The enchantment of Tin Hou

A box of noodle weighting 100 kg is offered before the statue Tin Hou in Guangzhou. This picture is found at www.singpao.com

.    Who is Tin Hou? Tin Hou aka Ma Zu, whose name was Lin Mo, was alleged to be born in 903AD during the Sung Dynasty. Her father was a king in Fujian. She was well-educated and could foretell weather and natural disasters. Applying her knowledge and skills, Lin Mo committed to salvage of her folk fishermen. Her extraordinary performance made her a local religious leader in her early days. She died at the age of 29. Since then, her spirit was reported to have led navy vessels of all kinds to reach their destination in good shape. Her achievement was recognized by the emperors and she was given various sacred titles throughout Sung to Ching Dynasty. Tin Hou was worshipped as the Goddess of Sea. In fact, her domain was reckoned spreading across  the horizon.
.
.    The 23rd of March of the Chinese lunar calendar is the birthday of Tin Hou, which has been celebrating for over eleven hundred years along the coast of south-east China. Cities and towns in Zhejiang, Fujian, Taiwan, Guangdong are hot spots where the event is celebrated. The day is scheduled at the end of Spring when the rain season approaches. It is time for the coastal inhibitants to start working hard on field and sea. They should also be on the alert for the attack of typhoon.
.
.    Nowadays, the celebration in Taiwan is of the biggest scale which lasts for more than a week. A carnival procession will travel around Taiwan. The demonstrators in the parade perform various acrobatic presentations, denoting the versatile abilities of their goddess. This marathonic event involves thousands of people sweating for days. The goddess in Taiwan keeps updating herself to fill in the hearts of youngsters. Her images can be found on mobile phones and video games. Countless sets of accessories bearing the theme of Tin Hou can be collected on stalls and shops. The worship of Tin Hou constitutes a significant sector of the local consumption.
.
.    In Fu Jian, the homeland of Tin Hou, the festival is celebrated in the name of the country. Toasts from all over China and Taiwan crowd to the birthplace of Tin Hou making pilgrimage to their goddess. Other big cities, like Guang Zhou, also celebrate the festival, but the events are held by the local travel and tourist department. Thousands of believers fill up town squares giving prays to Tin Hou. This year, a box of noodle weighting 100 kg is offered to Tin Hou in Guang Zhou. The committees of different Tin Hou Temple race to make a breakthrough record in the sacrificial ceremony of the goddess.
.
.    In Hong Kong, celebrations are held by local districts since more than 40 Tin Hou Temples are found in Hong Kong. The most impressive ceremonies can be found in Yuen Long and Tai Po. In Yuen Long, the statue of Tin Hou leads a parade which consists of lion dance , dragon dance and various legendary figures. The procession lasts for 10 hours. The parade in Tai Po lines up on water. The statue that leads the parade reaches out to the sea to console the deaths at sea. Although the size of Hong Kong is small and transportation is highly developed, the young generation tends to leave their parents to have their private lives. Tin Hou festival is one of family days around a year. That day, the young will go home to see their parents and attend the sacrificial ceremony of the local district.

Click the picture below to see the video clip of a sea parade in Tai Po Hong Kong

  .    Whenever people living in the south-eastern coastal China look out at sea, they will naturally pray Tin Hou to safeguard them from all sorts of catastrophe. They are sure she will accommodate their wishes because this is her destiny and the feud under her guardianship.
.
.    Since Ming Dynasty, relying on sophiscated navigation technology of contemporary Chinese, many Han descendants along south-eastern coastal China left their motherland for good. They brought their practice of worshipping Tin Hou all over the Southeast Asia, from Japan to Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam. These seafarers popularized their goddess of Han population to be an Asian Pacific goddess, then a global goddess of humankind.

The Tin Hou Temple in Yokohama Japan

天后的法力

A box of noodle weighting 100 kg is offered before the statue Tin Hou in Guangzhou. This picture is found at www.singpao.com

