Chi Heng Foundation
By Rachel Chan
Lunar New Year and the Giving of Hong Bao
by Christianna Facey-Crowther
The Giving of Red Eggs in The Chinese Tradition
By Betty Guan
Traditions of the Mi’kmaq
by Jessica Lamhonwah
The Chinese Famine of the 1640s
By Anita Mah
Philanthropy in Confucianism
By Vanessa Wong
Chi Heng Foundation
By Rachel Chan
This summary attempts to report the work of Chi Heng Foundation, a non-governmental charitable organization aimed at helping HIV impacted children in China. The Foundation started with one man’s dedication and efforts to combat what UN predicted as the “verge of a catastrophe”. It was estimated in 2005 that the epidemic will grow rapidly to 10 million cases by 2010. In the 1990s, blood selling became very popular in parts of Central China especially among poor farmers as a means to earn money. Many blood collecting stations operated illegally and used unsanitary practices for blood collection. As a result, estimates of as high as 60% of the adult population is infected with HIV in many villages.
It started with a man’s passion of giving back to society where the neediest lies. Mr. To Chung, founder of Chi Heng, a Harvard MBA graduate, quit his high-flying job in 1998 as a commercial banker in Hong Kong and spent full time helping HIV-impacted children in China, initially from his own savings and small amount of donation to what becomes one of the most known AIDS relief charitable organization with over $4 million in donations (CHF Website). Education on AIDS and relief for AIDS impacted families have traditionally received little attention due to stigmatism and the cultural contexts of philanthropic efforts in China. To Chung’s efforts and the founding of Chi Heng exemplifies the philosophies of where the West meets the East in philanthropic practices and traditions. Despite growing visibility of the Foundation and their accomplishments in China, donations towards AIDS relief lags far behind many other forms of relief such as the Sichuan Earthquake or reliefs for other natural disasters. Stigmatism towards AIDS is not alone in China but it manifests itself in many ways different from other developing countries in light of China’s cultural, social and political contexts.
Chi Heng Foundation embraces many of the western ideologies in giving and volunteering. It speaks to the spread of AIDS as a social issue which requires the concerted efforts of individuals, public, corporations and the state. Mr. To Chung’s personal sacrifice also speaks to the responsibility of good citizenship in a democratic society. To ground these beliefs in China where the traditional role of giving takes on a different meaning can also pose a challenge. Personal tragedies are often viewed as private issues; families, villages or clans are traditionally the primary care-providers. In many cases, AIDS impacted orphans are left in the care of elderly grandparents who can barely look after themselves. The idea of deserving and non-deserving also plays a significant role in how the public perceives charitable organizations. The readiness in giving to a natural disaster relief over causes in fighting the epidemic may also be seen as deserving versus non-deserving.
The Buddha and Confucians teaching reiterates the importance of personal sanctification as the pivotal step towards reincarnation and social order further perpetuates the idea of personal matters over public issues.
At Clinton Global Initiative ("CGI") Asia Meeting held on December 2, 2008, Chi Heng Foundation was featured as an initiative recognized by Former President Bill Clinton for an innovative commitment helping AIDS impacted children in China (CHF website). Chi Heng Foundation situates itself in the midst of China’s hub of economic prosperity and international spotlight, any high profile efforts in fundraising will undermine its long-term effectiveness in carrying out its commitments in China. Chi Heng – where the West meets the East, way to go!
Work Cited
Chi Heng Website : http://www.chfaidsorphans.com/staticpage.php?id=10
Zhang, K.L. et al (2008). China's HIV/AIDS epidemic: continuing challenges. The Lancet. Nov 22-28. Vol. 372, Iss. 9652; pg 1791
Lunar New Year and the Giving of Hong Bao
By Christianna Facey-Crowther
In Taiwan the Lunar New Year is the most important festival of the year, as it is for Chinese people around the world. The festival begins on the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth month of the lunar calendar, the day when it is believed that the house gods report to the Jade Emperor about the household activities of the past year (Cultural Taiwan, 2007). Taiwanese people celebrate the new year with family and friends and engage in symbolic meals and rituals that are meant to bring luck and prosperity for the new year.
