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Issues
Religious myths or narratives, to most phenomenologists of
religions, can never be separated from the rituals they accompany.
Mircea Eliade, by far the most famous spokesperson for the
phenomenological study of religion, pointed out that living
religious myths or narratives are often recited or re-acted in
rituals so that believers can re-experience sacred events
such as the creation of cosmos or the establishment of divine
models for daily meaningful activities. When religious myths or
narratives are separated from their rituals, they are no longer
religious myths or narratives, but merely literature or art [1].
Scholars in ritual studies have found that believers in rituals
and religious festivals tend to perform or act out their beliefs
much more than they articulate them in myths or narratives. For
instance, R. Marrett found that savage religion was something not
so much thought out as danced out [2]. In fact, through the
studies on rituals appearing in the mid-1970s made by Kenneth
Burke [3], Victor Turner [4] and Clifford Geertz [5], the circle
of religious studies was gradually made aware that religion goes
beyond a structure of belief; it simultaneously weaves together
emotive experiences, social attitudes and social functions [8].
Thus, studying a religion through its narratives and its rituals
can help us to better grasp and understand the implicit religious
ideas and values, human desires and expectations underpinning the
religion. By studying so, we can get a more holistic understanding
of a particular religion.
With the above understanding, this paper studies both a Chinese
religious narrative circulated in Singapore, and its corresponding
rituals. Chinese religious narrative and ritual are considered
here because, though Singapore is seen as a Westernized, rational,
and highly developed city, traditional Chinese religious narrative
and ritual are still being cultivated and practiced. Yet, to some
Singaporeans, Chinese religious narrative and ritual, and what
underlying meanings can be ascribed to these narratives and
rituals. In addition, I am curious as to whether the traditional
Chinese religious narrative and ritual really contradict the ethos
of modern Singapore society, or have been expanded in accordance
with the demands of Singapore's cultural changes with a resulting
continuity occurring between them. If Chinese religious narrative
and ritual are not radically different from the ethos of a
society, how can they as suggested by contemporary scholars of
religious studies, function as 'other' [7] resources to challenge
the values and practices of this-world. All these concerns
constitute the major content of this paper.
Among all Chinese narratives and rituals, the Taoist Ghost
Festival particularly catches my attention. This festival is the
second most important festival of the year. First appearing in
medieval times in China, it is held annually in Singapore and
attracts a large population of believers and participants from
different Chinese religious traditions such as Taoism, Buddhism
and popular religion. An in-depth study of the narrative and the
rituals of this festival can help us to know more about Chinese
religious believer' worldview, emotional experience, and values.
All this information can assist in responding to the questions
raised above concerning the significance of Chinese religious
narrative and ritual in general (the Ghost Festival in particular)
to some modern Hong Kong people; whether the Ghost Festival
displays continuity with the ethos of modern Singapore society;
and whether it shows significant transformative, critical power in
the secular society.
The Narrative of The Taoist Ghost Festival in Singapore
In Singapore, the Ghost Festival is held on the 15th of the
seventh month according to the Chinese calendar. However, giving
offerings to ghosts on that day was not the custom of the
indigenous Chinese religious systems [8]. In popular religious
tradition, this day, as Wolfram Eberhard discovered, originally
was the Field Festival, during which the Gods of the Field were
worshipped with special offerings in order to thank them and ask
for a good harvest. As one of his interviewees states, the Field
Festival was celebrated on the 15th of the seventh month, in late
August according to our calendar. It probably was in some places
originally a harvest festival; in some regions it was a kind of
repetition of the lantern festival of the 15th day of the first
month, exactly half a year earlier. This is all completely
forgotten by now [9].
Similar, Morris Berkowitz found that some of the villagers did not
offer ghosts anything on the 15th of the seventh month, but only
worshipped the Earth God on that day. On the other hand, also
noted by Berkowitz, even though some of other villagers celebrated
the Ghost Festival, the original emphasis on thanksgiving for a
good harvest on the 15th of seventh month as not forgotten. The
celebration for a good harvest was held one day earlier than the
Ghost Festival.
In Taoist tradition, the 15th of the seventh month, originally was
the "Middle Primordial Festival" (Zhong Yuan Fa Hui) [11]. Around
the third century C.E., the Taoist faithful had a belief that the
Taoist gods assembled in heaven on that day. The Taoist parish
took this opportunity to hold assembly to worship them, and also
particularly to ask the Tree Officials of Heaven, Earth and Water,
who were responsible for inspecting human acts, to forgive human's
wrong-doings by performing a confessional rite [12]. Thus, to the
fifth-century Taoist believers, the 15th of the seventh month was
a day of assembly for both the gods and the parish, and also a day
of confession.
Not until the Tang dynasty when Buddhism had penetrated Chinese
society, did the offerings to ghosts on the 15th of the seventh
month become the Chinese people's religious practice [13]. This
day became the Ghost Festival and was called as "Yulan Pen".
