China - The Middle Kingdom 

Yee Ancestral Home - The House That Jim Yee Built
  
Ancestral Shrine - We perform traditional Chinese ancestral worship. Every year my father and his 2 brothers return to the Yee Ancestral Village to honour their grandfather and grandmother and all ancestors that preceded them. Pictures From The Past - I was surprised to see my grade 6 photo in the collage along with other photos of my late grandmother.  When my grandmother came back to the village in the late 1970s and she left some of her photos here.  I'm part of the shrine!
  
Ancestral Worship - The Chinese believe that the land is full of wandering spirits of your ancestors.  A superstitious ritual, which we perform annually during Chinese New Year and special occasions.  This was a special occasion, since it was my first time visiting the Ancestral Village and saying hello to all my ancestors since the 13th century. The Yee Shrine - The house was constructed in 1924 with money my great-grandfather (Jim Yee) made working in Chinese laundries, farms, and restaurants in Canada.
  
Ancestral Kitchen - No indoor plumbing. - Food preparation area and the water storage well.  Water has to be brought in and filled daily. The stove was made of brick in the next room near the entrance.  Shrine to the Kitchen God - This is a plaque with an inscription to ward off evil spirits and ask for a blessing from the Kitchen God and from the Promotion God. The inscription says "The heaven blessing is always here" and "Your official position will always get promoted"
  
We're Fresh Obsessed - No need for refrigerators, every household comes equipped with its own chicken coop.  Here dinner is being fatten up on the left, on the right is the egg machine.  Leaky Roof - The wood roof is still holding up, but it leaks in the corner where a bandit broke in through a hole 1947. He threatened and robbed my grandmother and father. My father was 10 at the time and he said the bandit was wielding a long sword.

  
Storage Rooms - With the household vacant my fathers cousins use the house as a storage area.  You can see the baskets for collecting harvest and the wood for fuel.
  
Balcony View - The house had 2 balcony hallways on each side of the shrine. Birds Eye View - The common room is where the family would eat, entertain guests, and perform ancestor worship.
   
Fond Memories - Uncle Fai Nang having a laugh at all the memories when he lived here for 15 years after he graduated from school in Kaiping.  No schools in the village so he had to live in the city for 12 years. The Great Bed of Origin - The master bedroom with the traditional Chinese bed. This was the place where my grandmother gave birth to my father and my two uncles.
  

© 2002-2005 Stanley Yee