Tomb Sweeping Day is traditionally dedicated to honoring one’s ancestors. It is a rare thing for large families to find the time to come together, much less more than 200 people, but that was the case for one family.
The Chiang (江) family in Tainan’s Nansi District (楠西) village of Lutaoyang (鹿陶洋) saw more than 200 family members coming together to pay their respects to their ancestors and see their relatives, on Tomb Sweeping Day on Monday.
Family elder Chiang Chin-ching (江晉清) said the family can trace 25 generations and the family residence is said to be the largest and most well-preserved in monosyllabic surname families across Southeast Asia.
Photo: Lin Meng-ting, Taipei Times
Sprawling across 3.5 hectares, the residence once housed 136 families. Now only 30 families still reside at the home, Chiang said, adding that this ancestral home is open to tourists.
The family encourages its younger generations to make time to attend Tomb Sweeping Day ceremonies, Chiang said, adding that in earlier times the family had even offered hongbao (紅包, red envelopes) of NT$100 to entice the younger generation to bring their children.
The incentive is no longer necessary, as the family agrees that the event is an important one, Chiang said, adding that every year the family sees on average about 300 members return home for the event.
Although the hongbao are no longer necessary, the family still keeps the tradition of giving out a rice cake — dyed red — in the form of a turtle to each family member, Chiang said.
The cake is believed to ward off evil spirits, which might linger around the cemeteries where the tomb sweeping takes place.
The family saw about 200 members this year, which might have something to do with the four-day weekend and some of the family members leaving after the tomb sweeping event, Chiang said, adding that some of the oldest participants were into their 90s, while the youngest are about two years old.
The family members congregated in front of the tomb of the family’s oldest ancestor, each taking their turn to place incense before the tomb as a sign of their respect while the eldest member recited an elegiac oration.
The family members kneeled three times and kowtowed nine times to demonstrate their respect for their ancestors.
The act of kneeling and kowtowing is a gesture of utmost respect, because it was a ceremony reserved for emperors in imperial China.
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