CHINESE HOLIDAYS.
It would be a matter of many chapters were I to describe all the
holidays which we have in China. The bare enumeration of them would
be as difficult as tedious. In point of fact we have almost as many
holidays and festivals as there are days in the year. Each prominent
idol has a birthday, also an anniversary of his death, both of which
are celebrated. There are some—the Goddess of Mercy, for instance—who
have half a dozen days sacred to them. There are a number of deities,
great persons deified, that are common to the nation; while each
city, town and hamlet, has numerous local deities who are its special
protectors.
Extremely lucky it is for the aforesaid idols that their devotees are
naturally fond of shows, pageantry and display; otherwise, idolatry
would have little to attract the multitude. As it is, millions of
dollars are spent in these celebrations every year. At the dedication
of a temple in Canton, two years ago, thirty thousand dollars were
spent. As I was present at this really great exhibition, I can give
you an idea of it. For a long time a committee of citizens had been
collecting subscriptions from dwellers far and near; and weeks before
the completion of the temple, a large pavilion was reared, the material
of which was mainly bamboo in the form of poles, mattings and slips.
Marvelous architectural results are attained by combining a few
wooden pillars with the bamboo in various forms, and soon a light and
airy structure looms up in the sky, which can be seen from a great
distance. This pavilion is directly in front of the temple, while
smaller ones are built in vacant lots near by, all connected with the
main building by awnings pitched over the streets. There is a high
tower in the middle of the great pavilion, on the ceiling of which
curls a dragon of many colors, gleaming with innumerable spangles,
through whose mouth a rope is dropped on which is suspended an immense
chandelier. The latter is finely carved so far as the body, which is
of wood, is concerned, and for brilliancy of coloring has no rival in
China. It is octagonal and each side throws out four branches, which
uphold kerosene lamps. The centres of each side are cut out, and glass
inserted, behind which automatic figures are made to move by clockwork.
The finest effects of this chandelier are of course obtained when the
lamps are lighted. Suspended from the roof in other parts are other
chandeliers, less elaborate and smaller perhaps, but not less artistic
and beautiful. Forests of pendants are attached to them, so that on
all sides the light is reflected. Then, in the intervals between the
chandeliers, hang oblong cases, all decorated with silks and satins,
and finely carved, containing dolls, about two feet high, elegantly
dressed in character, and grouped to represent historical scenes. These
figures have machinery placed beneath them to make them shake their
heads, or lift their hands, or sway their bodies, just as the rôle of
each requires. There are also smaller cases in which are arranged
tableaux from romance of which the Chinese are very fond. Sometimes, a
comic tableau is given; for instance, in one case are shown a number
of blind men fighting with bamboo sticks on the street, and as the
blows are dealt _blindly_ and in all directions (by means of the
machinery), the crowd of spectators never fail to laugh.
Flowers of all the varieties which grow in the “Flowery Kingdom” form
an important and pleasing feature of the entertainment. They are made
into shapes of men or birds, and their delicious odors pervade the
whole place. The walls of the different pavilions are gayly painted.
On them pictures in water-colors are hung, as well as scrolls bearing
the writings of celebrated men. Under these are placed, in rows, fine
flower pots crowned with the choicest flowers of the season. Dwarfed
trees too are placed beside them.
There are platforms in every good-sized pavilion where the musicians
sit and discourse music for the pleasure of a most attentive audience.
There are drums, kettledrums, immense cymbals, gongs, cornets, flutes,
castanets, two-stringed fiddles and I don’t know what else besides,
and when they are sounded together the effect is overwhelming on ears
unaccustomed to such strange symphonies. The flutist first blows his
flute, then the cornetist joins with his toot, and then the kettledrum
man strikes up, which is a signal for the cymbals to clash and the gong
to raise its hoarse cry, while the shrill fiddles may be distinguished
in the din like the witches’ voices above the storm in _Macbeth_.
Worse still follows, when the musicians turn from instrumental to vocal
music, and one of them gives you a solo with that falsetto-pitch which
is meant to imitate a female voice.
While the crowd of people are enjoying the different sights and sounds
in the pavilions, inside the temple various ceremonies are going
on. The temple itself, entirely new, is finely decorated with both
permanent and temporary ornamentations. Among the first are frescos and
wood-carvings and figures in bas-relief; among the second, banners,
flower-baskets and pictures. Buddhist priests are praying to Buddha
in the central hall, while in the back hall, where the shrine of the
chief deity is situated, flocks of worshipers flit to and fro making
offerings of food, lighting candles, and burning incense. There is no
scene in China more animated. Everybody who has any religion in him
comes to worship and to ask some favor of the god, and each person
leaves more or less money with the keepers of the temple. In my native
city festivals similar to this occur two or three times in the week
in different parts of the town. Of course the schools are kept open
on such festal days, otherwise little study could be accomplished.
Schoolboys go to the shows in the evening and girls too, sometimes, go
by themselves to enjoy the sights.
But there are holidays which may be called national, since they are
observed all over the country.
First and most important are the New Year holidays, which are
celebrated with as much éclat as unceasing firing of pyrotechnics,
calls of ceremony and universal good-will and joy will contribute.
Debts are paid up at the end of the year, and for the first week or
two little or no business is transacted. Every one gives himself up
to jollity. Children, on such days, are surfeited with sweetmeats,
and holes are made in their holiday clothes by burning fire-crackers.
Largesses are bestowed upon both children and servants, while beggars
are also remembered, so that this season is really the most joyous of
the year—the time when charity is most charitable and benevolence
assumes a more benevolent aspect.
Next, in order of time, comes the Feast of Lanterns. The main feature
of this fête, as the name implies, is a procession with lanterns of all
shapes and kinds. Soon after nightfall, men and boys get in line, each
carrying upon a bamboo pole a great paper bird, or quadruped, or fish,
inside of which candles are lit. Very fantastic shapes sometimes are
seen, and mythological books are ransacked to procure strange creatures.
Imagine three or four hundred of these lanterns passing before you, all
brilliant with rich colors. Sandal-wood is burnt in censers carried
in small movable pavilions, while bands of music mingle their racket
with the applause of the spectators and the jokes of the men in the
procession.
Last of all an immense and terrible dragon about forty feet in length
is borne along supported on bamboo poles by a dozen or twenty men.
There is another procession similar to this in the fourth month, only
it takes place in the daytime instead of at night, and the large number
and variety of lanterns are wanting.
In the fifth month are held the dragon-boat races. These boats are
narrow and long, capable of holding about one hundred men sitting
one behind the other. Each one carries a paddle, and the boat is so
made that it can go just as well backwards as forwards. The direction
devolves upon the men in the ends of the boat. In the centre the
idol from whose ward or district the boat hails, sits enthroned with
an immense umbrella of red silk to keep the sun from tanning his
complexion. A band of music accompanies each boat. By its warlike
clangor it encourages the racers, while its drum beats the time for
the stroke. Banners are given after the race, as spoils of victory, to
be placed in the temple of the patron deity. The scene on the rivers
on such an occasion is very animated and the cheers of the spectators
from the different districts attest their interest.
In the eighth month comes the Festival of the Moon, answering to the
Harvest Festival in Western countries. What are called “moon-cakes” are
sold at this season. If the year has been productive there will be a
great deal of rejoicing. Presents are interchanged at this time as also
at other festival seasons. As the moon becomes gradually full there
appears in it to the Chinese eye a man who is climbing a tree. The full
moon is greeted with much ceremony, and the night on which the luminary
appears its brightest is passed in feasting and rejoicing.