The Development and Distribution of Deijiao Associations in Malaysia and Singapore 9789814376686

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Occasional Paper No. 79

THE DEVELOPMENT AND DISTRIBUTION OF DEJIAO ASSOCIATIONS IN MALAYSIA AND SINGAPORE A Study on a Chinese Religious Organization

Institute of Southeast Asian Studies The Institute of Southeast Asian Studies was established as an autonomous organization in May 1968. It is a regional research centre for scholars and other specialists concerned with modern Southeast Asia , particularly the multi-faceted problems of development and modernization, and political and social change . The Institute is governed by a twenty-one-membe r Board of Trustees comprising nominees from the Singapore Government, the National University of Singapore, the various Chambers of Commerce , and professional and civic organizations. A ten-man Executive Committee oversees day-to-day operations ; it is chaired by the Director , the Institute's chief academic and administrative officer .

THE DEVELOPME NT AND DISTRIBUTIO N OF DEJIAO ASSOCIATIO NS IN MALAYSIA AND SINGAPORE A Study on a Chinese Religious Organization

by

Tan Chee-Beng

-

IN flT UTE OF SOU HEAST ASIAN STUDlE

Published by Institute of Southeast Asian Studies Heng Mui Keng Terrace Pasir Panjang Singapore 0511 All rights reserved . No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior consent of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. ©

1985 Institute of Southeast Asian Studies

ISBN 9971-988-14-3 ISSN 0073-9731 The responsibility for facts and opinions expressed in 1his publicatiun re.sts exclusively with the author and his interpretations do not necessarily reflect the views or the policy of the Institute or its supporters.

Contents w

~~

Preface Map of Map of I. II. Ill. IV. V. VI. VII.

IX

Peninsular Malaysia East Malaysia Introduction Basic Features of Dejiao Development of Dejiao in Development of Dejiao in The Zi Group Development of Dejiao in The Ji Group Development of Dejiao in The Zan Hua Group Development of Dejiao in

x XI

China Malaysia and Singapore:

I 5 15 22

Malaysia and Singapore: 36 Malaysia and Singapore: 43 Malaysia and Singapore:

~Z~G~p

VIII. Development of Dejiao in Malaysia and Singapore: Others IX . Summary X. Conclusion Appendix I Appendix II About the Author

~

56 60 70 74 85 88

Plates I. 2.

3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

II.

12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26.

The building of Zi Peng Ge, Teluk Intan. The pictures of the "five founders of religions~ above the altar at Zi Rui Ge, Kota Kinabalu. Congregational worship at Zi Fang Ge, Kuala Lumpur, on Prophet Mohammad's Birthday. A planchette session at Zi Ji Ge, Bukit Mertajam. The ten Dejiao virtues and the Dejiao anthem as printed in a Dejiao magazine. The Dejiao Prayer Text as printed in a Dejiao magazine. The altar of Zi Wei Ge, Butterworth. The "overseers~ of the altar at Zi Ming Ge, Ipoh. Worshipping the Honourable Teachers during the Spring Sacrifice (for ancestors) at Zi Fang Ge, Kuala Lumpur. Giving offerings to the Honourable Teachers during the worship on Prophet Mohammad's Birthday, at Zi Fang Ge, Kuala Lumpur. An emergency meeting of the United Moral Uplifting Society of Malaysia held at Zi Fang Ge, Kuala Lumpur. Planchette script written on the blackboards of Zi Fu Ge, Kuala Trengganu. The building of Ji Fang Ge, Singapore. Congregational meeting at Ji Fang Ge, Singapore. The altar of Ji Xiong Ge, Port Weld . The statue of Jigong, the Living Buddha, at Ji Xin Ge, Muar. The altar and the wall painting of the Eight Taoist Immortals at Zi Yang Ge, Kangar. The altar of Zi Feng Ge, Serdang. The main hall of Li Shan Ge, Sungai Petani. The marble tablets representing the Honourable Teachers and the Dejiao associations at Zan Hua Ge, Bukit Mertajam. The altar at Zhen Xing Ge, Sitiawan. The altar of Zi Ji Ge, Bukit Mertajam. The building of Zhen Shan Ge (Chin Sean Kok), an important charity temple in Bagan Serai. The building of Jile She (Kek Look Seah), Ipoh. The dispensary at Zi Wei Ge, Butterworth. A volunteer Chinese physician examining a patient at Zi Xia Ge, Kuching.

