张凡
广东省汕头市澄海区广益小学 广东 汕头 515800
摘要：“粿”作为一种重要的潮汕小食，在潮汕地区随处可见。论文运用符号学理论，从粿的外形特征和功能来探讨其象征意义。粿的种类有很多，每一种粿在颜色、形状和图案设计上都有其独特的象征意义。“时粿防时病”，有些粿不仅具有一般的食用功能（充饥），还具有养生功效；“时节做时粿”，潮汕人民懂得适时进食，注重食材的时令性，这不仅体现了他们的劳动智慧，还体现了他们对天人合一思想的追求；另外，“粿”作为一种重要的祭品，常用于潮汕的岁时节日和礼仪习俗中，特定的节日和祭祀活动需要用特定的粿当祭品，在不同的祭祀活动中，粿有其特殊的象征意义；论文以期通过“粿”这一文化符号探析潮汕文化，并倡导对地方传统文化的保护和传承。
关键词：粿；象征意义；潮汕文化；符号学
On the Symbolic Meanings of Guo in Chaoshan Culture from the Perspective of Semiotics
Author: ZHANG Fan
ABSTRACT
Guo is one of the important refreshments that can be seen everywhere in Chaoshan. The thesis will explore the symbolic meanings of Guo from its exterior form and functions in the perspective of Semiotics. The types of Guo are various and the color, shape and patterns which are designed for each type of Guo have particular symbolic meanings. “Seasonal Guo prevents seasonal diseases”, some kinds of Guo have not only edible function (satisfying hunger) but also therapeutic function of keeping healthy. “Seasonal Guo is made from seasonal materials”, Chaoshanese learn that the best materials are growing in the season, which reflects their wisdom and also their pursuit of the unity of heaven and human. In addition, Guo, as a significant offerings, has special symbolic meanings in specific festivals and consecration activities. The thesis aims to explore Chaoshan culture from its cultural symbol Guo and calls for the protection and inheritance of local traditional culture.
Keywords: Guo; Symbolic meaning; Chaoshan culture; Semiotics
CONTENTS
2.1 Previous Studies of the Origin of Guo 3
2.2 Previous Studies of the Pattern of Guo 4
2.3 Folktales of Guo asaSemiosis 5
3 Symbolic Meanings of Guo Reflected in its Chinese Character 6
4 Symbolic Meanings of Guo Reflected in the Exterior of Guo 8
4.2 Symbolic Meanings in Shape 9
4.3 Symbolic Meanings in Patterns 12
5 Symbolic Meanings of Guo Reflected in the Functions of Guo 13
5.1 Symbolic Meanings in Diet Function 13
5.1.1 Tianguo for bravery and diligency 13
5.1.2 Seasonal materials for wisdom 14
5.1.3 Disease defense for keeping healthy 15
5.2 Symbolic Meanings in Consecration Function 16
5.2.1 Festivals for good harvest 16
5.2.2 Marriage for family building 17
5.2.4 Coming-of-age ceremony for family blood running 18
Chaoshan is a region in Guangdong Province. Generally speaking, it refers to three cities: Chaozhou, Shantou and Jieyang. Endowed with unique languages and histories, the three cultures are able to distinguish themselves in such a culturally perse country. While the Chaoshan culture is probably the most prominent in this area, which is also quite a reserved and elusive culture. People here speak one of the most difficult dialects in China, the Chaozhou dialect, and they are regarded as business savvy and excellent gourmets because of the delicious Chaoshan cuisine especially its refreshments. Huang Jinlin says in his The Authentic Taste of Time in Chaoshan Food that “you may learn their culture by reading articles or doing business with them, but the best and easiest way to get to know them is to start with the food they serve you”. Through the countless dishes cooked by Chaoshan chefs or mentioned in Huang’s book, one can know Chaoshan life methodologies, preferences and personalities.
Most Chaoshanese are conservative. They still remain the traditional thought of “men plough and women weave”, that is, women would better focus on the family not the job. And most male Chaoshanese are male chauvinists, so not only the male but also the female have a strong sense of family responsibility. Chaoshanese pay much attention to the family construction, which is originated from the Clan culture. The spirit of Clan culture is that the continuation of the bloodstream of the family is the most important thing to deal with. Therefore, Chaoshanese are used to praying for having many children when they are worshiping. People in Chaoshan and Minnan have many ceremonies. They worship gods and ancestors in particular days, such as in marriage, obsequies, the birth of a baby, the ceremony of a child to be an adult, etc. Many people from other cities think it unbelievable that Chaoshanese can remember so many days to celebrate on time. But Chaoshan people are accustomed to it.
Semiotics is one of the important directions of interdisciplinary approach to humanities and social sciences. Its main aspects include accurate description of vague cultural and academic phenomena and carry out more accurate expression and analysis of the significance relations, causality, evaluation, behavioral relations in humanistic academic phenomena to promote the understanding and use of humanities and social science object.