Traditionally, on the day of the Lunar New Year, red envelopes are distributed that contain paper money. The packets are called hong bao in Mandarin which means “lucky money” and the act of giving them confers luck onto both the giver and the receiver. The rules about who gives and who recieves are simple: those with higher status give red envelopes to those with lower status. Married couples give red envelopes to children, people who are single and to elderly or those without income. Employers give red envelopes to employees as a New Year bonus. The amount contained inside the red envelope correspond to the strength of the relationships between the giver and receiver. Around the time of the Lunar New Year, Taiwanese people don't leave the house without a small stack of red envelopes in case they encounter a worthy recipient.
According to Taiwanese legend, Nian, a ferocious beast would attack villages on Lunar New Year's Eve. The beast was afraid of the color red and so people hung lucky phrases written on red paper on their doors for protection. Today, the color red is recognized as symbolizing luck, happiness and wealth and is the only color of envelope for hong bao (Siu, 2001).
The contents of the red envelope are always money and always in even numbers. The numbers 6 and 8 are auspicious and bring added luck, but the number 4 should be avoided since it's pronunciation in Mandarin rhymes with the word for death. Taiwanese people form long lines at the banks before Lunar New Year to get new bills for their red envelopes since it is believed that old bills carry with them the bad luck of the past year (Siu, 2001).
Just as there are rules about what to give, there are also rules that direct the behavior of the receiver. In many Taiwanese households, the children ask for the packets as they wish their family members a happy New Year. The receiver must take the red envelope with both hands and bow their head in gratitude. The envelope should never be opened in the presence of the giver since this is considered very rude (Black, Levine, Oh, Wei, n.d.).
The giving of the red envelope at Lunar New Year is a tradition that has been practiced in Chinese culture for centuries (Siu, 2001). The value of the gift is greater than its monetary worth. The giving of the red envelope also confers luck and good wishes for a prosperous new year.
Works Cited
Black, B., Levine, D., Oh, J., Wei, A. (n.d.). Red envelopes: An old Chinese tradition. Retrieved from University of California Irvine website: http://www.anthro.uci.edu/faculty_bios/maurer/AnthroMoney/envelopes.html
Cultural Taiwan. (2007). Lunar New Year in Taiwan. Retrieved from Government Information Office, Republic of China (Taiwan) web site: http://www.gio.gov.tw/taiwan-website/5-gp/culture/lunar-NY/
Siu, K. Y. (2001). Red packet: A traditional object in the modern world. Journal of Popular Culture, 35, 103-125.
The Giving of Red Eggs in The Chinese Tradition
By Betty Guan
According to Chinese tradition, “Mua Guek”, which means “Full Month” is a celebration for babies who have survived their first month after birth; the significance of this event can be related to the high rate of infant mortality in the past (Heinz, 1999). Traditionally in China, a baby was not named until it was a month old, and a party was hosted in the honor of the baby.
The one month old celebration of the baby has been an important part of the Chinese culture throughout its history. If there is one item that symbolizes the celebration, it would be the famous dyed red egg. Eggs were considered a delicacy in China, so by integrating the egg into the full month celebration, it symbolizes happiness and the renewal of life; as well as announcing the arrival of a new born baby (Wong, 2009). In the old times, parents used to send hard boiled eggs; dyed red, to neighbours, friends and family members as a notice for the upcoming festivity. In present day celebration, if you live in a big city, a party is usually hosted in a restaurant where the red eggs are placed in the table for guests to take home for good luck. Parents can also use the coloured eggs to let others know the sex of the baby; if the baby is a boy, even number of eggs are sent out and odd numbers for a girl. The colour white in Chinese culture symbolizes death, so red colour is used to dye the eggs; as red symbolizes luck, fortune, and happiness (Heinz, 1999).
The Chinese believes that the name of a baby will have great influence in what happen later on in their life, so it is essential for the parents to pick them carefully and announce it on the day of the one month celebration (Wong, 2009).
In recent years, some of the tradition practices surrounding the one month celebration have been modified. The announcement of the child’s name during the celebration is not as widely practice as it was before, but the giving of red eggs to neighbours, friends, and relatives are still a common practice as of today.
Works Cited
Heinz, C.B. (1999). Asian Cultural Traditions. Illinois: Waveland Press, Inc.
