The Kaleidoscope of Hong Kong Religion2: Chinese Belief and Culture
Walk into Che Kung Temple and you can see the plaque “Maintain Peace and Security” high above the entrance. Incense is being offered for worship. Some devotees turn the pinwheel and wish for good luck. Others kneel before Che Kung, hoping their sincerity will make their wishes come true. “It was said that Che Kung was a great general during the Song Dynasty who brought the deposed Prince Ping to Hong Kong. During a plague in Sha Tin, the people in Ho Chung in Sai Kung District failed to borrow Che Kung to fight the outbreak. They managed to get their hands on the divine tablet of his grandson, which still helped squelch the epidemic. So people constructed a temple to worship Che Kung,” said Dr Yau Yat, a presenter of the CIBS programme “The Kaleidoscope of Hong Kong Religion2: Chinese Belief and Culture”, currently an advisor at Jao Tsung-I Academy who also taught history and language at Lingnan Institute of Further Education and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Historian Dr Yau Yat points out that devotees often beat the drum after paying respect to the deity to ask advice and directions.
“Tin Sam Tsuen, a village near Che Kung Temple, dates way back. ‘Sha Tin Nine-Alliance Da Jiu Festival’ is a huge celebration organised once a decade by 48 villages scattered around the nine districts in the area, including Tin Sam Tsuen. During this period, the deities, the Buddha, and the people would gather on a scale comparable to the Da Jiu Festival or Bun Festival in Cheung Chau,” said Dr Yau. He went on to point out that Da Jiu helped build cohesion in the area, “As a member of a village, you are obliged to take part.”
Legend has it that Che Kung was a great general in the Song Dynasty who helped put an end to an epidemic in Sha Tin. Since then, people started worshipping him, attracting numerous devotees.
“Celebratory activities during the Festival include a procession for receiving the deity, scripture chanting, Chinese opera performances for the gods, incense offering, etc. As stated in the Confucian Analects, ‘He worshipped the spirits as if they were before him .’ The religious ceremonies and altar serve as media that steer human emotions through ups and downs, elevating real-life experience into religious encounters, so that people can ponder the sacred meanings behind the ceremonies,” intoned Dr. Sugeng Utomo, another presenter of the programme, and visiting assistant professor at Buddhist Research Institute of Chu Hai College. The only pious worshipper among the three presenters, Dr Utomo practises Tibetan Buddhism. “Tibetan Buddhism is full of mysticism, but it suits me. During practice, one should combine imagination and faith, and follow a certain procedure of study. Results will soon yield themselves.”
Buddhist practitioner Dr Utomo, the only religious presenter among the three, is offering incense for worship.
Dr Yip Tak Ping, the third presenter and also senior lecturer on Chinese ancient literature and bibliography at the School of Continuing and Professional Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, stressed, “This programme is not about preaching, but propagating knowledge about religions. That’s why we cover every religion with respect, be it mainstream or not, and touch on topics such as intangible cultural heritages or sculptures that are indirectly related to these religions. The idea is to create a kaleidoscope of religions in Hong Kong, so that the audience can see for themselves the myriad aspects.”
Senior lecturer Dr Yip Tak Ping turns the pinwheel for good luck.
With a shared interest and a common goal to get more people into local history and culture, the three have organised multiple seminars and field trips through the Hong Kong History and Culture Society, a community organisation. The first step is to attract youngsters into the field and sow the seeds for inheritance. “Before recording the radio programme, we would put up a post on the Society’s Facebook asking for ideas and see which topics and perspectives draw the most interests. Then we explore these topics in depth, so that people no longer feel that history and culture is something unreachable. Even if you live in Sha Tin, the village near your home may have a deep connection to the history of the district. It turns something ‘surreal’ into an item that is ‘so real’.”
The three also point out that there are lots of missing chapters on local history, forcing them to rely on resources and contacts provided by Chinese Temple Committee and Hong Kong Taoist Culture Association, and sort out the historical and regional developments through archeological archives, oral history, field studies, and guidance on additional information provided by interviewees. “Many young people have no religious beliefs or are followers of foreign religions. We hope that, through a programme on folk religious cultures, they can take a peek into Chinese culture, and even help pass down the legacy.”
“Ninety percent of the local population is Chinese, encompassing dozens of tribes. But there is little religious conflict. We want to promote this spirit of inclusion.” As the Chinese folk saying goes, “there are multitudinous deities”. A multitude and diverse religions coexisting in harmony, that is what a society of universal harmony is about.
