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Chu Hua Yuan () or Cug Huê Hng in Teochew, is the
coming of age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...
ceremony celebrated by
Teochew people The Teochew (), Teo-Swa, or Chaoshanese are an ethnic group historically native to the Chaoshan region in south China who speak the Teochew language. Today, most ethnic Teochew people live throughout Chaoshan and Hong Kong, and also outside ...
in the Teoswa (Chaoshan) region of southern China. It is practiced by both males and females when they reach their 15th year of the nominal age. The ceremony is usually held in the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, but some families may also choose another auspicious day usually in the third or fifth lunar month. The literal meaning of Chu Hua Yuan is "out of garden", which means that the children have grown up and no longer play only in the garden.林勍男,“潮汕传统成人礼‘出花园’”
Chaoshan Historical Documents. Shantou University. Retrieved 27 November 2014.


Details of the Rite


The rite of worship

The day of "Chu Hua Yuan" has a rite of worship. What people worship in this special day is the deity of "Kong Pua Um" (), who is said to be the protective deity of children and in charge of children's lives and health. About the origin of "Kong Pua Um", there are several folk legends, among which the story about Song Renzong, the fourth
emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...
in the
Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...
, is the most popular and widespread one. It is said that after Song Renzong was born, he kept crying day and night, rejected eating, and thus became thinner and weaker day after day. Even the imperial physician could offer no help. A folk woman, who was very good at taking care of children, was thus recommended since all courtiers were worried about the situation. Under the good care of the woman, Song Renzong did recuperate, stop crying and regained his appetite. After hearing this news, the emperor Song Zhenzhong, Song Renzong's father, was delighted greatly and decided to see Song Renzong. The woman was suckling the baby when she heard the coming of the emperor. Because of fear, the woman put down the baby in a hurry and hid under the bed. However, unfortunately, the woman died of over panic and breathlessness. The emperor felt a great pity, and thus ordered an elaborate funeral for her and conferred on her the title of "the guardian angel of children", respectfully called her "A Pua (阿婆)". At the end of the Song dynasty, the descendants of A Pua settled in the Chaoshan area, retelling the story of their ancestor ever since. The story moved the Chaoshan women, who believed in deities and ghosts and thus decided to worship "A Pua". Without knowing A Pua's birthday, people therefore worshiped her in the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, which was the date when she died.张弛,“潮汕习俗‘出花园’”
潮汕民俗网. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
The purposes of the rite of Kong Pua Um worship are, on one hand, to express appreciation for protecting their children to grow up safe and sound, and on the other hand, to wish a smooth future for their children.


The rite of eating

In this special day, people will also have some particular conventions on eating. On the morning of the day, parents will prepare a bowl of pig organs soup with sugar. The pork liver is one of the organs that must be included, whose "肝" pronounced the same as "官" (meaning "officer") in
Teochew language Teochew, also known as Swatow or Teo-Swa, is a Southern Min language spoken by the Teochew people in the Chaoshan region of eastern Guangdong and by their diaspora around the world. It is sometimes referred to as ''Chiuchow'', its Cantonese ...
.陈雍,“潮汕成年礼‘出花园’”
全刊杂志赏析网. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
This is because the only way for ordinate people to get rid of poverty and oppression is to take the imperial competitive examination, a bureaucratic electoral system in ancient China, to become the imperial court officials. Eating sweet pig organs soup also means that you have renew your bowel, your belly and your body, giving up the immature and dirty things, and absorbing new knowledge. At noon, parents will prepare a big lunch and invite relatives to join them. There must be eight or twelve persons sitting at each table. Usually, there must be twelve dishes on table, with
scallion Scallions (also known as green onions and spring onions) are edible vegetables of various species in the genus ''Allium''. Scallions generally have a milder taste than most onions. Their close relatives include garlic, shallots, leeks, chive ...
,
leek A leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek (synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of Leaf sheath, leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a "s ...
and
celery Celery (''Apium graveolens'' Dulce Group or ''Apium graveolens'' var. ''dulce'') is a cultivated plant belonging to the species ''Apium graveolens'' in the family Apiaceae that has been used as a vegetable since ancient times. The original wild ...
, which must be included. They all have some auspicious and luck meanings from their homophone. Scallion () is a homophone for "cleverness" () in Teochew, while leek () for (good at) reckoning (), and celery () for diligence (). The most important rite of eating is to eat the chicken head. The youngster who is partaking "Chu Hua Yuan" is seated at the front of the table with the chicken head towards him or her, while wearing a red pair of clogs. Actually, they may not really eat the head but take a single bite for the good meaning of the top. If the child was born in the Year of the Rooster, the chicken should be replaced by duck or goose.


