Characteristics of Chaozhou people
To understand the character traits of Chaozhou people, you must first know the geographical location and cultural background where they grew up.
Han Yu said that the geographical factors of "Chaozhou, with the sea to the south and mountains to the north" have somewhat cultivated their three characteristics of hard work, precision and superstition. After all, there are constant natural disasters, there is less land and more people. If you don’t work hard and cultivate carefully, there will be nothing to eat. Therefore, Chaoshan people have a saying that "farming is like embroidery." This is why after liberation, various places rushed to learn farming methods from Chaoshan old farmers. Their sophistication also extends to their cultural character. For example, the beef balls that everyone knows actually come from the Hakka. However, the Chaoshan people who are good at eating and know how to eat have just made them their own by virtue of their exquisite craftsmanship. snacks. As for the moment of life and death, when hope is slim, the Chinese people who have lost their faith can only ask for the blessings of gods and goddesses from all walks of life. This has always been one of the reasons given by some local intellectuals. They believe that in a country where faith has been lost, outsiders see it as superstitious. They think this is just a kind of folk belief and custom here. On the one hand, these folk beliefs and customs, such as religion, play a role in educating people to do good, most obviously in the various Chaozhou charity halls in this area; on the other hand, they also inherit a lot of Chaozhou culture. For example, today, when local dramas are increasingly disappearing, Teochew opera is still flourishing due to the needs of folk beliefs and customs. Of course, they are also aware of some of the extravagance and waste and are trying to make changes. In addition, Guangfu's "Piaose" can be put on the publicity stage, but Chaoshan's "Ying Laoye" has been suppressed by publicity, making them feel that they should seek change. After all, when Chaozhou intellectuals compare foreign folk customs such as Japanese shrines, they always feel that they lack packaging and stage color.
Under the influence of the patriarchal system and the money-oriented atmosphere, perhaps I can irresponsibly say that they are more like an anarchist ethnic group. They are also a group of people who adapt to the reality of small farmers' consciousness. ists, they believe in autonomy. For example, the most distinctive Chaoshan Shantang is an autonomous charity with folk beliefs. In this social context, they even tried to use the shantang model to develop educational hospitals and so on. They also brought these models abroad, such as Thailand and Singapore, which have achieved great success. In addition, they even tried to control environmental pollution in the countryside from the perspective of Feng Shui. It's just that in the current domestic context, various ideas are restricted.
Anarchism is sometimes reflected in people’s distrust of the government. This is why they rarely engaged in political activities before, and this is what distinguishes them from other business gangs, such as Huizhou merchants and Zhejiang merchants. An important symbol of business. However, as long as their immediate survival is threatened, they will rise up and resist. For example, in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the seclusion of the country and the strict maritime ban made it impossible for the Chaozhou people who relied on maritime trade to make a living. The Chaoshan pirates came into being. However, local intellectuals in the Chaozhou area mostly chose to describe it as the "Chaoshan armed maritime merchant group".
Among the current mass incidents caused by rural land issues in China, most of them occurred in the former Chaozhou area of Guangdong Province. Government officials need to think carefully about how to properly handle these internal conflicts based on local conditions, rather than simply and crudely handling them like labels.
For literati, anarchism is more inclined to entertain themselves. In their own small garden, they dig into the pile of old papers and feel content. Sometimes they behave more like hermits. Unlike other literati, such as the Hakka and Guangfu literati, they were not as willing to serve as officials and liked to make casual comments.
In addition to the different personalities of being united, conservative, hard-working, refined and superstitious, in fact, Chaozhou people also use the Rongjiang River as a boundary to divide people into two groups with different personalities in the north and south.
Chaozhou people north of the Rongjiang River, such as Chao'an (today's Xiangqiao District, Chao'an District), Raoping, Chenghai (today's Chenghai District, Jinping District, Longhu District), Nan'ao, Jieyang (today's The influence of farming cultures such as Rongcheng District and Jiedong District) and Fengshun is more obvious. Their language is relatively delicate and tactful, and their personalities are gentle and elegant. However, they are relatively conservative in character and sometimes seem not grand enough.
However, relatively speaking, there are many literati and great scholars here, such as Jao Tsung-i, a great master of Chinese studies who is much talked about by Chaozhou people, Chen Pingyuan, a contemporary great scholar, Zeng Xiu, a famous Lingnan poet, Xu Dishan, a famous writer, and Du Guoxiang, a famous contemporary educator, philosopher and historian. , the famous contemporary scholar Hong Zicheng, the famous contemporary scholar Luo Zongqiang, the Lingnan poet Zhan Antai, the only true philosopher in modern China Zhao Tingyang, the master of prose Qin Mu, the literary demon philosopher Zhang Jingsheng, the famous contemporary playwright Guo Qihong, the uninhibited genius Cai Lan, the famous economist The scholar Xu Dixin, the famous contemporary scholar Rao Pengzi, the contemporary historian Chen Chunsheng, the contemporary linguist Lin Lunlun and so on are countless famous people. There are also many other scholars and literati who have been quietly working to preserve Teochew culture in the local area, such as Sun Shuyan, a scholar in the Teochew academic circle, Lin Chunjun, a scholar in the Teochew opera circle, and so on.
The Chaozhou people south of the Rongjiang River, such as Chaoyang (today’s Chaoyang District, Chaonan District, Haojiang District), Puning, Huilai and other maritime cultures have a relatively significant influence, so their language is relatively rough. And then he has a rough character and pays attention to loyalty. The rough and heroic Yingge square dance was cultivated in such a land. This kind of rough and heroic character is more often expressed as not fearing power and daring to fight hard. In addition, he believes in the creed that others will not offend me and I will not offend others. This kind of spirit can easily create many tragic heroes, such as the famous anti-Japanese general Weng Zhaoyuan and the hero Chen Yuxiang who protects the Diaoyu Islands. They are also the prototype of what outsiders call "Chaozhou big men", but this kind of big man is more often shown as being responsible for the family to the point of being arbitrary and bringing tragedy. The popular Singaporean TV series "The Teochew Family" well reflects the tragic love, hatred and resentment of big men and small men, big women and small women. Relatively speaking, there are also many wealthy businessmen, such as Lin Baixin, Zhuang Shiping, Zheng Wulou, Zhong Tingsen, Lien Yingzhou, Huang Guangyu, Ma Huateng, Zhou Zerong, etc. As well as scientific giants, for example, in Chaoyang County alone, there are academicians of the two academies such as Wu Guoxiong, Chen Yuntai, Lin Zunqi, Zheng Ruyong, Ma Dayou, Zhou Guozhi, Guo Yuyuan, Zhou Fulin, She Jinan, Tang Xican, Fan Shangda, Guo Musun, Lin Liwu, etc., as well as Liu Zunyi. Academicians of Academia Sinica, foreign academicians like Lin Chuizhou.
Of course, this is just a general analysis. To the north of the Rongjiang River, there are also wealthy businessmen such as Li Ka-shing, Tse Huiru, and Xie Guomin, and to the south of the Rongjiang River, there are also Zheng Zhengqiu, Cai Chusheng, Zheng Shoulin, and Guo Renyuan. , great directors, great musicians and great scholars like Zhong Jingwen. The Chaozhou area is full of outstanding people and has its own unique and charming Chaozhou culture, and its glory and dreams require the joint efforts of all Chaozhou people.