Lingnan culture

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Lingnan culture (Cantonese Jyutping: Ling⁵ naam⁴ man⁴ faa³; Traditional Chinese characters: 嶺南文化) refers to the culture of the core Lingnan region - the provinces of Guangdong ("Gwongdong" in Cantonese) and Guangxi ("Gwongsai" in Cantonese) in southern China. This term is mostly used to refer to Cantonese culture, which generally includes culture of Hong Kong and culture of Macau, due to the fact that the people of Hong Kong and Macau also primarily speak Cantonese. But in a broader sense, the term can also include Hakka culture and Teochew culture in the area. It is the subject of research at institutions such as the Center for Lingnan Culture. It is often contrasted against the culture of China's northern plains (Zhongyuan).

Historically, this subtropical region has been separated from other Han Chinese regions by the Nanling Mountains ("Ng Leng Mountains" in Cantonese). This, plus the fact that it has spent much of the past two millennia being the Chinese empire's main port, means that it has had cultural exchanges with cultures outside China just as much as it has with those of China's inner regions. This gave rise to a culture significantly different from those of other Han Chinese regions, including in: (1) Traditional languages (i.e., mainly Cantonese, but there are large minorities of Hakka and Teochew as well); (2) Architecture; (3) Fine arts; (4) Craftsmanship; (5) Performing arts; (6) Literature; and (7) Cuisine. Aside from these, the Lingnan region also has many traditional customs and celebrations not found in other Han Chinese regions, such as flower fairs during Lunar New Year.

Brief history

From Baiyue to Sinicization

In 200 BCE, the Lingnan region, alongside the land now known as Northern Vietnam, was controlled by the kingdom of Nanyue, inhabited primarily by the non-Han Baiyue people. The kingdom was later conquered by the Han Empire and came under Han Chinese control at around year 100 BCE. However, large-scale Sinicization didn't occur until 7th century, at which point the region was held by the Tang Empire. Later, between 10th to 13th century, there was also a large influx of Han Chinese migrants from the North, which was at that time invaded by the Mongols and several other non-Chinese ethnic groups. These resulted in large-scale intermixing of Han Chinese and Baiyue people during that period^[1] - reflected in the fact that modern Cantonese people are, genetically, the hybrid of Han Chinese and Baiyue.^[2] Modern Cantonese language also possesses characteristics of both Middle Chinese (the prestige language of the Tang Empire) and the long-extinct Baiyue language.

Sinicization of Lingnan was largely complete by late Southern Song Dynasty. In the Mongol-controlled Yuan Empire that followed, however, the inhabitants of Lingnan (including Cantonese, Teochew, and Hakka people) were classified as "Southerners" (Jyutping: Naam⁴ jan⁴; Traditional Chinese: 南人), rather than "Han Chinese", in the Yuan Empire's four-class caste system^[3]. It was not until the Ming Empire (15th century) that these peoples of Lingnan were legally classified as "Han Chinese" and thus fully integrated as such. It was also by that time that the modern Lingnan culture had mostly formed.

From 19th century onward

With Lingnan being a major port for both the Qing Empire and the People's Republic of China, Cantonese people have often dominated Han Chinese immigration to the Western world, resulting in Cantonese historically being the lingua franca in most Chinatowns. They also helped establish the Chinese term for Chinatown: "Tong yun gai" (Jyutping: Tong⁴ jan⁴ gaai¹; Traditional Chinese: 唐人街) - known as "Tang ren jie" in Mandarin Chinese. This term literally means "Street of the Tang people". This presumably reflects the fact that the Sinicization of Lingnan was most prominent during the Tang Dynasty, resulting in Cantonese feeling an especially strong attachment to that dynasty^[4].

On the other hand, since early 20th century, Hong Kong (called "Heung Gong" in Cantonese), then under British control, developed quickly in every aspect. The city's high level of development caused the envy of many people in the Lingnan region. Many of them has been watching the TV shows and movies produced by Hong Kong, resulting in Hong Kong having significant cultural influence in the region. For instance, many Cantonese people from mainland China write using traditional Chinese characters, like Hongkongese do. Hong Kong, for her part, has experienced much cultural and economic exchanges with other East Asian nations. This results in her having absorbed the cultures of Japan, Korea, and to some extent, Taiwan. For instance, Hong Kong Cantonese has many usages and vocabularies borrowed from Japanese.

Traditional languages

Cantonese and variants

Traditionally, the Lingnan region's dominant language has been Cantonese (Jyutping: Gwong² dung¹ waa²; Traditional Chinese: 廣東話), a member of the Chinese language family (of which Mandarin is also a member). The vast majority of Lingnan's traditional operas, folk songs, and poetry are expressed using Cantonese. This language can trace its root all the way back to the Baiyue people: Their language did not belong to the Chinese language family. However, with the large influx of Han Chinese migrants during 10th to 13th century, the language slowly Sinicized and evolved into modern Cantonese.^[5][6][7]

Cantonese has retained certain features of the ancient Baiyue language.^[8] For instance, unlike most other Chinese languages, Cantonese often put an adjective behind the noun it is describing. In Cantonese, "雞乸" (Jyutping: Gai¹ naa²) is made of two words: "雞", which means "rooster", and "乸", which means "female", resulting in a compound word that means "hen". Nonetheless, among all extant languages, Cantonese is, overall, the one that is closest to Middle Chinese (the prestige language of Han Chinese people during the Tang Empire). In contrast, Mandarin was a much later creation, with a history of barely more than 300 years, and had been influenced by the language of the Manchu people. This is reflected by the fact that most medieval Chinese poems will not rhyme if chanted in Mandarin, but will do if chanted using Cantonese.^[9]

Taishanese (Jyutping: Toi⁴ saan¹ waa²; Traditional Chinese: 台山話) is another prominent language in Lingnan. It is closely related to Cantonese, but only has limited mutual intelligibility with the latter. This means that if a Taishanese person and a Cantonese person try to converse using their respective native tongues, they will be able to understand some parts of what the other is saying. The mutual intelligibility between these two is higher than that between English and German, but lower than that between American English and British English. Taishanese also has its own style of folk songs. Regardless, Taishanese is often seen as a branch-off of Cantonese.

Others

Aside from the above two, there are substantial minorities of Hakka and Teochew people in the Lingnan region. They have their respective languages, which also belong to the Chinese language family. However, both of them have close to zero mutual intelligibility with either Cantonese or Mandarin. They also differ from Cantonese people in terms of architectural styles, cuisines, and many other traditional customs. The Lingnan region also has ethnic minorities which do not speak any Chinese language.

