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'Chinese deity' costume saga: Emperor booby-trapped?
COMMENT | Please tell me, prior to the beginning of the Chinese New Year how many of you know Cao Guojiu?
Wait, let me rephrase that more appropriately - how many of you "Chinese" know Cao Guojiu?
As a Chinese Malaysian myself, I have to admit I don’t, well at least not prior to the start of this Monkey year.
And I dare bet you that 999 out of 1,000 Chinese in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau and especially mainland China don't as well. Perhaps in Taiwan there may be more Chinese who knows who Cao Guojiu was.
Today we come to be informed of who Cao Guojiu was/is, but only because poor Mohd Khairuddin Othman of PAS, the state assemblyperson for Paya Jaras, Selangor, was seen dressed in a period costume allegedly that of Cao Guojiu.
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Our dear Yang Berhormat had sportingly worn the costume in a Chinese New Year celebration, apparently on the encouragement of his constituents of Paya Jaras near Kepong, having been informed that the costume was that of a Chinese emperor.
Chinese members of his state constituency who told him so was probably acting in good faith (excuse the unintended pun), because ... well, for answer/explanation ... please refer to my queries above (at beginning of this article). His Chinese constituents were probably as clueless as me [grin].
But let us explore other possible reasons for his constituents unwittingly dunking the luckless though innocent YB into the hot Islamic soup like a Chinese kuih kapit.
The period costume Khairuddin wore would be typically those of the nobility during the Song Dynasty, so the allegedly incorrect information about the period costume he was asked to don was in the end not so incorrect after all.
Historically, Cao Guojiu was a member of the royal family, being a younger brother of an empress, specifically the wife of Emperor Renzong of the Song dynasty. He was the royal brother-in-law.
While he wasn't the emperor himself, he certainly was a member of royalty. We can’t blame people for believing his clothing (that is, assuming they even remember or know who he was) was those of an emperor.
Besides, people are also known for name-dropping so those who had once knew him, and those rare few Chinese Malaysians who still do, might possibly insinuate he was somewhat and somehow an emperor.
Yes, we Malaysians are notorious for our name-dropping habits. I recall as a schoolboy, when I was involved in a schoolyard scrap with another student, the brat having lost the bout threatened me with his father’s might, saying: “I’ll tell my dad you all gang up on me just because I spoke out against the class monitor!” [maniacal laughter – you know how that would go!]
One of the Eight Immortals
Before we come to the third possible reason for Khairuddin ending up as an about-to-be-executed though innocent Chinese emperor (and Chinese history has plenty of that), let us review what we know about Chinese New Year celebrations.
For umpteen Chinese New Year celebrations, we had never experienced the presence of the deity Cao Guojiu in any form, whether in votive rituals, mere mention nor story recount. Indeed nor did any in the entire pantheon of Taoist deities called the Eight Immortals (Baxian).
While Chinese Malaysians including me are aware of the Taoist Eight Immortals, the only two in that pantheon that I believe most are familiar with, if at all, would be Lu Dongbin and Li Tieguai. Personally I could never remember the other six.
Thus I reiterate here that 99.9 percent of Chinese don't know who Cao Guojiu was, so why would a Malay, whether from PAS, PKR or Umno.
As a Chinese I can personally testify to the non-involvement of the Eight Immortals, including Cao Guojiu, in Chinese New Year celebrations, and so I believe would other Chinese too.
I do wonder why there has been such an alleged costume (specific to Cao Guojiu) for Khairuddin Othman to wear?
I'm compelled to conclude that either:
a) it was just a generic period costume and has nothing to do with a Chinese deity, and that someone had been maliciously-gleefully fibbing, or
b) just as Singapore intelligence informed the Australian Office of National Assessment (ONA) in 2008, and revealed by Wikileaks in 2010, that Anwar Ibrahim to have walked willingly into a Saiful-ish ‘honey trap’, Khairuddin had walked willingly into an emperor 'syirik-trap’ set by his political foes.
The root of this possibility would be solved if we can identify who first raised this Cao Guojiu rubbish.
As I mentioned, not many Chinese know or at least knew who that deity was, so who has been that clever boy who raised the observation of poor innocent Khairuddin in the dress of allegedly Cao Guojiu, a near-unknown unfamiliar Chinese deity?
