NM4229 Digital Book Project_A0116380M_Toh Jing Kai

QINGMINGToh Jing Kai

MEMORIES 01 For as long as Jun Keong could remember, his mother wasjust another distant memory to him. Having passed on whenhe was at the age of five, his mother left him with his father, having only each other to depend upon. 

1MEMORIESHe knew his mother was petite and pretty, with long lustrous dark hair and thebrightest smile that shone in the old photos that his father would oftenreminisce from, all while regaling him with anecdotes about his mother.\"Look at this sweater your mother knitted for me, she always was the mostthoughtful\", he would say, with a twinkle in his eyes.\"Study hard Jun Keong, and become a doctor one day so that your motherwould be proud of you in heaven.\"And study hard he did. Even from an early age, while other children wouldspend time playing with their parents, Jun Keong would take to the librariesand seek solace in books of all kinds, hoping one day to exceed his parents'expectations of him.To support his son's educational endeavors, Kim Leong would work doubleshifts as a cook at his wife's food stall, now taken over by her snobbish youngerbrother Beng Huat.\"You don't have to work so hard just to send me to school Pa, I can manage,\"Jun Keong would say, \"and especially not for Uncle Beng Huat who has alwaysbeen nothing but mean towards you.\"Despite Jun Keong's insistence, his father would simply smile and brush off hisconcerns with assurances that he is doing fine. \"Your Uncle Beng Huat is good to me Jun Keong, after all he is your mother'sbrother and part of the family.\"However, Jun Keong knew deep down that this was not the case, as he wouldoften witness his father arguing with his uncle whenever he visits them. Heknows that their arguments had something to do with his late mother, havingheard her name shouted angrily several times behind the closed doors of thestudy room. Not willing to leave his father to tend to the food stall alone his uncle, JunKeong would often help out at the stall after school, hoping to ease his father'sburden.                                                                    ***It was the day of the release of his University entrance exam results, and JunKeong was pacing anxiously outside the food stall where he had gone to helpout. His father watched knowingly from afar, feeling very much on tenterhookshimself. Just then, he saw his son picked up the phone to answer a call,gesturing excitedly and smiling to himself. Unable to contain his ownexcitement, he called out to Jun Keong:\"How did the call go son? Is it good news?\"\"I made it Pa! I am going to study Medicine in Australia and become a doctorjust like you and Ma wanted,\" Jun Keong exclaimed, with a wide grin on hisface.His father was overjoyed, his face brimming with pride. Without sayinganother word, he immediately rushed back into the stall and pulled out thecalendar and began to make some calculations with his fingers. \"What are you doing Pa, what are you calculating?\", Jun Keong quizzed.\"Son,\" his father replied, his face suddenly solemn, \"I think its time we go andpay your mother a visit.\" 3

CEMETERY 02 The smell in the air was acrid, a stark contrast from the familiar fresh morning air that Jun Keong expected when heopened the car door. He stepped out gingerly, careful to avoidthe numerous piles of burning incense that littered the floor. As he observed the fire slowly burning away at the pile ofincense, he thought back about the past week's events that led him to the cemetery in the wee hours of the morning.

