One of the things about living in China is its constant ability to surprise you. Even when you think you’ve got a pretty good handle on the basic routines. Last night, I went across town to visit a friend. It was about 9pm when I left my apartment and as I walked towards the local thoroughfare to catch a taxi, I noticed that up and down the street, there were some people out tending to a series of small fires that they had burning on the ground by the roadside. I didn’t think much of it at the time but on the cab ride to my friend’s place we passed a lot more of them. It didn’t make sense to me but again, I just didn’t think much of it. For some reason, it failed to really stimulate my curiosity.
So then this morning, when I woke up, I could tell by the diminished light bleeding through the curtains that it was overcast outside. I peered out to see that all was shrouded in a haze. Not putting two and two together, I had at first assumed that it was fog brought about by the cold. This town doesn’t suffer from the kind of pollution that you see in larger cities like Shanghai or Beijing. Looking up, it seemed as though the sky beyond the haze was also overcast with clouds. It made for a dull and dreary morning. But then the haze persisted throughout the day.
In the first afternoon class, one of the students told me that the haze was indeed due people burning fires as part of a ritual commemoration of the dead. It dawned on me that what I’d seen in my neighbourhood was a scene that had been played out all over town last night. There must have been thousands of such fires being started by people missing their dead relatives. Now they’re all hoping for a little wind to come and clear the haze away.
Another student walked into class wearing one of those dust masks. He told me that he’d only put it on about an hour earlier and after going outside for a while it was already looking soiled and grey from all the soot. It made me feel foolish, not having the foresight to stock up on some dust masks for such an occasion. I knew about burning fake money and even fake clothes at graveyards during funerals or tomb-sweeping day, but this business of mass fire burning in the middle of November was new to me. Once more, I’d been taken unawares by a Chinese custom. I wonder if this will ever really end.
States of Disunion 