-- “Worship to the deities (Chinese: 拜老爷)” is the most widespread and mainly reverence to the divinity in Chao-shan area. Chao-Shanpeople worship of all kinds of deities from the “heaven,earth, and humanity” (Chinese:天、地、人) in the world. The open mind of “all rivers run into sea (Chinese: 海纳百川)” and the multi-deity worship which is the cultural spirit of Chao-shan businessman for over 500 years.
“Belief”, means a mental attitude of acceptance or assent toward a proposition without the full intellectual knowledge required to guarantee its truth. It is the only motivation that makes people keep going forward.
Chao-shan people are an ethnic group, which with the strong cultural belief and a long history of worship to the deities. Even to this day, worship to the deities and offer sacrifices is still an important part of the life to Chao-shan people, which is tightly bound together when they make a living and doing the business. Just because of this traditional belief, the Chao-shan businessman developed a strong will, a feeling of gratitude and the reverence of the omnipresent divinity, forming a unity and mutual assistance commercial group in the world.
Multi-deity worship
The phenomenon of multi-deity worship is quite prevalent in the Chao-shan area. According to the varioussources, the Chao-shan religious belief includes worship of natural, foreign deities, local deities, historical figures and ancestors.
For the Chao-shan businessman, the deities just is a kind of symbols, they don’t care about the background, status and function of the deities. They called all of the deities——“ The lord (Chinese:老爷)”. Worship to the lord (Chinese:拜老爷) is worship to the deities. “The lord” is people called their boss or landlord in old time. But when use it to call the deities, which is indicated the reverenceto the deities and the utilitarian of the worship to deities.
Based on the pragmatism
The Chao-shan businessman well know that respect the deities, get the instruction from the deities is the way for a better life. They worship of all kinds of deities is based on the needs of reality. Most of the Chao-shan businessmen engage in fishing, foreign trade and sea transportation. The ocean is always danger and difficult to conquer, while doing business is like to war, which is changing like the ocean and hard to control. In order to overcome these uncertainties, people will worship of the deities like Mazu (Chinese:妈祖), the three Kings of the mountains (Chinese:三山国王), the deity of home guardian (Chinese:土地爷), the deity of Wind (Chinese:风伯) etc., offer sacrifices, pray for safety and asking for fortune.
Mazu (Chinese: 妈祖)
The three kings of the mountains (Chinese: 三山国王)
Aggressive belief
In Chao-shan area, use the divination blocks (Chinese: 求杯) and draw the fortune-telling sticks (Chinese:求签) is the way of communication between man and the deities. The divination block is made of wood or bamboo in a crescent shape. There are two pieces of each divination blocks, one side is smooth and another side is round and protrusion. When ask the instructions from the deities, the prayers will throw out the divinations blocks. If get one block with the smooth side and one block is with the protrusion side after dropped down, then means the prayer get the approval from the deities (Chinese:圣茭). If both the blocks with the smooth side, then means get the negative reply (Chinese:阴茭). If both the blocks with the protrusion side, then means the prayer get no reply from the deities (Chinese:笑茭).
The Chao-shan businessman also use this way to seeking the instructions from thedeities when they in difficulties or have to make some important decisions inbusiness. But what is interesting is that the Chao-shanbusinessman is not passively in their conversation with the deities. They usually prepare several options when they asking the instructions from the deities. If they get the negative answer from the deities at first time, the Chao-shan businessman will make adjustments and keep asking with the deities, which is like a negotiation. For example, they will make a promise that if get the positive answers from the deities, they will increase the sacrificial offerings in the coming year. If still get the negative reply, they will double the offerings until they get the positive answers. But only can ask within three times, if get the negative reply over three times, then they have to find another solutions. So the Chao-shan businessman is not easy to give up and passively during the conversation with the deities. But once the Chao-shan businessman get the approval from the deities, they will get the unstoppable courage in their lifeand business.
A feeling of gratitude
At the same time, in order to appreciate the historical figures who made the contribution to Chao-shan area, the Chao-shan people worship of Hanyu (Chinese:韩愈), Dafeng master (Chinese:大峰祖师) etc. This is the feeling of gratitude from the Chao-shan businessman, which is based on the traditional concept of pay back. They are generous and willing to make the contribution to the society and provide more sacrificial offerings to get the protection and obtain more from the deities. This concept deeply rooted in their culture gene——like the old saying of Chao-shan people goes “Good to the others is good to yourself (Chinese:好人好胶己)”. So the Chao-shan businessman not only work hard for making money, but also generous to donation. They assume the important social function, such as establish the school, hospital, public facilities and helping people in danger and need.
This concept also use in business and became the business philosophy of “One willing to take, one must give it first (Chinese:欲先取之必先与之)”. The Chao-shan businessman well know that if want to ensure their own interests, they have to ensure the interests of the customer first. This is the reasonfor the success of Chao-shan businessman in the world.
Hanyu (Chinese:韩愈)
Dafeng master (Chinese: 大峰祖师)
The spirit of entertainment
The spirit of entertainment is the extension of worship the deities. There are so many complicate rituals of worship in Chao-shan area. The annual event of rituals is the time to set free the spirit of entertainment and share the pleasure with the deities.
Emphasis on commitments and keep promise
The Chao-shan businessman has the character of emphasis on commitments and keeping promises, which is greatly connected with their worship of deities. As previously mentioned, when the Chao-shan businessman pray for safety and success in business etc., they will make a promise in some kind of return back for appreciation to the deities. Only they know what they promise to offer, but once they make the promise, they will no doubt to fulfill their promises. This is the ideological roots that Chao-shan businessman with character of honest and trustworthy. So Chao-shan businessmen have the strong feeling of gratitude in real life andparticular emphasis on commitments and keep promise in business.
The Chao-shan people persist in holding many worship rituals when on the first and 15th day of each lunar month and various folk festivals. There are so many rules of these rituals. But when going into the world of business, their persistence and these rituals became the unique spirit of contract and the respect to the rules and morality of business.
The religions and superstition were always against by the mainstream. Worship to deities was considered to be the negative view of the world and escape from the reality. For the others, Chao-shan people are an unreasonable superstition ethnic group. But for Chao-shan businessman, worship to deities is non-religionand is not superstition, which is positive and tightly combined with reality and the modern civilization.
Just because of this faithful worship todeities, gestates the unique cultural spirit of Chao-shan business, which developed the character of practical, aggressive, loyalty, honest and trust worthy, a feeling of gratitude, the spirit of entertainment and the love for life. This is the reason that Chao-shan businessman became the only commercial group can last for more than five hundred years.
Note: all photos used in this article are fromthe Internet. ###
[About the authors]
Benny Pei is a scholar on the evolution of business practices and philosophies of entrepreneurs from the Chaozhou and Shantou region in southeastern Guangdong Province. He is also a mentor in the MBA Centre and the Veritas College of Shantou University. Prior to this he was a member of the board of directors and senior managers in a few Shenzhen-listed Chao-Shan companies spanning more than a decade.
Allen Wei, a native Chao-shan people who love his hometown, started researching the phenomenon of Chao-shan businessman since early 2018.
