The three items I will like to bring along are:
Genealogy showing the genealogical tree – this is the booklet showing the genealogical tree of a
family tracing back to their original ancestor. Most Chinese families have this
record. It is based on the surnames of the family. The most common used Chinese
surnames in China are around 100. According to Chinese belief, we might all
come from the same ancestor back to thousands of years before. To the old
Chinese, this is an important document of the family.
Chinese perpetual lunar calendar – it is a Chinese lunar calendar showing the seasons of thousand years. It indicates all the seasons of the year particularly for cultivation and farming, such as when the best time to do seeding, harvesting, etc. It also shows the counting of the years of the 12 symbolic animals associated with a 12-year cycle. Information about when the rising tide and low tide time of the month, when to do the worship of ancestor, which date to build the house, which date to get married etc are all listed in the calendar. It is the collection of thousands of years’ history and statistics to come up with such calendar. It is very Chinese culture.
Photos of my family – I will pick a photo with all the family members together. Our family will always take a family photo annually during Chinese New year. This is the most treasure of all as everyone is there in the photo. Family is always the priority in our culture. Unlike western world, family overrides individualism and self-independence.
Genealogy tells the origin of our family, our culture and relationship with each other in the family tree as well as the origin place of our ancestors. The perpetual lunar calendar reminds our family the seasons and dates and time of the years for various activities. Of course, the photo is obvious showing the importance of the family concept. They are all meaningful to me.
I will be very upset to give up two of the items since these are things representing my culture and family culture. These things can remind my family our roots. If I have to give up two items, I will keep the photo as it is the most important to me.
This is an interesting exercise. It gives me a chance to think what three important things about my family culture and I never think of it before. Everyone’s answer may be different as the values of each family may be varied. That is why there is always diversity in the society. Even people coming from the same ethnic group, they might be different. Like in China, all people are Chinese. There are a lot of similarities among us. But among the Chinese, there are more than 52 different ethnic groups. Each group has their own culture, traditions, customs, values, codes of behavior and languages. Diversity exists even in the same ethnic group if we take the boarder definition of diversity.
Stella,
ReplyDeleteYou had the most interesting blog post I have read so far. I thought I was alone in not having anything to pick, but in reading our colleagues posts, I realize most of us westerners don't have much in the way of roots. A geneaology record is a valuable tool to teach each generation, and indeed would be a lot to give up.
The calendar is a great reminder of where you came from, but would probably not have much use if you were in a country that was not China. Wouldn't the farming and tidal information be different?
I find it amazing that China has more than 52 different ethnic groups. With that large a number, there must come times when people marry across groups. Is that a problem for them within their individual families?