(East-West Question) Yan Yonghe: How does the "cultural flower" of Baba Nyonya bloom in Malaysia?
China News Agency, Kuala Lumpur, February 11th: Yan Yonghe: How does the "flower of culture" of Baba Nyonya bloom in Malaysia?
China News Agency reporter Chen Yue
Many years ago, the Singaporean TV drama "Little Nyonya" caused a boom in China, and it also aroused the curiosity and attention of the Chinese people about the Baba Nyonya ethnic group.
As a product of exchanges and cultural exchanges between the people of China and Malaysia, Baba Nyonya, with its diverse and integrated cultural colors, has bloomed a unique Baba Nyonya "cultural flower" in Malaysia and other places.
On the occasion of the Spring Festival of the Year of the Tiger, Yan Yonghe, President of the Malaysian Overseas Chinese (Baba Nyonya) Association, accepted an exclusive interview with China News Agency "East and West Questions", introducing the Spring Festival customs of the Baba Nyonya ethnic group, and the Baba Nyonya people reflected in them. Nyonya cultural characteristics.
The following is a summary of the interview transcript:
China News Service: What is Baba Nyonya?
Yan Yonghe:
Baba Nyonya is also known as Peranakan, Baba refers to male and Nyonya refers to female.
Baba Nyonya is the descendant of intermarriage between Chinese and Southeast Asian locals who went to Southeast Asia after Zheng He went to the West in the Ming Dynasty.
However, Baba Nyonya is called differently in different parts of Malaysia and Thailand.
It is believed that the earliest Baba Nyonya were the descendants of intermarriage between the officers and soldiers who stayed in the local area when Zheng He went to the West.
Although this statement has yet to be verified, it fully reflects the good memory of the Malaysians about Zheng He's voyages to promote economic and trade exchanges and people-to-people exchanges between Malaysia and China.
Take my personal family experience as an example. My great-grandfather’s father came from the Xiamen area in southern Fujian, China. After he came to Malacca, he intermarryed with the locals, and he has been here for more than 100 years.
At present, the Malaysian Overseas Chinese Association has more than 3,000 members from all over Malaysia and all walks of life.
The Overseas Chinese Association actively carries out daily activities, and is committed to inheriting and promoting the Baba Nyonya culture and promoting cultural exchanges and people-to-people exchanges between Malaysia and China.
There are many Baba and Nyonya living in Jonker Street, Malacca, Malaysia, which is known for its multicultural integration. It is an important window for the display of Baba and Nyonya culture.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Chen Yue
China News Service: How do the Baba Nyonya people celebrate the Spring Festival?
Yan Yonghe:
Celebrating the Spring Festival of the Baba Nyonya ethnic group fully reflects the multi-cultural integration of the Baba Nyonya ethnic group, and has the characteristics of both Chinese culture and Malay culture.
The Spring Festival in my family is a "Malaysian-Chinese fusion" Spring Festival.
Similar to Chinese customs, we started to buy New Year's goods when New Year's Eve approached, with special emphasis on buying items for ancestor worship.
In our family, the dishes for worshiping ancestors on New Year's Eve must at least be "four plates and four bowls", as well as seasonal fruits and golden paper.
In addition to worshiping ancestors on New Year's Eve, the eighth day of the New Year's Eve is also a ceremony that Baba Nyonya, especially Baba Nyonya from southern Fujian, attach great importance to.
When praying to Tiangong, you and your family should put golden pig (roasted pig), roasted meat and other dishes on the offering table and fruits such as sugar cane and pineapple.
During the Spring Festival of 2020, in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, giant rat lanterns were erected in front of the KL Hainan Guild Hall (Thean Hou Temple) to wish the people a prosperous New Year.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Chen Yue
The "Reunion" dinner on New Year's Eve is also a highlight of the Baba Nyonya Spring Festival.
Among them, there is a unique New Year dish that is popular in Malaysia and Singapore – yew sang.
Yee Sang is to put sashimi, shredded radish, shredded cucumber, nuts, etc. that represent various auspicious meanings on a large plate. When eating, the whole table should stick chopsticks into the plate to stir together, and shout "fat". ” or “scoop up,” the louder the better, symbolizing a prosperous year ahead.
This dish not only inherits the custom of praying for Chinese New Year, but also incorporates local ingredients and cultural characteristics of Malaysia.
After the New Year's Eve dinner, Baba Nyonya will go to various palaces to welcome the New Year and pray for blessings.
Every New Year's Day, Baba Nyonya will serve tea, bow down and say auspicious words to their parents.
In addition, when visiting relatives on the first day of the new year, adhering to the Chinese tradition of orderly elders and youngers, the Baba Nyonyas have to walk down the eldest elders one by one, so they do not hesitate to make a detour.
These etiquettes are still the traditions that must be followed during Chinese New Year in most Baba Nyonya.
During the Spring Festival, Baba Nyonya are keen on dragon and lion dance, especially the high-piled lion dance developed by Malaysian Chinese on the basis of lion dance.
The lion dance jumps and moves on high and low piles, which is very ornamental.
The Lantern Festival's lanterns and lanterns add a festive atmosphere to Baba Nyonya's Spring Festival.
Malaysia Guan Sheng Palace Dragon and Lion Troupe "High Pile Lion Dance" performance.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Zhao Shengyu
The Spring Festival of Baba Nyonya also introduces rich elements of Malaysian culture.
Like the Malay friends, Baba Nyonya are very good at singing and dancing.