Architecture

Lingnan architecture (Jyutping: Ling⁵ naam⁴ gin³ zuk¹; Traditional Chinese: 嶺南建築) is the characteristic architectural style of the Lingnan region,^[10][11] mostly associated with Cantonese people. It differs significantly from those found in other Han Chinese regions because of factors such as climates and availability of materials, both of which affected by the geographical features of Lingnan. Overall, classical Lingnan architecture tends to use pale colors such as green and white, avoid circular structures, involve massive numbers of relief carvings, have many open structures such as balconies, and be built using materials resistant to moulds and moisture. The last two points are obviously related to the hot and humid subtropical climate of Lingnan.

Chan Clan Temple is a representative example of classical Lingnan architecture. The temple was built in late 19th century and served as an academy for Chen families in 72 counties of the Gwongdong province. It comprises all sorts of folk architectural and decorative arts, and is famous for its "three carvings" (stone, wood and brick carvings), "three sculptures" (ceramic sculpture, clay sculpture and colorful sculpture) and "one cast" (cast iron). As a result, it is called the best of all the clan temples in the neighborhood.

Today, some elements of Lingnan architecture are adopted in constructions of commercial districts in Canton City (known as "Gwongzau" in Cantonese), the capital city of Gwongdong province. In commercial street, old-fashioned shops of classical Lingnan architecture are found in heaps. Attached to the second story from the pavement, numerous pillars are built in front of the stores. Similar building styles are still common in some torn-down areas in Hong Kong and even Taipei.

The visual characteristics of classical Lingnan architectures include, but are not limited to:

Doors and directions

Classical Lingnan architecture pays much attention to the use of doors. This is partly due to the influence of a strong Feng shui culture: There is the traditional belief that having the main door face south means prosperity, which results in most classical Lingnan-style buildings (especially ancestral halls) facing south. Larger buildings also tend to have many types of doors, with "central doors" (Jyutping: Zung¹ mun⁴; Traditional Chinese: 中門) only usable for high-status individuals (i.e., male leaders of the household, important guests, and women with male heirs) in older times, while other people could only use "side doors" (Jyutping: Zak¹ mun⁴; Traditional Chinese: 側門). They also have a concept called "manner doors" (Jyutping: Ji⁴ mun⁴; Traditional Chinese: 儀門), which means that there is a second door behind the main door. "Manner doors" are especially common in ancestral halls, where ancestors are worshiped, due to the traditional belief that one should not go straight at (which have connotations such as "to conflict with") one's ancestors upon entering the hall.

Relief carvings

Cantonese people are prolific craftsmen. This is reflected in the fact that their traditional architecture tends to use very large numbers of relief carvings and all sorts of sculptures for the purpose of decoration. The topics of the relief carvings may vary - ranging from figures and scenes from Chinese mythology to those from traditional Cantonese folklore.

Green brick

Green brick is a popular building material in the Lingnan region. It is well known for being resistant to changes in temperature and moisture - which makes it very useful for building in the hot and humid Lingnan region.

Wo yi uk

Wo yi uk (Jyutping: Wo¹ ji⁵ uk¹; Traditional Chinese: 鍋耳屋, literally "house with wok ears") is a distinct characteristic in Lingnan architecture. It is a building that has a pair of curved walls protruding vertically at both ends of its roof, usually seen in traditional residential buildings. It emerged at around 15th century, during which Lingnan was ruled by the Ming Empire. It was a tradition to build such walls for people who have been granted honors through the empire's examination system. This later evolved into the belief that building such walls could help one's sons and grandsons attain similar honors. It also has more practical purposes, however - having the two walls protruding from both ends of the roof could help reduce the amount of sunlight directly shining on the roof, resulting in lowered temperature. This is useful in the subtropical Lingnan region.

Classical Lingnan architecture
Deng ancestral hall in Canton City; It also has traits such as relief carvings, pale coloring, and lack of circular structures.  Yu Kiu ancestral hall in Hong Kong  Macau's Sam Kai Vui Kun was built with green brick.

A row of wo yi uk in Fadou District, Canton City: Each house has a pair of curved walls protruding vertically at both ends of its roof.  Hong Kong's Tsang Tai Uk; It is also a wo yi uk.

Lingnan garden

Lingnan garden (Jyutping: Ling⁵ naam⁵ jyun⁴ lam⁴; Traditional Chinese: 嶺南園林) is the style of garden design native to the Lingnan region.^[12] Geographically, Lingnan has very different climate from China's heartland (i.e., Zhongyuan), resulting in her developing a different style in designing gardens. The most frequently cited traits of Lingnan gardens are: (1) they tend to surround their plants with buildings to provide protection to the plants, due to the frequent rainfalls and storms in the region; (2) Lingnan gardens usually use plant species native to the region, such as red cotton flowers and lychee trees; (3) due to Lingnan being far away from the center of power (i.e., Zhongyuan), gardens in the region have historically been not limited by standards set up by the central government, resulting in a style that leans more towards the common people, e.g., Lingnan gardens are decorated with a large amount of handcraft products of local people, ranging from sculptures to porcelains, and also tend to use smaller buildings; (4) as in the case with Lingnan architecture, with Cantonese being prolific craftsmen, Lingnan gardens tend to use a large number of relief carvings.

Built in early 20th century, Bou Mak Garden (Jyutping: Bou² mak⁶ jyun⁴; Traditional Chinese: 寶墨園, literally "Garden of Treasure and Ink") is located in Punyu, Canton City, and is a fine example of classical Lingnan garden. Once inside, exotic buildings, gardens, hills, lakes, and bridges are found - a place that reveals interplay between nature's art and man-made art in forms of sculptures and edifices, which boast intricate clay, porcelain, brick, wood and stone carving.

Other representative examples of Lingnan gardens would be the "four great gardens of central Canton": Yuyum Sanfong, Leung's Garden, Ching Fai Garden, and Ho Garden.

Lingnan gardens
Yuyum Sanfong  Leung's Garden in Futsan  Ho Garden in Donggwan  Bou Mak Garden uses a large number of carvings.

Tong lau

Tong lau (Jyutping: Tong⁴ lau⁴; Traditional Chinese: 唐樓) is a style of architecture found in Lingnan (and also in some other areas by the South China Sea) starting from 19th century. It is a multi-story type of building, with each story being three to four meters tall, typically built with either green bricks or, later, concrete. The main purpose of tong lau is to let people live upstairs while running some sorts of business (e.g., a pawn shop) downstairs. It has been influenced by Western European architecture, and is particularly prevalent in regions with more exposure to Western European cultures, such as Hong Kong and Macau.

Tong laus are frequently seen in movies and soap operas made in Hong Kong.

Tong laus in Lingnan
Tong laus are everywhere in Hong Kong.  A row of tong laus in Hoiping, Gwongdong  Tong lau in Wan Chai, Hong Kong, comparable to those found in Canton City and Taipei. Attached to the second story from the pavement, numerous pillars were built in front of the closed stores.