The term Yulan Pen was the imitation of Buddhist sound, and
it did not carry any Chinese literal meaning [14]. In Buddhism,
Yulan means to hang upside down and Pen is a container
filled with food offerings. Though Yulan Pen was a Buddhist
term, the Tang people understood that the term was closely related
to a Buddhist narrative about the two major figures Mu Lian , and
Buddhist disciple, and his mother Qing Ti.
Different versions of this Buddhist narrative, ranging from oral
tales to Tang Dynasty Buddhist sutras [15], tell how Mu Lian
attempts to save his mother from suffering in hell. In all
different versions of this narrative, we read that Mu Lian finds
only his father, without his mother, enjoying a comfortable life
in Braham's Heaven. He then enters into the underworld and moves
deeper and deeper into the subterranean region. In the deepest
level of hell, Mu Lian discovers his mother suffering for the evil
deeds performed in her pervious life, her body nailed by forty
long metal spikes. At this point, the Buddha intervenes, and
brings Qing Ti to a higher rebirth.
It is in this scene that the term Yulan pen enters into the
narrative. Mu Lian finds his mother reborn as a hungry ghost' her
appetite cannot be satisfied because of the endowment of a
needle-thin neck. Mu Lian attempts to offer his mother food
through the ancestral altar, the traditional Chinese religious
practice; however, the food immediately bursts into flame as soon
as it reaches Qing Ti's mouth. The Buddha instructs Mu Lian to use
a "Yulen bowl", similar to the one that the Buddist monks use
after the summer retreat, to provide his mother a grand feast on
the fifteenth of the seventh month. Finally, Mu Lian succeeds, and
his mother ascends to Heaven. The Buddha prescribes this method to
other sons to bring salvation to their ancestors.
As giving thanks and making offerings to the ancestors were highly
emphasized in Chinese society, the Ghost Festival provided the
Buddhist community with power to claim its efficacy in ancestral
salvation [16]. Taoism, as an indigenous religion, however, was
unwilling to offer a place to Buddhism to develop as the only
religion to bring ancestral salvation [17]. It took advantage of
its Middle Primordial Festival, which marked a time of cosmic
rupture when human kind could communicate with heavenly realm on
that day, to extend its communicative power to the underworldly
realm to release and save the faithful's ancestors and the dead
from suffering in hell, similar to Buddhist practice in the Ghost
Festival. Thus, Taoism's Middle Primordial Festival became
incorporated in Buddhism's Ghost Festival [18]. As the Ghost
Festival was practiced both in Taoism and Buddhism, this festival
gradually gained its popularity in and after the Tang dynasty
[19].
In Singapore nowadays, the Taoist believers, as well as the
followers of Chinese religions, not only give offerings to ghosts
on the 15th of the seventh month, but throughout the month. It is
because the Taoist believers hold that the gate of Hell will be
opened throughout this month and ghosts will wander everywhere.
Thus, the seventh month is also regarded as the Ghost Month. The
climax of the Ghost Festival is one week or three days before the
15th of the seventh month. On these days, the Taoist priests will
perform a series of rituals to save the wandering ghosts and the
Taoist believers' ancestors. The rituals of the Ghost Festival are
also highly structured so that each type of ritual is performed in
relations with another.
The rituals of the Ghost Festival in Singapore
The major act in the Ghost Festival is to make offerings, and act
of "giving". The main recipients include both ghosts and
ancestors, the two major classes in the supernatural realm. There
also occurs the giving of alms to fellow humans. In the following,
I will investigate why the Taoist believers emphasize making
offerings to different types of beings. As ghosts are the major
receipts in the Ghost Festival, my investigation will start with
this group, and then will move to the groups of ancestors and
fellow humans.
Offering/Giving to, and Expectation of a Return from Ghosts
In Taoist belief, only two types of the deceased will turn to
ghosts. The first type consists of those who do not have any
living family members such as beggars, bandits, widows, spinsters
and etc. They are disinherited of society. Without family, these
deceased individuals have nobody to provide care and worship;
therefore they cannot ascent to heaven or undergo rebirth. As they
receive no offerings from their relatives, they wander everywhere
in the human world to gain direct fulfillment of their needs. They
then become undisciplined spirits, guei (ghosts).
The second type consists of those who suffer a "bad" death.
Although Taoism holds the belief of immortality, it is given to
only a chosen few. Death, to most people, is the inevitable end of
life's journey. In Taoism, a "good death" is regarded as better
than a "bad" one, and is measured by the deceased's dying time,
place and form of death. These two forms of death do not occur
randomly, but are determined by one's good or bad deeds performed
in life. Those who acted well during their life will have agood
death; otherwise, it is the reverse case. Different forms of death
bring the deceased to a different destiny: either ascending to
Heaven to transform into immortals to enjoy eternal life, or
falling into Hell as ghosts to suffer bodily torture.
To understand why the Taoist believers give offerings to ghosts in
the Ghost Festival, it is important to begin with their perception
of the life of ghosts in Hell. In most Taoist scriptures chanted
during the rituals of the Ghost Festivals by Taoist temple, ghosts
are closely associated with "suffering". For instance, the
Xuanmen poyu ke describes nine different levels of hell [21].