Humanistic thoughts in different cultures and times often reflect in a special way. Guo is the distinctive way that shows the Chaoshanese thoughts in their histories. Guo, as a typical local food in Chaoshan, is usually used as sacrificial offerings because of its close relationship with the folk custom. (Cai Zhihai, 2012). And it bears Chaoshanese beautiful hopes and desire of happiness. Almost all the ceremonies need Guo. There are many kinds of Guo, such as Hongtaoguo, Shuquguo, Faguo, Puziguo, Caoguo, Zhiguo, Tianguo, etc. Different Guo are made from different materials and have different colors, shapes and patterns. Each type of Guo was named by means of “the special material plus ‘guo’”. For example, Shuquguo equals Shuqu plus guo. Shuqu is a kind of herb. It is the special material to make Shuquguo. On the other hand, each type of Guo is used for a particular ceremony. Some Guo only present in the specific season because the materials arise in that season only. Each kind of Guo has its own story and there are many folktales of Guo spreading for a long time. These stories are interesting and help to understand the historical value of Guo and to know the meanings behind them.
During the long history of the evolution, Chaoshan refreshments gave birth to a variety of refreshments culture. The common offering they use to consecrate is Guo. Guo is an important and necessary refreshments in Chaoshan, which bears so rich cultural connotations that it is worth studying. Guo is more than a food. Chaoshanese makes use of many symbols flexiblyand there are some implied meanings in Guo. The thesis aims to reflect the symbolic meanings of Guo from its exterior forms, including colors, shapes, and patterns; from its functions including the diet function and the consecration function. Besides, the thesis is written to let the people especially the Chaoshanese know more details about Guo and understand the significance of protecting the Chinese traditional culture and local culture.
As is said above, Guo is too normal to be noticed for Chaoshanese, and as an vital cultural symbol, it contains rich cultural meanings behind it. So it arouses scholars’ interest in the study of Guo. In the following, we’ll give a brief introduction on the previous studies of it.
2.1 Previous Studies of the Origin of Guo
“Guo” is a kind of food made by rice mostly. The ancient Chaoshan people moved from the Central Plains (comprising the middle and lower reaches of the Huanghe River) to Chaoshan region. Meanwhile, they also brought the customs that using wheaten food as offerings to worship ancestors. However, the South had no wheat so the ancient people used rice to make offerings, and then “Guo” rose in response to the proper time and conditions. What’s more, Guo made by rice is more adaptable to the damp and hot weather here.
Chaoshan is regarded as “Pearl of the South” due to the particular geographical conditions and special local culture. On one hand, the soil of plain here is rich and fertile, which produces the original material of making Guo. On the other hand, Chaoshan Culture is multi-culture mixed with the Hakka and the She nationality. Chaoshan Culture has preserved a lot of features of Farming Culture from Central Plain, which made “Hongtaoguo” (Hongtao means peach) to be the representative of Guo for the reason that Peach Culture comes from the Farming Culture. Chaoshan Culture also has preserved so much traditional etiquette that Guo has become an important evidence to show the Chaoshan’s customs.
As for the topic is about Chinese local culture, rare studies have been done in this field in the foreign countries. The research at home mainly focuses on such aspects as Chaoshan food culture, Guo culture, the pattern art of Guo-mould, the Chaoshan folktales, etc.
Yang Yuting (2014), in his article On the Chaoshanese’ Sexual Worship from Hongtaoguo, acclaimed the interesting idea that “Hongtaoguo” has an interesting symbolic meaning, i.e. sexual worship. According to his discovery, Hongtaoguo not just has a direct meaning, “luck”, from its red color, but also has a deeper meaning, “sexual worship”, from its tri-angular, peach-looking form, in which the closed angle (the top of the peach) refers to the male genital. Sexual worship is a part of natural worship that the original religion of human being. It came from human’s reverence to sex and it is because the ancient people thought that sex has mysterious force that it could give them pleasure and create a new life. Yang’s study offers the thesis an inspiration that Guo has multiple symbolic meanings in Chaoshan Culture. However, Yang has introduced only one symbolic meaning of Guo.
Guo is linked with Chaoshan’s customs. In his paper The Word Study of “Guo” in Chaoshan Culture, Li Linhao (2009) and his students discussed the cultural connotations of Guo from the study of its word-building. On the other hand, they especially showed us the cultural function of Guo toward Chaoshan’s customs. At the same time, he says that in Chaoshan’s “eight festivals” (it consists of New Year’s Eve, Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, Qingming Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Hungry Ghost Festival, Mid-autumn Festival and Winter Day), Guo, as an indispensable sacrificial offering, would appear at these festivals. In addition, Guo is also connected closely with other folk customs, like marriage, funeral and coming-of-age ceremony (Chaoshanese call it “Chu hua yuan”, which means “out of the garden”). So we can infer that Guo symbolizes blessing and safety. In marriage, Shiliuguo (Shiliu means pomegranate) is for the bride, for the reason that pomegranate has many seeds so they wish the bride could have many children like the pomegranate. In funeral, Hongtaoguo gets white, into Baitaoguo, because white is a color for death. And in this situation, Chaoshanese take Baitaoguo as oblation to worship the deceased for a wish of safety. They hope the deceased can rest in peace and the living can be blessed with the protection from the deceased’s spirit. And in the coming-of-age ceremony, Guo should be offered to the god of reproduction, to make a wish that their children can become adults all right and continue the family line. Although Li didn’t give an overall meaning of the word “Guo”, his study provides two valuable perspectives to the thesis: to seek the symbolic meanings of Guo from its word meaning and the customs.