Tang-style architecture

As mentioned, Lingnan culture is heavily influenced by the cultures of the Tang Empire. In 4th to 10th century, many monks came from Zhongyuan to spread Buddhism in Lingnan, resulting in historic Tang-style buildings such as Gwong Hau Temple (Jyutping: Gwong¹ haau³ zi⁶; Traditional Chinese: 光孝寺, literally "Temple of Light and Filial Piety"). Also, since 19th century, many Tang-style buildings have been erected in the region. This style of architecture is very unlike classical Lingnan architecture: It is primarily built with wood (rather than green bricks), tends to give a sense of grandness using upward-curving roofs and bright colors (in stark contrast to the very rectangular and pale classical Lingnan style), and has highly orderly arrangement of buildings. A prominent example would be Chi Nin Nunnery in Hong Kong. Based on Buddhist temples of the Tang empire, it bears much resemblance to the Buddhist temples in Kyoto, Japan (also based on Tang-style architecture).^[13] Since late 20th century, the Lingnan region of mainland China has also started adopting such architectural style.

Tang-style architecture in Lingnan
Gwong Hau Temple  More Gwong Hau Temple  Chi Nin Nunnery  More Chi Nin Nunnery

Fine arts

The Lingnan region has several recognized distinct styles of fine arts.

Lingnan school of painting

Lingnan school of painting (Jyutping: Ling⁵ naam⁵ waa² paai³; Traditional Chinese: 嶺南畫派), also called "Cantonese school of painting", is a distinctive style of painting invented primarily by the Cantonese people.^[14] It originated in the 19th century, founded by Gou Gim Fu (a Cantonese) and several of his associates. This style combined the ink wash painting shared by all Han Chinese and watercolor painting, also with the influence from impressionism. It emphasizes leaving blank spaces and the use of bright colors, in stark contrast to less colorful ink wash painting. For example, "The Flames of the Eastern Battlefield" used watercolor to paint bright red colors in the background. This, alongside the blank spaces in the painting, gives potential alternative interpretations of the blank spaces, which could look like either smoke or clouds.

Lingnan style of calligraphy

Lingnan style of calligraphy (Jyutping: Ling⁵ naam⁵ syu¹ fung¹; Traditional Chinese: 嶺南書風) is the style of calligraphy unique to Lingnan. It is typically described by Han Chinese critics as "bold" and "romantic". Archaeological evidence suggests that the people of Lingnan had been writing and producing calligraphy works since the collapse of the kingdom of Nanyue. However, due to the hot and humid climate of Lingnan, papers tend to decay very quickly, resulting in few such works having been preserved. It was not until 15th century, where Chan Bak Sa (Jyutping: Can⁴ baak⁶ saa¹; Traditional Chinese: 陳白沙), became the first renowned Cantonese calligrapher that the Lingnan region got a recognized style of calligraphy. Since then, the Cantonese people have produced several notable works of calligraphy, such as:

《袁崇煥督遼餞別圖詩》, literally "The picture poem of farewell to Yuan Chonghuan"; It is the work of Kwong Lou, a Cantonese calligrapher from early 16th century; This work was made in his farewell to his good friend Yuan Chonghuan, who had to leave Lingnan due to an assignment from the then Ming emperor. It is a work of "poem painting" (a painting with a poem written on it; with both the picture and the poem having some sort of relations to each other). This work is now stored in Hong Kong.

《南園諸子送黎美周北上詩卷》, literally "The picture of various Southern gentlemen coming to say farewell"; It is the work of Zeung Kiu, a Cantonese young woman from early 16th century, well-known for being both beautiful and very talented. Despite this, she died of an illness at the young age of 19 and her death was widely mourned as a great loss. This work of poem painting is one of her few works and now on show at the Gwongzau Art Gallery.

In the 21st century, the Cantonese people have begun to study the Lingnan style of calligraphy in greater depth.^[15]

Calligraphy of Gou Gim Fu

Lingnan bonsai

Lingnan bonsai (Jyutping: Ling⁵ naam⁵ pun⁴ ging²; Traditional Chinese: 嶺南盆景) is the style of bonsai (called "Penjing" in Mandarin Chinese and "Punzoi" in Cantonese) of the people of Lingnan. Despite being recognized only in early 20th century, it can trace its roots to at least the 15th century. This style is noted for its emphasis on the match between "the natural" and "the artificial" parts of the bonsai. For instance, artists of Lingnan bonsai tend to spend much time choosing a pot that matches that plants. They also tend to trim their plants in such a way that the new growth from the trimmed parts will shadow the trails of trimming, resulting in the bonsai looking very natural.

Lingnan bonsai has some levels of support in major cities in the region, such as Canton City and Hong Kong. Hong Kong, for instance, has an active organization supporting Lingnan bonsai (English website).

Craftsmanship

The Baiyue people were already making a lot of pottery and sculptures back at the time of the kingdom of Nanyue. After Sinicization, the techniques of the people in the region only became even more polished. Nowadays, Cantonese people are renowned craftsmen known for exporting many craft products, including various types of sculptures, embroidery, porcelain, paper cutting, kites, furniture, among many others. The more well-known products include the following:

Teochew woodcarving

Teochew woodcarving (Jyutping: Ciu⁴ zau¹ muk⁶ diu¹; Traditional Chinese: 潮州木雕) is a distinctive style of woodcarving that originated from the city of Teochew, which is geographically a part of Lingnan but inhabited primarily by the Teochew people, who belong to the non-Cantonese Min branch of Han Chinese. Despite this, this style of woodcarving is heavily incorporated into various forms of Cantonese crafts. It began in the 11th century and became popularized in late 16th century. Many Teochew woodcarving products are plated with gold, commonly seen being decorations for Buddhist temples or ancestral halls.

Canton jade carving

Canton jade carving (Jyutping: Gwong² zau¹ juk⁶ diu¹; Traditional Chinese: 廣州玉雕) is the Cantonese style of jade carving.^[16][17] It has a history of more than two thousands years – with archaeologists unearthing jade carvings from the remains of the kingdom of Nanyue.^[18] After Sinicization, the people of Lingnan learnt jade carving from Tang Empire’s jade wares, and invented the technique of “lau sik” (Jyutping: Lau⁴ sik¹; Traditional Chinese: 留色, literally “to retain the colors") – retaining the colors of the original materials, resulting in jade carvings that are very colorful yet natural. Nowadays, Canton jade carvings are frequently used in Cantonese jewelry and decorations.

Canton ivory carving

Canton ivory woodcarving (Jyutping: Gwong² zau¹ ngaa⁴ diu¹; Traditional Chinese: 廣州牙雕) is another well-known product from Lingnan. With a history of 2000 years, it traditionally uses ivory as raw material to make sculptures, with the Canton-style renowned for being particularly delicate and detailed without being brittle. The Cantonese people have also successfully produced the legendary craft product - Ivory ball.

