Tai Ping Hung Chiu -太平洪朝

Tai Ping Hung Chiu| Areas
Tai Ping Hung Chiu| Date
Tai Ping Hung Chiu| Historical evolution
Tai Ping Hung Chiu| Events

Tai Ping Hung Chiu| Areas

North District

Tai Ping Hung Chiu| Date

The 15^thand 16^th/ 18^thand 19^thdays of the first lunar month

Tai Ping Hung Chiu| Historical evolution

Tai Ping Hung Chiu is a traditional custom in some rural areas of the New Territories, where villagers hold ceremonies to pray for the protection of deities. “Hung” refers to floods and fierce beasts, metaphorically representing plagues, diseases, natural disasters, and human calamities. “Chiu” means worship. Villagers also refer to Tai Ping Hung Chiu as “doing chiu”. To this day, villagers still follow tradition and perform rituals to pray for favorable weather and community peace. The Peng family in Fanling Wai, the Hou family in Kam Tin Tsuen in Sheung Shui Money Village, and the Hou family in Sheung Shui Bing Kong Village still hold Tai Ping Hung Chiu every year during the lunar month of January. These three villages have a long history and are recorded in the Jiaqing edition (1820) of Xin’an County Annals.

Tai Ping Hung Chiu| Events

The purpose of holding the Tai Ping Hung Chiu event is to drive away diseases and pray for blessings. Generally speaking, the entire Tai Ping Hung Chiu activity lasts for two days. Although the ritual ceremonies in each village may vary, they usually include reciting scriptures and boat burning. Reciting scriptures is a way for villagers to pray for happiness and peace, as well as express gratitude for the past year’s life. As for the boat burning ceremony, it typically involves placing symbolic impurities (such as charcoal, sesame seeds, weeds) and paper clothes inside a paper boat. After collecting all the “impurities” from the village in the paper boat, villagers will cremate it symbolizing getting rid of disasters and blessing auspiciousness.