At Home with Density

5. 'We Are Chinese'

5 'We Are Chinese' As a cultural outside r i t i s impossible fo r m e t o ignore th e presenc e of Chines e element s withi n th e Hon g Kon g home. There i s nothin g in any of the HKHA reports to suggest that these homes were designe d to fit with specific, deep rooted, traditional practices of the inhabitants. This, however , i s not alway s how resident s se e it. One grandmothe r in her lat e sixties , firml y believe d tha t th e HKH A had designe d he r flat t o accommodate the 'honourable place' for the Tu-ti (±±ffe), 1 which, from he r experienc e woul d hav e bee n buil t int o th e traditiona l dwellings. The Tu-ti must be placed in front of the door,- it doesn't matter if it's a shop or . . . look, the honourable place is for the ancestors. That wall with th e calenda r i s for th e ancestral tablet s . . . That Honourabl e place is for the ancestors . . . .The Honourable place is on your lef t according to the main door . The side to the left o f the door is called the Honourable place. She wa s s o confiden t i n he r ow n min d tha t th e fla t ha d bee n designed accordin g t o thes e cultura l rules , tha t i t momentaril y changed m y researc h assistant' s perceptio n o f th e HKHA. It is mor e likely, however, tha t thi s woman's perception o f space was develope d from, an d incline d towards , a dee p roote d cultura l vie w tha t th e HKHA, a s a governmen t body , woul d consciousl y desig n thes e buildings as homes accordin g to the cultural needs of Chinese people. The traditional thinking respondents bring to bear a whole experienc e 118 A t Home With Densit y and expectation of a space that perhaps less traditional thinking, or non-Chinese, might not ever consider. In studies of folk religion in Hong Kong there is very little mention of the placement o f icons in the modern home. Myers discusses th e problem of adapting religion to the nuclear family and to high density space2 but does not expand on this with the same insight and depth of knowledge a s th e grandmothe r mentione d earlier . Berkowitz 3 attributes the modern day decline of traditional religious practice in everyday life to the fact that Hong Kong is moving from localis m t o universalism. This , he ascribes not t o industrialization bu t t o th e mobility o f the people, since most Hong Kong people are remove d from thei r native place in China, and from th e land, where many of these rituals are derived. Native place is a real to most Chines e as their present residence, eve n though fo r many , ther e ma y hav e bee n n o actua l residenc e ther e fo r several generations : ther e i s wher e on e belongs . Her e i s temporary , ephemeral an d fails t o include th e whole ma n . . . Native plac e is th e well spring of one's being: when i t loses importance t o the individual , he is sliding away from hi s traditional Chines e beliefs an d practices. 4 This suggests that mor e traditionally minded respondents wil l feel a stronger emotional connectio n t o their nativ e place than t o their home i n Hong Kong. The concept o f 'home' i s therefore no t confined b y density or limited by everyday environments because , according t o Berkowitz , the y ar e rooted t o a place whic h i s 'th e ultimate source of one's identity and encompasses the whole of one's being.' But, even if it is not articulated as such, the experience of dayto -day living also makes the physical home a highly significant place. And, a s a taken fo r grante d plac e it unconsciousl y reflect s deepe r values and knowledge of everyday living. An in-depth studyof Chinese folk religion practices...