  .  誰是天后？天后又稱媽祖，原名林黙，據說生於宋代公元903年，父親為閔王。林黙幼承庭訓，有預知天氣現象和自然災害能力。她矢志憑所學拯救同鄉漁民。她的大能使她在少年時期已成為當地的宗教領袖。林黙只活到29歲。此後，不斷有人目擊她顯靈令各式船隻平安歸航。她的事跡得歷代皇帝認同。從宋至淸，林黙不斷獲賜各式尊榮聖號，已被尊祟為海神。其實天后就是掌管蒼穹底下一切事務的女神。
.
.  農曆三月廿三就是天后誕。這個誕在南中國海岸已舉辦了千多年。浙江、福建、臺灣、廣東的沿海城鄉都是舉辦天后誕的熱點。天后誕適逢正值春末、雨季來臨前。此時，沿海居民應著手努力農耕和漁業，也應開始警覺颱風來襲。
.
.   今天，慶祝天后誕以臺灣的慶典規模至大。慶祝維時竟達一週。嘉年華式巡遊隊伍會趬臺灣一圈。遊行人士耍著各種雜技本領，代表女神的大能。這種馬拉松巡遊動員成千上萬的群衆，日以繼夜的辛勞七八天。在臺灣的天后娘娘很懂得與時并進，緊貼年青人的心。流動電話和電子遊戲機都有她的形象。以天后娘娘為主題的佩飾，在各攤擋和店舖發售，款式有若恆河沙數。崇拜天后帶來的消費構成本土消費的顯著部分。
.
.  福建是天后的家鄉。那裡的祭祠以國家名義舉行。來自全國包括臺灣的道教人士都雲集福建朝聖。其他大城市，諸如廣州，慶典均以地方旅遊局為主辦單位。每地都有數以萬計的群眾擠滿祭祠廣場，祈求天后的庇佑。今年在廣州，一盒重100公斤的壽麵被供奉在天后像前。各地的主辦單位會為每年的慶典活動競商製造紀錄。
.
.  香港有四十多所天后廟宇。它們會各自舉行祭祠。在元朗和大埔的儀式算得上最矚目。在元朗，巡遊隊伍由天后神像帶頭，後面隨著舞龍舞獅和各式傳奇人物。他們浩浩蕩蕩的巡行達十小時。在大埔的巡遊隊伍在水上巡行。天后神像領著隊伍在海面遊走，超度死於海上的亡魂。雖然香港地小、交通又方便，年輕一代多傾向離開父母生活。天后誕當天，他們會回家探父母，順道出席當區的祭祠儀式。天后誕因而成為年中其中一個家庭團聚的日子。

Click the picture below to see the video clip of a sea parade in Tai Po Hong Kong

.每當定居中國東南沿海的居民在海邊遠眺海上，他們心中很自然興起向天后敬拜的念頭，要祈求天后保佑他們免於各式災難。他們確信天后會答允他們的祈求，因為這是祂神明所致，庇蔭之內。
.
. 從明代起，許多中國東南沿海的居民憑藉當時中國人所掌握的尖端航海技術，移居海外謀生。他們把拜天后的習俗帶到東南亞去，如日本、印尼、新加坡、馬來西亞、越南等國家。這些航海人士使天后從一位漢族女神成就為一亞太區的甚至世界性的神祇。

日本橫濱天后宮

Why the sky is far away?

 Little Brown & Co. has published the story. This is how the book looks like.

.    During the Life-wide Learning Day, Form 1 students went on an excursion to a campsite. It was, in fact, an English speaking day which was task-based and induced commitment. They spent an afternoon rehearsing a drama called “Why the sky is far away?” They did have a brilliant performance.

.    About 500 years ago, the Bini tribe of Nigeria had a folk tale about the sky, namely “Why the sky is far away”.

.    In the very beginning of the time, the sky was so close to the earth that it could be touched. Better yet, it could be eaten. Some pieces tasted like ripe pineapple. Others like roasted corn. Still others like meat stew. People there had no work. They spent their time doing things they liked to do, for example weaving, carving and telling tales.

.    As time passed by, the people did not think this as a blessing. They began to grab larger pieces of sky than they could eat, and tossed the rest away. The sky got angry with this. It warned Osa, the king of the land, that if his people kept on their wasteful ways, the sky, their food would leave them. Osa announced the warning to his people far and wide.

.    However, Adese, who was a greedy and wasteful woman, caused others in great trouble. During a night of the grandest festival of the year, having stuffed herself enough, Adese still fetched a further big chunk. Then, she realized she could not possibly finish it. She offered it to her husband and children. Nevertheless, they had taken enough shares. Adese tried to hid the leftovers, but the sky knew her trick. Being treated with disrespect, the sky decided to leave the people for good and rose far away.

.    “But what can we eat?” Osa exclaimed. “How will we live?” The sky replies that from that day on the people had to “plow the land and gather crops and hunt in the forests.”

.    The story ended with clear instructions. People in Africa 500 years ago might think that they had done something wrong. That was why they had to work hard for a living. People nowadays should learn how to respect our planet, not to say the sky or the atmosphere. Climate is getting warmer, and the sea and sky are more and more contaminated. It is no use yelling like Osa when the Earth perishes.