After the 1980s, however, international ivory trade has been banned. This results in the Cantonese people now trying to find substitute materials - materials that look and feel like but are actually not ivory - in their attempt to pass on this ancient art.^[19]

Cantonese embroidery

Cantonese embroidery (Jyutping: Jyut⁶ sau³; Traditional Chinese: 粵繡) is the Cantonese style of embroidery, with considerable popularity in Lingnan and its own subculture.^[20] It could trace its root to at least the 9th century, where the Tang Empire had documented that the people in the area were making embroidery. Cantonese embroidery attained its current form at around 15th century and has its own set of techniques. Visually, it is known for being colorful and containing multiple images without feeling chaotic. Due to Gwongdong's historical role in trade between the Chinese empire and the outside world, Cantonese embroidery had been sold to many Western European people and become a popular type of items in European aristocrats' collections of oriental crafts.

Canton porcelain

Canton porcelain (Jyutping: Gwong² coi²; Traditional Chinese: 廣彩), also called "Cantonese porcelain", is the Cantonese style of porcelain. It involves painting various colors on white porcelains and cementing the colors on the porcelain products afterwards through the use of low heat (less than 800 degree Celsius, which is low by porcelain standard). This style is renowned for its bright colors and detailed drawings. It originated in the 16th century. At that time, the Cantonese people in Canton City imported white porcelains from Jingdezhen (a city well known for making white porcelains), worked on them to produce colorful porcelains, and exported their products to Western Europe. Later, this art spread to the entire Lingnan region. Hong Kong, for instance, started making Canton porcelain starting from 1930s and exported many of their products to the entire world, though nowadays, few Hongkongese work on this style of porcelain outside hobbyists, due to the fact that the city has shifted its focus to service and finance industries.^[21]

Other examples of Cantonese porcelain

Cantonese furniture

Cantonese furniture (Jyutping: Gwong² sik¹ gaa¹ si¹; Traditional Chinese: 廣式傢俬) is the Cantonese style of furniture.^[22][23] It can be dated at least back to 17th century. This style generally uses the native timbers in the Lingnan region, while borrowing elements from traditional furniture styles of the Tang Empire and the Song Empire and artistic styles imported from Western Europe. It is characterized by (1) its tendency to make each furniture item by working on one larger piece of wood, resulting in Cantonese furniture not showing traces of being assembled; (2) taking elements from Baroque and Rococo style, especially in its use of curves; (3) using techniques from other Lingnan crafts, such as Teochew woodcarving; and (4) heavy use of shells and marbles as decorations. Nowadays, Cantonese furniture is being exported to many other Han Chinese communities and to foreign countries.

Others

Cochin ware is a type of pottery with Cantonese origins, although it is more associated with Taiwan these days.

Performing arts

Cantonese people are involved in several types of operas and performing arts, including Tea-picking opera and Han opera, with Cantonese opera being the most prominent one. They also have many types of traditional music. All of these are primarily sung and expressed using the Cantonese language.

Cantonese opera

Cantonese opera (Jyutping: Daai⁶ hei³; Traditional Chinese: 大戲) is the style of opera associated with the Cantonese language and has been listed as one of intangible cultural heritage of the world.^[24] Originated in late 13th century, Cantonese opera is a stage art that combines acrobatics, singing, martial arts, and acting. While sharing features with other Chinese languages opera, it does have several particular traits, including:

"Cing sik sing" (Jyutping: cing4 sik1 sing3; Traditional Chinese: 程式性) - formulaic, formalised.

"Heoi ji sing" (Jyutping: heoi1 ji5 sing3; Traditional Chinese: 虛擬性) - abstraction of reality, distancing from reality.

"Sin ming sing" (Jyutping: sin1 ming4 sing3; Traditional Chinese: 鮮明性) - clear-cut, distinct, unambiguous, well-defined.

"Zung hap ngai seot jing sik" (Jyutping: zung3 hap6 ngai6 seot6 jing4 sik1; Traditional Chinese: 綜合藝術形式) - a composite or synthetic art form.

"Sei gung ng faat" (Jyutping: sei3 gung1 ng5 faat3; Traditional Chinese: 四功五法) - the four skills and the five methods.

Cantonese opera also uses a different set of musical instruments. Some of these are used also in other oriental opera styles, such as Guzheng (Jyutping: Gu² zaang¹; Traditional Chinese: 古箏). Due to influence from Western opera, Cantonese opera has also started adopting European instruments starting from 19th century, such as violin. Cantonese opera is also noted for its use of makeup and headdresses on the actors' parts. Makeups in Cantonese opera are primarily white, and could vary in colors depending on the personalities of the characters, e.g., totally white makeups are often used to represent a character who is a backstabber. Headdresses are also used to represent the characters.

A female Cantonese opera singer  Headdresses used in Cantonese opera  Bangzi, a musical instrument used in Cantonese opera

Folk songs

The Cantonese language has a very rich collection of folk songs,^[25][26] many of which can be traced back to the ancient Baiyue people before Sinicization of the region. These folk songs are widely sung and broadcast in the Lingnan region even to this day. Broadly speaking, they can be divided into several categories:

"Saltwater songs" (Jyutping: Haam4 seoi2 go1; Traditional Chinese: 鹹水歌), which are popular around the Pearl River Delta, like this one;

"Rooster-selling rhythms" (Jyutping: Maai6 gai1 diu6; Traditional Chinese: 賣雞調), which are traditionally sung in rooster-worshiping rituals and said to be related to the bird-worshiping totems of the Baiyue people; An example would be this;

"Kerria songs" (Jyutping: Gou1 tong4 go1; Traditional Chinese: 高棠歌), which are often sung in weddings;

"North Canton folk songs" (Jyutping: Jyut6 bak1 man4 go1; Traditional Chinese: 粵北民歌), popular in northern Gwongdong;

"Cantonese rhythms" (Jyutping: Jyut6 diu1; Traditional Chinese: 粵調), which consists of various subtypes based on pitches and rhythms and include the Nam yum tradition. An example of Cantonese rhythms is this;

"Taishanese folk songs" (Jyutping: Toi4 saan1 man4 go1; Traditional Chinese: 台山民歌), which are sung in Taishanese, such as this.

The lyrics of Nam Hoi Chiu (Jyutping: Naam⁴ hoi² ciu⁴; Traditional Chinese: 南海潮, literally "Tides of the Southern Seas"), one of the best-known Cantonese folk songs, in Jyutping and Traditional Chinese characters respectively:

Hung⁴ haa⁴ mun⁵ saa² jyut⁶ tin¹ dong¹ po³ hiu²,

Zing¹ zing¹ jat⁶ soeng⁵ zeoi⁶ waa⁴ zoeng¹,

Hung⁴ min⁴ zi² ging¹ jau⁶ tim¹ cin¹ baak³ do³,

Jan¹ jan¹ maan⁶ sai³ zoeng⁶.

