kaiping (hoiping), guangdong | 开平广东
Day 13 |第十三天
Grand Yu (Yee) Clan Ancestral Hall
You probably have noticed a common theme from these experiences in southern Guangdong—the unique bilateral exchange of ideas among overseas Chinese and their hometown villages. This interplay is also reflected in the architecture of the Grand Yu (Yee) Clan Ancestral Hall. Built between 1906 and 1914, it is considered to be the first ancestral hall in the area that incorporated Western architectural features. The hall retains a southern Chinese style blended with elements such as classical Greek columns and archways, and consists of six courtyards and fifteen halls. One of these halls featured portraits of renowned Yees from around the world. During the Overseas China workshop a year prior, one of the participants on the tour was surprised to recognize his own biography in the exhibit; unbeknownst to him, his father submitted information about his accomplishments—serving as the first Asian American judge in Massachusetts.
Kaiping Intangible Heritage Museum
After visiting the ancestral hall, we made an unplanned trip to the Kaiping Intangible Heritage Museum—one of my favorite museums because of its focus on vernacular culture. Located in a nondescript high-rise building, the museum succeeded in providing a deeper context to our ongoing activities in the greater Wuyi/Sze Yup region. There were displays about traditional crafts such as clay bird toys (which we learned about at Cangdong Village), lion heads and drums, and plaster wall arts as well as exhibits about local food traditions—rice dumplings (zong), lotus root, and glutinous rice balls.
I looked up intangible heritage as I have never heard this term used in reference to museums. According to UNESCO,
Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) is a living form of heritage (oral traditions, performing arts, social practices…) inherited from our ancestors and passed on to our descendants, providing a sense of identity.
Intangible heritage indeed.
On our way to the Kaiping Intangible Heritage Museum
Xinchang Marketplace
For our final destination of the day, we visited Xinchang Marketplace (a street in Kaiping) to see how lion heads and drums are made. Lion heads from this region (and throughout the Chinese diaspora) are known as the Chinese Southern Lion | 南狮. They are traditionally constructed by placing paper-maché over a bamboo frame, painting details on the surface, and then enclosing the head with cloth, sequins, and fur.
I grew up seeing, hearing, and touching lion heads and drums almost every Chinese New Year as a child, taking them for granted and never really thinking about where they came from or how they were made. ■