They are all "dark" [22], but some are "cold" [23] and some are
"extremely hot" [24]. Ghosts in Hell undergo various bodily
sufferings such as "hunger", "thirst" [25], "torment" [26], and
"fragmentation of the body" [27]. In Hell, ghost feel "loneliness"
[28], "bitterness" and "misery" [29].
The Taoists believe that during the seventh lunar month, when the
gates of Hell open, ghosts will roam the human world. They will
seek whatever comfort they can find, and will wander around in
search of victims. If their desire is not satisfied, their
accumulated bitterness brings them to change into angry ghosts.
Their anger is believed to change into destructive power to
disturb the human realm [30]. It is for this reason that the
seventh lunar month is considered the most dangerous month of the
year. The number of accidents is believed to appear higher than at
any other time of the year. Fear of ghosts has resulted in
offering various things in a variety of rituals designed to ward
off evils. However, Taoist believers make offerings to ghosts not
only due to their fear, but also out of compassion towards them.
The things offered to ghosts reflect both the Taoist believers'
perceptions of Hell and of what is appropriate to offer in order
to satisfy the needs of the ghosts. The offerings can be
classified into two types: material and spiritual. Generally the
Taoist laity are responsible for offering material things; the
Taoist priest, spiritual things.
Since Hell, as stated in the above, is seen as being extremely
"hot", the first essential material thing given by the Taoist
laity in the rituals is "water". It is symbolized as "honeydew"
[31] and "spring" to decrease the high temperature of Hell [32]
and to quench the ghosts' tremendous thirst [33]. In addition, the
Ghost Festival in Chinese society is held in late summer, a period
regarded as turning to cold, dark and decay [34]. The Taoist laity
naturally provides the material things that can give ghosts
protection before the onset of cold and darkness. Thus, in
addition to water, cloths are given to protect ghosts against
cold; and food, which gives ghosts energy to walk towards the
heavenly realm.
According to convention, the Taoist laity offers authentic water
and food to ghosts, but the clothes are virtual clothes, in paper
form. They place food and water on the public pavement so that the
wandering ghosts can enjoy their banquet. At the same time, the
paper clothes are burned to transfer them to the realm of the
ghosts. More importantly, the Taoist laity hope that the ghosts
will stop right where the food is and not go into the houses of
the living. The giving of all these material things indicate that
the Taoist laity care about and attempt to satisfy the material
needs of the ghosts.
Regarding the spiritual aspect, the Taoist priests predominantly
bring "salvation" to ghosts. Salvation is precious gift to ghosts
as it frees them from loneliness, bitterness and misery, and lets
them undergo a favourable rebirth. Bringing salvation to ghosts
with anger is not a simple task. It involves three major rituals
in which two spiritual things are given to assist ghosts to leave
Hell, namely merits and comfort.
The first ritual that the Taoist priests perform is called
"breaking the gates of Hell (po diyu)". In this ritual, the gates
of Hell are represented by tiles, arranged in a circle around a
central tile. The Taoist priests perform different symbolic
actions such as breaking the tiles and waving their swords to
represent their power to break the heavy gates of all the hells,
and to reach even the darkest depths. This ritual aims at
summoning ghosts to receive "merits" (yin) [35].
In Taoism, the doctrine of "merit" is intertwined with the
doctrine of "salvation". Merit has connotations of a good and
moral act; merits performed in one's lifetime can bring an
individual to ascend to Heaven after death [36]. Only those who
are in Heaven are considered to have achieved salvation [37]. The
doctrines of merits and salvation together transmit an explicit
moral message: accumulated merits bring the dead salvation in the
form of living in Heaven; demerits, on the contrary, lead the dead
to fall into earth-prisons and suffer the consequences of their
evil deeds in Hell. Following this logic, to save ghosts from
suffering in Hell, the Taoist priests have to unload the ghosts'
burden of sinfulness and immorality accumulated during their
lifetime on earth. The most direct way is to give ghosts "merits".
"Giving merits" is done through the ritual of "cleansing". In
Taoism, cleansing is linked with goodness and morality; a stain is
linked with sinfulness and immorality, and will internally corrupt
one's heart [39]. In the Chinese epistemological system, "heart",
like "reason" in the West, is the primary and most important
faculty with which to acquire all knowledge of the external world.
Thus the corrupted heart blocks one from finding the right way and
understanding the "truth" the teachings of the Tao. In the
Xuanmen poyu ke, we read two metaphors: ... to save all the
living from going astray. All the living are in the state of
ignorance, they are like the blind who cannot see the sun and the
moon" [40]. Without the guidance of the teachings of the Tao, one
is limited to know what is right and wrong, and to perform moral
acts [41].
In the ritual of "cleansing the heart", the Taoist priests
predominantly chant scriptures such as Xuanmen poyu ke.