10

II II

12 12 13 29 30 30

31 31 32 39 40 40

41 47 47 48 48 53 53 54 54 66 66

27. 28. 29. 30.

Zi Xia Ge (Kuching) funeral team setting out on a funeral possession. Ancestral hall at Zi Sen Ge, Seremban. Spring Sacriftce (for ancestors) at Zi Fang Ge, Kuala Lumpur. A Chinese-educated Malay student from a private secondary school giving a speech on filial piety in Mandarin at a birthday cum moral teaching gathering at Zi Fang Ge, Kuala Lumpur.

67 67 68

68

Preface I have been interested in studying Dejiao for a long time but did not have the opportunity to do first-hand research until I returned to teach in Malaysia in t980. I began my study towards the end of the year but did more serious research in 1981 when I received a small grant from the University of Malaya, and so was able to visit all Dejiao associations in Malaysia and Singapore as well as interview their leaders. I continued my investigation in 1982 and in 1983 visited a few more associations. The research was done during the university vacations and some weekends. The methods used include the survey of Dejiao associations, interviewing leaders and followers, observation of rituals and other religious activities, as well as following press reports since the end of 1980. For the purpose of more intensi ve study, I participated in the major activities of the Dejiao association in Kuala Lumpur throughout 1981 and part of 1982. I wish to thank all those who have helped me in this study, especially those who took time off to be interviewed . They are too numerous to name, many of whom, in good Chinese spirit, even treated me and my wife to lunch or dinner. I am also grateful to the University of Malaya for providing me with a grant of M$4,500 for the study. I also wish to record my appreciation of my wife, Swee-Hiang, who accompanied me on most field-trips and helped me in one way or another. Last but not least, I am grateful to Cik Daeng Faizah binti Haji Othman for typing the manuscript. Tan Chee Beng

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as hi::un ~ifl.:tf:. (Honourable Teachers). 5 All the dcitie rccogni7ed b the Dejiau form a divine society called Dede Sheff lt~l. which i ~ und er the chairmanship or uanmin Gao Shangdi Yuhuang Da I ian;un ·£: ;t ;Jj _t_~ J;.j, ;k.,;k:tf- (The Most High God Jade Em peror, the Hea w nly H )noured One). Included in this di ine society a re th founders of the "fi ve tc:achings" \>Vho are regarded as the five founders of religions (wujiauzhu Ji.~..i. ). Pi tures which symbolize them are hung on the wall in most Dejiao

8

DEJIAO ASSOCIATIONS IN MALAYSIA AND SINGAPOR E

associati ons, es pecially those of the Zi and Zan Hua groups. Since Muslims do not have any pictorial representation of Prophet Mohammad , he is represented by a n Arabic word and I or Islamic symbols of a star and a crescent moon together with hi s name in Chinese and even in Malay or English. Both Jesus Christ and Prophet Mohammad are regarded as deities in Dejiao, albeit less significa nt. There is no systema tic a ttempt to syncreti ze the ideology of the "five teachings" - a rather impossible task . Nevertheless, the five founders of ~religions" are seen as having preached the message of de in their respective ways. Xuanmin Gao Shangdi Yuhuang Da Tianzun is, in fact , the title of Guandi Ye Ill! of~ , or Guan Sheng Dijun llll ~ of~ , a deity who was originally a warrior of the Three Kingdoms Period in China by the name of Guan Yu llll '1~ (?- 219). He is popularly worshipped by Chinese Malaysians either at home or at the temples. In the Dejiao association, he sits on the celestial throne and replaces the old Jade Emperor who is still worshipped by Chinese Malaysians and Chinese Singaporeans outside Dejiao as the Emperor God of Heaven. The old Jade Emperor is said to have abdicated his throne since he had ruled for such a long time . Guan Sheng Dijun is said to have succeeded to the throne in 1924. 0 His chief assistant (zhucai .i. ~)is Guan Ping Shaodi llll f' ;~·of . Apart from the Jade Emperor and his chief assistant, Guan Ping Shaodi, and the five founders of "religions", there are a number of prominent deities, among whom Fuyou Dadi ~ft *..of, Jigong Huofo *~d;{ft;, Yang Junsong ~Jti.f.:, Liu Cunfang ~rt-~ and Song Dafeng *-*-*-may be considered the more important. Fuyou Dadi and Jigong Huofo are prominent because they regularly "reveal" messages during planchette sessions. Yang Junsong and Liu Cunfang are more significant in assoiations of the Zi group since they were the ones who revealed about establishing the first Zi association in China. Song Dafeng symbolizes charity, for he was originally a monk of the Song dynasty who carried out charitable works. He is most prominant in the Dejiao associations of the Zhen group , just like Jigong Huofo is most prominent in the association of the Ji group. We should note that Fuyou Dadi is important to all groups of Dejiao associations even though he is more significant to the Zi and the Zan Hua groups. He is one of the Eight Immortals (Ba Xian / 1.1..) and his name is Li.i Dongbin g ifil:(, alias Li.i Chunyang 'g jt~ , usually honourably addressed as Ui Zu g :tD.. . In Dejiao , he is undoubtedly the most important of the Eight Immortals.7 The most important document in Dejiao is Dejiao Xindian -!t~·.:;A-, which l shall call the Dejiao Prayer Text. It is rhymed in Teochiu and is recited in all congregations. In a few associations where the members are mostly non-Teochiu Chinese, the text is recited in Hokkien or Mandarin.s The Prayer Text was first "proclaimed by the deities of Dejiao .. through planchette revelation in 1942 at Zi He Ge 1,-:fo Nl , which was the third Dejiao association

