► Chinese Lore Chinese-Hawaiians - 19 : Mourning Customs

Honolulu Star Bulletin, Monday, February 25, 1957 - Clarice B. Taylor's "Tales about Hawaii"

  The son of a Chinese Hawaiian family who has not prospered would do well to think about the hopes and wishes of his Chinese Grandfather.

     Has his memory been revered? Is this grave neglected in some isolated cemetery or perhaps in a canefield?

     Chinese Grandpa married a Hawaiian woman because he wanted sons to bury him in a beautiful spot where his spirit could rest in peace throughtout eternity and be revered by his descendants.

     The prosperity of his descendants, he believed, depended upon the care given his grave. Unless his memory were revered, Chinese Grandpa believed the family would become extinct.

     Grandpa did not believe in a heaven for his soul. He firmly believed in ancestor worship as his parents before him.

     Chinese produced a great philosopher Confucius (551-497 B.C.) in the same era as Greece produced the philosopers Socrates (469-399 B.C.) and Plato (427-347 B.C.).

     Like Socrates, Confucius taught the way of life by holding conversations with his disciples.

A QUESTION
     A disciple asked Confucius "What is death?" and Confucius answered:

     "I do not know life, how am I to know about death?"

     "Should we cherish the memory of the deceased?" the disciple asked and Confucius answered:

     "You should continue to respect the memory of the dead as if they were living."

     Confucius set an example when his own mother died in 527 B.C. by fulfilling his filial duty as a mourner with depth and sincerity.

A CUSTOM
     In his observance of the mourning customs prevalent in his day, Confucius set a custom which has been maintained until this day in China and until Grandfather's day in Hawaii.

     It is in the attempt to carry on those mourning customs of ancient China that Chinese in Hawaii today place great emphasis upon its location.

     The cemetery must be a peaceful resting place for the soul throughout eternity. It must have the proper foong (wind) and shui (water).

NEXT: The dragon

Spelling is original to this text.
"canefield"


He ninau: "What year did Grandfather's day in Hawaii begin?" Personally, I haven't heard of that day here in Hawaii - just grandparents day.