Ngo⁵ gin³ gong¹ ciu⁴ ji¹ jin⁴ teoi¹ hei² naa⁵ saan¹ baan²,

Koek³ si⁶ cyun¹ gwo³ juk⁶ jyu⁵ king⁴ lau⁴ san¹ leng³ ging²,

Ngo⁵ giu³ hoi² ciu⁴ bo¹ tou⁴ bat¹ jiu³ ze⁵ hung¹ jung²,

Gaak³ zyu⁶ jat¹ pin³ maan⁶ lei⁵ daai⁶ joeng⁴ gwai¹ sam¹ cit³.

紅霞滿灑粵天東破曉，

蒸蒸日上序華章，

紅棉紫荊又添千百朶，

欣欣萬世象。

我見江潮依然推起那舢板，

卻是穿過玉宇瓊樓新靚景，

我叫海潮波濤不要這洶湧，

隔住一片萬里大洋歸心切。

English translation:

Red clouds are overtaking the sky of Canton at daybreak,

The rising sun preludes an elegant prose;

The red cotton trees (symbolizing Canton City) and Hong Kong orchid trees (symbolizing Hong Kong) adds hundreds and thousands of blooms again,

What a prosperous picture to last forever!

I see river tides still pushing that "sampan",

But it rafts through a refreshing scene of edifices of jade.

I tell the ocean not to be so turbulent,

Across from thousands of miles of ocean I am homesick.

• A man singing Nam Hoi Chiu in Cantonese

Canto-pop

Canto-pop, also called HK-pop (Jyutping: Jyut⁶ jyu⁵ lau⁴ hang⁴ kuk¹; Traditional Chinese: 粵語流行曲), is a genre of Cantonese music made primarily in Hong Kong. It is a pop genre, with influence from jazz, rock and roll, rhythm and blues, electronic music, Western pop music and others. It is almost invariably sung in Cantonese, boasting an international fanbase across Southeast Asia, Gwongdong, Gwongsai, and (to a lesser extent) Korea and Japan.

Hong Kong cinema

Hong Kong cinema (Jyutping: Gong² caan² pin³; Traditional Chinese: 港產片) is the cinema of Hong Kong. For a long time, it had been one of the largest movie industries in the world and still has influence to this day. Being produced by Hong Kong, these movies have been primarily expressed using Cantonese, although films from certain period were in Mandarin due to geopolitical reasons. Their genres may vary, although comedy and martial arts movies are particularly prominent. This style of cinema has a cult following even in the West.

Literature

Lingnan school of poetry

The Cantonese language, with its 1000-year-long history, has a rich heritage of poetry and literature. The people of the Lingnan region have been composing poems since the 7th century. Zeung Gau Ling (Jyutping: Zoeng¹ gau² ling⁴; Traditional Chinese: 張九齡), one of the most prolific poets of the Tang Empire, was born and raised in what is now Siugwan, Gwongdong. He was said to be very intelligent since he was a child, and later became the empire's minister. 12 of his poems were listed as the 300 best poems from the Tang Empire. Since then, the Lingnan region has produced a steady stream of poets of varying levels of prominence. They were even given a label called "Lingnan school of poetry" (Jyutping: Ling⁵ naam⁴ si¹ paai³; Traditional Chinese: 嶺南詩派), renowned for preserving pronunciations from the Middle Chinese language and composing poems with imagery unique to Lingnan.^[27]

Like most regions in the Sinosphere, most of Lingnan's medieval literature was composed in classical Chinese (grammatically), rather than the people's spoken language. However, poets in the region have started composing poems using grammatically vernacular Cantonese since the 19th century, with the work of Cantonese poet Liu Yan Tou (Jyutping: Liu⁶ jan¹ tou⁴; Traditional Chinese: 廖恩燾) being the most prominent.^[28] Many of his works require Cantonese characters (characters specifically invented to write Cantonese) to write down.

This particular style of poetry has accumulated a large number of work. Starting from early 21st century, Cantonese people have started compiling works of past Cantonese poets in a literature called "All Cantonese Poems" (Jyutping: Cyun⁴ jyut⁶ si¹; Traditional Chinese: 全粵詩), which has spanned 30 volumes and yet to be finished.^[29]

Hong Kong literature

Hong Kong literature is the literature produced in Hong Kong. It started in early 20th century, where successive waves of migrants from mainland China (mostly of Cantonese origins) moved to the British-controlled city in their attempts to escape from the then war-torn China. At first, the educated among these migrants felt much resentment for having to stay in Hong Kong, a "land of Southern Barbarians". Many of their works revolved around expressing such sentiments. Starting from 1950s, however, Hong Kong developed in such a high pace that writers started writing about Hong Kong herself, with topics ranging from local current events and cultures. Nowadays, Hong Kong literature has been fully developed, with numerous prolific writers producing works such as proses and novels. Hong Kong literature is characterized by its heavy use of daily life scenarios - meaning that romance, humor, and satires are popular genres, although Hong Kong has also produced several prominent wuxia (Jyutping: Mou⁵ haap⁶; Traditional Chinese: 武俠) and science fiction writers. Prominent writers of Hong Kong literature include:

Amy Cheung, a writer of romance and proses; Notable works include "Women on the Breadfruit Tree" and "For Love or Money".

Chip Tsao, known for writing proses and articles that discuss cultures (especially Western ones).

Jin Yong, a renowned wuxia writer; Several of his novels have been made into movies and animations.

Ni Kuang, a science fiction writer; He also has had several of his novels made into movies.

Cantonese literature

Like the rest of East Asia (including Korea and Vietnam), Lingnan traditionally wrote in classical Chinese, rather than the peoples' spoken languages. Despite the attempt to create vernacular forms of writing in late 19th century, the Greater China region still tend to use standard written Chinese, a writing system based on Mandarin, not Cantonese (i.e., the peoples' language in the Lingnan region), in writing. Hong Kong is no exception. The vast majority of works of Hong Kong literature were composed in standard written Chinese. However, starting from 21st century, Hong Kong, as a cultural center in the region, has developed a complete writing system for Cantonese.^[30] Some writers in the city now advocate composing literature in written Cantonese.^[31]

Cuisine

The Lingnan region has a special geographical environment different from those of other Han Chinese regions. With its subtropical temperature and high humidity, it has a tendency to have good harvests whether in farming or fishing. As a result, cuisine in Lingnan could use many different food materials. The New Comments on Gwongdong (廣東新語), written by Wat Dai Gwan, said: 天下所有食貨，粵東幾盡有之，粵東所有之食貨，天下未必盡也。(Classical Chinese: Every ingredient that the world has, Gwongdong has it; Every ingredient that Gwongdong has, the rest of the world may not have it). Today, the cuisine of the Lingnan region has fully developed into a distinct school of cuisine on its own.

