Тун Ва: Дом гробов в Гонконге и похоронные традиции.

Coffin home in Sandy Bay, Hong Kong

Tung Wah Coffin Home is a coffin home located upon the hill above Sandy Bay on Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. The history of Tung Wah Coffin Home began in 1875 when it was built by the Man Mo Temple. The Coffin Home was originally located in Kennedy Town near a slaughterhouse. The Tung Wah Group of Hospitals then took over the responsibility of managing the coffin home, and it was rebuilt in 1899 near Sandy Bay on Hong Kong Island. It was then renamed as the Tung Wah Coffin Home.

A number of well known figures have had their ashes or body reposed in the Tung Wah Coffin Home, including Cai Yuan Pei (蔡元培), the previous vice chancellor of Peking University; Chen Jiong Ming (陳炯明), a revolutionary figure in the early periods of the Republic of China; famous merchant Lin Bai Xin (林百欣) and Chow Kwen Lim (周君任), the founder of Chow Sang Sang Jewellery. Furthermore, Mr. Tang Kam Chi (鄧鑑之), one of the founders of the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, and his wife have had their ashes kept in Tung Wah Coffin Home for more than 100 years.

The burial practices in the urban areas of Hong Kong differ from the New Territories due to Hong Kong's congestion and limited space for burial grounds.

Families in Hong Kong prefer to remove the body from the home as soon as possible after death; therefore, either an undertaker or a staff member from the funeral parlor will offer services to remove the body. An undertaker or funeral director prepares the body in the home of the deceased with make up and new clothes and shoes that family members buy to represent the start of a new life. The undertaker supplies a coffin, places the body in the coffin, and brings it to the cemetery or a Government cemetery depot to be held overnight. Relatives may then hold a farewell ceremony or perform final rites at the depot. On the other hand, funeral parlor staff may retrieve the body in a stretcher or basket woven container from the home of the deceased to the cemetery.

In the funeral parlor, the last rites typically last until noontime. The body is encoffined in a farewell room where immediate relatives dress in white costumes during the vigil and funeral; colourful clothing is forbidden. Women wear a white skirt with a sack like top, while men wear white gowns with a white band tied around the forehead. The coffin is placed in the front of the room for a 'last glance,' and is half open exposing the upper portion of the deceased's body. The farewell room is lit and filled with incense sticks and candles, creating a somber environment. Relatives and friends of the deceased offer their respects to the deceased by bowing three times towards the coffin and once towards the primary mourners. In the past, gongs would be used throughout the ceremony and female widows would grieve loudly through wailing and cries to ward off the potential evil spirits. Relatives then accompany a motor hearse in transporting the body throughout the neighbourhood to the cemetery or crematorium, with funeral bands and large silver and blue wicker frames describing the deceased. At the cemetery, the coffin is lowered while each family member throws a handful of earth while the hole is filled in. After the filling, paper money, peeled oranges, as well as lit candles and incense sticks are placed at the head of the grave. Finally, fire crackers are set off to close the last rites.

Instead of funeral parlors and undertakers, kinsmen take the responsibility of burying the deceased. Two stages of burial take place in the New Territories: initial burial, and subsequent disinterment and re interment of the remains. Relatives of the deceased sustain a vigil outside the home, and then bury the body in a traditional village area with a small stone at the head of the grave. After approximately five years, the bones of the body are exhumed, cleaned, and placed in either a funerary urn or a formal horseshoe shaped stonework grave. In the funerary urn, the bones are carefully arranged in a sitting position, resembling the Buddhist lotus position posture. In a horseshoe grave, the remains are buried in a jar in front of a stone plaque with information describing the deceased. The placement of the remains in a funerary urn or horseshoe grave depends on the sex and standing of the deceased, as well as the financial state of the relatives.

Two significant worshipping festivals in both urban areas and New Territories include Qingming Festival (清明節) and Double Ninth Festival (重九節), also known as the Chung Yeung Festival. During these festivals, families typically gather and make a visit to the relative's graves. At the gravesite, family members present pork, fruits, flowers, rice wine, cakes, and light incense and candles, as well as burn paper money. Family members take turns bowing before the tomb of the ancestors, starting with the oldest to the youngest family members. The family members will then feast on the food and drinks they brought for the ancestors.

From the 19th century to the early 20th century, many Chinese people travelled to other countries in North and South America, or to South East Asian countries in search of jobs and better opportunities. Many traditional Chinese individuals hoped to be buried in their birthplaces after their deaths. This was made possible by the facilities and services offered by the Coffin Home even if the dead bodies were overseas. As Hong Kong was located at a favourable transportation position, it soon became the central spot for people to travel back to their homeland from other countries. At that time, it was very common for people to ask for help from Tung Wah Coffin Home, where the Coffin Home would transport the dead bodies back to their birthplaces for proper burial. Temporary depository of coffin was also made available when the bereaved wished to look for a better burial place for the dead.

The Tung Wah Coffin Home started in 1899 from the humble beginnings of a temporary shed, and transformed into the complex buildings that represent some of the best and archetypal Hong Kong architecture through the ages, including Vernacular Architecture, Colonial Architecture, a traditional Chinese Gateway and Pagoda. It comprises various buildings such as ossariums, halls and rooms with diverse architectural style of different periods. The entrance to the Main Reception Hall is rich in Chinese adornment, with two classical Roman Doric Order pillars standing boldly on two sides. The reception room has a colonial flat roof and a Chinese wall, while other rooms have British blinds. The Old Hall has retained the architectural merits of 1920s Hong Kong. The historic buildings were restored with traditional local knowledge and conservation techniques.

The New Hall is one of the major buildings at the Coffin Home, which best represents the architectural feature of the mixture of both western and Chinese styles. The two Roman Doric poles represents western style, while the gate, Chinese tablet and gatepost couplet represents common Chinese rural fashion.

These two rooms are more than a century old, which hold the longest history in the Coffin Home. A typical typology of traditional Vernacular Architecture is displayed with characteristics of brick walls, tilted roofs, strips of wood and Chinese clay tiles.

This two areas are both characterised with mixed architectural styles which merge traditional Chinese architectural style with colonial flattop style.

Reception Hall: Doors and windows with a strong tropical tone highlights the Colonial Architecture style of the Old Hall. Double layers of British blinds and grille windows are applied. Two Corridor Porticos: Corridor Porticos are a group of small rooms with an elegant colonial style of shutters and doors.

Ossariums were later built during 1970–1980s which represent typical typology of that era.

Typical Chinese traditional architecture.

For well over a century, Tung Wah Coffin Home has been, and still is, used for its original purpose, providing facilities for the temporary storage of coffins and urns waiting for transfer to the respective native places of the deceased. Taking care of those who died without means of proper burial has been one of the services provided by the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals.

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