2CEMETERY\"Pay Ma a visit?\" Jun Keong replied confusedly, \"But she isn't with us anymore.\"\"Of course I know that silly,\" His father replied, \"I mean visit her in the cemetery.Besides, its also a good time to visit since QingMing is approaching.\"\"I thought you forbade me to visit Ma in the cemetery with you all these yearsduring QingMing because you were afraid that I would see you cry Pa,\" Jun Keongasked sheepishly.  \"Y-yes well... But this time is different, we need to tell your mother the goodnews,\" his father replied. \"Besides, QingMing is the time where families gather topay respects for their deceased loved ones, it is only right to visit your motherand pay your respects.\"Just then, Beng Huat, who had been inside the stall taking a nap, ran over to themexcitedly. \"I overheard that you guys are intending to visit my sister's grave for QingMing?That is excellent timing, Let me come along as well!\" He proclaimed.\"But all these years you were always too busy to visit,\" the father replied curtly.\"No no its all a misunderstanding, come let me drive you guys to the cemetery.That place is so \"ulu\", I will drive you guys in my big Mercedes.\" He chortled.                                                                        ***\"Eh Jun Keong, stop day-dreaming and come help your uncle carry theseofferings! They are so heavy!\" Startled, Jun Keong aroused from his musings and began to retrieve the offeringsfrom the boot of the car with the help of his father. The father had painstakinglyprepared the offerings the night before, and organised the items separately intoboxes of food and bags of paper offerings.\"Where do I bring these Pa?\" Jun Keong asked, looking at the rows and rows ofgraves neatly arranged in front of him. The entire cemetery must have spannedacres, and there were little signage to guide visitors around.\"Come follow me son, I know a shortcut this way,\" his father replied.Squeezing past the narrow pathways between the graves, the group finallyarrived at the grave of Jun Keong's mother, which was tucked right at the foot ofthe hill. On first look, the grave looked just like any other. The picture on hermother's grave was just how he had remembered her, with chinese words etchedin gold or red alongside the picture. Three small holders were placed in frontintended for the candles and joss sticks.  Freshly planted flowers and grass filledthe back of the grave, providing a much-welcomed vibrancy to the sombersurroundings. It was then where two statues adorned on each side of the gravethat caught Jun Keong's eyes.\"What are these statues for Pa?\" he asked.\"Well, these statues are the guards that we Hokkiens believe will escort yourmother in her afterlife and protect her from harm,\" his father replied.\"Pfft!\" scoffed his Uncle Beng Huat from behind, \"Come lets not waste time andget started with the prayers,\" he said with a tinge of annoyance. 5

PRAYERS 03 \"Yes let's start the tomb-sweeping,\" the father replied.  \"Do we take out the offerings and start to burn them?\" Jun Keong asked, unsure of what to do next.\"There are three steps to the procedure son, we start with the first step  - cleaning the tombstone.\"

3PRAYERSAccording to the father, this is the most important aspect of QingMing Festivaleach year. \"These are the graves of our ancestors and loved ones,\" he would say as he beganto pluck the weeds that grown in between the cracks. \"It would be unfilial ordisrespectful if we do not ensure that their graves are clean and presentable.\" \"Besides the weeds and leaves, we must also ensure that the painted words do not lose its luster,\" he said, handing Jun Keong a bottle of red paint and brush to paint over words that have faded.  As Jun Keong painted over the words, he began to realize the intricacies that goes behind each word on the tombstone. Phrases around the tombstone espoused good fortune and prosperity that thechinese culture embraces. On the left side, words would describe his mother'sorigins and names of her parents and siblings. On the right side, words signifyinformation about her married family, with names of her spouse and children. AsJun Keong painted over his own name, he wondered to himself how painstakinglyit must have been for his father to managed all these by himself over the years.\"I think its clean enough, let's proceed with the prayers!\" the uncle exclaimedimpatiently, despite being merely a bystander throughout the cleaning efforts ofthe father and son.\"Let's take out the food and offerings now and pray to your mother,\" grimacing ashe clutched his nose and gestured to Jun Keong. \"This place is so smelly with allthe burning, let's not waste any more time.\"\"Wait before we do that, we have to offer prayers to the Tu Di Gong first,\" thefather said, gesturing towards a small plaque with an elderly deity painted on it. \"The Tu Di Gong, or the God of the Earth, protects the land that houses your mother's grave,\" he explained patiently. \"Therefore we need to pay our respects first to him first to ward off any evil spirits that may be lingering around\" The father then carefully took out three joss sticks from a bag, lighting them before placing them in holder in front of the plaque. \"There we go, now we can proceed with the next step of our prayers.\"Returning to the box of offerings he had prepared, the father took out a bouquetof orchids and began to place them neatly into a vase.\"Hey I thought it is customary to bring chrysanthemums as flowers for prayers,how can you mix this up having been here for so many years?\" the uncleproclaimed obnoxiously. 7

