purifying his mind under the bodhi tree while avoiding the tempting, evil demon So who was the Buddha?

Mara who used her daughters to try and stop Prince Siddhartha Gautama was born in Nepal him reaching his goal.

!

! !

in the sixth century BC. Just after he was born an astrologer predicted that he would either grow up to be a great king or a holy man who would give up all material wealth.

His father, the King of the Sakya people, of course, wanted his son to be a great king so he kept him within the Palace grounds.

!

!

From that moment on he was known as the “Buddha” - which means “Enlightened One”.

He spent the rest of his life teaching others the way to reach enlightenment. His birthday is globally celebrated by Buddhists. Also known by its official name Vesak, Buddha’s birthday is a time for family gatherings, scholarly discussions, worship and of course celebration!

!

And don`t forget if you find yourself in Hong Kong during the celebrations there are always the well-known green cookies to eat. Sounds unpleasant? That’s because they're meant to be: these cookies are bitter tasting and represent going through hardship to enjoy better things!

Colours and Symbols by Harry Nye The Chinese use symbols and colours as an extension of the written word. Popular symbols are often similar in sound to words such as good fortune, happiness, wealth and long life.

If you ever see five bats grouped together, this creates the extremely auspicious and popular motif of "five good fortunes" and can also mean long life. Red bats are an especially lucky omen because red is believed to be the colour that wards off evil. The embroidered The most common symbol in China is the bat motif around the symbol of longevity is a dragon, which is used to show someone’s hugely powerful symbol. power, wealth or status. For example, the emperor’s robes were usually decorated with Fish - particularly goldfish and koi carp five dragons, each of which had five claws on mean good luck in China. The Chinese each foot, while lower ranking officials had character for fish is pronounced the same as fewer dragons with four claws on each foot. the Chinese character for extra, or excess.

Walking around Hong Kong, you can see dragons carved into monuments and Symbols can sometimes be positive and buildings, as well as in many books and sometimes negative. Some examples of paintings. Our own school has the dragon as positive symbols are: fu, which means good its motif! luck and fortune and is used on people’s doors at Chinese New Year, Xi, which is popular at The Yin and Yang symbols are also very Chinese weddings and represents double famous and show how opposite forces, happiness and good luck, and Lu, which positive and negative, dark and light, can means prosperity, good fortune and wealth. connect and balance each other out.

There aren’t as many unlucky symbols as there are lucky ones.

!

! !

! !

!

Colours also have great significance and many different meanings in Chinese culture. Red means good luck and happiness and is often used to ward off evil spirits - this is why you see it on temples, pagodas and why at certain auspicious times such as Chinese New Year and other festivals it is widely used in clothes and decorations. Lanterns and red lai see envelopes are often red for this reason.

!

Red is also the colour of royalty, so often you seen pictures of emperors wearing red and it is also the main colour worn at Chinese weddings - particularly by the bride. It is usually forbidden at funerals.

!

Yellow is another colour that shows power and was often worn by the emperor, but it is also used to show freedom from worldly goods and sacredness - which is why Buddhist monks’ robes are yellow. Green symbolises Another very well-known symbol in Chinese health, spring and good weather. culture is the bat, which is often used in pictures and drawings to signify good fortune Other colours have a more negative effect. and happiness, because in Chinese both bat White, for example, symbolises bereavement, and good fortune are pronounced in a similar death or bad luck. It is the dominant colour way. displayed at Chinese funerals. White can also mean stupidity.

!

!

Kellett Tell It Summer 2015