Every Spring Festival, I invite relatives and friends to have a party, and prepare them colorful Malay pastries, spicy Malay curry dishes, mixed with Chinese dishes such as white-cut chicken.
After the meal, we Baba Nyonya will sing and dance along with Malay songs, and the atmosphere is very enthusiastic.
China News Service: What cultural characteristics does the Spring Festival of Baba Nyonya reflect, and what factors make Baba Nyonya culture bloom in Malaysia?
Yan Yonghe:
It can be seen from the Baba Nyonya Spring Festival culture that Baba Nyonya pays great attention to the inheritance of traditional Chinese culture.
For example, Baba Nyonya attaches great importance to the worship of ancestors, and emphasizes the orderliness of elders and children when paying New Year's greetings, which reflects the tradition of filial piety in Chinese culture.
During the Spring Festival, the family reunion dinner, which attaches great importance to family reunion, is also a manifestation of Chinese culture's emphasis on family and affection.
In fact, it is not only the Spring Festival, but in the daily life of Baba Nyonya, it also pays attention to the inheritance of Chinese culture, especially daily customs.
For example, in our home, from the placement of ancestral tablets to the layout of the family, there are quite typical southern Fujian characteristics.
The “Betel Nut Peranakan Mansion” in Penang, Malaysia, has quite typical southern Fujian characteristics in its family layout.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Huang Hongbin
Even though some Baba and Nyonya have lived in Malaysia for a long time, their Chinese is not very fluent, and they have not reduced their emphasis on the inheritance of etiquette and culture, so as to maintain and highlight their cultural identity.
The founder of the Malaysian Chinese Association, Chen Zhenlu, is Baba. He once said, "If the Chinese do not love the Chinese culture, they will become people without ancestry."
On the other hand, Baba Nyonya has inherited a lot of local culture and integrated it into its own Chinese culture.
This is reflected in all aspects of diet, customs, and clothing.
For example, the Nyonya kebaya of Baba Nyonya, also known as Nyonya shirt, is a traditional Nyonya dress, which incorporates traditional Chinese hand embroidery and hollowing methods.
In recent years, many local Nyonyas, including Chinese, have combined Nyonya shirts and cheongsams to develop a Chinese-style Kebaya.
Kebaya can be said to be the representative of Baba Nyonya's cultural diversity.
The Nyonyas show off their distinctive costumes.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Chen Yue
Why can Baba Nyonya culture take root, blossom and bear fruit in Malaysia?
First, Chinese culture is full of vitality and attaches great importance to inheritance, and many of its characteristics are accepted by people all over the world.
For example, the Spring Festival culture of the Chinese nation has been affirmed many times by political leaders of various ethnic groups in Malaysia, who believe that the concept of emphasizing family and relatives embodied in it is worthy of reference by all ethnic groups.
Second, thanks to the tradition of inclusiveness and integration of Chinese culture and inclusiveness of all rivers, Chinese culture has not been closed and conservative since it came to Malaysia, but actively adapted to the local "banana rainforest" and integrated into the cultural characteristics of the local ethnic group.
Therefore, the Baba Nyonya culture not only adheres to the Chinese cultural tradition, but also adapts to the local society of Malaysia.
China News Service: What role do you think the Baba Nyonya ethnic group and Baba Nyonya culture can play in the exchanges between China and Malaysia?
Yan Yonghe:
In recent years, I have visited Xiamen, Zhangzhou and other places many times in order to jointly declare the world intangible cultural heritage for the folk custom of "Sending the King Ship".
There, I can communicate with local officials, experts and scholars not only in Mandarin, but also in Hokkien, which has shortened our distance and enhanced our intimacy.
In 2020, the project "Send the King Ship - Ceremony and Related Practices Concerning the Sustainable Connection Between Humans and Oceans" jointly declared by China and Malaysia was included in the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The boat to send the king is also called "burning the king boat", "sacrificing the king boat", "gong the king", etc., commonly known as "doing good deeds".
The picture shows the grand ceremony of sending the king boat in Zhongshan, Haicang, Xiamen.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Zhang Bin
The Monument to the Successful Application of the King Ship on the Seaside of Malacca.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Chen Yue
Therefore, as a Baba Nyonya, which has close ties with the Chinese and Malays, it can fully play its unique advantages in the exchanges between Malaysia and China, especially the exchanges between the people of Malaysia and China and the joint construction of the "Belt and Road", acting as a bridge and link. effect.
Furthermore, the spirit of cultural exchange and integration, complementarity and mutual learning embodied in the Baba Nyonya culture can also serve as a reference for the exchanges and exchanges between countries and civilizations in the world today.
It uses vivid examples to prove that civilizations should not be confrontational and confrontational, but should communicate and communicate.
(Finish)
Interviewee Profile:
Yan Yonghe, the current president of the Malaysian Overseas Chinese (Baba Nyonya) Association, has long been committed to safeguarding the rights and interests of the Baba Nyonya ethnic group, promoting the development of Baba Nyonya culture, and promoting non-governmental exchanges between Malaysia and China.
Yan Yonghe has also successfully organized many times in Malaysia to send the King Ship Cultural Festival and founded the King Ship Museum to promote this folk culture that originated in China and has been passed down in Malaysia for hundreds of years.
He also, as one of the initiators, actively promoted the joint application of the culture of sending the king boat between Malaysia and China, and made an important contribution to the final listing of the king boat culture in the UNESCO World Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2020.