They believe that their prior performance of the ritual "breaking
the gates of Hell" enables the sound of their chanting to
transcend spatial limits and reach the ghosts in Hell. It is
supposed that when the ghosts hear the chant of scriptures, they
will become aware of their evilness and immorality and be willing
to convert to the Tao's teachings [42]. Thus, "cleansing the
heart" can be regarded as a ritual for transformation, to bring
ghosts from the state of ignorance to that of enlightenment. By
their conversion, ghosts take the route back to the Tao by which
their evilness is cleansed and forgiven. Once this happens, ghosts
are freed from earth-prisons and so achieve favorable re-births.
Their destiny and their mode of existence are correspondingly
changed.
"Comfort" is provided in their third ritual called "lighting the
lamp and scattering the flowers" (Kaideng sanhua ke).
"Lighting the lamp" and "scattering the flowers" are two rituals.
The first ritual is to provide light for ghosts so that they may
see the way out of Hell. Only the second ritual, "scattering the
flowers," really functions as a ritual of comfort. To the Taoist
priests, some ghosts are not willing to reconnect to the Tao
during the performance of the ritual "cleansing the heart" because
they are still carrying extreme grievance and waiting for a chance
to seek revenge for the harm done on them previously. The Taoist
priests believe that not until the ghosts' grievance is settled
can ghosts hear the message of salvation and the human world can
achieve ultimate happiness and peace. Thus offering comfort is
involved in the process of offering salvation.
In the ritual of "lighting the lamp and scattering the flowers",
the Taoist priests make appeal by means of chanting a scripture
such as Guandeng sanhau ke. This scripture includes a
metaphor of "flower in four seasons", which alludes to human life
having to undergo birth, growth, decline and death [43]. If ghosts
are willing to accept these stages as an inevitable life journey,
they can unload their resentment, abandon the intention of
revenge, and hear the message of salvation [44]. Once the ghosts'
anger is tamed, they can cultivate a pure heart to hear the Tao's
teachings and consequently, are given a chance to undergo rebirth.
The rituals performed by the Taoist priests indicates that from
the Taoist believers' viewpoint, becoming "ghosts" is never the
final destination of the dead. If ghosts avail of the chance
offered during the performance of the cleansing ritual to convert
to the Tao's teachings, they can still change their fate and mode
of existence. Thus, in Taoism, one's determination of fate is not
limited to one's lifetime, but also to the time after death. The
difference between them is that the former case does not encounter
any horrible sufferings after death, but the latter does. By the
Taoist believers' offerings, the fate of ghosts can be changed.
The Taoist believers lay emphasis on giving offerings to ghosts
because it is regarded as an important means for seeking
"fortune". Traditionally, ghosts are thought to exist on a lower
position than ancestors and gods on a continuum from lowest power
to highest in the supernatural realm. Ghosts have no power to
bring human beings fortune but only death and destruction. By
making offerings, the Taoist believers hope to minimize the
destructive influence of ghosts, and at the same time maximize the
appearance of peace. Their wish is that they and their family
members will not be chosen as victims, that they can be free from
any disturbance or bad fortune caused by ghosts, and ultimately
can achieve a peaceful life during their time on earth.
Offering to, and Expectation of a Return from Ancestors
Taoism, as an indigenous religion, upholds certain Chinese
social values; filial piety is one of them. To the Taoist
believers, parents in death do not loose their place within the
kinship structure. They serve the ancestors' needs and wishes by
offerings as if they were still living.
The Taoist believers hold that their ancestors depend heavily on
the offerings of the living descendants, otherwise, they would be
turned into hungry ghosts. Once the ancestors turn into hungry
ghosts, they are lost. Thus, offerings are regarded as a way of
protecting the ancestors, and also as a way of repaying the
parents' kindness in bringing the descendants to the world, and in
supporting and nurturing them. Failure to do so is regarded as
disrespecting the ancestors, who would then retaliate by
inflicting misfortune on descendants [45]. The amount of expiation
given will determine the ancestors' position in the supernatural
realm, and vice versa.
The Taoist believers think that in the Ghost Festival the best
offering to their ancestors is to reduce the ancestors'
transgressions accumulated in their terrestrial life. This will
save their ancestors from being punished in Hell, and they can be
reincarnated again [46]. Or, they can live a fairly content life
as an ancestor in a shadowy afterworld. Or, they may be appointed
to a position in the celestial bureaucracy and be gods. Briefly,
the Taoist believers hope that their ancestors can leave the
entire process of rebirth [47], and ascend to Heaven to enjoy
everlasting happiness. To the Taoist believers, only when their
ancestors transform to be immortals, have they repaid their
ancestors and fulfilled their filial obligations. In order to
achieve this aim, certain confession rituals are held in the Ghost
Festival. In the 7th day Ghost Festival, there are a total of
thirteen confession rituals which are held each morning,
afternoon, and sometimes in the evening.
