Bodies and Structures 2.0: Deep-Mapping Modern East Asian HistoryMain MenuGet to Know the SiteGuided TourShow Me HowA click-by-click guide to using this siteModulesRead the seventeen spatial stories that make up Bodies and Structures 2.0Tag MapExplore conceptsComplete Grid VisualizationDiscover connectionsGeotagged MapFind materials by geographic locationLensesCreate your own visualizationsWhat We LearnedLearn how multivocal spatial history changed how we approach our researchAboutFind information about contributors and advisory board members, citing this site, image permissions and licensing, and site documentationTroubleshootingA guide to known issuesAcknowledgmentsThank youDavid Ambaras1337d6b66b25164b57abc529e56445d238145277Kate McDonald306bb1134bc892ab2ada669bed7aecb100ef7d5fThis project was made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Burning the Boat
12020-09-16T09:18:05-04:00Weiting Guo08b125beef921c47ad1de3c337b8d14abd2713ab356plain2020-09-23T10:20:41-04:00Weiting Guo08b125beef921c47ad1de3c337b8d14abd2713abThe Shanghai-based Dianshizhai Pictorial (1884-1898) has an illustration on the ritual of “sending off a boat” in late Qing Wenzhou. This drawing, titled “The Grand Ritual of Sending a Boat,” provides some details about the ritual. According to the description, plague continued to strike Wenzhou during the autumn. Local elites and officials thus built a “water and land ritual site” to invite the deities for the ceremony. Twenty to thirty civilian and military officials attended the ceremony. The entire ceremony lasted for seven days and nights. People built a large paper boat and four smaller boats beside it. Plenty of well-decorated items were stored in the boats. On the final night between 9 and 11 pm, these boats were sent to the river outside the Northern Gate and burned on the water. Over 1,000 people were holding lighted lanterns and gathering there, making the night as bright as daytime. After the boats were fully burned, people’s lanterns were also put off. People walked in the dark to the Western Gate, entered the city and then left. The entire ceremony costed over 2,000 or 3,000 dollars, which was mainly from the donation of officials, shops, and wealthy families.
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12020-06-27T01:16:04-04:00Weiting Guo08b125beef921c47ad1de3c337b8d14abd2713abHealing with WaterWeiting Guo31plain2020-09-24T06:20:13-04:00Weiting GuoWeiting Guo08b125beef921c47ad1de3c337b8d14abd2713ab