Double
Nine Festival
in the Land of Longevity
2 November 2006
I
Ching is the very foundation of the
Chinese culture, which uses a set of
symbols and numbers to mirror the process
of change in the real world, with odd
numbers representing the active principle
of yang, and even numbers signifying the
passive principle of yin. As the biggest
odd number, nine stands for the yang
energy that is at its peak before a
gradual decline. Understandably, when it
comes to the ninth day of the ninth lunar
month, a correration between the number
and the revered mature age is drawn, and
thus the Double Yang or Double Nine (重阳)
is celebrated as the festival of
longevity.
While
the tomb sweeping festival is a time for
family-oriented spring outing as Chinese
people pay respects to their deceased
ancestors and to tidy their gravesite,
the Double Nine provides an occasion for
family-oriented autumn excursion as part
of the way to show gratitude to their
living elderly.
The
traditional activities during the Double
Nine festival include climbing hills or
towers, carrying a spray of dogwood,
drinking chrysanthemum wine and eating
chrysanthemum cake.
An
old-fashioned Double Nine Cake would have
nine layers to symbolise the supreme yang
number nine and a shape that resembles a
tower, with five colours to attribute the
Five Agents.
Nowadays,
there is hardly anyone carrying dogwood
grass, and few people would drink
chrysanthemum wine, but the practice of
mountain climbing and cake eating
remains, often with a modern touch.
On
this year’s Double Nine, October 31,
some nursing homes in Beijing were
reportedly held cake-eating parties
organised by young volunteers who wore
traditional flowing Han
dress and performed
time-honoured Double Nine ritual that
includes kowtow and poem reading.
In
shanghai, many career-demanding young
people sent a personal career or
housekeeper to their parents as a Double
Nine gift.
And
all over the country the business of
travel agencies that arrange escorted
senior tours is booming, and most of the
bookings are said to be made by children
for their parents.
But
in nowhere the celebration is more
splendid than that in a small county in
China’s west province Guangxi.
The Double Nine
Banquet
Click on the image to
enlarge it
Lasting
Fortune County (永福县)
hosted a Double Nine banquet that was
attended by 1199 Longevity Stars (寿星)
aged 70 and over. Sitting by 200 Eight
Immortal Tables (八仙桌)
arranged in the shape resembling the
Chinese character "longevity" (寿),
they’ve made history by creating a new
Geniis Record.
The
county has long been dubbed Land of
Longevity. According to the local
chronicle record, the oldest local
resident had reached the age of 158.
Today
the county has 32 elderly aged one
hundred or over, up to 12 per 100,000
population. The number of those who have
entered their 90s is about seven hundred,
with nearly five thousand locals in their
80s, and more than ten thousand well into
their 70s.
What
is more remarkable is that half of the
elderly centennials in the county can
still look after themselves, and some of
them are even able to carry out rather
physically demanding chores like
ploughing farmland and chopping firewood.
The youth of their spirits are also
outstanding. A 101-year old lady plays
cards and mahjong with her grand children
whenever have the chance, while a
100-year old man loves to collect VCD of
his favourite opera.
A
journalist who visited the elderly
centennials there has summarised
following traits that he believed to be
the secret to their longevity: A big
heart, an even temper, a diligent body
and simple meal.
China
used to be, arguably, the most aging
friendly society in human history. For
thousands of years, growing old was
something to be celebrated about rather
than afraid of. The virtuous tradition,
however, was brutally broken in last
century.
But
the way in which a society treats its
aging population tells a lot about how
civilised it is. As the true evil can
only be found in the heart of those who
constantly regard others as evil, the
true virtue can only be found in the
spirits of those who approaches
everybody, particularly the poor or the
vulnerable, with compassion.
The
good sign is that after a century of
confusion, slowly the reason and sense
begin to return to the land with a
civilisation that is though ancient but
certainly not out of date.
Some
of the poems on Double Nine festival by
famous Chinese poets:
Thinking of My
Shandong Brother on Double Nine (九月九日忆山东兄弟)
Wang Wei (王维), Tang Dynasty (618
– 907)
独在异乡为异客，每逢佳节倍思亲。
遥知兄弟登高处，遍插茱萸少一人。
Climb High on
Double Nine (九月十日即事)
Li Bai (李白), Tang Dynasty
昨日登高罢，今朝再举觞。
菊花何太苦，遭此两重阳。
Homesick on
Double Nine (蜀中九日)
Wang Bo (王勃), Tang Dynasty
九月九日望乡台，他席他乡送客杯。
人情已厌南中苦，鸿雁那从北地来。
Drinking Alone
on Double Nine (醉花荫)
Li Qingzhao (李清照), Song Dynasty (960
– 1279)
薄雾浓云愁永昼，瑞脑销金兽。
佳节又重阳，玉枕纱橱，半夜凉初透。
东篱把酒黄昏后，有暗香盈袖。
莫道不销魂，帘卷西风，人比黄花瘦！
Yellow Flowers
on Double Nine (九日)
Wen Sen (文森), Ming Dynasty (1368
– 1644)
三载重阳菊，开时不在家。
何期今日酒，忽对故园花。
野旷云连树，天寒雁聚沙。
登临无限意，何处望京华.
Pre:
Welcome,
Babe
Next: Red
Leaves Festival
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