Father & Son

Today is Ching Ming Festival - a public holiday in Hong Kong, enabling Hongkongers to honour ancestors. A facebook news feed revealed that a friend seized the opportunity to have early morning tea with his loved one. My elder son meant to join me to sweep the graves as usual, but an urgent professional assignment required him to abort the journey.

My late grandfather Cheung Nam was an immigrant from San Hui, Guangdong. As the head of household, he provided shelter and food for his two wives, three sons and three daughters-in-laws and seven grandchildren. He passed away in 1962 at the age of 62 and was buried at a hillside about 45-minute walk from my Dad's new home at Tin Sum.

The Cheung family has been paying tribute to Cheung Nam (and later his wives too) during Ching Ming and Chung Yeung festivals. I have fond memories of our earlier visits, passing small paths between rice fields led by our loyal black dog "Bear Boy", and stopping by little ponds. I hoped to discover secret martial arts scrolls hidden by Kungfu masters!

The Cheung family sustains the practice although the number of participants is dwindling eg my Dad died in 2011. I could tell my grandfather loved my Dad the most, just like my Dad to me. Having discharged my late Dad's responsibility today, I paid a tribute to my late Dad at Tsuen Wan, maintaining a healing and empowering spiritual relationship!