2.2 Previous Studies of the Pattern of Guo
The tool for making Guo is Guo mould. Many scholars have studied the pattern art of Guo from the making mould. In 2012, Du Ying’s Pattern Art of Chaoshan Guo Printing gave a collection of mould patterns and he also investigated the symbolic meanings of those patterns, mainly Shou word pattern, Hui word pattern, plant pattern, geometric pattern, etc. After three years in 2015, he added the Memetics theory into his paper
On the Pattern Arts of Chaoshan Rice-making Seals in the Perspective of Memetics Theory, which enhances the close connection between Guo and Chaoshan Culture. The other scholar, Yao Ting, in her paper On the Differences Between the Rice Cake Print of Chaoshan and Minnan, discussed the differences of Guo moulds between Chaoshan and Minnan. Two years later, in her another paper The Cultural Origins and Abstract Form of the Rice Cake Print, from the angle of historical development, Yao revealed the evolution of the mould patterns and expounded the reasons why the patterns of Chaoshan’s Hongtaoguo are abstract. Du focused on the meanings corresponding to its patterns while Yao paid close attention to the forming process of the Guo-making patterns. Both of them provided helpful and enlightening resources for the study of symbolic meanings of Guo.
2.3 Folktales of Guo asaSemiosis
Chaoshan has many folktales about various Guos. There is a saying in Chaoshan that “To have no choice but to make Tianguo.” Why do Chaoshanese have to make Tianguo? In the past, the Chaoshan people sailed across the sea to earn a living by Red-head boat. Red-head boat depended on the wind, so it was dangerous and cost a lot of time on the sea. As a result, the fishermen had to prepare enough food. Tianguo is made of glutinous rice and sugar, which could be preserved for a long time. However, it was hard for the poor at that time to make a steamer of Tianguo because it cost more than 5 kilograms glutinous rice powder and at least 3 kilograms sugar and it should be steamed more than 10 hours, which was very difficult for the poor who could not even satisfied their hunger. But they had no choice, and they had to make a living from the sea.
There are another two folktales in which one is for Puziguo and the other is for Shuquguo. When the army of Yuan Dynasty aggressed Chaoshan in about the Qingming Day, the Chaoshanese had to hide in the mountains. They picked Puzi leaves to eat, which became a custom that eating leaves in Qingming Festival. And Later, Chaoshanese eat Puziguo in Qingming. As for the story of Shuquguo, in the last of the Southern Song Dynasty, Yuan invaded here, and the people ate wild grass for living. By chance, they found Shuqu grass non-poisonous and tasteful. Later, they learned to add it into glutinous rice and make them into Shuquguo.
These stories show the Chaoshanese quality of hard-working and difficulty-struggling, and they also give another point of view to research of the implied symbolic meanings behind Guo. Guo as a semiosis bears rich symbolic meanings in the process of the development of Chaoshan culture.
After reading all these previous researches, we can know that there are more than one symbolic meanings of Guo. Guo is more than a food. Chaoshanese make use of many symbols on Guo and there are many hidden meanings in it. The thesis aims at exploring the symbolic meanings of Guo in Chaoshan Culture.
3 Symbolic Meanings of Guo Reflected in its Chinese Character
The structure of a Chinese character is formed with strokes from a variety of traditional shapes. Strokes form Chinese radicals. The Chinese character of Guo is “粿”, which is combined with two radicals “米” and “果”. “米” is rice and “果” is fruit.
“米” is rice. It consist of three parts --- stack symbol “八”, gap symbol “十” and particle symbol “丷”. “米” initially expressed the particles on the plants such as rice and corn. And it gradually extended into the sticky substance with gaps and consisting of several small units like porridge, stone road and brick wall. It finally refers to all the米-formed objects, such as flour and powder.
Guo is mainly made from glutinous rice. The part “米” show Guo’s materials. And the food made from glutinous rice can preserve for a long time and so as Guo. This radical also tell that Guo is a kind of food from the South of China. It is because the North of China is rich in wheat while the South of China rice. Chaoshan is a region of Guangdong Province which is located in the South of China. So Guo is born in the South of China. Guo exists not only in Chaoshan but also in Minnan and other places in the South. But the thesis focuses on the Chaoshanese one because only its symbolic meanings can properly present the features of Chaoshan people.
Therefore, the part “米” gives two pieces of information that Guo is a rice-made food and it is from the South of China.
There is a method called Liding that writing an ancient Chinese character according to its structure into a modern one. Liding has two ways. One is to write from the radicals of the ancient Chinese character. The other is to write from its lines. As for “果”, it chose the first way.
“果” is fruit. The upward part is “田”, and the downward part is “木”. “田” means food and “木” refers to wood. They are combined into “果” which refers to the things (fruits) that grow on the plants and can satisfy hunger. Back to the past, the ancient people used fresh fruits (like apples, pears and peaches) and dried fruits (like dried jujube and nuts) to consecrate. However, as time went by, “果” gradually enlarged its meaning and it finally refers to not just fruits but all the offerings.