\"Orchids are her favorite flowers,\" the father replied, without turning around. Behind them, Jun Keong sniggered, glad to see his father finally deciding to standup against his uncle. Turning past the red-faced uncle, the father gestured for Jun Keong to help himlay out the food offerings for his mother. \"When we offer our prayers during QingMing,\" his father began to explain, \"it is customary to bring food items such as roast pork or chicken accompanied by bowls of rice and wine.\" \"Also, your mother loves fruits so I will make sure to always to bring along a wide variety whenever I come to visit,\" he added with a grin.\"Alright Jun Keong, take these and say something nice to your mother,\" he said,handing over several joss sticks into Jun Keong's hands. \"These joss sticks areused to transmit our prayers and well-wishes to the place where your motherresides now.\"Taken by surprise, Jun Keong stared dumbfounded at his mother's grave,thoughts circling around his head. Should he apologize for not visiting all theseyears he wondered, unsure of how to begin. A few moments passed in silence asthe smoke from the joss sticks floated above them. \"You can tell her who you are Jun Keong and why you are here,\" the fatherchimed in, \"She might not recognize you since you have grown up after all theseyears.\" As words began to form at the cusp of his mouth, his father reminded him tokneel down on both knees while offering his prayers as a sign of respect. Still at aloss for words, Jun Keong realized that his father had wrapped his hands aroundhis, gesturing him to offer prayers in an up-down motion. \"Darling, look who's here it's our son Jun Keong,\" the father began, sensing JunKeong's hesistance. \"Look at how tall and strong he is now.\" As his father continues to talk to his mother on his behalf, Jun Keong finallygathered enough courage to talk to his mother on his on. \"Ma... its me Jun Keong,\" he whispered with a trembling voice, \"today isQingMing and I'm here to see you with Pa.\" Satisfied with his son's progress, the father turned his attention towardspreparing the other necessary items for prayers. \"Jun Keong, now take these bunch of joss sticks and five-colored paper and place them into grass that's on your mother's grave,\" the father said as he began to kneel down to offer prayers to his late wife.  \"This custom of placing these colored paper are called Ya Zhi, and this indicates to others that descendants have visited the grave and paid their respects.\" As Jun Keong began placing the five-colored paper just like his father requested,he couldn't help but to overhear his words to his late wife.   8

\"Darling, its me you husband, I hope you are doing well up in heaven,\" he said,the tinge of sadness evident in his voice.\"Thanks to your blessings, our son is going to Australia to study medicine just likeyou have always wanted!\" the father then said, the sadness in his voice nowdissipated into a more hopeful tone. \"Please bless our son to be safe and sound in Australia and come back as asuccessful doctor,\" he beamed, giving Jun Keong a cheeky wink as he said it.Just then, the uncle cleared his throat and said, \"I think its my turn to talk to her,I have waited so long already.\"Without hesitance, he knelt down in front of the grave and started to kowtow inrapid succession.\"Oh my dear sister, you left everything in your will to your husband and son, andnothing for me, your poor brother who has ran into some financial difficulties!\"\"I've tried borrowing money from your husband but he insist on saving the moneyto send your son abroad for studies, oh what am I to do,\" he said as he wailedlouder and louder. \"Now I have come here for your help, hoping that you can give me some numbersin my dreams that I can bet on in the upcoming lottery. If I managed to strike itrich, I promised to bring you your favorite delicacies and gift you anything youwant.\"As the uncle continues to reveal his true motive for visiting, Jun Keong and hisfather exchanged looks of exasperation.\"Come son, lets proceed with the last stage of the prayers and burn the offeringsfor your mother,\" the father exclaimed, hoping to finally be away from his ne'er-do-well brother-in-law.Together, the duo carried the bags of paper offerings to a more secluded corneras they began preparations for burning.Opening up the bags, Jun Keong could not help but to marvel at the vast array ofdifferent paper offerings available.\"Wow Pa, they have Iphones and computer tablets as offerings nowadays!Technology is really catching up,\" he exclaimed bemusedly.   \"Yes its really getting more and more elaborate nowadays,\" the father replied.  \"Back then, there were just the simple clothes, jewelry, and bank notes, but now you cannot even keep up anymore!\" \"Are these ready to be burn just like this Pa?\" Jun Keong asked. \"Ah my son, burning these offerings is an art in itself, one that you will soon come to realize,\" the father replied.  \"Come let me show you!\" He then began to demonstrate the intricacies of burning paper offerings, explaining that the paper bank notes need to folded in a circular manner so that they burn more easily.  9

