The Transmission of Chineseness to the Descendants in Thai Society

Abstract

This article is part of the research entitled “The transmission of Chineseness to the descendants of Chinese in Thai society through understanding of religious symbols and their meaning”. The objective is to describe Chinese’s beliefs and Chinese festivals. The existence of Chineseness in Thai society focuses on the transmission patterns and how Chineseness is being transferred to the young Chinese generations born in Thailand, which includes the transfer of knowledge and understanding of the meaning of important Chinese festivals and traditions, and problems related to the transmission of Chineseness.  The data were collected by distributing questionnaires to 282 secondary school students in Samutsongkhram. The findings reveal that most of the Chinese still pay respect to their gods on Chinese Sabbath Days as well as to their ancestors on Cheng Meng Day.  Chinese New Year and Chinese Autumn Festival are among the most important festivals, which the young Chinese generation agreed should be passed on to the next generation, followed by the Vegetarian Festival, Moon Festival, God’s Thanks Giving Day and Fifth Moon Festival respectively,  The transmission patterns of Chinese festivals and traditions may be direct or indirect. Paying respect to gods, Chinese New Year, Chinese Autumn Festival and the Vegetarian Festival are directly passed on to the young generation by giving them directions on how to conduct these religious practices by themselves. However, Fifth Moon Festival, Moon Festival, and god’s Thanks Giving Day are indirectly passed on to the young generation by giving them demonstrations. The problems regarding the transmission of the Chinese to the young generation are related to social, cultural and economic factors as well as individuals’ belief and thoughts.