Moreover, its extended meaning is all the food with the similar exterior forms and functions to fruits. For examples, eggs are like kiwi. Eggs generate new birth and kiwi also can do the same. Breast is like a half of coconut. Both breast and coconut can offer liquid juice to suck. So in this regard, “果” has the symbolic meaning, i.e. reproduction.
Therefore, the part “果” reflects that Guo as an offering has a consecration function. And it may symbolize the desire of reproduction of the ancient people.
The Chinese character “粿” has the “米” part and the “果” part. These two parts help understand Guo, that is, Guo is a rice food that can preserve for a long time and Guo is usually used as an offering in consecration activities. Furthermore, as a food, Guo has a basic function, i.e. diet function. It can be eaten to go against hunger or even can cure as a kind of medicine. What’s more, as a kind of refreshment, Guo varies and its exterior forms, such as colors, shapes and patterns, can also help analyze its symbolic meanings, because different patterns and images used on Guo are symbols. And symbols have meanings.
Guo is one of the local symbols of Chaoshan culture. So it can reveal the characteristics and lifestyle of Chaoshanese. And it must bear the development of the Chaoshan history and culture. There are many stories hidden in it and perse symbolic meanings we can dig out.
4 Symbolic Meanings of Guo Reflected in the Exterior of Guo
Each type of Guo has specific looking. The exterior of Guo is formed by its color, shape and pattern, which are all obvious symbols that can help discuss and analyze the symbolism of Guo. The variety of Guo shows the efforts Chaoshanese have made and it also illustrates the rich cultural connotations Guo bears.
4.1 Symbolic Meanings in Color
Color, as a symbol, can show the symbolic meanings of each type of Guo obviously. It is known that Chinese like red very much. They think it luck. And they will use white with grave consideration. In the same way, Chaoshanese will use the color cautiously when they are making Guo.
In China, the color red symbolizes luck. Red is a propitious color for Chinese besides Chaoshanese. This favour of red can trace back to the worship of the sun, because the sun is like fire in red. The sun light can bring the life to the nature and human being so the ancient people like red. Besides, blood is also red. A beating heart symbolizes an active life. Chinese really value the family blood because the continuously running family bloodstream maintains the life of the clan family and even the whole country. In addition, fire is a vital element in human society for two reasons. One is that fire can cook food to make it more delicious and it can destroy everything. The other is that fire can protect like scaring the beast away.
In a word, since red as the sun can bring life, as blood can keep the family bloodstream running, and as the fire can destroy and protect, red is a significant color for Chinese. And it symbolizes passion, longevity and luck for Chaoshanese. Taking Hongtaoguo as an example, it is red, actually pink. This type of Guo is heavily used in any worship activity in Chaoshan. It is regarded as the representative of Guo. Its color is lucky and also its shape implies a lucky meaning. The shape is peach. Peach in Chinese culture symbolizes longevity. So these are the reasons why Hongtaoguo is so popular in Chaoshan.
Baitaoguo (Bai means white) is a white peach-shaped Guo. It looks like the same as Hongtaoguo except the color. Chaoshanese will make this kind of Guo to worship the dead because the color white in China is used in obsequies.
There were five orthodox colors in Chinese traditional culture, namely green, red, yellow, white and black. These five colors stand for five directions. Green stands for the east, red south, yellow the center, white the west and black the north. In China, when one is dead, he will go to the west so white is used in the obsequies. The kinship of the dead should wear Xiaofu which is white cloth when they are condoling.
Baitaoguo is also used in the Ghost Festival on July 15th of the lunar calendar. It is said that in this day, all the souls will be freed from the underworld. So people have to worship the dead. Chaoshanese will take Baitaoguo as oblation to worship their ancestors in order to show their respect and pray for peace and safety.
Chinese love red and also green. Dan and Qing are two basic pigments frequently used in Chinese painting. Dan is red and Qing is green. Puziguo is green and so is Shuquguo. We can usually hear a Chaoshan woman said to her kids that “For Guo, the greener the better” when she is picking Puziguo. It is known that green is a color that symbolizes the nature. It represents the energy of life. What’s more, green food can stimulate appetite.
In conclusion, color, as an obvious factor of an object, can directly show the symbolic meanings of the objects. Chaoshanese use red on making Guo to show the lucky meaning, use white to show the respect to the dead and use green to pass on the energy of life. The color helps understand the symbolic meanings of Guo.
4.2 Symbolic Meanings in Shape
Next to color, the shape of an object is also another way in which the people can get the symbolic meaning of it. In China, the three gods Fu, Lu and Shou are linked together, which represent luck, wealth and life-time respectively. These three names of the gods are the wishes of all the Chinese who want to be lucky, wealthy and longevous. Peach is a symbol associated with the meaning Shou (longevity) in Chinese minds. Chaoshanese will mark a Shou character in a peach-shaped Guo to pray for longevity. The peach-shape of Guo is like a tri-angle with one bending angle. There is an interesting saying that one will have a son if he eats Hongtaoguo from the bending angle (the apex of the peach) first, or he will have a daughter if he eats from the bottom at the beginning. Yang says that “Guo reflects the sexual worship of Chaoshanese” (Yang Yuting, 2014). This saying shows that the shapes of Guo also relate to the gender. In a word, shapes of Guo imply special symbolic meanings.
