Subtitles of the Video Clip Cheung Chau Jiao Festival
The island of Cheung Chau (長洲) situates about 16 kilometres southwest of the Hong Kong Island. It
has an area of about three square kilometers. There are two small hills of about 100 metres high on its
north and south sides, linked by a long, narrow alluvial plain in the middle. Back in the reign of Qianlong
(乾隆), Cheung Chau was already a major market of the Xin’an (新安) county, as well as a major fishing
centre. Residents on the island were mainly involved in fishing and other related vocations. Nowadays,
Cheung Chau has become a hot spot for tourist and leisurely activities. With about 23,000 residents on the
island, it has become the most densely population outlying island of Hong Kong.
Cheung Chau’s old market covers mainly the Pak She Street (北社街) and the San Hing Street (新興
街). The residents there are mainly the Huizhou and Chaozhou people. The Cantonese live mainly in the
Tai San Street (大新街), Chung Hing Street (中興街) and Hing Lung Street (興隆街). The boat dwellers,
also called the “Tanka people” (蜑家人), are mainly found in Sai Wan (西灣) on the southwestern tip of
the island. Every year, in the fourth month of the lunar calendar, all residents of Cheung Chau participate
in the “Tai Ping Ching Chiu” (太平清醮) (pinyin: Tai Ping Qing Jiao; lit. “Purest Sacrifice Celebrated for
Great Peace”), i.e., the Jiao(Dajiao) Festival, which is held mainly in the market area.
Before the 20th century, there were already four “fellow villagers associations” in Cheung Chau, of
which the “Hui Chao Fu” (惠潮府; lit. “Huizhou and Chaozhou Prefectures Association) could be
considered the earliest one. The “Pak Tai Temple” (北帝廟; lit. “Northern Emperor Temple”) was founded
in the name of “Hui Chao Fu”. It is said that in 1777 (the 42nd year of the reign of Emperor Qianlong), a
Huizhou merchant brought to Cheung Chau the incense and candle of Pak Tai (北帝, i.e. the Northern
Emperor deity in Taoism) from the Xuan Wu Mountain (玄武山) in Lufeng of Guangdong, and in 1783
(the 48th year of the reign of Emperor Qianlong), some Huizhou and Chaozhou people proposed to
construct the temple.
Although the worship of Pak Tai in Cheung Chau originated among the people from Haifengand
Lufeng, they had the support of the Cantonese when they carried out extension of the temple in early 20th
century. Since then, the right to offer sacrifices in the Pak Tai Temple and to control it was equally shared
by the Huizhou people, the Chaozhou people, and the Cantonese. They take turns to take charge of the
annual devotional Cantonese opera (神功戲). In addition, Pak Tai gradually became accepted by people in
Cheung Chau, and became their guardian deity. The Jiao (Dajiao) Festival, with Pak Tai being its central
figure, also became the most important annual event that all residents of the island participate in.
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There are various legends regarding the origin of the Jiao(Dajiao) Festival in Cheung Chau. Huizhou
people of the older generation recalled that the Jiao(Dajiao) Festival of Cheung Chau originated in the Tai
Ping Shan Street (太平山街) on Hong Kong Island. In about the end of 19th century, due to the bubonic
plague, residents on the Tai Ping Shan Street held the “Tai Ping Ching Chiu” rituals that centred around
Pak Tai in order to avert calamities and release dead souls from suffering. Later, they moved the event to
the Pak She Street of Cheung Chau, which was also inhabited by the Haifeng and Lufeng people.
Each year, the Jiao(Dajiao) Festival is held for three days in the early part of the fourth month of the
lunar calendar. By convention, Taoist ritual masters ( Taoist priests 喃嘸師傅) from Hailufeng (i.e.
Haifeng and Lufeng) are employed to conduct the rituals. On the day before the Jiao(Dajiao) period, poles
with streamers are erected to confirm the boundary of Jiao(Dajiao) area, to which the deities are then
invited to come. The residents then clean the neighborhood with water. In the evening, the ritual masters
carry out rituals such as “purifying the altar” (淨壇) and “consecration” (開光). Before midnight, the altar
is set and opened (啟壇), which signifies the commencement of the Jiao event.
