kenji 's essay

INTRODUCTION

The social significance of an artefact that means an object that is the most important in each family. Moreover, there must some stories or meaning behind those objects. And then, that object can be anything such as jewellery, a set of cup, a coin etc. In Chinese society, most parents always leave housing land or jade as the heirloom to next generation. But some people will not leave a real object; they will leave something not real like knowledge or morality. As what I said before, heirloom can be anything. So heirloom can be class with two classifications. First is wealth, it is a real thing that can make next generation live better. Second is something not real. It is kind of faith. They left a good faith to their children; let them grow up with good personality. Then their children could get much more wealth in their future.

LOCATION

In my family, we chose a house to be our heirloom that has been passed four generation. Furthermore, it has been Japan and China war. The location of my house is a small village where in Fujian. Our village at south of Fujian and it is along the coast. So most of people who living there are fish men even my great-great-great grandfather. Furthermore, people who living there are very simple. They will not as evil as people who living in city.

ARCHITECTURE

Our house didn’t have magnificent architecture but there is simple savor on it. It was built up by ancestry’s hand and the materials are heaps of rocks and woods. There is an ancestral shrine in the middle of our house. And then there is 12 rooms built up around the ancestral shrine. The ancestral shrine just likes the living room as nowadays. But it is very important for Chinese society such as the soul of the house. It is holy and solemn space where for people to discuss and solve problem. Furthermore, people usually to hold some activities such as marriage, funeral or celebration. In addition, the clan sometimes important to the deliberations of the nation, we have been renovated to use as gathering places. So they won’t let people to destroy it even let them walk in easily. Room’s size was according to position to build up. For example, the biggest room is the most close to ancestral shrine. So people who are living are an oldest people in family. We got a playground at the front of ancestral shrine. We usually have meal at the playground. Moreover, we would feed some livestock at playground such as chickens, sheet, duck etc. There is a kitchen opposite to the biggest room. Although it is small but got completely cooking tools. There is no toilet in our house. It is out the house. All people were sharing two toilets where at the front and back of the village and these two toilets were stinking always. Furthermore, some stone built up these two toilets and there is no door. So it is so embarrass when you are peeing. There is a small well at the front of our house. As a result of the weather, there is not much water in the well always. So people have to economize the use of water.

DECORATION

As I said, the architecture of our house is simple. So there is not much decoration on the house. At that moment of my great grandfather, people were so poor at all. So they won’t focus on out looking and decoration of the house. They are really satisfied with a normal house. What is their decoration? They just wrote some blessing word on red paper and put it on the wall. The most gorgeous decoration space is ancestral shrine. There are four red pillars at four corners and got different meaning with each pillar, which is patience, work hard, virtue and honest. So our great grandfather wrote these words on each pillar to be vigilant later generations. And then, there are two pictures on each wall.

DAILY LIVING

At the moment of my great grand parents, there is not much entertainment as nowadays. Men usually wake up at 4:30 a.m. and go fishing until 4:00 p.m. And then women usually do the housework such as bucket water from the well for whole using, clean up the house, feed the livestock, wash clothes etc. And then, they would farm after finished the housework. After all work done; women will start to cook together for all people. After the dinner, they might have a drink that made by themselves, play card games or have a little talk. That’s what they were doing in their entire life. Although it is boring, they still satisfied with that kind of living. After the next generation (my grandparents), there is not much change from last. The only different is people wouldn’t stay in village and living like their parents. They started to go city and get a job because people can get a higher salary in city. But they still insist on have dinner together, after diner they still would have drink and talk. Sometimes they would watch TV together. Society of economical has been improve a bit by bit, the next generation of people (my parents) realized that if they want to have a better life, they can’t stay at this small village. So most of teenage just move to city to start their new life. But there is still have some old people were living. They just keep the traditional style of living. Nowadays, people like us will not living at there anymore because they thought they have no future if they still doing what their parents did in the village. Most of people will live so far from the village. Just back to there sometimes in holidays.


JAPAN AND CHINA WAR

China’s War of Resistance Against Japan, is in the 1930s to the 1940s, Japan's invasion of China caused by the war between China and Japan , the main battlefield in China, took place before and during the Second World War. And my parents told me that my great grandparents have been to Japan and Chinese war. Japan solider just attack our village suddenly, they such as an evil to kill people and robbed everywhere. And then my great grandparents brought our family to hide in somewhere immediately. Fortunately, those Japan soldiers left quickly after they found out there is nothing worth to rob. They destroyed everything including our ancestral shrine. My father told me it is the most hard period time and horrible experience for my great grandparents. After the attacked, people have to rebuild the house. So there is a bit different with currently.


CONCLUSION

Outwardly, my great grandparents just left us a house. Actually they left us some faith. They wrote four faiths on each pillar, which means they think these four faiths as important. They want after generation to have these four virtues. Besides these four faiths, there is one most important faith that my great grandparents want to pass to us, which is passion between people. At the moment of my great grandparents, people were living together. And then do the cooperation to maintain our family. Moreover, they would have communication with each family member. But people from nowadays, they lack that kind of passion to others. People are not that simple as before, they fight for a better life because they are not satisfied with existing situation. Because of that, people start to be selfish, hide themselves. When people started to be selfish that means they are greedy as well. During people like this, they wouldn’t trust anyone except themselves. They will think people who around them are not heartfelt. So they won’t treat people as good from their deep heart. So my great grandparents want to pass those faiths to us. If people have these faiths, they will get much happiness and more easy to satisfy with their life.