Hongtaoguo (Hong means red, and tao means peach) is a pink peach-shaped Guo. Not only its color has nice symbolic meanings but also its shape --- peach that takes the great symbolic meaning from flat peach (in Chinese myth, flat peach is an immortal fruit), that is, longevity. Longevity is Shou in Chinese. In the middle of the Hongtaoguo, there is an old Zhuan character Shou printed. Shoutao is another name of flat peach. The reason why Chinese call it Shoutao is that they believe it can prolong human’s life. And it is from a myth.
In Taoism, Xiwangmu is the most powerful god. It is said that on every July 18th, she would hold an immortal peach party in Jade Pool and invited all the gods to join together to celebrate her birthday. They would eat flat peaches to prolong their lives. Flat peach is a classical immortal symbol deeply rooted in every heart of the Chinese. Taoism is the Chinese local religion, existing with Buddhism in China. Chaoshanese have faith in both two religions. When it comes the birthday of Xiwangmu, Chaoshanese will take not only Hongtaoguo but also peach-shaped stuffed buns as offerings to worship her. Thus, peach, a symbol that contains a meaning of longevity, is an important image which Chaoshanese believe firmly.
Not just Chaoshanese like the image peach, but also other Chinese do. Here comes the peach-worship culture in China. Peach is originated from China. “It had early come to the sight of the ancient Chinese because of its wide-spread and fecundity” (Yao Ting, 2015: 80). It had been recorded in Liji that the peach was one of the five fruits (the other four fruits are plum, prune, apricot and jujube) which were regarded as the offerings for worshiping the immortals. The ancient people associated peach’s productive capability with multiplying the later generations. Therefore, peach was given a symbolic meaning --- fecundity. On the other hand, in ancient time, peaches were deified by the doctor and witch. They said that peach has a mysterious power of exorcism and plague relief. As time went by, peach had become a sharp tool for exorcising the ghosts and getting rid of the diseases. We can usually see, in some Chinese movies, that the Taoist priest uses a sword made of peach wood to fight against the ghost. Peach wood is also a sacred thing in ancient China. Hence, a peach-shaped Guo also has a superstitiously symbolic meaning, that is, “peach can exorcise the evil spirit” (Chen &Wu, 1997: 444).
Why did not the ancient Chaoshanese choose another image but peach? Peach was not originated in Chaoshan or the southern part of China. Chaoshan as well as Minnan Region is near to the sea but Minnan uses sea turtle as the image of Guo. What made the difference between Chaoshan and Minnan on choosing the image of Guo?
“In Tang Dynasty, a large number of people moved from the Central Plains to the South and they also brought their culture, especially the farming culture, to Fujian and Guangdong. Compared with Chaoshan, Minnan society was formed earlier. And with the development of economy, Minnanese went into business across the sea. Gradually they freed from the farming culture so the turtle image was taken for the pattern of Guo in Minnan. In contrast, Chaoshan society formed later. Besides, the Hakka Culture and the She Culture influenced Chaoshan so much that it preserved more features of farming culture. Due to the peach-worship culture from the Central Plain, Chaoshanese took peach as the image of Guo” (Yao Ting, 2015: 80).
All the symbolic meanings kept in the peach has been shown on Hongtaoguo and also has mapped on Chaoshan’s Guo. And these symbolic meanings are luck, longevity, fecundity, and exorcism (mysterious power).
The interesting saying “eating the apex of the peach Guo first, to have a son first, eating the bottom first, to have a daughter first” implies the reproductive worship in Chaoshan culture. Tri-angle is a classic geometric figure. The Israeli flag has a hexagram in the center. Hexagram is formed by two tri-angles. It is the symbol of Judaism.
Hexagram is holy for Judaists but Christians don’t think so. Hexagram is an evil symbol to Christians because they think it heresy. There are two tri-angles in hexagram with one upward and the other downward. It is easy to imagine that when one is eating the bending angle of Hongtaoguo, the apex of the peach is a upward tri-angle, while eating the bottom, he puts the upside down. Tantrism believe that the upward one symbolizes male while the downward one female. They think the combination of male and female is great power.
However, Chaoshanese don’t use tri-angle to show the power of the combination of two genders. They want to place their hope for running the family blood. They hope they can have offspring as many as possible. Therefore, Guo bears the symbolic meaning, that is, the hope of having offspring.
4.3 Symbolic Meanings in Patterns
Guo has various patterns. The molds for making Guo are even persely complex. They also show the symbolic meanings of Guo. The patterns include Chinese characters, lines and plants images. Here are four classical examples.
Shou is a Chinese character, which means “long life”. It is a lucky word always used for blessing. In the center part of Hongtaoguo, there is a Shou printed. It is old Zhuan character. Due to the peach shape, the Shou should be narrow on the upper part and broad on the lower part. There is so little radian on this word that it looks rigid and austere, simple but special.
