In the Chinese community, the seventh month of the lunar calendar is known by various names, such as zhongyuan (the birthday of the Earth Official, who absolves all sins), yulan (Ullambana Festival), pudu (seeking salvation for the dead), guijie (Ghost Festival), and qiyueban (middle of the seventh month). Beyond the Chinese-speaking world, it is also known as Hungry Ghost Festival, Feast of the Dead, or Feast of the Evil Spirits in English; Obon in Japanese; and Sembayang Hantu in Malay. Community-based ceremonies for the Zhong Yuan Festival span the entire lunar month, while families generally carry out rituals on the 15th or 16th day.

The Zhong Yuan Festival in Chinatown, 1983. Ministry of Information and the Arts Collection, courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.

Historical traditions

From an institutional perspective (i.e. imperial state, family clans, religious groups), the Zhong Yuan Festival has four different traditions:

  1. During the early Ming dynasty, Emperor Hongwu stipulated that the entire country, from imperial courts to villages, had to conduct sacrificial rituals thrice annually to appease unattended ghosts and gods. The Zhong Yuan Festival was one of the three occasions.
  2. According to Confucian tradition, the prominent and influential Song dynasty scholar Zhu Xi taught that commoners may only worship four generations of ancestors within their homes. When ancestral halls became prevalent after the Great Rites Controversy in the mid-Ming dynasty, ancestral worship expanded beyond the family to local clans, which made it possible to worship founding ancestors and others who had made significant contributions to the clan community.1 Nevertheless, many ancestors remained excluded from ancestral halls.2As such, the Zhong Yuan Festival was seen as a time for families to extend their filial piety to ancestors who had been left out of daily prayers, making sure that they did not become wandering souls.
  3. Buddhist teachings advocate for the worship of seven generations of parents.
  4. In Taoism, the Zhong Yuan Festival is a celebration of the birth of one of the Three Great Emperor-Officials of Heaven, Earth, and Water — namely the Earth Official. Salvation rituals are performed and the deity traditionally absolves sins on this occasion.

Both Buddhist and Taoist traditions use the collective power of religion to help commoners with reincarnating souls that otherwise cannot be salvaged. Whether from the perspective of the imperial state, family clans, or religious groups, the core of the Zhong Yuan Festival is the worship of neglected ghosts, gods, and ancestors, or wandering spirits of those who had died a tragic death and have nowhere to go.

From a cultural perspective, the Zhong Yuan Festival during the Ming and Qing dynasties had three distinctive features:

  1. Families burned paper clothing in front of their households as a ritual, or visited the graves of ancestors who were not worshipped at home to make offerings.
  2. Temples or communities organised Ullambana ceremonies, offered sacrifices to feed hungry ghosts, and burned paper boats to send off spirits.
  3. Spectators enjoyed the sights of river lanterns and street performances such as the lion dance, the folk dance Yangge, and acrobatic shows.

In other words, the Zhong Yuan Festival was made up of three components: honouring ancestors as an act of filial piety, holding religious ceremonies to redeem wandering souls, and partaking in festive activities like performances.

Set-up of the Zhong Yuan Festival event at Redhill Food Centre, 2022. Courtesy of Choi Chi-cheung.
Da Shi Ye, the King of Ghosts, at Newton Food Centre, 2022. Courtesy of Choi Chi-cheung.
A Teochew charitable hall conducting a ritual of lights during the Zhong Yuan Festival, 2016. Courtesy of Choi Chi-cheung.

The festival in Singapore: Qingzan zhongyuan

To the overseas Chinese community, the Zhong Yuan Festival has a greater significance than the Qing Ming (Tomb-Sweeping Day) and Chong Yang (Double Ninth Festival) festivals. While the latter two are observed purely for ancestral worship, the Zhong Yuan festival as observed in Singapore since the late-19th century is not only an important religious event, but has assumed its own cultural characteristics as well. As Chinese immigrants settled in Singapore, they began to perform rites during Zhong Yuan to salvage and appease wandering spirits in order to maintain peace in society. In this way, the observation of Zhong Yuan was simultaneously a service to the living.

Today, Chinese across Singapore have a tradition of observing Zhong Yuan as immigrant societies share a common fear of the dead and thus place emphasis on the salvaging of souls and blessing of the living. Even their religious ceremonies include the performance of various rituals to bless the living.

From the mid-20th century onwards, the Zhong Yuan Festival in Singapore gradually transformed from a ritualised festival of worship into a more secularised event with an element of entertainment.3Activities like modern getai performances and entertainment feasts were introduced, and have arguably become more important than salvation rituals.4

The Singapore Zhong Yuan is commonly known as “Qingzhan Zhong Yuan” (Celebrating Zhong Yuan Festival). The organisation and scale of Zhong Yuan activities have varied across different time periods due to changes in Singapore’s macro environment. From the burning of paper offerings at the roadsides to rituals held in housing estates, shopping streets, and hawker centres, some events involve only members of specific organisations, while others include religious ceremonies accompanied by Chinese operas or getai performances. But regardless of whether the festival is being observed for religious or entertainment purposes, and whether it is targeted towards honouring ancestral or wandering spirits, enjoyment and salvation are the two fundamental elements of Zhong Yuan Festival activities.

In his study of Zhong Yuan activities in Singapore, Japanese historian Kani Hiroaki pointed out that a typical Zhong Yuan ceremony consists of:

  1. Salvation rituals for spirits by Taoist priests or Buddhist monks
  2. The distribution of “auspicious objects” to participating members
  3. The staging of Chinese operas or other forms of performance as an offering
  4. A banquet
  5. An auction of “sacred items”5

He also noted that the banquets and auctions, in particular, were very important to the Chinese community. As he explained, “Even though the Zhong Yuan Festival is an event dedicated to the departed, it holds a strong meaning for the living. This is in line with the traditional Chinese belief of praying for benefits to one’s present life.”6

Whether the rituals are carried out by families, communities, or temples, the Zhong Yuan Festival does not merely serve wandering spirits. Its feasts and festivities are a reflection of the Chinese community’s filial piety towards its ancestors, compassion for wandering souls, and sense of camaraderie with its people.7