Hi I am a hakka from Mauritius who recently went to visit relatives in Meixian. In some Hakka houses in Meixian, there is a pair of pillars (around 6 feets tall) in front of the house next to the pond which can...

lavalliu

Hi

I am a hakka from Mauritius who recently went to visit relatives in Meixian.
In some Hakka houses in Meixian, there is a pair of pillars (around 6 feets tall) in front of the house next to the pond which can be found normally near old hakka houses. I want to know the meaning of those pillars.
Note : there can be several pairs - apparently they are build in pairs - the locals told us that it was a symbol of authority (government or imperial?? we do not know as we do not know what preiod they were built).
I cannot find them anywhere on the web.
I can send a picture of these if necessary.

Regards
Laval

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replied to: lavalliu

singfat

Replied to: Hi I am a hakka from Mauritius who recently went...

Bonjour,
I am also a Hakka from Mauritius, now residing in Singapore. I also went to "Moyan" in May'09, 22 years after my first visit there.

My first encounter with the pillars was while watching a documentary. Then, I learnt that tall pillars whose heights were proportional to educational attainment were placed in front of houses who had a family member serve as scholars in the Imperial Court.

In Moyan, I visited the Overseas Hakka Park and there, I saw a couple of those pillars. My half brother told me that the presence of such columns in front of houses indicated that one of the family member was either a famous scholar or a very high government official.

I have since been wondering if other chinese groups also placed this symbol of pride in front of their houses.

See my Moyan pictures here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=80964&id=570279518&l=e63baf2f3d

Singfat

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