BASIC FEATURES OF DEJIAO

9

founded in China, in the city of Shandou (Swatow) in Guangdong Province.9 The Prayer Text outlines the basic aims. beliefs and principles of Dejiao , and is divided into four parts, namely a) Incense Prayer (Zhu Xiang Ci ;f!Lt-.:ja] ), b) Eulogy and Invocation (Qi Zan .!Ell). c) Scripture (Jingwen l§.j: ), and d) Closing Prayer (Shou ling Wen lftl§.j: ). The basic creed of the Dejiao (Dejiao Xintiao it~ 1"3-flf.) consists of seven items, the first four of which are derived from the Prayer Text. They re as follows: a)

The concept of de (virtue) may not be separated from Dejiao, nor should one be want of de. ~;f-~{t•.f.t:f-~.:ft o

b)

Do not cheat, do not be hypocritical, do not be greedy, do not be wild and reckless, do not be proud, do not be lazy. :f-.(t;f-11, • :f-11:f-*- • :r-•:r-.t

c)

d) e)

Do not encroach on and harm one another and let there be no disputes. -Q}If:4Ji {!I -1,: • $;.~~~ ~:fl 0 Have lofty ambitions and be peaceful, joyful and contented. #".t. i~Pt • ·tf; ~ €) .(f o Let the father be kind and sons be filial, let elder brothers be friendly and younger brothers be respectful, let husband be righteous and wife be obedient. x~-t.f

f)

0

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Do not take alcoholic drinks, do not commit licentious act, do not gamble, do not smoke (for example opium). Aili•Aii-·Alli·A~ o

g)

Discipline oneself to pursue truth (virtue) and leave a good reputation for later generations. j:_

A' ii it . .fl-t 1l-\!!-

Apart from the basic creed, there are ten virtues and eight rules (shizhang baze + -:t A JI•J ) which Dejiao followers should observe. 10 The ten virtues are essentially Confucian virtues, namely a) filial piety (xkw:), c) loyalty and faithfulness (zhang .t ), d) truthfulness (x in1t ). e) propriety (/i it), f) righteousness (yi .\),g) incorruptibility (/ian !l), h) consciousness of shame (chi 4:: ), i) benevolence (ren 1.::. ) and j) wisdom (zhi t' ). While the ten virtues are for the followers to pursue, the items mentioned in the eight rules are for them to avoid . They are as follows : a) do not cheat (bu qi 1--AA. ), b) do not be hypocritical (bu wei ;:r-11, ), c) do not be greedy (bu tan :f-11 ). d) do not be wild and reckless (bu wang:f-*- ), e) do not be proud (bujiao ::r-• ), f) do not be lazy (bu dai ::r-.t ), g) do not be spiteful (bu yuan ::r- ~ ), and h) do not be hateful (bu wu ::r-.~ ). The first six rules which are mentioned in the basic creed are derived from the Prayer Text. The last two items are later additions. 11

