They are mainly devoted to exalting the virtues and benevolence of Guan Gong.įor example, one donated by Chen Weizong of Xinning County and Li Ming-kang of Kaiping County praises Guan Gong for protecting immigrants and expresses the hope that these immigrant laborers would one day succeed and return home in glory. Looking around more closely, you can see that the walls are everywhere hung with more than 70 gold plaques sent by various associations and religious groups from the Guangdong counties of Xinning, Xiangshan, Kaiping, and Xinhui. On the right is a sword, and on the left an "Eight Immortals" tapestry and a decorative umbrella (used in temple processions). "Eternal flame" lampions are hung in the air, and in front of the niche there is an altar for offerings on which there are candleholders, vases, incense burners, engraved divination sticks, and other paraphernalia used in worship. The main axis of the temple is a niche for the statue of the deity Guan Gong, the incarnation of loyalty and righteousness. With this renovation, the Yi Xing Hui hall is today a large and impressive structure, resplendently decorated with gold and jade. In 1981, the temple was again renovated, with contributions from the Australian federal government (A$20,000), the Victoria state government (A$10,000), Li Pao-lin, a local resident of Chinese ancestry (A$10,000), the China Hongmen Minzhi Dang (A$7000), the Melbourne branch of the Kuomintang (A$4700), and various other groups and friends in Australia. The Yi Xing Hui (which means "upholding righteousness association") temple in South Melbourne was built in 1856, renovated in 1866, and enlarged in 1901. Sadly, for a variety of reasons, only a few of their temples and meeting halls remain as interesting tourist attractions. Later, as the number of Chinese increased, these types of societies evolved into broader groups, and flourished for a time. Early immigrants began to organize along the model of the Hongmen in China (a secret society dedicated to overthrowing the Qing and restoring the Ming dynasty). But when the "White Australia" policy reared its head, it became much more difficult for the Chinese to survive. Relying on hard work and bare hands, Chinese laborers finally were able to settle in. There they settled in places like Adelaide, Bendigo, and Ballarat on the east coast, and in the mountain areas of Queensland state, hoping to fulfill their gold-panning dreams. When news of the gold rush in Australia reached China in the 1850s, poor farmers, fishermen, and unemployed drifters from Xinning (today's Taishan County) in Guangdong Province, searching for a path of survival or improvement for their families, crossed the sea to Australia. In fact, in recent years these have benefited from preservation efforts by the Australian government, and they are well worth a visit. This is not, perhaps, so hard to believe for Southeast Asia, where many Chinese reside, but-and this you might not expect-even in Australia, where the "White Australia" policy reigned and which for a long time rigorously discriminated against Asians, there are some older temples and "secret society" meeting halls. Indeed, some have been repeatedly renovated and some have become well-known historic sites in their localities. Though most of these structures have disappeared without a trace, fortunately in many communities, there are still some Chinese cultural symbols. Moreover, and more pragmatically, these social organizations were a way for Chinese to work together as they strove to carve a niche for themselves in a harsh new environment. As they did, their profound nostalgia for home, and the cultural genes in their blood, became physically manifest in temples and association halls in their new homelands, carrying on the memories that these "descendants of the dragon" had of their ancestors and homeland. Others headed to North America to work on the railroads or to Australia to pursue their dreams of gold. Carrying only simple baggage, and the hopes of their entire families or even entire villages, they struck out on their own. Many Chinese living in coastal areas saw a lifeline across the sea. For young Chinese of this generation, who have had it good, it is hard to imagine that it is only about a century-and-a-half ago that the decrepit Qing dynasty tottered on the edge of collapse, ordinary people found it hard to even make a living, and Chinese died by the millions as a result of natural and man-made disasters. The 21st century will be the "Chinese century." Mainland China is advancing with startling speed, and Chinese immigrants, propelled by China's suffering over the years, have spread throughout the globe.
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