Wong, K. (2009). An Egg and A Name. Retrieved from
http://www.csuchico.edu/~cheinz/syllabi/asst001/spring99/wong/wong1.html
Philanthropy in Confucianism
By Jessica Lamhonwah
The words ren and yi represent the fundamental moral values in Confucianism. Although varied in translation, the word ren means benevolence. Ren is the consideration of one human being for another and is what ties individual together. According to Confucian thought, ren is instilled in human nature. In Confucianisn, Ren is regarded as the highest merit that can be achieved by an individual. Mencius (372-289 BCE), the second master of Confucianism, describes ren as compassion for orphans and elderly. Ren embodies the principles of moral obligations that Chinese societies follow. The word yi translates to righteousness. To be righteous means not to approximate the gain for oneself but rather to give oneself for the good of others. Yi is the correct actions an individual is inclined to carry out throughout their life. According to Confucian thought, when a society lives by yi, it progresses efficiently and everything is in its proper position.
When placed together, the two words hold important significance in understanding the act of giving for followers of Confucianism. Giving exemplifies the being benevolent and righteous. Mencius famously stated “Ren is the heart, yi is the path”. Yi embodies the way to live while ren is the inward expression of those same teachings.
In the perspective of ren and yi, giving means to take action for others with a compassionate heart. In Confucius thought, giving should extend not to one’s immediate family and to other families as well. Giving is ultimately fulfilling one's obligations to family and the community. In addition, generosity to others should be widespread. An individual should lend a helping hand to cover material needs as well as psychological and spiritual needs. Giving should also enable others to stand on their own feet. In the Confucian tradition, one of the most important acts of philanthropy is giving education which still stands as an essential aspect of philanthropy in Chinese society.
In Confucianism, guidelines exist to help direct the act of giving. Confucian tradition calls for individuals to give respectfully. Generosity should be appropriate to the situation and giving should also not make the recipient feel inferior or uncomfortable. The magnitude of the gift given by an individual is irrelevant. A smaller gift given with a compassionate heart is more courteous than a larger gift without the proper motivation. Confucianism teaches that the recipients should be grateful to the givers and the givers should not expect any return from the recipients.
In Confucianism, the inspiration to give comes from the belief that human beings receive gifts from both heaven and earth. Taking into consideration that heaven and earth nourish human beings graciously, human beings should return the act to others. To give is therefore a part of human beings duty on earth. According to Confucianism, individuals ought to seek out every opportunity to pay a mark of respect to heaven and earth by giving.
All in all, giving is best signified by the golden rule of Confucianism: "Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you." Giving expresses the core attitude of humaneness. Therefore when one gives, they can be regarded as a morally superior or ideal human being.
Works Cited
Confucius. China Culture. Retrieved from http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_aboutchina/2003-09/24/content_23084.htm
Ren (Confucianism). Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucianism
Pan-chiu, L. & Lee, P. (1 March 2002). Traditions of giving in Confucianism. Alliance Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.alliancemagazine.org/en/content/traditions-giving-confucianism
The Chinese Famine of the 1640s
By Anita Mah
This research paper in Global Giving will study the relief efforts during the 1640s famine in China, towards the end of the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It illustrates instance of giving outside the Western Tradition, which is focused on individualism(self-reliant action), family traditions, and the Catholic religion.
During the late 16th century in China, there were different types of charitable institutions and organizations to release animals from captivity, to provide medicine or food, to bury the poor, to look after the orphans and the widows, etc. These organizations were managed by members of the local elite, which included retired officials, scholars, wealthy individuals. This research paper will study the famine relief in Shan-Yin Hsien between 1640-1642 . The findings are based on writings by scholarly elite who made extensive recordings of charitable deeds during the famine. These writings expressed thoughts about the virtues of aiding the poor by the local elite.
By 1640 when the famine hit Shan-Yin in China, the late Ming empire was crumbling, resulting in the shift of duty for social order and welfare from the imperial government to the local elite.Residents of the area faced the problems of food distribution and the poor were the much affected group, while the wealthy household stored up large volume of grain.
One local official called Ch’en decided to restore order among the hungry residents in the famine area by asking the wealthy household to issue grains and to help maintain price stability in sales price. Ch’en recruited young graduates and students to help him oversee the food distribution and price stability programs. In addition, he secured public funds to buy grains from neighbouring prefecture to feed the residents in Shan-Yin. Ch’en was successful in not only saving lives in Shan-Yin ,but also in restoring social order by preventing riots from the mass of hungry poor. It is generally viewed that the 1640 famine documents gave a good story for achievement of beneficence.