Xi, in Chinese, means good and happy. When people get married, the Chinese people will call the wedding “Xishi” which means good event. So if a Guo is printed with Xi character, it must be made for blessing the new couple.
“Hui lines is one of the original lines of ancient Yue people. Hui lines was connected to the snake totem worship of the ancient Yue” (Yao Ting, 2015: 80). There were a lot of dangers from the snakes because the area of the south of China was hot and wet. The Yue people were so scared that they wanted snakes to protect them. As a result, they worshiped snakes for safety. Hui lines is a single line that look like a helix circle with four angles, which could be seen as imitation, simplification and evolution of the snake’s shapes or snake’s patterns. Therefore, Hui lines has a meaning, i.e. protection. However, this pattern is used in Hongtaoguo for the reason that people think the structure of Hui lines --- helix, implies continuous richness and honors. The protection meaning was faded.
Meanwhile the images of plants are so various that the use of plants decoration is flexible. Different plants have different symbolic meanings so that each one will be chosen for a specific implied meaning. For example, peony symbolizes dignified and graceful quality, pomegranate many children, and peach blossom love and other emotions, etc.
Colors, shapes and patterns are various though, the general meaning or the worship purposes of these symbols are roughly the same, that is, keeping long life, having happy life and keeping the family blood running continuously. As for the inpidual, to prolong the life time is the main or even the only worship purpose, while as for the whole family, that the family bloodstream can continue is the reason why they worship. Therefore, Guo bears the desires of Chaoshanese for inpidual longevity and for continuing the family bloodstream, which are the two fundamental symbolic meanings of Guo.
5 Symbolic Meanings of Guo Reflected in the Functions of Guo
Guo, as a kind of food, can be eaten to go against hunger. In ancient time when food was not easy to get, people were suffering from hunger. They cherished precious food and placed hope on worshiping the gods, so they took food as offerings to consecrate praying for good harvest and living a long life. In this chapter, the thesis will further discuss the symbolic meanings of Guo from its diet function and consecration function.
5.1 Symbolic Meanings in Diet Function
Guo is made from various materials. Often, it could be preserved for a long time because in the past, making Guo cost a lot of time and money. And the materials were rare to get so they needed to prolong the time of Guo to average its costs. On the other hand, the ancient people suffered from diseases. They were afraid of being ill, because they could not able to afford the treatment.
There are some types of Guo manifesting the wisdom of Chaoshanese. They know how to preserve Guo so that they can keep away from hunger. Besides, they are used to prevent the common diseases. They will eat specific Guo in particular seasons to prevent the seasonal diseases.
5.1.1 Tianguo for bravery and diligency
Tianguo (Tian means sweet) is sweet and brown or white. It symbolizes the Chaoshanese bravery and diligency. There was a saying in Chaoshan that “To have no choice but to make Tianguo.” Why did Chaoshanese have to make Tianguo? In the past, the Chaoshan people sailed by Red-head boat across the sea to earn a living and they called this “Guofan” (Guo means go to and fan means the nonlocal places) and these people were called “Fanke”. Red-head boat depended on the wind, so it was dangerous and cost a lot of time on the sea. As a result, they had to prepare enough food. Tianguo is made of glutinous rice and sugar, which could be preserved for a long time. However, it was hard for the poor at that time to make a steamer of Tianguo because it cost more than 5 kilograms glutinous rice powder and at least 3 kilograms sugar and it should be steamed more than 10 hours, which was very difficult for the poor who could not even satisfied their hunger. But they had no choice to negotiate with the danger from the sea.
Although making Tianguo cost a lot, they still carried one on the journey because it could make them feel safe. And though Guofan was dangerous, the Fankes determined to go, which shows their qualities of braveness and diligency. Besides, Tianguo also bears the missing and worries of the families to the Fankes, especially the wives to the husbands.
5.1.2 Seasonal materials for wisdom
Chaoshanese have a strong sense of time. They pay attention to the changes of the seasons. They believe they should keep doing with the seasons. It is right for them to eat the particular food at the right time in order to achieve the unity between the heaven and human. There is a saying that “Guo should be made in line with the time.” It refers that “it is necessary to make particular Guo in different seasons”. From this saying, we can see that Chaoshanese are the people who have religious faith and conserve many traditional customs that they strictly comply with. Furthermore, it implies the Taoist philosophy that human beings should respect and conform to the nature, which can show the wisdom of Chaoshanese.
Bamboo shoots will lift their head out of the soil when the spring comes. In this season, Chaoshanese will make Sunguo(Sun means bamboo shoot). Eating bamboo shoot can promote blood circulation and reduce phlegm. Sunguo consist of not only bamboo shoot and rice powder but also pork and mushroom. “Pork and mushroom have the effect of blood nourishing and qi tonifying” (Yan &He, 2016: 36). In spring, they will eat the plant growing at that time so they choose to make Sunguo because the spring bamboo shoots are the softest and freshest.
Chaoshanese are wise because they are capable of using the seasonal materials to produce the particular types of Guo. The materials growing at the season are the best. Thus, they know how to follow the changes of the nature, and to choose the best seasonal materials, which shows the wisdom of them. And it also reflects the traditional thought of achieving the harmony between human and nature still remains deep in their minds.