Local differences

* In Chao'an District of
Chaozhou Chaozhou ( zh, t=潮州), alternatively Chiuchow, Chaochow or Teochew, is a city in the eastern Guangdong province of China. It borders Shantou to the south, Jieyang to the southwest, Meizhou to the northwest, the province of Fujian to the east, ...
and Chenghai District of
Shantou Shantou, Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanization of Chinese, romanized as Swatow and sometimes known as Santow, is a prefecture-level city on the eastern coast of Guangdong, China, with a total population of 5,502,031 as of the 20 ...
: children who have their Chu Hua Yuan should use twelve different flower petals soaked in water and wash their body. After that, they should wear a new red
dudou A ''dudou'' (; also known by other names) is a traditional Chinese article of clothing that covers the front of the torso, originally worn as an undershirt with medicinal properties. With the opening of China, it is sometimes encountered in ...
that their mothers made for them and put twelve
longan ''Dimocarpus longan'', commonly known as the longan () and dragon's eye, is a tropical tree species that produces edible fruit. It is one of the better-known tropical members of the soapberry family Sapindaceae, to which the lychee and rambu ...
s and two copper coin in the dudou. Then they should wear new clothes and red clogs given by their grandmothers. * In Raoping County (Chaozhou): Instead of flowers, the children in Raoping must use two branches of
banyan A banyan, also spelled banian ( ), is a fig that develops accessory trunks from adjacent prop roots, allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely. This distinguishes banyans from other trees with a strangler habit that begin life as ...
, two branches of
bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...
, two branches of
peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and Agriculture, cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called necta ...
, two branches of Zhuangyuan bamboo (), two
pomegranate The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punica, Punicoideae, that grows between tall. Rich in symbolic and mythological associations in many cultures, it is thought to have o ...
flowers and two grasses soaked in water and wash their body. In some regions, there are even customs such as threading, wearing red or pure white underwears (must be
boxer briefs Boxer briefs (sometimes spelled boxer-briefs or called tight boxers, also known as A-Fronts) are a hybrid type of men's undergarment which are long in the leg, similar to boxer shorts, but tight-fitting like briefs. They emerged as a style in th ...
, which means ""), and
ear piercing Earrings are jewelry that can be worn on one's ears. Earrings are commonly worn in a piercing in the earlobe or another external part of the ear, or by some other means, such as stickers or clip-ons. Earrings have been worn across multiple ci ...
.


Historical origin

It is said that the rite of wearing red clogs and eating the chicken head originates from a Ming-dynasty Teochew Zhuangyuan scholar,
Lin Daqin LIN or LIN may refer to: People *Lin (surname) (normally ), a Chinese surname *Lin (The King of Fighters), Lin (''The King of Fighters''), Chinese assassin character *Lin Chow Bang, character in Fat Pizza *Lin (NouerA) (Chinese name Lin Hanzhong ...
. When he was still in school, he could not afford a pair of red cloth shoes because his family was too poor. So, he wore red
clog Clogs are a type of footwear that has a thick, rigid sole typically made of wood, although in American English, shoes with rigid soles made of other materials are also called clogs. Traditional clogs remain in use as protective footwear in a ...
s. One day, he saw an old man holding a chicken with a red
couplet In poetry, a couplet ( ) or distich ( ) is a pair of successive lines that rhyme and have the same metre. A couplet may be formal (closed) or run-on (open). In a formal (closed) couplet, each of the two lines is end-stopped, implying that there ...
beside him. The first line of the couplet said "The comb on the head of a cock ()", while the second line of the couplet was blank. The old man promised that anyone who could match the couplet would get his cock. Lin Daqin stood for a while and responded "The beard behind the jaw of a
ram Ram, ram, or RAM most commonly refers to: * A male sheep * Random-access memory, computer memory * Ram Trucks, US, since 2009 ** List of vehicles named Dodge Ram, trucks and vans ** Ram Pickup, produced by Ram Trucks Ram, ram, or RAM may also ref ...
(牝羊颔下须)". The old man was happy with the perfect couplet and sent Lin Daqin the cock. After arriving home, Lin's father slaughtered the cock and cooked it, and gave Lin the chicken head as award with the meaning of the top of the list. Afterwards, Lin Daqin did graduate to Zhuangyuan and became a household name. From then on, people in Chaozhou regarded it as a good omen, so parents bought their children red clogs when they started school, and gave the chicken head to their children on the day of Chu Hua Yuan.


Modern time

With the development of economy and people's changing perceptions, the rites have changed to some extent. Some people may choose to give up the complex rites and only have big meals in some upscale restaurants or just at home, and give their children some presents. Also, the presents from their parents and relatives has changed from new clothes and shoes to
mobile phones A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This radio ...
,
iPad The iPad is a brand of tablet computers developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple that run the company's mobile operating systems iOS and later iPadOS. The IPad (1st generation), first-generation iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010. ...
,
computers A computer is a machine that can be programmed to automatically carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations ('' computation''). Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as ''programs'', ...
, gold or silver
jewelry Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the ...
, and so on. Although, however, the rites have changed, but the good meanings for the special ceremony of coming of age still remain.林艺颖,“潮汕‘出花园’: 尊古从简一起来”
潮汕民俗网. Retrieved 27 November 2014.


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chu Hua Yuan Youth in China Chaoshan Teochew culture Rites of passage