10

DEJI AO ASSOCIATIONS II'\ MALAYS IA AND SINGA PO RE

All Dejiao associa ti o ns a im a t wo rshipping deities. prom oting mo rality and doing good deeds. The o bjecti ves as written d own in the co nstituti o ns of all associa ti ons a re mo re or less the sa me. For exa mple. those o utlined in the A rticles of Association of Zi Yun Ge ( Pena ng) a re as follows (English versio n): The o bjecb o f the As~oc i a ti on sha ll be to se rve with res pect th e grea t virtue a nd merits a nd th e good sayings a nd be havio ur of the va rio us Reve re nt ia l Immortals of th e Buddhist sects. to ai m si nce re ly in d oing good d eed ~ . a nd to p ro mo te fri e nd ship fo r th e p urp ose of mutua l ass ista nce a nd co ntribut io ns towa rd s a ll c hari ta ble wo rk s a nd socia l welfa re. but sha ll not pa rti cipa te in po litica l ac ti vities .

The phrase ''va ri o us Reverentia l Imm o rtals of the Buddhist sects ~ is not an acc ura te tra nsla ti o n of the C hinese wo rd s which actually refer to all the deities of Dejiao. Most Dejiao associa ti o ns ad o pt the a bove description a s their o bjective . However, the ve rsio n of Je De Ge (lpo h) is much simpler and reads: The o bjecb of the society sha ll be to pro m ote mo ral virtue, to co rrect sho rtco mings in c usto ms a nd usages. to a bide by the la ws of the la nd a nd to serve the public for the good of a ll.

Plate 1:

The building of Zi Pe ng Ge, Teluk lnta n. (Auth o r. HI Novc..:m ber 19l! l. )

BASIC FEATURES OF DEJlAO

11

Plate 2:

The pictures of the "five founders of religions" above the altar at Zi Rui Ge, Kota Kinabalu. (Author, 28 April 1981..)

Plate 3:

Congregational worship at Zi Fang Ge, Kuala Lumpur, on Prophet Mohammad's Birthday. (Author, 18 January 1981).

12

DEJIAO ASSOCIAllONS IN MALAYSIA AND SINGAPO RE

Plate 4: A planchette session at Zi Ji Ge, Bukit Mertajam. (Author, 23 November 1981.)

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. .. *ali :. s • ...• .:......................................... 1J::f'fr li- In recent years, the associations in East Malaysia have tried to promote solidarity among themselves as well as to co-ordinate their activities. Thus , in July 198 1, each of the associations sent four representatives to Zi Xing Ge in Miri to participate in the first ~Friendship Forum" (lianyi Zuotanhui ~ ~li: J.i -W,. i- ). The second "Friendship Forum" was held in Zi Rui Ge ( Kota Kinabalu) in November 198 1. It was agreed then that the "Friendship Forum" should be an annual affair to be hosted by each of the associations in rotation, the sequence being decided by the chronological order in which the associations were formed .7 As a result of these two forums , the first volume of Dong Ma

w

Dexin _t.~{tilt (The Annual Journal of the East Malaysia Moral Uplifting Societies) was published in 1982. It is the annual report about the activities of the live associations. This lirst issue was published by Zi Xia Ge. The responsibility for publishing this annual journal is also rotated among the live associations. An important development in the spread of Dejiao of the Zi group was the formation of a central body. The legitimacy for such a move came from the divine planchette revelation which took place in Zi Ying Ge of Batu Pahat in August 1956. In October 1956 represe ntatives of the eight Zi associations met in Zi Ming Ge in Ipoh to discuss this matter. It was agreed that the general bod y would be called Nanyang Dejiao Zonghui ~i.fit~~i'(Nanyang Moral Uplifting General Society). The a bbreviated name in Chinese is Nan Zong i/Mf! . It was also decided during the meeting that the religious ceremonies a nd the "holy pictures" of the deities at the altar be standardized for all associations of the Zi group .~ This ruling bro ught about uniformity in the arrangement of the altar. In fact, this is a distinguishing feature of the associations of the Zi group. At the main altar of the associations of the Zi group today, there is a pictu re on the wall showing the figures of Laozi (whose honourable title is T aishang Laojun ;kti :~t) sitting on an ox in the more prominent upper porti o n, a nd Yang Junsong and Liu Cunfang in the lower portion. The last two "Honourable Teachers" were the ones who revealed to Yang Ruide , as we have seen. The ''divine picture" is flanked by the pictures of the eight Taoist Immortals, four Immortals on each side of the picture. On both sides of these pictures a re Chinese couplets which spell out the function of the altar or the teaching of

