As promised, this post will talk about my trip to some villages around Guangzhou as part of “Exploring Chinese Culture Through Fieldwork.” The trip was focused on the Pearl River Delta. In this area, lineages had gained power and wealth through land reclamation around the delta, using the land to grow sugar cane and other produce.
A fruit plant next to an irrigation channel on the reclaimed sand fields of the Pearl River Delta.
One of the most powerful of these families is the He lineage, a family whose ancestral hall we visited during the trip.
The front of the He lineage hall.
This family had used the wealth it acquired through farming the reclaimed land to pay for tutors for the younger members of the family, allowing them to pass the imperial examinations to become court officials. This political influence allowed the He lineage to gain more farmland, and increase its wealth, power and prestige. The He lineage had many members who passed the imperial exams, and even several who passed the most difficult third round of exams to become national level political leaders. They put up plaques to honor their achievements in the imperial exams, and to impress upon visitors the power of their family.
Plaques displaying the ranks that various members of the He lineage attained in the imperial examinations. Inside the He lineage hall
In imperial China, there were also rules for how large an ancestral hall could be based on the ranking of the family, and the He lineage hall’s size further showed their power.
Another place we went to on this trip was a village that had been redesigned to fit the concept of a “Lingnan Water Town.” This concept is an idea by the Chinese government as well as the government of Guangzhou to establish tourism in the area through playing up the Chinese culture of the area, specifically by using riverboats, changing the facades of the buildings, and putting in museums to show the local culture. It is somewhat interesting that this concept is essentially copied off of the Jiangxu water towns in another part of China, and much of the culture that is celebrated by the “Lingnan Water Town” concept is not actually native to the area. Since much of the traditional culture was lost during various political campaigns by the Chinese government, they are able to take templates from other regions of China and place them in new areas, and incorporate it with what remains of the original culture of those areas.
A KFC with a “Lingnan Water Town” design
Overall, this trip to mainland China was a fascinating way to not only learn more about the history of the region, but also about the current campaigns by the Chinese government to promote tourism.