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By KEITH HOOPER, who lived 10 years in Hong Kong •
ThIS weekend, the millions of Chinese in
China itself and wherever Chinese have made
homes all over the world are wishing each other;
"Kung hei fat choy".
. Spoken with fists, clenched and waved gently
vertically before the face while nodding the head, this
is the traditional greeting made to everybody at the
Chinese new year, this year called the Year of the
Dog, which begins tomorrow.
In China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and
other places, the actual day will. bring together every
member of the family at the home of the oldest
member, who may be the grandfather and, sometimes
the great-grandfather. At the home will be all the
daughters and sons and their children, cousins, aunts
and uncles and their offspring paying homage to the
family or clan head.
Everybody dresses at his best, if possible in new
clothes bought especially for the occasion. - :
Before new year, however, one will have paid all
his debts. No Chinese would think of entering
a new year in debt, for that would be very bad luck.
Most — as are many non-Chinese — are superstitious.
First thing after the traditional greeting, there is
a giving out to all by each of red "lucky"envclopes,
embellishcd with gold writing, called "lai see", con
taining money.
The children, in particular, look forward to this,
to them the most exciting feature of the new year.
The wealthier the clan or individual, the higher is
the sum given.
At the same time, everybody congratulates
everybody else on having lived through the lunar year
just ended, the Chinese calendar being based on the
phases of the moon.
At night there is a lavish meal, according to the
family's or hosts' means. After this, the adolescents
and adults, having put the children to bed, will
continue to eat and drink or talk. And, more often
than not, most of the family will set up tables for the
classic Chinese gambling game, played with tiles
corresponding to the four cardinal points of the
compass, Mah jong.
Actually, Chinese new year spreads over a number
of days, with the first three public holidays, in China
itself, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, which have
< which have the largest communities of "overseas
Chinese".
After the family day, there come days of visiting
distant relatives, and friends, each visit with gifts, then
animals and favourite gardens or plants, and so on,
for about a week. For the Chinese recognise that all
nature, as well as man, has a part in the new year.
Many; people^engage in a round of parties at
, restaurants, whichdo tremendous business. It is wise
always to book the number of tables well ahead.
Throughout the community buildings are deco
rated with red banners shouting the new year greeting.
And there are fairs and carnivals, tent theatre, fire
. works displays and dragon and lion dances by artists
specialising in this folklore.
Although westerners regard all Chinese as one
people — they are one nation — in fact Chinese are
comprised of several scores of peoples. China really
is a continent within the Asian continent. Thus we find
various groups of Chinese who speak their own dialect,
rather as, say, Spaniards and Portuguese are both
European but each speaks a different language, not
too dissimilar from each other. Thus, as a Spaniard
and Portuguese; or Frenchman and Belgian, or Dane
or Norwegian, may speak different tongues, so they
may broadly understand each other's speech. And so,
. too, may a Cantonese and a Shanghainese.
One great advantage Chinese have over Europeans
. is that, although orally they may find communication
difficult — The Cantonese says "Kung hei fat choy",
the Shanghainese "Kung shi fah chai" — the whole
people has a written language, or calligraphy, which
all can read. Even Japanese, Koreans and some other
Orientals can read "Xin hua" (Chinese), although not
all Chinese can read the languages of those other
peoples. This is because some, other Oriental lan
guages had their origin in Chinese, as did many
European languages in Latin.
Nowadays in China itself, the Government has
developed a language in-which most are able to:
converse. Called "Guo yu" (national language), the
people generally call it "Bu dong hua" (common
language). Many, however, continue also to use their
dialect within their own communities, as the Welsh
and Scots, for instance, do in theirs.
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