Anyway, to Khairuddin, I would say, don't fret matey, you may be a PAS man (smile) but I've great respect for your 'innocent' muhibbah sporting gesture in donning a Chinese period costume, and that you've been absolutely correct in stating "Chinese New Year is a cultural celebration which has nothing to do with religion".
But let us explore other possible reasons for his constituents unwittingly dunking the luckless though innocent YB into the hot Islamic soup like a Chinese kuih kapit.
The period costume Khairuddin wore would be typically those of the nobility during the Song Dynasty, so the allegedly incorrect information about the period costume he was asked to don was in the end not so incorrect after all.
Historically, Cao Guojiu was a member of the royal family, being a younger brother of an empress, specifically the wife of Emperor Renzong of the Song dynasty. He was the royal brother-in-law.
While he wasn't the emperor himself, he certainly was a member of royalty. We can’t blame people for believing his clothing (that is, assuming they even remember or know who he was) was those of an emperor.
Besides, people are also known for name-dropping so those who had once knew him, and those rare few Chinese Malaysians who still do, might possibly insinuate he was somewhat and somehow an emperor.
Yes, we Malaysians are notorious for our name-dropping habits. I recall as a schoolboy, when I was involved in a schoolyard scrap with another student, the brat having lost the bout threatened me with his father’s might, saying: “I’ll tell my dad you all gang up on me just because I spoke out against the class monitor!” [maniacal laughter – you know how that would go!]
One of the Eight Immortals
Before we come to the third possible reason for Khairuddin ending up as an about-to-be-executed though innocent Chinese emperor (and Chinese history has plenty of that), let us review what we know about Chinese New Year celebrations.
For umpteen Chinese New Year celebrations, we had never experienced the presence of the deity Cao Guojiu in any form, whether in votive rituals, mere mention nor story recount. Indeed nor did any in the entire pantheon of Taoist deities called the Eight Immortals (Baxian).
While Chinese Malaysians including me are aware of the Taoist Eight Immortals, the only two in that pantheon that I believe most are familiar with, if at all, would be Lu Dongbin and Li Tieguai. Personally I could never remember the other six.
Thus I reiterate here that 99.9 percent of Chinese don't know who Cao Guojiu was, so why would a Malay, whether from PAS, PKR or Umno.
As a Chinese I can personally testify to the non-involvement of the Eight Immortals, including Cao Guojiu, in Chinese New Year celebrations, and so I believe would other Chinese too.
I do wonder why there has been such an alleged costume (specific to Cao Guojiu) for Khairuddin Othman to wear?
I'm compelled to conclude that either:
a) it was just a generic period costume and has nothing to do with a Chinese deity, and that someone had been maliciously-gleefully fibbing, or
b) just as Singapore intelligence informed the Australian Office of National Assessment (ONA) in 2008, and revealed by Wikileaks in 2010, that Anwar Ibrahim to have walked willingly into a Saiful-ish ‘honey trap’, Khairuddin had walked willingly into an emperor 'syirik-trap’ set by his political foes.
The root of this possibility would be solved if we can identify who first raised this Cao Guojiu rubbish.
As I mentioned, not many Chinese know or at least knew who that deity was, so who has been that clever boy who raised the observation of poor innocent Khairuddin in the dress of allegedly Cao Guojiu, a near-unknown unfamiliar Chinese deity?
Anyway, to Khairuddin, I would say, don't fret matey, you may be a PAS man (smile) but I've great respect for your 'innocent' muhibbah sporting gesture in donning a Chinese period costume, and that you've been absolutely correct in stating "Chinese New Year is a cultural celebration which has nothing to do with religion".
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“Curiously, the (Merdeka Center) survey also showed that many Malaysians have a vague idea, not only of one another's cultures and traditions, but also of their own.
“Hari Raya Puasa was wrongly perceived as the Malay New Year by 32 percent of Malays, 84 percent of Chinese and 45 percent of Indians - the festival actually marks the culmination of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting. Similarly, the Chinese New Year was thought to be a religious festival by 57 percent of Malays, 53 percent of Indians and a whopping 62 percent of Chinese respondents.”
Well, that may be 10 years ago but at least Khairuddin of PAS today is far more knowledgeable than 62 percent of Chinese then, in that the Chinese New Year celebrations have nothing to do with religion.