What motivated the feelings of beneficence among the local elite are the following ideals. Firstly, the thought of Confucius which value the well-being of common people and the moral responsibility for the have-nots. Secondly the religion of Buddhism also influenced the feelings on beneficence as it preached the principle of causation (yin-kuo). This principle believed that good deeds without thought of rewards could earn merit for donors, who could have re-birth in their next lives to a better status or place. Buddhism encouraged its followers to share worldly possessions and to shoulder the responsibility to give for aiding the poor. The religion also lauded the wisdom of giving among the local elite in Shan-Yin. Thirdly, there were outright competition to establish a “good name” and to enhance individual’s reputation by doing good deeds. The donors would have their names on inscribed banners to publicly elevate their status as benefactors in society. Accordingly, there we re united effort and wide scale cooperation to distribute food efficiently during the famine of the 1640s in China.
The famine’s philanthropic records are different from the Western Tradition as the instance happened in China. Donations were made out of Confuciusm and Buddhism, as opposed to Christianity which does not preach re-birth. The famine relief efforts were co-ordinated on a united front and on a large scale, as opposed to individualism from the western tradition of giving. However, there is one similarity to Western Tradition in the recognition of donors in public records or names on inscribed banners during the famine period. The Western tradition of stewardship for donors have similar practices as some donors like to enhance their reputation as benefactors for social networking purposes . In conclusion, philanthropists in Ming China and in today’s western society believe that the common welfare needs to be looked after as they believe in providing social safety net to keep social order.
Philanthropy in Confucianism
By Vanessa Wong
Confucius had a great impact on developing Asian culture. Born in 550 B.C. in northern China, his family was of modest background and this was partially due to his father’s death at a early age . At the age of 50, Confucius was appointed to a political position and where he witnessed corruption and the downfall of their system. After leaving this post five years later, he travelled for thirteen years around China and dedicated his life to teaching his philosophical beliefs and trying to gather political leaders to join him in implementing his views into their societies . By the time of his death in 479 B.C. he was said to have had over 3000 followers. Thru his teachings and followers, Confucius brought the concept of philanthropy to the Asian culture.
There are 3 main philosophies in Confucianism: Li, Jen and Chen-Tzu. Loosely translated, these words mean: courtesy, benevolence and “true gentleman” . Jen was the stepping stone for a lot of cultural developments and the rest of Confucius’ teachings. The general idea of Jen is the “well-being” of others regardless of their social status. “Do not do to others what you would not like them to do to you” otherwise known as The Silver Rule was a product of Jen and is now used all over the world and in other cultures and religions: Catholic - “Love your neighbour as yourself” (Matthew 22:39); Hindu – “Do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you" (Mahabharata, 5:1517). The belief and teachings of Jen helped to guide his political followers when developing laws. Confucius believed that the principle of Jen involved all the qualities that were part of living a moral life .
Mencius is regarded as Confucius’ best pupil and as the seconded greatest thinker. He added the element of i (duty)to Jen. This implies that people have a duty or obligation to be compassionate toward their fellow man. Since Mencius lived from 372 – 289 B.C. , and travelled the continent teaching and offering political advice, as Confucius himself did, therefore he did influence law and policy writing.
To this day, many Asian families still believe in the teaching of Jen even if they don’t know where it comes from. It is instilled in children that everyone is “family” and to treat each other as such. As a child, I was taught to address my elders as “Auntie” or “Uncle” even if they weren’t, and their children were my “cousins”. We were raised as one family unit, meaning that any adult could discipline you as your parents would. But on another note, these “Aunties” and “Uncles” would be as generous to you as they would their own children. I have “family” who have been in my life since my childhood – they have been my teachers, financial advisors, and friends. I have not experienced the same hardships as Confucius or Mencius, but the benevolence between family is still there.
Generosity and kindness is something that has been instilled in me from a young age; from helping my grandmother, calling strangers “Auntie”, and not fighting with my actual brother - it’s all about respect for one another. The Silver Rule teaches us to treat others as we would want to be treated. Seeing someone suffer on the street, or a starving child halfway across the globe, I want to help them because if I were in their situation, I would want someone to help me. Confucius is known as the world’s greatest thinker… I couldn’t agree more.
Works Cited
Pat Zukeran, Confucius, www.leaderu.com/orgs/proble/docs/confucius.html, (Probe Ministries, 1996)
Richard Hooker, China Glossary - www.wsu.edu/~dee/GLOSSARY/JEN.htm, (Washington State University, 1996)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mencius