Cantonese cuisine

Cantonese cuisine (Jyutping: Gwong² dung¹ coi³; Traditional Chinese: 廣東菜) is the style of cuisine unique to the Cantonese people. Canton City, the cultural capital of the region, has long been a trading port. This resulted in many imported ingredients are used in Cantonese cuisine. Besides pork, beef and chicken, Cantonese cuisine uses nearly every edible meat, including offal, chicken feet, duck's tongue, snakes, and snails. However, lamb and goat are rare. There is also a heavy use of seafood, due to proximity to the sea. This style of cuisine uses many cooking methods, with steaming and stir-frying being the most popular, largely due to relative convenience.

Traditionally, Cantonese cooks prefer their dishes to have well-balanced flavor and not be greasy. Spices are used in modest amounts at best to preserve the flavors of the primary ingredients, which in turn are expected to be at the peak of their freshness and quality. Cantonese cooking tends not to use fresh herbs, contrary to Sichuan, European, Thai and Vietnamese cuisines, with garlic chives and coriander leaves being the notable exceptions. Lastly, due to the hot and humid weather of Lingnan and the traditional beliefs that soups can "remove hotness" (Jyutping: Cing¹ jit⁶ hei³; Traditional Chinese: 清熱氣), Cantonese cuisine tends to have liberal use of soups.

Dishes in Cantonese cuisine
Fried bread (Traditional Chinese: 油炸鬼), shared by most Han Chinese groups, is common in breakfast.  Za leung (Traditional Chinese: 炸兩), another popular breakfast dish, is distinctively Cantonese.  Congee with lean pork and century egg (Traditional Chinese: 皮蛋瘦肉粥) is also a breakfast staple.

BBQ pork is a popular delicacy, with many variants in Cantonese cuisine.  Deep-fried chicken with sweet and sour sauce  Steamed oysters

Roosted pigeons (Traditional Chinese: 燒乳鴿)  Beef chow fun (Traditional Chinese: 牛肉炒河) is a staple in Cantonese cuisine.  White cut chicken (Traditional Chinese: 白切雞), one of the finest dishes in Cantonese cuisine.

Lou fo tong

Lou fo tong (Jyutping: Lou⁵ fo² tong¹; Traditional Chinese: 老火湯, literally "old fire soup") is a common cuisine among common people in Lingnan. It refers to a set of clear broth made by simmering meat and other ingredients over a low heat for several hours. These ingredients may include meats, vegetables, seafood, fruits, and medicinal herbs. It originated in late 17th century to early 18th century. At that time, Gwongdong had difficulty extracting coals, which resulted in Cantonese people having to rely on firewood for fuels. This caused them to avoid using large fire (which cooking techniques such as stir-frying require) and instead use low heat to simmer their foods - resulting in lou fo tong. Nowadays, lou fo tong has been a fully developed style of soups and become an integral part of Cantonese cuisine.

Tea culture

Yum cha (Jyutping: Jam² caa⁴; Traditional Chinese: 飲茶, literally "to drink tea") is a subculture within Cantonese cuisine. While it can be found in some other Han Chinese groups, it is far more prevalent among Cantonese people, and also overseas Chinese, historically most of whom have been of Cantonese ancestry. It has a specific set of terminologies among Cantonese. For instance, "to invite someone to go yum cha" is basically a way of expressing friendship. Traditionally, Cantonese could go yum cha whether in the morning, afternoon, or evening. Morning tea is typically dominated by the elderly, although many younger people often accompany their grandparents for morning tea as a way of showing respect and affection. Cantonese teahouses also have a set of food specifically designed for morning tea. Afternoon tea is similar in most aspects, except it is more common for entire families to go yum cha at this hour. Evening tea tends to attract large gatherings - and the foods ordered in such hours also tend to be more sophisticated.

Regardless of hours, yum cha starts with the diners ordering a specific set of teas they would like to drink. After that, the waiters would bring the teas, which the diners will be drinking while enjoying the foods and engaging in all sorts of social interactions. Even after they have finished the foods, the diners still tend to stay for half an hour or so chatting.

Dim sum

Dim sum (Jyutping: Dim² sam¹; Traditional Chinese: 點心, literally "to touch the heart") is a characteristic of Cantonese cuisine, usually but not only eaten during yum cha. They are a set of small bite-sized portions of food served in small steam baskets or on small plates. In Cantonese teahouses, carts with dim sum will be moving around the restaurant for the diners to order from without having to leave their seats. In Cantonese traditions, the diners will often order dim sum at will while chatting and enjoying the endless serving of teas.

In major cities in Lingnan, such as Canton City and Hong Kong, culinary schools usually offer courses specifically to train the preparation of dim sum.

Medicinal herb teas

Medicinal herb teas (Jyutping: Leong⁴ caa⁴; Traditional Chinese: 涼茶, literally "cool tea") is a kind of infusion made from traditional medicinal herbs, invented in Canton City and, due to the efforts of the governments of Gwongdong, Hong Kong, and Macau, now considered an intangible cultural heritage by the Chinese government. They are made from boiling medicinal herbs and then cooling them (thus the name "cool tea") before drinking. There are many types of such herb teas, depending on the herbs used. They are particularly popular in the Lingnan region due to the region's hot, subtropical climate and the traditional belief that such teas could "remove hotness". In major cities such as Canton City and Hong Kong, "cool tea shops" specialized in selling herb teas are common sights.

Tong sui

Tong sui (Jyutping: Tong⁴ seoi²; Cantonese: 糖水, literally "sugar water") is a characteristic dessert of Cantonese cuisine. It is a set of sweet, warm soups or custards served as dessert at the end of a meal in Cantonese traditions. It is also common for Cantonese people to leave home to get some tong sui with a group of friends or family late in the evening, an activity they call "siu ye" (Jyutping: Siu¹ je⁶; Traditional Chinese: 消夜, literally to "kill the night"). Choices of types of tong sui vary depending on the season: hot black sesame soup, for instance, tends to be favored in winter.

Brewery

Lingnan is also known for producing some notable liquors,^[32] mostly of the rice wine variety. The brewery culture of Lingnan can be traced all the way back to the kingdom of Nanyue, who apparently possessed containers of liquors. In late 11th century, Sou Sik (Jyutping: Sou¹ sik¹; Traditional Chinese: 蘇軾), one of the prominent poets and then minister of the Song Empire, got demoted and reassigned to Lingnan. Also well known for his love for cuisine, Su Shi wrote a book on brewery not long after his reassignment to Lingnan, called "Sou Sik's Words on Liquors" (Jyutping: Dung¹ bo¹ zau² ging¹; Traditional Chinese: 東坡酒經), which became Lingnan's first book on brewery.