Not the first time
Indeed, Chinese New Year has nothing to do with religion, any religion, and that Chinese of any religion - Islam, Christianity, Buddhist, Taoist, Confucianism, etc, or even those without one (smirk here), would celebrate the start of the Chinese lunar-solar calendar, to wit, the beginning of the Spring season (in China), a socio-seasonal festival which after thousands of years has become a socio-cultural-administrative festival, even for godless communist China.
I say kudos to Khairuddin for his truly Malaysian muhibbah attitude as I would also say kudos to Khairy Jamaluddin for doing a similar muhibbah gesture in giving a Chinese New Year greeting in Mandarin.
Now, many may not realise that the brouhaha about Khairuddin in Chinese period costume has not been the first, because years, years back, Sudirman Arshad (when still alive) had together with his regular performing sidekick Noorkumalasari put together a Gong Xi Fa Cai special programme for RTM. Both planned to dress up in Chinese period costumes for their performances.
It was reported that poor Noorkumalasari was harassed brutally, called all sorts of names and bullied continuously by ultras into not donning the Chinese period costume until she broke down and burst into tears.
It's a shame that today, more than a decade after the shameful brutal bullying of Noorkumalasari, people still look for the trivial to create controversy.
K TEMOC is a Penangite who enjoys being an independent blogger and loves to share his opinion on Malaysian and world affairs without fear or favour.
“Hari Raya Puasa was wrongly perceived as the Malay New Year by 32 percent of Malays, 84 percent of Chinese and 45 percent of Indians - the festival actually marks the culmination of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting. Similarly, the Chinese New Year was thought to be a religious festival by 57 percent of Malays, 53 percent of Indians and a whopping 62 percent of Chinese respondents.”
Well, that may be 10 years ago but at least Khairuddin of PAS today is far more knowledgeable than 62 percent of Chinese then, in that the Chinese New Year celebrations have nothing to do with religion.
Not the first time
Indeed, Chinese New Year has nothing to do with religion, any religion, and that Chinese of any religion - Islam, Christianity, Buddhist, Taoist, Confucianism, etc, or even those without one (smirk here), would celebrate the start of the Chinese lunar-solar calendar, to wit, the beginning of the Spring season (in China), a socio-seasonal festival which after thousands of years has become a socio-cultural-administrative festival, even for godless communist China.
I say kudos to Khairuddin for his truly Malaysian muhibbah attitude as I would also say kudos to Khairy Jamaluddin for doing a similar muhibbah gesture in giving a Chinese New Year greeting in Mandarin.
Now, many may not realise that the brouhaha about Khairuddin in Chinese period costume has not been the first, because years, years back, Sudirman Arshad (when still alive) had together with his regular performing sidekick Noorkumalasari put together a Gong Xi Fa Cai special programme for RTM. Both planned to dress up in Chinese period costumes for their performances.
It was reported that poor Noorkumalasari was harassed brutally, called all sorts of names and bullied continuously by ultras into not donning the Chinese period costume until she broke down and burst into tears.
It's a shame that today, more than a decade after the shameful brutal bullying of Noorkumalasari, people still look for the trivial to create controversy.
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K TEMOC is a Penangite who enjoys being an independent blogger and loves to share his opinion on Malaysian and world affairs without fear or favour.
clueless or no, the chinese in paya jaras must be aware that tis pas under hadi is no more the same pas under pakatan, a vote to pas under hadi is a vote to umno under najib. beware of the person/party behind the costume. one day they call muhibbah the next day they call u bunch kafir.
ReplyDeleteHY, I share your distrust IN GENERAL of PAS but nonetheless I have to be true to my own conscience and values in wanting to defend Mohd Khairuddin (as I defended Anwar too against KJ's criticism in a letter to Malaysiakini in March 2010 - see http://ktemoc.blogspot.com.au/2010/03/defending-anwar-ibrahim-wakakaka.html).
DeleteAs Bryan Wong (see comment below), Khairuddin, though a PAS bloke, at least has a sense of humour and willingness to participate in non-Malay non-Muslim events.
Evrything has to do with with the Chinese particularly during CNY and infatuation with all things with an auspicious image. And who in tarnation is Cao GuoJiu, many in the chinese community are just as clueless but merely mention Choy Sun Yeh( Deity of Prosperity) Well thats a whole different thing altogether. And its about symbolism of luck ,wealth or prosperity and "Ong"...Isn't that the costume Khairuddin was wearing for photo ops. All in good fun and spirit of muhibbah,nothing more.