The Ancestors' transformation to be immortals generates a new
relationship with their descendants. The ancestors are not merely
receive from the descendant, but are also providers. Once the
ancestors are transformed into immortals, the ancestors gain new
resources of supernatural power and in turn bestow blessings upon
their family members, ensuring continuous offering to the
ancestors. These blessings motivate the descendants to start
another cycle of "repaying the ancestors' kindness". It is by such
a familial cycle of exchange, "offering sacrifice -> expectation
of blessings -> replaying the ancestors' blessings" to maintain
the relationship between the deceased and the living family
members.
The appearance of harmony and peacefulness and the absence of
mischief in a family indicate that the ancestors have accepted
their descendants' offerings. In a harmonious and peaceful family,
no one is sick. There are no financial hardships. Sons are not
killed in war. There are no major accidents. Crops are not
destroyed by insects, floods, or drought. There are no domestic
quarrels, nor jealousy between brothers, nor friction between
daughters-in-law and mother-in-law. A family that is
"inharmonious", on the other hand, is cursed by disaster. It is a
household in which family members quarrel, or in which there are
grave financial difficulties, a place where luck is generally bad
or where (most commonly) there is sickness or death [48].
Giving to, and Expectation of a Return from Fellow Humans
In the Ghost Festival, the Taoist believers' strong sense of
obligation to assist deceased non-kin in suffering situations is
extended to strangers in difficult situations, especially those
who do not have family and hence gain no care and no food, similar
to the case of hungry ghosts. It is worth mentioning that
rendering assistance to such kind of strangers is not a common
practice in traditional Chinese society. It is because, as shown
in the studies of William Jankowiak, traditional Chinese society
was organized around tightly-woven family bonds. Therefore they
merely strived to maintain a peaceful relationship with their
family members and relatives [49]. This led the Chinese in
traditional society to develop a low degree of commitment to
public welfare, particularly to strangers. Though as such, the
Ghost Festival provides a domain to facilitate an awareness of the
fate of those one does not know. To put in another way, the Taoist
believers through the festival extend their care from the private
to the public sphere.
The things that the Taoist believers give to strangers in the
Ghost Festival basically have the function of sustaining the
strangers' lives. Life-giving is the central gift in the festival,
and this has been partly revealed in the above through the efforts
of Taoist believers to transform their ancestors and non-kin
deceased from either suffering from rebirth, or the tortures in
Hell, to be immortals, the beings that are supposed to live
everlastingly. To the Taoist believers, nothing is more important
than food, particularly grain, to sustain one's life in the human
realm. Thus, there appears the activity of "distributing grain"
fro the hungry near the end of the Ghost Festival ceremonies. To
the hungry, such grain bears a supernatural power. It not only
helps the hungry to be full, but also brings them "peace". For
this reason, the grain delivered in the Ghost Festival is regarded
as "peace grain".
Though the Taoist believers' assistance to hungry strangers cannot
bring them any higher reputation in their community, their act is
considered as one kind of merit that can be accumulated and will
be recognized as such by celestial deities. The more merits
accumulated, the more blessings that the believers will receive in
this life and in the after-life. In addition, the believers hope
that through their assistance, they can prevent the hungry
strangers from dying of hunger. The ultimate aim of this is to
decrease the number of hungry ghosts and to strive for
long-lasting social harmony.
Here we clearly see that by invoking compassion towards the hungry
ghosts, the Taoist believers concomitantly develop a social
responsibility to give alms to strangers locked in a difficult
physical situation, especially those who are in bondage to hunger.
It is the striving for social harmony that leads the believers to
perform acts of social responsibility spontaneously. It is not the
case that they are unwillingly forced to do so by authoritative
institutions such as their religious community or government.
Rethinking the Ghost Festival and the Practice of Offering
The Psychological and Economic Dimensions of the Ghost Festival
From the above, one notices that there are two major factors that
drive the Taoist faithful to make offerings to the deceased and
the living in Ghost Festival; one is a psychological factor, and
the other is an economic.
With regard to the psychological factor, the Taoist believers' act
of offering arises from a complex emotional experience involving
different beings in different realms, including a fear of and
compassion towards ghosts, a respect for their ancestors, and an
effort to please gods through giving to the poor in the human
world.
The fear of ghosts merits particular attention. Even though
Singapore society promotes the scientific values of Western
modernization, certain traditional Chinese religious beliefs
survive and are far from being banished to the sidelines. Belief
in the existence of ghosts is the typical example. Traditionally,
the symbol of ghosts represents disharmonies and anomalies, or
provides explanations for tragedies, including cosmic, societal
and physical, anything beyond human control. Thus, the appearance
of natural calamities, unstable society and illness, the presence
of ghosts - these are all regarded as equivalent phenomena. When
Chinese face something that is regarded as an anomaly, their
"unsettled heart" will be projected towards something that is
understood as a "ghost", [50] which then asserts some imaginary
control over them. Once disharmonies and anomalies exist, some
Chinese are haunted by disorder, and unconsciously, switch codes
from modern rationality to traditional Chinese mystical thinking.
