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In this issue:
Featured Member
Let us introduce you to Jacinta Khan who has been a great help with some of our southeastern Asian hoods. When you visit her beautifully decorated pavillion, be sure to catch her articles on Burma and Thailand.
Featured Hood
Visit Bihar, the land of Ashoka the Great and the birthplace of Buddhism in India. While you're exploring, be sure not to miss The Bodhi Tree in Bodh Gaya.
Featured Group
Manga originated in the 17th century. Learn more about this Japanese art form at Manga Mania.
Featured Article
The History of Kites
by Sementawy Horemheb
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Fooling around in the Orient
Here in the Orient, we don't really have an April Fool tradition. The closest we can come are the tales of Sun Wukong, better known to us westerners as the Monkey King. The consumate trickster, his epic journey to the west has entertained readers for some 500 years.
Read some of the Monkey King stories
Orient Garden Tour
Where I live, it is customary in the spring for communities to put together garden tours, so that the public can visit the most beautiful private gardens in the area. You may have missed the lovely gardens in our own Oriental neighborhoods, so we have arranged a tour for your spring vacation. Off we go then!
Our first stop will be in Kamakura, Japan, so that you might stroll along the Wakamiya Oji Dori, the main street which is famous for its cherry blossom display in the spring. From Kamakura, there will be a bus to take you to Edo, where you must visit The Shukeiyen Garden of Genji Murasaka. There will be time too for a stop at Senex's Bonsai and Topiary Shop, where you will be able to purchase something for your own garden.
Next, our tour will take you to China, where our first stop will be in Suzhou, long famous for its many classical gardens. While you're there, you will be able to visit Ji Song Zhou's Winter Garden, Quin Shi Huang's Boathouse and Garden, and my own humble Blue Moon Garden.
From Suzhou, we will travel to Tao Shang's lovely Furong Zhi Wu Yuan in Chengdu, a city famous for its hibiscus plantings. Then we will head further south to Chang'an, where we'll be exploring the Quan Yin Garden owned by KaoriOhara Chattian and Jin Shang's Pin Hua Pao Chien, which means Precious Mirror for Gazing at Flowers.
Our last stop will be in Bodh Gaya, India, where you will be able to refresh your spirits in the meditation garden of Jacinta Khan's Tranquil Sanctuary. When you pay our green-thumbed citizens a visit, please leave a message to let them know you've stopped by!
Whipping the Spring Ox
There is an interesting custom in observation of the start of spring among the Chinese which dates back to the Zhou dynasty. The Whipping the Spring Ox festival was celebrated throughout China, though with regional variations, to foster agricultural success in the coming growing season.
In southeastern China, prior to the first day of spring, clay images were constructed of Da Chun Niu, the Spring Ox, and of Gou (or Kou) Mang, a messenger of the Chinese sky-god. Gou Mang is associated with the east and with grain, and brings spring and happiness.
On the appointed day, Li Chun, there was a procession led by government officials to the eastern gate of the city, to a pavilion in which the clay figures had been placed for the occasion.. The citizens followed them blowing trumpets, singing, dancing and waving flags.
In front of the effigies in the pavilion, there was a table set with candles and incense burners, fruit and cups of wine. The Prefect and other officials began the ceremony by bowing to the altar three times. Each official in turn was then handed a cup of wine by an attendant. After raising it to his forehead three times he returned it and bowed three times again.
Musicians then played as the two clay figures were loaded onto litters to be carried throughout the streets, accompanied by the officials and the spectators, who threw rice and salt at the statues. When they reached the Prefect's yamen (his office or residence), the officials encircled the bull and each hit it three times with a willow stick. The broken bits of clay which resulted were then fed to the pigs which was supposed to stimulate their growth.
In some places a whip is used instead of the sticks and in others, children are encouraged to decorate the figures with flowers. In the western provinces, a paper model of an ox pulling a plow was used. The belly of the ox was filed with miniature oxen models. When all had gathered, the Magistrate intoned:
May the land and the people be peaceful;
May the wind and the rain be propitious;
May the fruits of the earth be abundant.
After the ceremony, the Magistrate broke open the paper figure with an ox goad, and the people scrambled to obtain one of the little oxen which would bring them good luck.
Sources:
Whipping the Spring Ox
Armstrong, Edward A. "Chinese Bull Ritual and Its Affinities." Folklore Vol.56, No. 1, March, 1945: 200-207 from jstor.org
Many thanks to Senex Caecilius who first discovered this festival!
The Orient Family Names Project
We've been slowly adding information about our Oriental family names, but there are still a lot to do and we're hoping for your help. Take a look at the list of surnames in the Orient Names Project thread and adopt your favorite today!
We're also hoping for your help in creating family plaques for each of our Oriental families. You can see a list of those we have and those we still need in the Orient Family Plaques thread.
Orient Site Map
Have you ever forgotten where you saw that interesting group or hood home in the Orient? Help is at hand! Aria Murasaka has created a wonderful Oriental site map to help us navigate our complicated world. Take some time to explore this most useful resource. You'll wonder how we ever did without it!
Archaeology News
Peking Man older than previously thought
Large Harappan burial site found near Delhi
DNA sheds light on mysterious Okhotsk people
Malaysians find site of pre-Angkor Bujang civilization
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