During the Jiao(Dajiao) period, the Taoist ritual masters perform the Jiao(Dajiao) rituals (醮儀) every
morning, afternoon and evening on behalf of the residents by saying repentance to the deities and
requesting them to forgive the villagers for the sins they have committed.
As a fishing community, marine safety is extremely important to Cheung Chau. Therefore, the ritual of
“feeding the water ghosts” (祭水幽) is performed on the second evening for the sake of feeding dead souls
and relieving them from suffering. At the same time, the “welcome the sacred ones” (迎聖) ritual is
performed inside the bamboo sheds for making offerings, and the Jade Emperor and various deities are
invited to enjoy the items for sacrificial offering.
On the third morning, the “sending off the flower boats” (遣船) ritual is performed by the Taoist ritual
masters, who order the paper merit-recording envoy to send paper boats that symbolize dirty things and
ducks that represent “bad luck” to the sea, thus signifying the removal of impurity and bad luck. The next
is “distributing talismans” (頒符), a process in which the Taoist ritual masters hand out to the residents
sheets of paper with magic characters written in cock blood as charms to ensure their safety. In midday of
this third day, the Composite-scene Parade (會景巡遊) takes place. Led by Pak Tai, deities of other
temples, and the Taoist ritual masters, the procession parade within the Jiao (Dajiao) area to placate evil
ghosts and eradicate diseases. During the night, the “great offering to the wandering spirits” (祭大幽) is
held, during which the Taoist ritual masters offer sacrifice to wandering spirits on behalf of the residents
and salvage them from the underworld with their supernatural power. After the ritual has ended, the Ghost
King (大士王) is sent off by burning his effigy. “Great offering to the wandering spirits” is the climax of
the annual Jiao (Dajiao) rituals. The buns on the bun towers (包山) can bring safety because the Taoist
ritual masters have chanted scriptures and exercised magic power on them. When this “great offering to
the wandering spirits” ritual is over, the residents will rush forward to “snatch buns on the bun towers”
(搶包山). The next day, a second Composite-scene Parade is held, during which the deities are sent back
to various temples. By tradition, the Hailufeng Bai Zi opera (Hoklo Opera 海陸豐白字戲) is performed.
The Jiao (Dajiao) Festival officially ends when the opera ends.
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In addition to the traditional Hailufeng folk Taoist rituals, there are various traditional folk performing
arts, such as “ Parade of floats” (飄色), qilin dance, lion dance, paper craft, and Cantonese opera. There is
also bun-snatching on bun towers, an event unique of Cheung Chau. All these are demonstrated in the
Jiao(Dajiao) Festival each year.
Regarding folk crafts, the making of the paper items needed in the Jiao(Dajiao) Festival have always
been done by craft masters from the Hailufeng region. The most important paper craft items are the three
giant deity statues of Ghost King, the Earth God (土地公) and the Mountain God (山神), which are about
five metres tall.
The three 18-metre-tall giant bun towers are indispensible in the Cheung Chau Jiao(Dajiao) Festival.
The bun towers have always been built by the Hailufeng people on the island. They make use of
traditional folk craft and build the tall bun towers with bamboo poles and China Fir. ([Mr. CHAN-lam(陳
林) / bun tower building craft master] Interview with craft master CHAN-lam with fifty years of bun
tower building experience: 30 seconds. 22:00 – 22:11 and 22:41 – 23:04. “When making the bun towers,
the materials are moved to here first. I’ll start work today. First, I’ll go to worship Pak Tai, and begin work
after that”. “After erecting the bun towers, we’ll paste paper (on the bamboo structure), then we’ll place
the buns on the structure. After that, the Taoist ritual masters will do the consecration by chanting
scriptures in front of the bun towers. The building process is complete when the chanting finishes.”
(Interview with CHAN Kam-yun (陳金源), son of craft master CHAN-lam , 10:20 – 10:37. “I’ve
seen dad do the craft for several decades. He is so willing to do this traditional craft. Seeing that he’s
become old, and wishing that the craft would pass on to younger generations, I try my best to learn it, in
the hope of keeping it.”