To express their deep anxieties concerning unreasonable disorder,
they use the symbol of "ghost", the group of supernaturals
unpredictably causing harm and beyond human control.
With regard to the economic factor, the festival becomes a site
where an exchange occurs between humans and the invisible
deceased. James Watson has observed that the giving of gifts is
the tie between the living and the dead; and more importantly,
that such activity is carried out on a reciprocal basis. As he
states:
.. some might say the most important feature of the
Chinese ideological domain: the idea of exchange between the
living and the dead. Death does not terminate relationships of
reciprocity among Chinese, it simply transforms these ties and
often makes them stronger. A central feature of Chinese ...
post-burial mortuary practices is the transfer of food, money and
goods to the deceased. ... In return the living expect to receive
certain material benefits, including luck, wealth and progeny
[51].
The Taoist believers' offerings, in
part, are intended to prevent ghosts from sufferings in Hell, the
ancestors from changing into hungry and poor ghosts, and the gods
from being discredited. Their offering, in another part, is made
to sustain the fortunes of their own families, their villages, and
also the district where they live.
It is easy to understand why the Taoist believers care for both
personal and communal interests. Taoism, as one may know, arose in
an agricultural society in which Chinese people lived based on the
social structure of a clan, or at least a large family. One of the
characteristics of such a society was a de-emphasis on the
personal. Chinese people perceived themselves as a member of
family, clan, society and cosmos. They found they had obligations
to look after both personal and collective interests. They did not
perceive individual good as an ultimate, but pursued the good of
all. It is because they understand that the suffering of others
would in turn, be harmful to their personal interests. Therefore,
it was easy for them to develop concern for others.
The return of fortune is expected in the form of material and
tangible things, including health, luck, wealth and progeny. The
more blessings the Taoist believers receive, the more offerings
they give. Some even believe that the more offerings the deceased
gain, the higher the celestial status they enjoy [52]. Offerings
to the deceased and returning blessings to humans basically serve
the purpose of exchanging peace and harmony between them both.
The Understanding of Material Things and Care in the Practice
of Giving
The practice of offering reflects the Taoist believers'
understanding of the nature of material things and the
relationship between supernaturals and human. Firstly, material
things do not merely exist on earth. By burning, they can
transcend the time and space of this world and reach the deceased
in the underworld. The Taoist believers hold that there is no loss
in the quantity and the quality of materials things in the process
of burning. The deceased received all that the faithful offer. In
the end, the offered material things are believed to be
transformed as various kinds of blessing. By offering material
things, the continuity between the dead and the living is
maintained.
Secondly, it is clear that material things have their own
possessor. Such a possessor is not understood on an individual
basis, but on a familial basis. Though the material things are
given out, they are not lost. They will return to the giver's
family in this life in various forms. Food given out will return
to the giver's family' it may be food, wealth or health. If the
giver regards the returned blessings as of higher values that
he/she gives, he/she will start another cycle of offerings. In the
new cycle of offering, the giver repays the supernaturals much
more than the amount previously offered [53].
Thirdly, material things bring life satisfaction. As observed by
R. Lee, Cheung T.S and Cheung Y.W, life satisfaction for Chinese
is positively associated with the level of material well-being
enjoyed by them [54]. This understanding is extended to the
underworld. Thus, the practice of offering not only seeks to
obtain benefits from the deceased, but also satisfies the
obligation to provide a satisfactory life for the deceased. The
Taoist believers think that they have a responsibility to care for
the deceased and make them comfortable so they have a better life
in the other world. Such kinds of thoughts originated from
ancestral worship. Traditionally, Chinese believe that by
providing for the ancestors through various offerings as though
they were alive, they are satisfying the demands of filial piety.
Thus, the practice of offering primarily is motivated by family
obligation. The Taoist believers then extend their obligation from
caring for their family members to other beings in need, including
the non-kin deceased in the supernatural world and the poor and
the hungry in human society. For the Taoist believers, to supply
the deceased with the various articles necessary for a comfortable
life is the most appropriate way to show their care for the
deceased.
It is worth mentioning that some of Taoist believers respond that
they give offerings to the deceased and the living not because of
obligation. Their motivation is to bring themselves psychological
comfort or to ease their fear. Thus some of the Taoist believers
see no direct relationship between offerings to the deceased and
the living and obtaining any benefits. Though these Taoist
believers do not hope for the return of blessings, expectation of
exchange do exists. This group of Taoist believers holds that when
they provide a comfortable life for the deceased and the living,
they themselves will be comforted. For this group of Taoist
believers, the achievement of a peaceful mind is as important as
the return of material blessings.
The Moral Dimension of the Practice of Giving
As is clearly shown in the above, the practice of giving is the
major act in the Ghost Festival. In seeking an exchange of
blessings and fortunes, this act is not merely an act of economic
exchange between human and supernatural beings; it is tied in with
moral reasoning. Basically, the act of giving in a religious
festival is not the same as a market exchange. It is not simply
voluntarily, but obligatory [55]. The first groups that the Taoist
believers give to above all are the spirits and the ancestors.