---

Your say:
Do you eat up all your food every meal?

為什麼天那麼高

Little Brown & Co. has published the story. This is how the book looks like.

.   全方位學習日那天，中一同學都外出到營地去活動。當天同時是英語日，同學們在營地需全情投入才可完成課業。他們花了一個下午排演了一齣英語話劇『為什麼天那麼高』。表演結果的確出色。

.   .

.   大約500年前，奈及利亞的比尼族有個關於天的民間故事，叫做『為什麼天那麼高』。天地初開，天很貼近地。人們可隨手摸到天。最妙的是天原來是可以吃的。這片天像塊熟菠蘿。那片天味道如烤玉米。另外那片天吃起來像吃燉肉。人們不需工作，各做自己喜歡的活動，如編織、雕刻、講故事等等。

.   

.   日子一天天的過去。人們漸漸習以為常，不以此為福。人們開始採吃多於所需，然後把吃剩的丟棄。天為此而憤怒，并警告地上的王奧薩：若他們不停止浪費，天將會遠他們而去。奧薩馬上把天的警告昭告子民，無論遠近。

.   

.   偏偏有個叫阿迪詩的，又貪婪又浪費，結果給其他人帶來很大的麻煩。在一個盛大節日的晚上，阿迪詩已經吃過夠，但仍慣性地採下一大片天。然後她知道自己實在嚥不下，便把那片天遞給她的丈夫和子女。可是他們也都吃過夠了。於是她把剩下的藏起來。這把戲又怎騙得了天。天認定人們已犯了大不敬，決意捨棄人們，冉冉高昇。

.   

.   「那麼我們以後吃什麼？」奧薩驚叫。「我們以後怎過活呀？」天回答說：「從今起，人必須種田，收割和打獵。」

.   

.   故事以天的指示作結。五百年前的非洲人可能深信他們曾做錯事，不然他們的生活為什麼那麼苦。今天的人應學會愛惜地球，至於天或稱大氣層就更不用說了。每年的天氣變得愈來愈暖，而海和天亦愈來愈受污染。當地球面臨枯萎時，我們再學奧薩那樣呼叫，已於事無補了。

I coke therefore I am

Xue Xiao, the Coke boy. This pic can be seen at enorth.com.cn.

          What will be your first utterance if you are saved from a horrible disaster? “Thank you rescuer”? “Thank God”? For the 17-year-old boy Xue Xiao, he urged to have some chilly Coke. He said,” Sir, I want some Coke. I want it chilly.”

 

          During the great earthquake in Sichuan on 12^th May 2008, Xue Xiao had been buried for 80 hours until he was evacuated from the rubble of his fallen school. When Xue Xiao was spotted out by rescuers, he was still in good consciousness. As time passed by, the rescuer wanted to make sure that Xue Xiao was still alive, so they kept talking to him. A rescuer who was a soldier asked Xue Xiao what he would like to eat. Xue Xiao said, “I am dreadfully thirsty. I need some water. I would like it chilly.” The rescuer replied,”Sorry, but we cannot manage to send water in to you now.  … … However, when you were out, I would let you drink as much as you like.” “Then I would like you to treat me a chilly Coke. What do you want to have – my treat!”, said Xue Xiao. “I like ice-cream. Can I count on you?”, claimed the soldier. Xue Xiao confirmed, “Okay! I will let you have as much as you like too.” Being trapped for 80 hours, Xue Xiao was pulled out, finally. Nevertheless, the soldier did not keep his promise to treat Xue Xiao a Coke, because he had to go on rescuing the other student. When Xue Xiao was being sent away from the spot, he suddenly exclaimed that he wanted some Coke, and it should be served chilly. The urge made all the exhausted rescuers giggle. So did it all the news watchers who looked sorrowful in front of the television set.

         

        Xue Xiao was nicknamed ‘the Coke boy’ since then. People thought he was too big to nag for a Coke. His utterance has made the grieving people around him burst into laughter. In the second thought, people thought that he was having some great quality. Even in great torment, Xue Xiao did not cried. He did not murmur of being victim of the disaster. Instead, he urged for a Coke. He got an aim for his life. That was why he stayed alive. An aim for his life gives him perseverance to survive. May we too have such a noble quality that Xue Xiao has possessed.

 

           Owing to a prolonged period of squeezing, Xue Xiao’s right arm was distorted and turned black. His arm has been cut away but he becomes healthy now. Xue Xiao wants to go to university. We wish his dream fulfilled. Xue Xiao is strong and great. Wish us have the quality of his.

---

Your say:
Xue Xiao always has a precise aim in his mind. What is the target of your life?