Nowadays, rice wines produced in Lingnan are sold across China and other Asian countries, with "Yuk Bing Siu" (Jyutping: Juk⁶ bing¹ siu¹; Traditional Chinese: 玉冰燒; in Cantonese, it could be interpreted as "The burning cold jade") being particularly renowned.

Cantonese food culture
Cantonese often run seafood restaurants by the sea, using fish tanks such as those pictured to keep the seafood. It is a common sight in Lingnan.  Cantonese also like Siu lap (Jyutping: Siu1 laap6; Traditional Chinese: 燒臘, literally "roosted delicacies").  Dried eggs are commonly used in Cantonese cuisine.  Bean curd tong sui

Cantonese-style hotpots typically involves much seafood. The one pictured, for instance, includes solenidae, crabs, prawns and fishballs.  Claypot rice is also a delicacy in Cantonese cuisine.  Bird's nest soups are popularly believed to be beneficial for health.  Cantonese also have their own style of mooncake.

Traditional celebrations

Cantonese people also have a distinct set of traditional celebrations.^[33] Many of these celebrations are shared by other Han Chinese groups and even other East Asians. The Ghost Festival, for instance, is observed by Japanese and many Southeast Asians as well. However, Cantonese often have their own unique customs. For instance, New Year flower fairs are seen only among Cantonese and certain overseas Chinese communities of Cantonese ancestry. The Lingnan region also has certain celebrations unique to her.

Cantonese New Year customs

• New Year flower fair
• Cantonese lion dance
• Nin lai

Han Chinese celebrations

• Lunar New Year
• First Full Moon Festival (also observed by Japanese, Koreans and Vietnamese)
• Buddha's Birthday
• Qingming Festival
• Dragon Boat Festival
• Kuan Yin's Birthday
• Ghost Festival (also observed by Japanese, Koreans and Vietnamese)
• Mid-Autumn Festival (also observed by Vietnamese)
• Double Ninth Festival

Cantonese-specific celebrations

• Gwongdong Festival of Joy (Jyutping: Gwong² dung¹ fun¹ lok⁶ zit³; Traditional Chinese: 廣東歡樂節);
• Canton Temple Gathering (Jyutping: Gwong² fu² miu² wui⁶; Traditional Chinese: 廣府廟會);
• Futsan Autumn (Jyutping: Fat² saan¹ cau¹ sik⁶; Traditional Chinese: 佛山秋色);
• Self-selling Festival (Jyutping: Maai⁶ san¹ zit³; Traditional Chinese: 賣身節);
• Canton Lotus Festival (Jyutping: Joeng⁴ sing⁵ ho⁴ faa¹ zit³; Traditional Chinese: 羊城荷花節);
• Kite Festival (Jyutping: Fung¹ zang¹ zit³; Traditional Chinese: 風箏節);
• Flying Colors Parade (Jyutping: Piu¹ sik¹ ceon⁴ jau⁴; Traditional Chinese: 飄色巡遊);
• Cheung Chau Bun Festival (observed primarily by Hongkongese)
• The Birthday of Che Kung (observed primarily by Hongkongese)
• Hong Kong Well-wishing Festival (observed primarily by Hongkongese)
• Hung Shing's Birthday
• Mazu's Birthday
• Xuanwu's Birthday
• Birthday of Tam Kung
• Lady Sin's Birthday

Martial arts

Cantonese people also have their own schools of kung fu.^[34] Originally disorganized, the fighting techniques of Cantonese people were grouped into different schools between 18th to 19th century. At that time, due to ineptitude of the Qing Empire's government, pirates and bandits were rampant in the empire's fringe regions such as Lingnan. This resulted in Cantonese starting to want to protect themselves, and thus the proliferation of martial arts learning. It was when the Cantonese people organized their fighting techniques into schools, forming the martial arts schools seen among Cantonese today.^[35] Martial arts folk heroes from that period, such as Wong Fei Hung, are now popular topics of Cantonese films.

Overall, Cantonese martial arts are known for emphasis on striking in various different ways using punches while remaining a steady lower body posture. They often shout battle cries (for the purpose of unnerving the opponents), rarely jump, kick or do any elaborated large movements - a very pragmatic style focused on striking.^[36] Kung fu schools invented and primarily practiced by Cantonese people include, but are not limited to:

Gwongdong schools

• Hung Ga
• Choy gar
• Mok Gar
• Wing Chun
• Choy Li Fut
• Weng Chun
• Chow Gar

Philosophy

Lingnan also has her own schools of Neo-Confucianism. Neo-Confucianism is a set of philosophy started in late 10th century and primarily concerned with reinterpretation of Confucianism into new thought systems that include humanism and rationalism. Since 12th century, there have been a steady stream of Cantonese Neo-Confucian thinkers, resulting in several schools of thoughts.

Lingnan school of Neo-Confucianism

Lingnan school of Neo-Confucianism (Jyutping: Ling⁵ naam⁴ hok⁶ paai³; Traditional Chinese: 嶺南學派) is the most prominent of schools of Neo-Confucian thoughts in Lingnan. It was started by a group of Cantonese Confucian scholars in 15th century, led by Chan Bak Sa.^[37] Chan's writings have now been compiled in a document titled "Chen Baisha's Collection" (Jyutping: Can⁴ hin³ zoeng¹ zaap⁶; Traditional Chinese: 陳獻章集).^[38] In this series of writings, Chan expressed his opinions of Confucius's thoughts and reinterpreted them through the lens of Mahayana Buddhism and Taoism. His main ideas include: (1) the belief that, for all of the world's non-human beings, their values depend primarily on the subjectivity of humans; He argued that values are given solely by humans, and without humans' subjective thoughts, all of the world's non-human entities would be meaningless; (2) the belief that doubt is the source of enlightenment; Chan once said that "學貴知疑，小疑則小進，大疑則大進，疑者覺悟之機也。" (Classical Chinese: "The most valuable thing about learning is to know doubt. With small doubt comes small progress. With great doubt comes great progress. Doubt is the opportunity of enlightenment."); (3) the advocate for use of certain Buddhist and Taoist rituals as a way of self-training; For instance, he suggested that Buddhist meditation is a good way to train the mind, though some of Chan's disciples were not very fond of this particular idea. As a whole, this style of thoughts has a strong theme of humanism and individualism. It also appeared to have been influenced by Western style of thoughts in its belief in more rational ways of thinking than older Confucian thoughts.

Religions

Traditionally, the Lingnan region is dominated by two religions - Mahayana Buddhism and Taoism.

Mahayana Buddhism

Compared to worshiping Confucius, Cantonese are traditionally more inclined towards worshiping Buddha or Bodhisattva. In particular, they are inclined towards the Mahayana sect of Buddhism. The word "Mahayana" means "Great vehicle" in Sanskrit. It advocates that believers should have compassion for all living beings and that becoming a "Bodhisattva" - a compassionate soul who abstains from Nirvana in order to spend more time in this world helping other beings reach enlightenment - is the ideal states believers should strive to attain. Mahayana Buddhist temples are a common sight in the Lingnan region, and Buddhist celebrations such as Buddha's birthday and Kuan Yin's Birthday are, traditionally, large events in the region.

