Part 3 – Hakka Folk Culture 客家民俗

Hakka immigration started in the Song Dynasty, from the mountainous regions of Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi to Shenzhen and Hong Kong. But the major migration happened after the lifting of the Great Eviction during the early Qing Dynasty. Shenzhen Hakkas kept most of the traditions of the Meizhou Hakka 梅州客.

Walled Cities of the Hakka 客家围城

Hakka tradition stipulated that “all clansmen stick together”. A Hakka walled village 围龙屋 is a large multi-family communal living structure that is designed to be easily defensible. This building style is unique to the Hakka people found in southern China. Walled villages are typically designed for defensive purposes and consist of one entrance and no windows at the ground level.

Unlike the Hakka Tulou architecture 客家土楼 built in Fujian and Guangxi, Hakka walled cities in Shenzhen are large scale, fortified and a walled city within a city. This particular 1:1 scale replica of Longtian Residence 龙田世居 was built in 17th Year of Qing Emperor Daoguang 道光十七年 (1837) contained three main halls, two side-halls, one outer wall, four towers and a watchtower.

Birthday Celebrations of the Elders 儿孙满堂祝寿诞

Longevity was uncommon in the old days, so when elders of the family reached 60 or 61 (and every decade afterwards), a grand celebration was usually held for the matriarch or patriarch.

Longgang Hakkas celebrate the longevity birthday 大寿 with a grand ceremony. The children and their descendants will all gather for the celebration, and they will decorate the halls with red lanterns, red candles, and lots of red paper cuttings. Everything prepared will be auspicious to wish the birthday elder more good years to come.

Getting Married 洞房花烛醉人时

The tradition Chinese wedding follows the “Three Documents and Six Etiquettes” ritual 三书六礼. The three documents are 聘书 Engagement Letter, 礼书 List of Gifts and 迎亲书 Marriage Certificate. The six etiquettes are 纳彩 Proposal, 问明 Match-making, 纳吉 Comparing birthdates, 纳征 Wedding Gifts, 请期 Wedding Date, and 迎亲 The Wedding.

The bridal chamber is called Dongfang 洞房 “The Hole” or “The Cave”. The name originated in the Tang Dynasty. There are many traditional rituals tied to the bridal chamber, like getting a child to jump on the couple’s bed, sprinkling jujubes 枣, peanuts 花生, dried longans 桂圆, melon seeds 瓜子 on the bed to wish the couple to have many children. The four items put together is 早生贵子 or “have a child quickly”.

Welcoming a New Birth 弄璋正月喜上灯

Hakkas in Shenzhen has the traditional of lighting a new lantern during the Spring Festival to celebrate the birth of a new boy from the past year. This traditional is called 上灯 or “Raising the Lantern”.

The lantern is lit in the Ancestral Hall and different areas have different traditions. Some kept it there for a whole year before bringing it home. Some hung it there for a a few days until the 15th day of the Spring Festival.

Emphasis on Education

Along the corridor to the next exhibits was a display of many plaques of outstanding achievements in officialdom which usually started with achieving the top positions in the imperial examinations.

When these officials retired and returned to their hometowns, the locals will welcome them usually with these forms of flattery, something in Chinese we refer to as 衣锦还乡 “Returning home in glory”. These days, the “glory” is not being a servant of the people, but measurement of wealths and fortune, unfortunately.

Dragon Dancing 龙腾四海庆太平

Dragon is an auspicious animal for the Chinese and during festivals dragon dance is performed.

Shenzhen Pinghu Paper Dragon 深圳平湖纸龙 is unique to the Hakka Liu Village. Every year before the Lunar New Year, a paper dragon is made from waxed paper. The dragon is used as part of the dragon dance rituals to pray for a good year ahead and is used only from the first day (Spring Festival) of the Lunar New Year to 15th day (Lantern Festival). On the last day, the dragon is burnt at the river to signify the departure of the dragon back to river.

Hakka Folk Songs 客家山歌

The area of Lingnan is surrounding by the mountains and often communications in the old days were quite primitive – shouting across the valleys.

This custom developed over time to become singing between villages, when the Hakka ladies would sing some questions and the Hakka boys will reply with a tune, and vice versa. Most of these were songs of love amore. If you are wondering how it sounds like, there’s a movie that depicted this form of singing called Liu Sanjie. Liu Sanjie or Third Sister Liu is a 1960 Chinese musical film about the legendary folk singer Liu Sanjie 刘三姐, who was a peasant girl of Zhuang ancestry from the Guangxi region

“Cool hat masking Hakka girl” used to be a unique scenery in Shenzhen. In winter and summer, Hakka women in Shenzhen have the habit of wearing the straw-made “cool hats” 凉帽. In the old days, Hakka women were forced by circumstances to work like men but conservative customs dictated that they do not show their faces. In order to “cover shame” and to block the fierce sunlight, they wore this kind of cool hat with a veil. A woman wearing a cool hat can see others clearly, but it is not easy for others to see them clearly. The veil swings and dances with the movement of her body, adding a little hazy beauty and charm.