THE Zl GROUP

25

Dejiao. The name of the particular association appears on the wall above the pictures and couplets. There are three statues on the altar in front of the "holy pictures". The one in the middle is Guang Sheng Dijun or the Jade Emperor. It is flanked by the two statues representing the deities who are the chief overseers of the altar (zhutan .i.Jt). They can be of any of the popular deities, but f.uyou Dijun seems to be the most important for his statue is found in most associations. In 1957, the Registrar of Societies in Singapore approved the application for. the formation of a general society comprising the first nine associati~ns. With the establishment of the second phase of the Zi associations, the members increased to eighteen. During the 1956 meeting in lpoh, it had been agreed that applications for the registration of a general society should be sent to both the government of Singapore and the government of Malaya. It was only in 1959 that the Malayan side eventually succeeded in registering the society under the name Malaiya Lianhebang Dejiao Lianhehui -~ *5l.~1HHt~~1i-i". Today it is known as Malaixiya Dejiao Lianhehui -~ l¥-.i!1Jl..-i:t~~1i-i" (United Moral Uplifting Society of Malaysia), abbreviated as De Lian it~ . The general bodies, although two in name, functioned as one society. However, the Societies (Amendment) Act of 1972 (Act. AI02, Section 13A) in Malaysia stipulates that the office-bearers of societies shall be citizens of Malaysia and that registered societies must not have any "affiliation or connection with any society established outside the federation". This led to the eventual separation of the two general societies. Since 1973, the meetings of the general society in Malaysia have been convened under the name of De Lian, without the participation of the Zi Xin Ge (Singapore). In fact, there were signs of fission even before this. For exa mple, the general meeting of the Dejiao associations held in Zi Yi Ge (Sungai Bakap) in 1971 was convened under the name of De Lian and not Nan Zong as was usually the case. The financial account was also kept under the name of De Lian. 9 In 1974, the seventeen Dejiao associations in Malaysia formally withdrew from the Nanyang Moral Uplifting General Society after the seve nteenth a nnual meeting in Klang. 10 Nevertheless, they remain as members of De Lian which continue to lead the Zi group in Malaysia. With the separation of the Dejiao associations in Malaysia and Singapore, the Nanyang Moral Uplifting General Society was reduced to only one associati on in Singapore. Nevertheless, it was not dissolved and the office of this general society is still a t Zi Xin Ge. Today, it has six institutional members co mprising Zi Xin Ge, Zi Qi Ge 'ti;}/V.I of Hong Kong, Zi Gao Ge 'trii IV! of Hong Kong, Zi Zhen Ge of Thailand , Zi Ying Ge ( 'ti&.IVI ) of Japan, and Zi Gen Ge of San Francisco. There are also individual members from these co unuies as well as from Malaysia and Taiwan. 11 The exec utive co mmittee members of De Lian are elected every year. The President is always the president of a particular Dejiao association, the position

26

DEJIAO ASSO C IAT IO NS IN MALAYSI A AND SINGAPORE

being rotated every year according to the chronological sequence in which the associations were established . The other members are elected from representatives of each association . However, the General Secretary and the Treasurer are usually from the same association as the President to ensure easier administration. The financial resources are derived from the member associations. For example, each association which has more than five hundred members has to contribute a membership fee of five hundred Malaysian dollars per annum to De Lian, while those with less than fi ve hundred members contribute only three hundred dollars. Apart from this, the former has to contribute three hundred dollars to a "welfare fund", and the latter, two hundred dollars only. 12 In January 1981 , De Lian had a total of twenty-two institutional members, consisting of the original seventeen associations (excluding Zi Xin Ge of Singapore) plus Zi De Ge of Port Dickson, Zi Lin Ge of Mersing, Zi Ling Ge of Kota Bharu, Zi Xing Ge of Miri and Zi Xiang Ge of Tampin. During the De Lian meeting in Batu Pahat on 9 January 1981 , Zi Ji Ge of Bukit Mertajam and Zhen Guang Ge of Tanjong Rambutan were accepted as members. This was the first time that De Lian accepted members from Dejiao associations that were not from the Zi group. Although the name of Zi Ji Ge starts with the character zi, it does not belong to the Zi group we are discussing. The new open-