The Dying Tang Hao with the needed CPR jumpstart in Melaka.

An introduction of Chinese dying culture

Among all the Chinese traditional culture and customs in Malaysia, I would say that Tang Hao has been given the cruel blow of unnoticed silent death.

Like me; most of the younger Chinese generation will not know what is Tang Hao. Let alone the meaning that lies behind it.

Therefore, what the heck is it?

Cultural Meaning

The simpler way to explain this Chinese Art will be the origin of group name for each and every Chinese family name or surname. It serves as some sort of trademark of each Chinese family name.

It’s easy to mistakenly assume that the two letter Chinese Character hung at the household main entrance as the surname of the family. Well that’s only half the truth, by reading the two Chinese Characters, you might be able to guess or tell the surname of the family (ancestor) residing in that particular house.

Special Note: Another easier way to determine the family name of a family will be by knowing the name of the person residing in that particular household! The first Chinese character of a typical Chinese name will be the family name or surname of the person. For example: Tan Hock Long. Tan will be the family name or surname of that person.

History that lies behind it

The complexity of this Chinese tradition is due to the derivation of the two Chinese characters itself. It might be derived from the name of a village name or town. Some even use the ancient China Kingdom name and even the name bestowed by the emperor to a family. Please take note that everything will need to be referred to China as that’s the root place of the Chinese origin!

In order to be an expert in interpreting each one of the Tang Hao (more than one hundred in total); you need to be some sort of a China historian to tell the stories associated with the individual family trademark origin. Find out your family/ancestor’s family trademark.

Traditional Culture and value

There’s a reason for the Chinese to hang their family’s ancestor trademark on the main entrance of their house. It serves as a token of memento of glory and gratitude to their ancestor’s hardship in starting and building the family. The Chinese believe that the real wealth or the treasure of a family is based on your linage, the more children (males) that you have, the wealthier you are.

The extinction of this traditional custom

The two main contributions of the extinction of this traditional custom are the ignorance of the cultural meaning of the ancestor trademark and the urbanization. I doubt that there are any houses in the housing estate that hang their ancestor trademark on the main entrance.

About the guy who was responsible for giving this custom a jumpstart

A young man, SS Goh has just started to handcraft the wooden miniature Tang Hao in Melaka. According to him, his interest came from years of reading Chinese Comic (mainly the Kung Fu Comics) and Chinese Historical reading materials. He hopes to save and preserve this traditional custom which is dying due to modernization. At the same time, he wishes to fulfil his father’s dream of having each Chinese household hanging their ancestor trademark.

Currently, he handcrafts standard sized wooden “Chinese Family Trademark“ with the sized of 18cm by 9.5cm framed in a glass framed. He hopes that this“modern traditional souvenirs“ that decorates the walls of its future owner will help to preserve this traditional custom among the younger Chinese generations. Find out your family/ancestor’s family trademark.

Please fill in this form to contact him if you wish to know more about this traditional Chinese handcraft. You could even drop him a mail by using the form below. I am sure he will be more than happy to help you. By the way, you could even help to preserve this traditional custom either by sharing this information with your friends or by ordering one yourself! It cost only MYR 188.00 each.

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