► Chinese Lore for Chinese-Hawaiian - 6: Gift Giving

Honolulu Star Bulletin. Saturday, February 9, 1957 - Tales about Hawaii, Clarice B. Taylor 

     Your Chinese grandpa took an impressive gift to his employer on Chinese New Year's Day.

     If he was employed on a sugar plantation, he took a big gift to the manager, a lesser gift to 
the assistant manager and another to the luna directly above him.

     The value of the gifts was nicely graduated.

     Not knowing the reason behind this gift giving,  the haole plantation manager believed he was popular and well-liked by his Chinese [employes].

     The truth of the matter is that gift giving at New Year's is an old custom and has nothing to do with like or dislike of an employer.

MEMBER OF FAMILY

     In China there was an emotional value to the gift because the employer was generally an elder member of the family.

    For instance, a merchant who ran a store employed members of his large family as [employes] in the store. It was his duty to house and feed them.

     The merchant and his men worked every day all year round until Chinese New Year. He then took a five-day holiday and closed his store on New Year's Day.

     If he was a wealthy merchant, the holiday might last 10 days.

     During that time, he feasted his [employes] with his family and gave the last big feast at which all the New Year's food was eaten on the night before reopening the store.

GIFT TO BOSS

     On New Year's Day, the [employes] gave him a gift whose value was in proportion to the job held. I might be only a New Year's cake.

     Gift giving was important to the merchant. On the second day of the New Year he called on his business superiors and took gifts to them proportionate with the business they gave him.

     When he called on his equals, he took no gifts and they gave him no gifts.

     The important things was that he honor his equals by calling on the proper day.

     The Chinese say, "If you are fond of a friend, you pay a courtesy call on the first or second day. A call made on the third of fourth is a formality." Yu sin pai nien cho i er wu sin pai nien cho san shih.

     Gift giving to an equal is considered embarrassing. 

     Large gifts from inferiors is also embarrassing and the receiver would think the giver was trying to solicit benefits.

NEXT: Legends

*  [employes] :spelling is original to this text.