Literature Discussion-Paper, Tanjong Rhu

1. 1. Do the respective authors use these traditional Chinese rituals (eating paper
dissolved in drink, burning of paper money and houses, lighting joss-sticks and
praying to dead ancestors) just for irony or for more profound purposes? What
are these purposes?
Paper
From the story paper, the chinese rituals are use for irony.
" There is a devil in him " said the medicine man and he procedded to make him a
drink which he mixed with the ashes of a piece of prayer paper.
"The paper house was brought to TaySoon's grave and set on fire there. It burned
brilliantly, and in three minutes was a heap of ashes on the grave."
The burning of things for the dead and drinking ashes of piece of prayer paper was
just a irony used in the story. To show that the mother was taking care of TaySoon
instead of TaySoon's wife. Plus, this shows that the chinese rituals in this story is just
for irony.
TanjongRhu
In the story TanjongRhu, the chinese ritual were used as both a irony and profound
purpose.
"tiny porcelain wine cups, gold-leafed sheets of ceremonial money, candles and josssticks and countless packets of incense."
" How many times do you bow after lighting the incense ?"
"Afterwards what candles do you light, what wine do you offer, what incense do you
burn ? "
"He say he can see TanjongRhu from there, so i will go up and look for it too.
Perhaps, father of Ah-Wah, i will see you there."
"You old folks just give her burial clothes!"
Profound - 'Po-po' pray to her husband even before she go to visit Ah-Wah's office.
Also as a form of respect, to pray to the dead, and burning stuffs for them, which is
said that they will receive it at the 'other-side' of the world.
Its also used as a irony so as to allow Ah-Wah remember about the past of

TanjongRhu. 'Po-po' pray/talk to her husband about TanjongRhu and is trying to tell
us about the past of TanjongRhu.
2. Would you, yourself, as a modern young Singaporean, see the relevance of
such cultural rituals in your society as necessary still, or are a hindrance to
progress and enlightened thinking?
In my opinion, i believe that cultural rituals are still necessary. Even though i am a
modern young Singaporean of the 21st Century, i still believe in traditional rituals. I
feel that it is a root for me to base on. Without religion, a person might sometimes feel
that they belong nowhere, and while some would not believe in God, i believe that
there is always a God--no matter of what religion--present in our hearts.
It cannot be said that cultural rituals are a hindrance to our progress, because without
something for us to learn from or something for us to get away from, how would we
progress? Enlightened thinking does not mean that we have to abandon our own
culture. Without them, we might not be anywhere at all. I'm not of any religion but i
believe in Buddhism. I believe that whenever there is festivals that involves
Buddhism, we have to do the culture traditional's rituals. It's a regonition of ourselves.
We cannot say that by performing the rituals, it's a hindrance because it doesnt get in
the way at all.
Therefore, i believe that the relevance of cultural rituals in my society, still necessary.
3. Do you think the elderly in Singapore are out of touch with the contemporary
world? How far is it a virtue to remain contented like old Mrs Li and think that
there is nothing more than a person, especially an elderly one, can want?
In my opinion, the elderly in Singapore are out of touch with the contemporary world.
Like the stories Paper and Tanjong Rhu, the elderly in it--Ah-Ma and Mrs Li--do not
wish for materialisitc things. It could be because they do not really care about these
things but if we look at it in a different way, we see that they could also have lost
touch with the outside world. In Paper, Mrs Li did not care for big houses that have
swimming pools and marble flooring. She said that the money can be made for better
usage. But in this society now, everything is about what you have. The type of phones
you have, the type of clothes you wear, whether you own any designer clothing, even

where you eat, can either outcast you or welcome you in the battlefield society. Mrs
Li doesnt know that. Ah-Ma did not care about what is in the present either. When she
was given the :see-far" glasses, what she saw was priceless, but it did not exist
anymore. What she saw was her past. This shows that Ah-Ma is out of touch with the
contemporary world, because even though she was given a "see-far" glasses, she did
not see anything else in front of her eyes but she only lived in a past.
Therefore, i feel that the elderly in Singapore are out of touch with the contemporary
world.
To remain contented with what you have can only remain a virtue to a certain extent.
It's true that people should not be too greedy and be happy with what you have instead
of always trying to get something better than the one you have. But to be so easily
contented can be a negative point because you wont get far in life. If everyone were to
be like Mrs Li and be happy with what they had, Singapore would not have been what
it is today. In the past, being contented with what you have would be a virture, but in
this world now, if you dont strive to do better than what you had, you'll be left behind.
And it's very difficult to catch back up. There will never be anything that a person will
not want. Humans are like that, once we have something, and then we see someone
else having something better than what we have, we will want to either get what they
have or get something better than what others have. That is the human nature.
Therefore, to be contented with what one has can only be a virtue to a certain extent.
4. Is looking back at the past necessarily a good thing? This particular story uses the
past to affirm strong ties, emotion and sentiment, but when can it become a negative
habit?
Looking back at the past may not necessarily be a good thing. To always think about
the past, and not bother with what the present holds, one may lose touch of what is
happening around you. When one keeps thinking about the past, one will be leaving in
the shadows of the past. One will never learn to let go , and to not learn to let go, one
might not be able to find happiness. To let go is as important as to hold on. We can
hold on to what we love, but we have to let go of what we think of the past. The
present and future may hold even better things when we learn how to let go and see
things that are worth seeing.

The story that uses the past to affirm strong ties, emotion and sentiment is Tanjong
Rhu. The person who holds on to the past is Ah-Ma. She thinks too much of the past
and when Mr Li gave her the "see-far" glasses, she was supposed to see far. Far to
what's ahead of her, but instead she see the past. Yes, it's good that we remember our
past and remember where we came from but holding on too much to it can be a
negative habit when all one talks about is about the past.
Therefore looking back at the past may not necessarily be a good thing.