Farewell to a home full of memories
Print Edition
FOUR generations of Zhang Baoyu’s family in Hongming Village got together in February for what would be the last meal in the old family home.
Zhang, his wife Feng Jingen and his mother, who live in the house, were joined by Zhang’s two daughters, their husbands and their children.
The reunion was a farewell to a house on the cusp of demolition for urban renewal.
Until now, Hongming has been an example of the urban phenomenon known as “villages within cities.” Sitting adjacent to Hongquan Road, nicknamed “South Korea Street,” and the Wuzhong Road business district, the village escaped the bulldozer as urban sprawl encroached on all sides.
In recent years, high-rises mushroomed around the village, and the once proud village fell into disrepair and despair. It came to be regarded as a blemish.
“After the district government informed us about that our neighborhood would be demolished, many residents signed relocation contracts and moved out,” said Zhang. “Even migrants living here have left. The village is quieter these days, but it has a forlorn feel to it.”
After a simple family lunch, Zhang’s daughters, Zhang Pei and Zhang Qi, start to prepare the farewell dinner. The elder daughter Pei has always served as chef for family reunions, with her sister as assistant.
The two sons-in-law occupy themselves by fixing things around the house, even though there’s little point now.
Zhang Baoyu watches them all work. His health has deteriorated and he often naps during the day. But back in his prime, he was strong and clever. He built the house from scratch 33 years ago. It is no luxurious residence, but he is proud that it provided a roof for the peaceful rearing of a family.
It’s obviously still a happy family unit. Outside the house, Feng calls her oldest grandson to fetch water from the well to help wash the vegetables. The boy, named Chengcheng, is excited to be asked to help. He carries several buckets of water to the house.
The well has been a mainstay of life for Zhang’s family. For decades, they have relied on it for laundry, cooking and bathing. It summer, its cool interior kept watermelons.
Wells like this were once common in Shanghai. But with urbanization, they have mostly disappeared. The well at Zhang’s house is about to slip into the past.
Before sitting down to their last dinner in the house, Zhang’s family performs the annual ancestor worship rite. The ceremony is a tradition in Shanghai, but many families streamlined the procedure to accommodate their fast-paced lifestyles. Not the Zhangs. They still observe old traditions.
The ceremony is held not only to honor the memories of ancestors, but also to pray for a prosperous year ahead. Dishes used in the ceremony all have lucky connotations: fish symbolize a surplus year, knuckles bring fortune to the home, eight-treasure pudding evokes endless riches, and tang yuan glutinous rice balls promise family reunions.
All the dishes are placed on a small, square table spread with joss sticks, candles chopsticks and wine cups.
Zhang’s mother, as matriarch of the family, gives the word for the ceremony to begin. Joss sticks and candles are lit, signifying welcome to the souls of ancestors.
Touching the chairs around the table before the joss sticks have burned out is considered taboo because that would mean the ceremony had ended and the ancestors’ souls should leave. To ensure that doesn’t happen, two of the younger, more rambunctious grandchildren are kept away from the table.
Zhang Baoyu takes on the task of burning paper offerings to ancestors.
“When burning the offerings, I thanked ancestors for their blessings and prayed for an agreeable life in our new home,” he said.
Before the ceremony ends, the dishes are moved to the hearth as sacrifice to the kitchen god, and rice wine is spilled in the yard for the god who guards the house. Finally, the square table is moved and the rites end.
At around 6pm, the last supper in the old house begins. A huge round wooden tabletop is placed on the square table so that everyone can be seated at the meal. The tabletop is worn from decades of use. This is its last outing; it won’t be taken to the new home.
The meal Zhang’s daughters have prepared isn’t only about traditional foods. They introduce new tastes like sashimi, barbeque ribs and South Korean-style fried chicken.
The rice wine mellows the table conversation. Family members talk about their daily lives and share their dreams. They reminiscence about all the happy times spent together in the old house. They wonder how the imminent move to new quarters will change things.
As the darkness falls, an evening chill sets in. Family members hardly notice because they are warmed by their happiness of their reunion.
Before leaving, the daughters and their husbands help with some final packing of household goods.
Outside, Hongming Village is dead quiet. There are no streetlights. No pedestrians. The only light piercing the darkness comes from windows in nearby by high-rises.
“We will never forget this old house or Hongming Village,” said Zhang wistfully.
“This is a place that will always hold our family history.”
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