 \"Its important to ensure that they bank notes burn completely, or else yourmother would only receive half the money!\" he joked, as the father and sonshared a rare moment of laughter. \"Now you need to arrange the offerings in pile with the bigger itemssurrounding the bank notes which burns more easily so that everything can beburned completely,\" he explained.Just as they were admired their handiwork, the uncle reappeared behind them.\"Eh have you finished burning the offerings?\" he said, \"Let's go home already, itis so hot and humid here, I can feel myself burning.\" Taking a look at his watch, the father realized that its getting late.  \"Alright let's go, but first we need to ask if your mother has finished eating.\" he said. \"And how exactly are we going to do that?\" the uncle replied with a quizzical look on his face.\" \"Customarily, we flip two coins and if the results is one heads and one tails, it means that they have finished eating and we can then go home,\" the father replied. \"Well then flip the coins now what are you still waiting for?\" With a sigh, the father reached into his wallet for two coins and flipped them into the air. 10

THE JOURNEY 04It was halfway through the journey home when the uncle started to talk about his QingMing experience. \"Wah coming to the cemetery is really painful,\" he mused. \"The weather plus the smell of burning is really a lethal combination, so unbearable!\"

4THE JOURNEY\"Luckily, the government has wisen up and decided to cremate everyone fromnow on, and we no longer have to go to these unbearable cemeteries in thefuture,\" he added. \"I heard that a few years later the government will reclaim back all the land fromthe cemeteries and everyone will be exhumed and cremated to be shifted to thosenew shiny columbariums and every tombstone will be arranged in neat rowsinstead,\" he chuckled, very much amused at himself.  Unsure of whether to trust his uncle's words, Jun Keong look towards his father for clarification.  Unfortunately, his father gave a conciliatory nod of his head, confirming that what Jun Keong had just to be true.  \"Is Ma's cemetery affected by the land reclamation as well?\" he asked.\"I have heard rumors about the shift from the groundskeeper,\" he said. \"I guess wehave to be mentally prepared that a shift will be imminent eventually.\"Upon hearing his father's resignation, his heart dropped. He knew that shifting tothe columbarium would mean a loss of the traditional customs and ritualsassociated with QingMing. There would be no more food offerings in these space-constrained columbariums,and instead reduced to mere joss stick offerings and flowers.Even the long-held tradition of burning paper offerings wouldn't be the sameanymore, much to the delight of his uncle, who heard that there would be acentralized furnace for all the burning of paper offerings.\"Imagine that, there would be no more putrid burning smell everywhere,\" hesquealed as he drove, \"how much more bearable would that be!\"But to Jun Keong, he knew that suffering was precisely the point of the QingMingprocess, one that proves the mettle of the descendants in overcoming difficulties topay their respects for their ancestors, one of the fundamentals of Confucianism,which is what the Chinese society is built upon. Reflecting on his first QingMing experience and the differing attitudes between hisfather and uncle, he realized that there is an increasing connotation of praying toone's ancestors and materialist rewards, and the expectation to be blessed withwealth and luck in return, a far cry from what the original intention of QingMingshould be.Even though the fate of his mother's grave is still uncertain, one thing that JunKeong knows for sure is that he will be back visiting his mother every year toensure that the customs and traditions of the QingMing festival is not lost upon hisgeneration.                                                                    *** 12

REFERENCEShttp://cavinteo.blogspot.sg/2012/04/qing-ming-festival-remembering-our.htmlhttp://ylyn-journal.blogspot.sg/2015/04/qing-ming-festival-tomb-sweeping-at-lim.htmlhttp://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_842_2005-01-03.htmlhttp://www.daverayphoto.com/blogs/2013/06/chinese-all-souls-festivalhttp://thesingaporeidentity.tumblr.com/ 13