ReplyDeleteAt least it shows the guy has a sense of humor . But more grating on the nerves is the immaturity of the mindsets of the ignorant ly fragile Crybaby critcs..who seems to relish having excuses to throw fits of " screaming foul " tantrum that their sensitivities have been offended-this lah that lah.-
This crybaby syndrome is actually getting more siller .at times verging on moronic stupidity,when considering the stuff that has been objected to of late,so much so ,it is getting obnoxious and annoying to many..and not funny at all.
If only these people with these psyches just occasionally dismount from their sanctimonious high horse and join in the rest of the less sensitive and more accepting mindsets and participating in the inter-ethno / inter faith "muhibbah" relations.
hasan! can you please convince hadi to wear santa claus next christmas.. ha ha
ReplyDeleteOk.. as I see it, as long as it is not symbolic of a deity, it should be fine. For Muhibbah sake, why not? The robe, the janggut, and the songkok are fine. The popes and the clerics pun pakai juga. Santa Claus pun sama aje juga. No hal lah. Small matter. A simple misunderstanding. Why want to make a fuss?
DeleteGuan Eng said,he wants to stop any 1MDB monkey business in Penang.Did Guan Eng not know that 1MDB is backed by Najib Razak,the most powerful PM in Malaysia's history to date.Najib Razak could walk over Guan Eng without ever winking an eyelid.
ReplyDeleteGuan Eng got the nuts to take on Najib Razak,the present PM and the eldest son of Malaysia's second PM.But,he lost his marbles to take on a midget developer for wrecking down one of Penang's most popular heritage building.And on the second day of CNY.An insult to him and all Penangnites,on such a special day.What the fuck,this guy Guan Eng really wants.Go figure.
PKR's Jayar had parroted what PKR leaders have said earlier, that PKR will not settle for less than forty seats in the coming Sarawak state elections.
ReplyDeleteThe last time they stand for these many seats,they won only three,if my memory is correct.Why not stand for say,twenty seats and concentrate all their fire power,and say win at least eight,ten or even a baker's dozen.Then to stand for forty seats and win,say around five,three or even zero(nada) seats?
With PKR and now even amanah leaders acting like political morons,will the cows even think of ever coming home?
have you heard of the idiom 'Dog in a manger'?
Deleteit means someone who can't make use of an asset (as the dog of the hay in the manger) refuses to let teh cows eat the hay by barking at them.
PKR is like a dog in a manger, knowing it can't possibly win most of those seats but refuses to let DAP contest in them because it's afraid of DAP dominating the opposition in Sarawak.
It wants to be No 1 but realises its wee lil' birdie is way too small, well at least smaller than DAP's wakakaka.
Growing up in a Chinese Taoist family which strictly followed all the practices for Chinese New Year, I was never able to differentiate what was religious and non-religious about the festival.
ReplyDeleteWe burnt incense and candles, made offerings to our ancestors the day before. On midnight of New Year eve, it was a big prayer session, where the whole family took their turn. I never figured out how the exact timing was decided. On New Year's day itself , fresh incense and candles were lit. On the eve of the Ninth Day , there was a major prayer made to the Jade Emperor, usually at home, but some years, we made the trip to the big Jade Emperor temple up the hill in Air Itam.
A lot of this is tied up in Chinese Folk beliefs, which over the centuries is completely blended between culture and religion. For want of a better description, I will call it a "Religion".
Sure, Chinese Christians and Chinese Muslims (or any other religion) can very well celebrate Chinese New Year.
What they have done is filter out the religious or spiritual aspects of it, so as to have a celebration which is acceptable to Christian or Muslim beliefs.
But to me, this is not to say Chinese New Year is a Secular Festival to start with - that it is not.
religious rituals are optional and not necessarily (should not bt mistaken as) part of CNY celebrations
DeleteWhat goes around , comes around...
ReplyDeleteBack in January 1969, then Education Minister Khir Johari had a photograph taken of him and his wife dressed in Chinese Opera costumes , and made into a personalised Chinese New Year greeting card which he sent to their Chinese friends.
PAS at the time seized on the card as evidence that Khir had "jadi Cina" gone Chinese and even "murtad" apostate....and used the issue for political assassination purposes.
Isn't it ironic that a PAS assemblyman is now at the receiving end ?