5.1.3 Disease defense for keeping healthy
Chaoshanese follow the seasonal variations. They pay attention to the changes of environmental conditions and react to it. It is normal for Chaoshanese to use traditional Chinese medicine to treat an illness. They are good at that. In particular, Chaoshanese are expert in diet therapy. They really care about what they eat. And they convince that diet cures. As a result, they are used to using food to defense diseases. And Guo is one of food that can show this.
In summer, when it is hot, Chaoshanese are conscious of making Caoguo to cool themselves. When it is cold and they need to keep themselves warm, they will eat Jiucaiguo which can warm their organs.
“For the reasons of standing by the seas, Chaoshan region in ancient time was full of malaria and miasma. The natural environment at that time was terrible. The doctors, with their own medical knowledge and clinical experience, found that the epidemics were caused by the living environment. As a result, they advised the people to take some wild medicinal herbs, vegetables or fruits into rice flour and make them into different types of Guo” (Yan &He &Zhang, 2016: 16). And each type of Guo has the special effect of preventing the epidemic of the particular season.
In summer, Chaoshanese like to eat Caoguo (Cao means grass). It is made from the plant Xiancao (Latin name: Mesonachinensis Benth) and sweet potato powder. Caoguo, which is black and like jelly, has the heat-clearing and detoxifying effect. And also it can “relieve the summer heat and quench one’s thirst” (Yan &He &Zhang, 2015: 39). The other one that Chaoshanese like to eat in the hot season is Zhiguo. It is made from the plant Zhizi(Latin name: Gardenia jasminoides Ellis) and glutinous rice powder. Zhiguo looks like Tianguo (the brown one). But Zhiguo is sticky and softer than Tianguo. Eating Zhiguo is good for digestion.
Jiucaiguo (Jiucai means chive) is well-known in Chaoshan. In winter, “eating chive can warm the body” (Yan &He &Zhang, 2016: 17). And it has the effect of lowering the blood lipid and anti-oxygenation. So Chaoshanese prefer to eat Jiucaiguo in this season.
Chaoshanese can follow the seasonal changes and act in responses. In summer, they will eat Caoguo to quench their thirst and “Zhiguo to help digest so that they can keep a healthy appetite” (Yan &He &Zhang, 2015: 40). They are accustomed to using diet therapy to prevent the diseases so they can keep healthy. And the diet therapy, so is the idea of disease defense, is an important idea from traditional Chinese medicine. Chaoshanese are still keeping the tradition consciously and they are good at taking precautions. Thus, we can see that they pay attention to keeping healthy.
5.2 Symbolic Meanings in Consecration Function
As every Chaoshan person knows, Guo, as an indispensable sacrificial offering, would appear at every festival on ancestor worship or god worship. The grade of Guo as an offering is just next to swine, chicken and fish. Most Chaoshan people have religious beliefs. They believe in Buddhism and Taoism. Different from Christianity, people believe Taoism will worship ancestors. Chaoshan people will take Guo as the offerings to worship their ancestors at particular festivals or on the death anniversary of the ancestor. When worshiping the Buddha, Guo is also one of the offerings. Religion, for the believers, is the power of hope. Chaoshan people worship ancestors and gods not only for the faith but also for their wishes of life. They make up the Guo in red because red is a color for luck. And they also engrave a Chinese character “Shou” which means long life, on the Guo for longevity. By these ways, they can tell their ancestors and gods their good wishes, which shows their pursuit of happiness.
5.2.1 Festivals for good harvest
In the past, people were suffering from the shortage of food and water. Everytime when they worship the gods, they must pray for nice weather which could help bring good harvest. The clan family may worship for the safety of the families while the clan or the whole town will worship for a good and healthy life of every member of the clan or the town. So the clan members can work for good harvest.
Only when the people prevented the hunger, could they survive and continue the family line, which was and is still vital for Chaoshanese. Family line is like a history book which records the history of the clan family. And in Chaoshan, as a necessary food or as an important offering for worship, Guo is easily found in the book because it is a significant symbol in Chaoshan histories.
Guo is made of cereals, which symbolizes crops. After Guo was made, it would be taken as offerings in many major festivals. And Chaoshanese would pray for good weather and good harvest.
There are eight big festivals in Chaoshan, including New Year Eve, Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, Qingming Festival, Dragon-boat Festival, Hungry Ghost Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival and Winter Festival. Besides these eight festivals, the memorial days of the ancestors are also as important as the eight festivals. In these days, Chaoshanese have to consecrate. And they would pray for the health and happiness of the families.
On the one hand, Guo is a kind of food that has a function of satisfying one’s hunger. So it can maintain the human’s life. Furthermore, Tianguo was made for the people who went out across the seas to earn their living. It could not just allay their hunger but also be preserved for a long time. And when they bring money home, the family line would not stop but become stronger. On the other hand, Guo is a common offering of worshiping the gods or the ancestors. Worshiping the gods, the Chaoshanese are with a wish for good harvest and worshiping the ancestors for the safety of the families. They are afraid of the loss of families at the time when life was hard. And only when the inpidual life and the family line are continuing, could the dream of good harvest come true and vice versa.