Indeed, these groups are believed to possess something desirable,
namely the supernatural power of terminating destruction and
bringing fortune. In order to gain or receive something from the
supernatural beings, the believers think that they have to
give first rather than to receive first.
The second group that motivates the Taoist believers to give are
hungry strangers. Giving alms to hungry strangers is regarded as
one of the ways to please gods, and correspondingly, to receive
good fortune from the same gods. The moral reasoning underlying
the practice of giving alms is that generosity is an obligation of
the affluent. They have to get rid of self-care and self-interest
and to give to those who are in a materially difficult situation.
They regard themselves as having the obligation to act as material
guardians of their fellow humans.
Thus, we can say that in the practice of giving during the Ghost
Festival, obligation and self-interest are intermingled. In
addition, in the world of the Taoist Ghost Festival, the
relationship between the giver and the receiver is not impersonal.
On the contrary, the act of giving aims at building a harmonic
relationship between supernatural beings and human beings, and
between human beings and human beings, especially between the
ancestors and the believers, and between the believers and the
hungry strangers. In the first party, a kinship bond is
established. With regard to the second party, the believers'
giving, made out of compassion or pity, that links the believers
and the hungry. Thus, a moral bond between the believers and the
hungry is created [56]. More importantly, such as moral bond
creates a social order to prevent the hungry from dying of hunger,
or committing crimes. The believers, to a certain extend, can be
regarded as acting as morally social agents to maintain social
order.
References
[1] Mircea Eliade, Myth and Reality, trans. Willard Trask (New
York: Harper Torchbooks, 1973), 5-10.
[2] W. Richard Comstock, ed., Religion and Man: An Introduction
(New York: Harper and Row, 1971), 35
[3] See Keneth Burke, The Philosophy of Literary Form, 3d ed.,
(Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973)
[4] See Victor Turner, The Ritual Process: Structure and
Anti-Structure (New York: Cornell University Press, 1977)
[5] See Clifford Geertz, The Religion of Java (Chicago: University
of Chicago Press, 1976)
[6] See Dan Ben-Amos and Kenneth S. Goldstein, eds., Folklore:
Performance and Communication (The Hague: Mouton, 1985)
[7] To Ricoeur, narrative is through the act of employment to
organize events and characters in an ordered movement. However,
narrative is not simply a work of redescription. It is creative
text to present something about the possibilities of everyday
existence. As narrative, including religious narrative, is not a
copy of the acutal world, it can act as a resource of "other"
world to give challege, shape or meaning to one's existence. For
more details, see Paul Ricoeur, Time and Narrative, 3 vols, trans
Kathleen McLaughlin and David Pellauer (Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1984-88).
Victor Turner finds that people in ritual will experience three
phases, that is separation, margin (limen) and aggregation.
Through these three phases, the ritual subject, or the ritual
participant, firstly experiences the detachment of the individual
or group from his/her fixed point in the social structure, or a
set of cultural conditions. Secondly the ritual subject is in the
abiguous position assigned and arranged by cultural and ceremonial
realms. Turner states that in the second phases, the ritual
subject experiences sacred or "holy" and is released from daily
social action and structure. Lastly, the ritual subject thinks and
behaves in accordance with the models generated in myths and
rituals, which are different from daily social thoughts and
habits. For more details, see Victor Turner, The Ritual Process:
Structure and Anti-Structure.
[8] According to "Monthly Ordinances" in the Han ritual book
entitled Li Ji, there are second religious meaning on the day of
the fifteenth of the seventh month. First, it is a day beginning
of cooling winds and frozen morning dew. Second, corresponding to
the rhythm of the weather, the plant begins the cycle of turning
from ripening to decay. On that day, the emperor and his ancestors
taste the first fruits of harvest. See Li Ji, 1:284
[9] Wolfram Eberhard, Chinese Festival (New York: Henry Shuman,
1952), 129
[10] Morris, Berkowitz, Folk Religion in an Urban Setting: A Study
of Hakka Villagers in Transition, 63
[11] Concerning the historical development of the "Middle
Primordial Festival", see Rolf Stein, "Religious Taoism and
Popular Religion from the Second to Seventh Centuries", in FAcets
of Taoism, ed. H. Welch & A. Seidel (New Haven: Yale University
Press, 1979), 53-81
[12] See Henri Maspero, Taoism and Chinese Religion, trans. Frank
A. Kierman, Jr (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1981),
34, 82
[13] Stephen F. Teiser, The Ghost Festival in Medieval China
(Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1988). 58-77
[14] Ibid., 4
[15] See The Yulan Pen Sutra (ca. 265-313), T. no. 685; Yulan pen
jing zenshu (578-ca.645), T. no.2781
[16] Stephen F. Teiser, 196-208
[17] Ibid, 40
[18] See OuYangxiu (557-641), Yiwen Leiju (Shanghai: Zhonghua
shuju 1965), 80: "A Taoist Scriptures says, "The fifteenth day of
the seventh month is the day of the Middle Primordial [zhongyuan].