Taoism

Taoism originated in the Zhougyuan region in around 500 BCE. Now it has influences across Southeast Asia, Vietnam, Korea, and Japan. The core belief is that humans should follow "Tao" (Jyutping: Dou⁶; Traditional Chinese: 道, literally "the way") to perfect themselves. By attaining perfection, humans could gain a lot of supernatural powers, such as flight and controlling weathers, becoming "higher beings" (Jyutping: San⁴ sin¹; Traditional Chinese: 神仙) as a result. These higher beings are typically objects of worship in Taoism. Believers pray to these higher beings and give offerings in order to gain their supernatural protection.

In Taoism, Lingnan also has its own characteristics. For instance, Cantonese are, traditionally, worshipers of Wong Tai Sin. They are also strongly inclined to worship sea deities such as Hung Shing and Mazu - reflecting the Cantonese tradition of doing trades overseas.

Others

Cantonese have a long tradition of doing commerce with the outside world, including with Western Europeans starting from 15th century, which results in Christianity (mostly the Catholic and Protestant variants) gaining influence in the region. Earlier than that, Cantonese also did trade with Arabs and Persians, thus the presence of Islam in Lingnan. Also, in the earlier history of Hong Kong, many South Asians migrated to the then British-controlled city to seek job opportunities, resulting in the presence of their religions such as Hinduism, Sikhism, and Zoroastrianism. In sum, the Lingnan region shows considerable diversity when it comes to religions.

Other folklore

Lady Sin culture

Lady Sin (Jyutping: Sin² fu¹ jan⁴; Traditional Chinese: 冼夫人) is a well-known historical figure among Cantonese and an important figure in Cantonese folklore. Widely hailed as "the holy mother of Lingnan", she was a skilled military leader among 6th century Baiyue people. She helped the Sui Empire contain the mutiny of Baiyue tribes and start the Sinicization of the region, indirectly helping Lingnan evolve into her current form. There are many temples dedicated to her in the Lingnan region, resulting in her becoming a deity-like figure.

Yun Sung Wun culture

Yun Sung Wun (Jyutping: Jyun⁴ sung⁴ wun⁶; Traditional Chinese: 袁崇煥) is another prominent Cantonese historic figure. Born in late 16th century, he was a general to the Ming Empire, known for participating in campaigns against the then invading Manchu people and several military engineering programs. He was later falsely accused of treason under the Chongzhen Emperor and executed. However, he still remained a heroic figure to many Cantonese. Nowadays, Cantonese have built many monuments for him across Lingnan, and his catchphrase "掉哪媽，頂硬上！" (Jyutping: Diu⁶ naa⁵ maa¹ ding² ngaang⁶ soeng⁵; literally "fuck his mom, hit it hard!"; Note: this is Cantonese profanity), which he said whenever he was facing an enemy force, is common knowledge among Cantonese people. The Chinese government's removal of this phrase from one of his monuments even sparked a massive protest by Cantonese.

Cantonese merchants

Cantonese merchants (Jyutping: Jyut⁶ soeng¹; Traditional Chinese: 粵商) are merchants of Cantonese origins. In the past two thousands years, Lingnan (especially the area around Canton City) has spent much of the time being the Chinese Empire's main port, resulting in a strong commercial tradition, formation of renowned Cantonese trade organizations such as the Canton Factories, and even Cantonese developing their own way of doing businesses:^[39] Cantonese merchants are known for being pragmatic, preference for actual profits over fame, and avoidance of political matters and display of wealth. Nowadays, Cantonese people still inherit this commercial culture. Major Lingnan cities such as Canton City, Foshan, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong are regional (if not international) commercial centers. Hong Kong, for instance, scored 748 in 2016's Global Financial Centres Index, ranking fourth in the world and just below London and New York city.^[40]

Cultural symbols

Symbols of Lingnan
Red cotton flowers  Canton City's sampan-filled harbor  Hong Kong orchid

Red cotton flower

Red cotton flower is a species of flower common in Lingnan, and considered to symbolize Cantonese culture. It was said that in 200 BCE, Ziu To (Jyutping: Ziu⁶ to⁴; Traditional Chinese: 趙陀), the king of the Nanyue kingdom, once gave a red cotton tree to the Han Empire to express respect - meaning that at that time, the people of Lingnan already used red cotton flowers to represent their homeland. Nowadays, red cotton flower frequently appears in the poems and songs composed by Cantonese people. The folk song Nam Hoi Chiu, for instance, mentioned "紅綿" (Traditional Chinese for "red cotton flower") to represent Cantonese people. Red cotton flower is currently the official symbol of Canton City, the cultural center of Lingnan.

Sampan

Sampan is a type of flat-bottom boat frequently seen in the shores of South China Sea, used by Cantonese, Hoklo, Vietnamese, and many other Southeast Asian ethnic groups. They are usually three to four meters in length and have small shelters on broad. This makes it possible for fishermen to live on their own sampans. In major Cantonese cities such as Canton City and Hong Kong, it is a common sight to see crowds of sampans docked at the harbor.^[41] Thus, the image of sampan-filled harbor is strongly associated with Lingnan. Sampans also regularly show up in films and songs made by Cantonese.

Hong Kong orchid

The Hong Kong orchid is arguably the symbol of Hong Kong. It was discovered in 1880, and identified as a new species in 1908. It became Hong Kong's official symbol in 1965 and appears on the flag of Hong Kong after the 1997 handover. Since Hong Kong produced a large number of films, pop songs and soap operas to promote Cantonese culture, Hong Kong, and by extension the Hong Kong orchid, is widely held to be the symbol of modern Cantonese culture. Nam Hoi Chiu, for instance, also mentioned "紫荊" (Traditional Chinese for "Hong Kong orchid") to symbolize Cantonese people.

The Golden Bauhinia Square has a giant statue of the Hong Kong orchid and is one of the major landmarks of Hong Kong.

See also

• Index of Cantonese-related articles
• The Legend of Five Goats
• Cantonese Wikipedia
• CCTV Nanhai Studio

Cantonese customs

• Cantonese wedding
• Cantonese pre-wedding customs
• Villain hitting

Related cultures

• Culture of Hong Kong
• Culture of Macau
• Taishanese culture
• Hakka culture
• Teochew culture
• Hokkien culture
• Culture of Jiangxi
• Culture of Hunan
• Vietnamese culture
• Zhuang culture
• Chinese culture
• Chinese architecture
• Singaporean architecture

Others

• Lingnan
• Lingnan University
• Shophouse
• Baiyue
• Stone dogs in the Leizhou Peninsula

References