Therefore, Guo used to celebrate the festivals or worship the gods and ancestors shows the desire for good harvest. And the direct desire is to prolong the inpidual life and continue the family line.
In order to continue the family line, the Chaoshanese can be entrusted not only to the care of the survival of the families but also to the responsibility of having children. The younger generations are essential. Without them, it is impossible to continue the family line. And this kind of burden is always put on the bride’s shoulder.
Blessings for the new couples in China are usually “wish you are happy and harmonious”, “wish you love each other forever” and “wish you many children”. To have a child, for a new couple, means that a true family is built definitely. And in other words, the family line is possible to go on.
Pomegranates have many seeds. Chaoshanese regard it as a symbol of fertility. Shiliuguo (Shiliu means pomegranate) is a pink pomegranate-shaped Guo. “Chaoshanese will make this Guo as a gift to the bride and wish that she could have many children” (Li Linhao, 2009: 33).
Praying for safety is the primary purpose of worshiping gods. Guo, as an offering whose status is just after that of the three important sacrificial offerings: chicken, swine and fish, which are Chaoshanese favorite oblation. So they often use Guo to consecrate.
Baitaoguo (Bai means white) is a white peach-shaped Guo. Chaoshanese will make this kind of Guo to worship the dead. The color white in China is used in obsequies. “In Jieyang City, there is a Guo named Dounaguo. After five years of a person’s death, his families will take this Guo as offerings in the death anniversary” (Li Linhao, 2009: 33). What’s more, “in Anbu Chaozhou, there is Guiguo like Dounaguo. All these three Guos, after worshiping the dead, the alive will eat them. They believe that these Guo can make the dead peaceful and get the protection from the dead so that the alive will be safe” (Li Linhao, 2009: 34).
Guo is an oblation that the alive consecrate to the dead. The alive show their respect to the dead and get the protection from the dead. Although this performance is blind faith, the alive could get a sense of safety from it. Thus, they exchange Guo for safety.
5.2.4 Coming-of-age ceremony for family blood running
As we all know, one becomes an adult when he is 18 years old. However, in Chaoshan, the coming-of-age ceremony is held for the 15-year-old or 16-year-old teenagers. The ceremony is often held on July 7th. In this day, the parents will worship the god Gong and Po, making a wish that their children could be adults successfully and have a family with many children. “To worship Gong and Po, Chaoshanese must prepare the offerings, mainly consisting of Sanshen (a chicken, a piece of pork and a fish), Hongtaoguo, Faguo, joss paper and so on” (Chen &Yang, 2014: 49). Hongtaoguo doesn’t symbolize specific meanings here. It is just as a necessary oblation whose status is just after Sanshen. Some towns may offer Shiliuguo to pray that their children can have many kids in the future. Some places will offer Tianruanguo (a kind of glutinous rice cake with small size). All the four types of Guo are bearing the good hope from the parents who want their children to have a brilliant future.
As for Chaoshanese, no matter for hunger prevention or disease defense, and no matter the making of Guo reflects their diligency, wisdom or the Taoist philosophy, there was an original motivation, the desire for living, which urges them to survive in hard time and live for generations to keep the family line. It could be seen that they worked hard and tried to keep healthy to pursue a better life and pray for longevity. In addition, they worshiped gods or ancestors for the safety of the families, and they really cared about whether they could have many children or not, which shows their reproductive worship.
Guo is a significant symbol that occupies an important position in Chaoshan culture. Chaoshanese really paid attention to Guo with efforts. They tried to place their hopes on Guo. And their attempts have made Guo so various and perse. The most important is that the good meanings they had given to Guo have made Guo meaningful. They used Guo to convey their wishes to gods or to their ancestors by every possible means. They desired to be healthy and have a long life. And they want luck and safety. Besides, they wanted to have children as many as possible so that the family blood could run continuously, which meant that the whole family could be alive forever.
Guo as a cultural symbol has many symbolic meanings that can show Chaoshan culture. What’s more, it also shows the Chaoshanese love for life and pursuit of happiness. Guo, in addition, symbolizes the Chaoshanese desire of living and the reproductive worship. And the symbolism of Guo actually proves that Chaoshanese is a group of people who are conservative with a strong sense of family duty. Since the symbolic meanings can show the characteristics and lifestyle of Chaoshanese, it is significant for every Chaoshanese to understand and protect it.
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First of all, I would like to give my heartfelt thanks to my respectable supervisor Shi Chong, who helped me a lot through the whole period of writing the thesis. She gave me a lot of valuable advice on expressing my ideas in academic language, and guided me to organize the structure of the thesis. I am extremely grateful for her wisdom and patience.
Furthermore, I would like to thank all the teachers who taught me in my college life, because they gave me various knowledge; in particular the teachers in the School of Foreign Languages because they provided me with instructions on the study of English language, which is the foundation of this thesis. Besides, I have got help from the clerks in library and the printing shop, and I want to thank them sincerely.
Finally, I’d like to express my sincere gratitude to my family, all my classmates and friends who inspired me continuously and gave me seemingly endless love, support and encouragement.
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