You wrote about the American’s Veteran Day.
I had meant to reply but my efforts then were somehow due to the technical reason not saved and published in the blog.
This is my belated Johny-come-lately reply.
I am asking myself if there is any equivalent in China. If there is, what is it?
The first two occasions that came to my mind are naturally Qing Ming (清明) and Chong Yang(重阳 ) festivals. Both are dedicated to remember the deceased ancestors.
Yet in none of which we are taught or brought up to use the occasion to thank the veteran be it military or stretched more broadly to include the civilian volunteers who sacrificed for the country and the peoples.
Next came the less obvious, the Duanwu (端午) festival, better known as the Dragon Boat Festival, is actually celebrated for pretty much the dragon boat racing (at least in Hong Kong or in Penang) and the eating of the rice dumpling (I confess I belong to this category).
Most people are oblivious to the cause of the festival. Arguably the patriotism of Qu Yuan (屈原) which the occasion is commemorating is most approximate to the raison d'être of the Veteran Day.
Yet, we don’t see the Chinese people are parading. We also don’t see the veteran are marching in goose steps or being wheeled in proudly with the battle wound.
Is it that the Chinese people are ungrateful to the very peoples who sacrifice to defend her or to serve her?
I fear the answer is yes. The veteran are largely forgotten. This is sadly the reality.
At the same time, we need to understand that the Chinese culturally is not militaristic as a society like the American.
With this in mind, we could understand why the veteran is not celebrated the same way.
Personally, I think the society in particular should make greater effort to promote the awareness of the service rendered by the Veteran to the society and to the country and this can be subsumed into an occasion such as the Duanwu which is falling on June 16 this year.
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2 comments:
Welcome back to posting, Bro!
I must admit I have not been very diligent lately.
The idea of celebrating or commemorating veterans is, I believe, cultural and it reflects the relationship between the individual and the state.
In a Confucian or an autocratic society, the concept of the individual is not celebrated and often less respected. Hence the idea of sacrificing one's life and property for the state or the nation is seen as an obligation. Even if such sacrifice is for an unworthy ruler or an unjust system. The State and society simply has no special regard for the service and sacrifice of the individual.
In democratic societies especially in the West, military service is seen exactly as that: "service". Even under conscription, it is seen to be part of what it means to be a citizen in service of the nation.
In the UK and France, the Armistice Day on every 11 November to commemorate the end of WW1 stand both as a tribute to those who perished but is also heavily imbued with the anti-war message of: "never again".
Perhaps its a Western thing that commemorates sacrifices and service, as evident from the Christian tradition of honoring saints with saint days.
I suppose the closest thing in China would be monuments to the heroes or martyrs of the revolution. Apart from the birthday of Confucius and 端午, there are very few individuals who gets honoured in Chinese culture.
Until recently in Taiwan, a (KMT) veteran enjoy the accolade of 荣民, with access to top hospitals and benefits to compensate for their lost youth and family connection. The veteran's system is modeled after the US system for former service personnel. Unfortunately, being associated with mainlanders now means political stigma.
neither have i been diligent.
lately i have taken up a new pursuit of interest - joining toastmaster club to learn how to speak better with the ultimate aim of sharing the same with the kids.
talking is an art and it should be learnt as early as possible. some no doubt are gifted, many other would have to learn the harder way.
it is pretty interesting. TM has a structured programme to prepare for a variety of speeches from humor to condolence.
I intend to post some of the prepare speeches i delivered in this blog. Then again, reading a speech and listening to a speech do give different understanding.
i wait for you to post the 200th entry since the inception of this blog.
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