The craft has lost its economic benefits. The three generations of the Chan family keep passing it on
mainly out of their sense of identity to the community they belong to. They feel responsible for
contributing to the preservation such a unique cultural tradition of Cheung Chau.
The original intention of Composite-scene Parade is to clean up the community by having Pak Tai
leading various deities and Taoist priests to patrol the region. What made “fluttering colours” (colour
floats) emerge in later days? (Interview with Mr. CHEUNG Chik-fan (張植芬), the craft master who made
the “floats” of Nan She (南社), 01:42 – 02:07. “If there was just the god worshipping rituals in the Jiao
(Dajiao) Festival, the mood of the streets would be much less lively. So, to make the Jiao (Dajiao) event
appear more important and the kaifongs pay more attention to it, the residents started to hold some events
to cheer up the atmosphere. At the beginning, there was only the lion dance. We didn’t yet think of
“floats”).
In early 20th century, residents of the Pak She and Nam She went to Foshan in Guangdong to learn
making fluttering colours (colour floats), and they introduced fluttering colours (colour floats) into the
Composite-scene Parade of the Jiao (Dajiao) Festival. This will enhance its attractiveness. Now, the
Composite-scene Parade has become a key event for tourists spectators of the Jiao (Dajiao) Festival.
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(Interview with Mr. LEE Kin-ting (李見定), Deputy Executive Director of the Pak She Street Kaifong
Association, 19:40 – 20:04. “The parade brings people together. Even those (Cheung Chau residents who
have moved to) in Hong Kong will return to Cheung Chau. This is cohesion; the power of cohesion. At the
same time, this is my street, to which I have a sense of belonging. I want the “ floats” from this street to
be the most beautiful. In that case I can show off around.” 20:56 – 20:03 “I’m persistent. I hope these
young people would participate, so that this event will continue .”
(Interview with Professor CHOI Chi-cheung (蔡志祥), Department of History, Chinese University of
Hong Kong, 01:40. “An important point about the Jiao (Dajiao) Festival of Cheung Chau is that it is a
festivity that has been held each year for more than a century without interruption. The festival comprises
various folk customs and religious performing arts. Most importantly, it unites all residents in Cheung
Chau into a unity. It is a very important festival. Why do we say that it is facing a crisis? The reason is
simple. We don’t know how it’s changing. Culture and folk customs are bound to change. If we just see its
current condition, we won’t know what changes it undergoes, and what remains unchanged. Therefore,
under such circumstances, I think what we need to do is to conserve this process of change by recording it
with various media, texts and images. Only then are we able to know what this important festivity that
unites Cheung Chau is, and how it has transformed into its current form. Only then can this cultural
heritage be preserved.”)
In the 1970s, along with the decline of Hong Kong’s fishing industry. many Cheung Chau residents
chose to move to make a living in the urban area. In the 1980s, Hong Kong’s industry moved northwards
as the mainland of China carried out its reform and opening-up. As a result, small-scale industry on the
island also disappeared. When the residents of Cheung Chau insist on organizing the Jiao (Dajiao) Festival
annually in order to maintain their local culture, they are inevitably confronted with the predicament of
shortage of resources and reduction in scale of the event and the rituals. (Interview with Mr. YUNG
Chi-ming (翁志明), Chairman of the Cheung Chau Committee, 05:18 – 05:31. “During those days it was
very difficult to organize the Jiao (Dajiao) Festival. People couldn’t make a living, and they had to leave
Cheung Chau to work. It was hard for them to take leave and come back to Cheung Chau.”
Entering the 21st century, the government inscribed traditional festive events onto the list of key
development items for the sake of developing tourism in Hong Kong. (Interview with Dr. TING Sun-pao
(丁新豹), former Chief Curator of the Hong Kong Museum of History, 1:30. Now people talk about the
Jiao (Dajiao) Festival (in Cheung Chau) as if it comprises only activities such as the Composite-scene
Parade and the bun towers. Therefore, what we should concern about is to introduce the features of this
event to those who go to visit it, and how it is related to the Cheung Chau community. We must make
these clear to people, so that they know the meaning behind the event when they enjoy seeing it. At the
same time, the event is a tradition of over a hundred years. It is indeed a very precious intangible cultural
heritage of Hong Kong.)
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