In each year’s Chinese New Year celebrations in Hong Kong, a member of the Hong Kong Government represents the city in a divination ritual called kau chim. The event takes place on the second day of the Lunar New Year at Che Kung temple, Sha Tin, where a fortune stick is drawn. The luck of the city for that upcoming Lunar year will be foretold by the message on
Chinese lineage associations, also kinship or ancestral associations(Chinese: 宗族社会; pinyin: zōngzú shèhuì or Chinese: 宗族协会; pinyin: zōngzú xiéhuì), are a type of socialrelationship institutions found in Han Chinese ethnic groups and the fundamental unit of Chinese ancestral religion. They gather people who share the same surname belonging to the same kin, who often have the same geographical origin (ancestral home), and therefore the same patron deities. They aren’t seen as distinct from the Chinese
A spirit tablet, memorial tablet, or ancestral tablet, is a placardused to designate the seat of a deity or past ancestor as well as to enclose it. The name of the deity or past ancestor is usually inscribed onto the tablet. With origins in traditional Chinese culture, the spirit tablet is a common sight in many East Asian countries where any form of ancestor
An ancestral shrine, hall or temple(Chinese: 祠堂; pinyin: Cítáng or Chinese: 宗祠; pinyin: Zōng Cí, Vietnamese: Nhà thờ họ), also called lineage temple, is a temple dedicated to deified ancestors and progenitors of surname lineages or families in the Chinese tradition. Ancestral temples are closely linked to Confucian philosophy and culture and the emphasis that it places on filial piety. A common central feature of the ancestral temples are the ancestral tablets that embody the ancestral spirits. The ancestral tablets are typically
Chinese ancestor worship or Chinese ancestor veneration, also called the Chinese patriarchal religion, is an aspect of the Chinese traditional religionwhich revolves around the ritual celebration of the deified ancestors and tutelary deities of people with the same surname organised into lineage societies in ancestral shrines. Ancestors, their ghosts, or spirits, and gods are considered part of “this world”, that is, they are neither supernatural (in the sense of
Moon blocks or jiaobei (also written as jiao bei etc variants; Chinese: 筊杯 or 珓杯; pinyin: jiǎo bēi; Jyutping: gaau2 bui1), also poe(from Chinese: 桮; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: poe; as used in the term “poe divination”), are wooden divination tools originating from China, which are used in pairs and thrown to answer a yes or no question. They are made out of wood or bamboo and carved into a crescent shape. A pair of clam shells can also be used.Each
Kau Chim or Kau Cim, also known as Lottery poetry (traditional Chinese: 求籤; simplified Chinese: 求签; pinyin: Qiúqiān; Sidney Lau: kau4 chim1), is a fortune tellingpractice that originated in China in which the querent (person asking the question) requests answers from a sacred oracle lot. The practice is often performed in a Taoist or Buddhist temple in front of an altar. Kau Chim is often referred to as Chien Tung or Chinese Fortune Sticks by westerners. In the US, a version
Dajiao, (Chinese: 打醮) called the Taiping Qingjiao or Taai ping ching jiu in Hong Kong, (太平清醮) is a Taoist ritual and festival which is performed every year. The ritual is to pray and request the Taoist Deities to bestow peace and harmony in the particular neighborhood or location. Pak Tai is the most popular Chinese Deity for this religious service and rituals. Believers have to abstain from meat and eat
The Monkey King Festival (Chinese: 齊天大聖千秋) is celebrated in Hong Kongon the 16th day of the eighth Lunar month of the Chinese calendar, corresponding to September according to the Common era calendar, a day after the Mid Autumn Festival. The origin of the festival is traced to the epic 16th century novel Journey to the West (Xiyou Ji, 西遊記) written by the Chinese novelist Wu Cheng’en (1500–1582)
The Birthday of the Monkey God is a cultural and religious holiday celebrated in Singapore on the 15th or 16th day of the First Lunar Month. The dates on the Western Calendar vary from year to year. It marks the birthday of Sun Wukong, the protagonist in the classical novel Journey to the West. The popular celebratory customs associated with the Birthday of