The Officer of Earth checks his figures, searching through the
human world to distinguish good from evil/ All of the gods and
assembled sages arrive together at the palace to decide upon the
length of people's lives. Ghosts from the human world summon the
records, and hungry ghosts and prisoners all coverage at once. On
this day grand dark-metropolis offerings should be made to the
Jade Capital Mountain: select myriad flowers and fruits, precious
gems and rare items, banners and jeweled vessels, delicacies and
food, and offer them to all of the assembled sages. All day and
all night Taoist masters should preach and chant this scripture,
and great sages of the ten directions togther should sing from its
numinous pages. All of the prisoners and hungry ghosts can east
their fill, completely escape from suffering, and come back among
humans." Translation is borrowed from Stephen F. Teiser, The
Ghost Festival in Medieval China, 36.
[19] Stephen F. Teiser, The Ghost Festival in Medieval China, 40-2
[20] For a general history of Fengying Xianguan, see Bartholomew
P.M. Taoist Tradition and Change: The Story of the Complete
Perfection Sect (Christian Study Centre on Chinese Religion and
Culture, 1991), 76-9.
[21] Xuanmen poyu ke, 39-45. They are Wind-Thunder Hell, Hot Fire
Hell, Golden-Hard Hell, Icy-Cold Hell, Soup-in-wok Hell, Copper
Pillar Hell, Kill-and-Cut Hell, Fire Chariot Hell, Continuously
Torture Hell
[22] Ibid., 25
[23] Ibid., 34-35
[24] Ibid, 14, 40; c.f., Xuanmen kaiwei ke, 8-9
[25] Xuanmen kaiwei ke, 8-9
[26] Xuanmen poyu ke, 34
[27] Ibid, 34
[28] Xuanmen kaiwei ke, 33
[29] Sanyuan pochan, 68
[30] Cosmos in the Taoist circle is constituted by three parts,
namely the Heavenly, earthly and human realms.
[31] Xuanmen poyu ke, 5, 6.
[32] Ibid., 14
[33] See Xuanmen kaiwei ke, 8
[34] Stephen Teiser studied Li Ji carefully and found that prior
to the development of Taoist and Buddhist ceremonies in the
seventh moon, Han people regarded the seventh month as the
beginning of cooling winds and frozen morning dew. As Stephen
Tesier noted in Li Ji 1:283-84 to write that, "Cool winds come;
the white descends; the cicada of the cold chirps.." For more
details on Han people's understanding of the seventh month and
corresponding ceremonies in this month, see Stephen Teiser, The
Ghost Festival in Midieval China, 26-31.
[35] Xuanmen poyu ke, 22
[36] Ibid., 24
[37] Ibid., 26
[38] Ibid., 17
[39] Ibid., 15
[40] Xuanmen poyu ke, 8
[41] See Sanyuan pochan, 24
[42] See Xuanmen poyu ke, 15
[43] Guandeng sanhua ke, 65, 59-64.
[44] Ibid, 69
[45] William R. Jankowiak, Sex, Death, and Hierarchy in a Chinese
City: An Anthropological Account (N.Y. Columbia University Press
1993), 263
[46] Xuanmen kaiwei ke, 16-7
[47] Ibid., 21
[48] James Watson, "The Structure of Chinese Funerary Rites:
Elementary Forms, Ritual Sequence, and the Primary of
Performance", eds., James Watson & Evelyn, Death Ritual in Late
Imperial and Modern China (Berkeley: University of California
Press, 1988), 9.
[49] William Jankowiak, Sex, Death and Hierarchy in a Chinese
City: An Anthropological Account, 163.
[50] James Watson, "The Structure of Chinese Funerary Rites:
Elementary Forms, Ritual Sequence, and the Primary of Performance"
eds., James Watson & Evelyn.
[51] S. Rawski, Death Ritual in Late Imperial and Modern China
(Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988), 9.
[52] Tong Chee Kiong, "The Inheritance of the Dead: Morturary
Rituals among the Chinese in Singapore", Southeast Asian Journal
of Social Sciences 21 (1993): 130-158.
[53] Exchange activity is not only unqiue to Chinese religions,
but also appears in Chinese social life. For instance, when people
show "courtesies", the receipt automatically return. Or, in the
case of Chinese Lunar New Year, the receipt returns "red pocket"
to the giver when he/she receives the gift.
[54] Rance Lee, Cheung Tak-sing and Cheung Yet-wah, " Material and
Non-Material Conditions and Life Satisfaction of Urban Residents"
[55] Marcel Mauss finds that there is no pure 'gift'. Gift is a
system of reciprocity. The transfer of things is operated within a
cycle of obligation to give, to receive, and to return. See Marcel
Mauss, The Gift, trans. W.D. Halls (London, W.W.Norton 1990)
[56] Mauss discovers that a gift in most cases can enhance
solidarity between exchange groups. See Marcel Mauss, The Gift,
trans. W.D. Halls (London, W.W.Norton 1990)
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