A little bit of China

• Year of the Monkey festivities
• So much to see, do, taste to welcome Year of the Monkey

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Evelyn Chang holds up a head used in Chinese lion dances. Chang, an assistant vice president at Hawaii National Bank's Chinatown branch, has assembled a display of cultural items to formally mark the Chinese New Year. The public is invited to view the display. Photos by Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

Tong go, sugar-coated fruits and vegetables, can be found in Chinatown, and at neighborhood bakeries and eateries specializing in Chinese fare.

Narcissus bulbs are often displayed at home and are a symbol of purity.

Chang, an assistant vice president at Hawaii National Bank's main branch in Chinatown (45 N. King St.), is a fount of Chinese New Year knowledge.

"I learned it from my mother and my grandmother," she said.

Over the years, she has become a seasonal magnet for thousands of school children throughout O'ahu who come to see her wares and learn about Chinese culture.

For more than 20 of her 33 years at Hawaii National Bank, Chang has assembled an enlightening display of Chinese cultural symbols and items to formally mark Chinese New Year. Sure, there are larger events — such as last Saturday's Night in Chinatown and this weekend's two-day Chinese New Year's celebration at the Chinatown Cultural Plaza — but the bank has quietly built a devoted and loyal following. By the time the display is dismantled, as many as 3,000 will have made arrangements to see the artifacts — and that doesn't include the work-a-day bank patrons.

"I get reservations starting in August," Chang said of the flood of visitors, mostly school children.

"When visitors also shop in Chinatown and ask where they can get information (about Chinese New Year), everyone sends them over to me at the bank," said Chang.

The early arrival of the Year of the Monkey put a crimp in her plans to display quince, a plant with yellowish fruit used to make preserves. "I'm told they blossom in February," she said.

Not that the display is lacking.

Chang buys an actual rice plant, available if you know where to go, to teach children the importance of rice in the Chinese diet; and also bamboo, to illustrate the durability and flexibility of the plant.

"It's a 20-minute visit, but the kids learn a lot — and because a lot of the information is new to them, they are quite surprised," said Chang.

One morning last year, she welcomed 600 people. "We take as many as we can, squeezing them in so no one gets disappointed," she said.

The attraction is never advertised, but Chang knows that word of mouth has spread like firecracker smoke — penetrating communities as distant and diverse as Kahala and Kapolei — and she's on the radar among those who know.

The tradition of putting up the Kung Hee Fat Choy artifacts started a couple of decades ago, when Sung Hung Wong, the mayor of Chinatown, bemoaned the lack of cultural pride in Chinatown and challenged merchants to participate in a table-display contest.

"We were second place the first year we participated," said Chang. "I went home that year and told my mom, 'We're going to win first prize next year.' And we did."

The contest was discontinued after the other participants realized they couldn't compete with Chang's displays.

"We now have a collection of items we bring out every year," she said. There may be some variations, depending on availability. Ancient Chinese musical instruments are displayed, along with a hanging robe and three Chinese lion heads, including one wee-sized for children.

"It's a challenge for me to gather these things, and I used to borrow some items," she said. She quit borrowing when someone stole an artifact off the display table.

She said she doesn't really need to vary the attraction, because her audience — bank customers excluded — changes every year.

Chang can rattle off bits about jai (meatless monks' food), gao (a pudding laced with brown sugar and coconut) and li see (ceremonial red bags or folded paper containing coins or dollar bills and commonly given to physical culture clubs performing the Chinese lion dance, for good luck).

Placards on her display explain tong go, the sugar-coated fruits and vegetables that are popular even among non-Chinese celebrants.

She particularly loves her tale about rice. "I ask the children if they've seen a rice plant, and the heads all shake 'no,' " said Chang. "So I show them a plant, and tell them the importance of rice, particularly in the old days, when the rice was eaten, the husks saved to mix into clay to build homes, the stalks used as fuel for cooking. You can hear a pin drop."

She adds a local touch: "One rice plant, when you take off all the rice, doesn't provide enough rice for a musubi. So try not to waste rice."

Each child on a school visit also is enlightened on the sexes of the traditional pair of Chinese lions at the Hawaii National Bank entrance.

"Did you know there's a difference between a male and a female lion?" she asks the students (a teacher occasionally fidgets at this point). "The male has a ball under its paw; the female has a cub that's playing," she tells them.

End of harmless sex lesson.

And each child leaves with a fortune cookie.

Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com, 525-8067 or fax 525-8055.

Year of the Monkey festivities

Celebrate the Year of the Monkey at these events through the month:

Thousands are expected at the two-day Chinese New Year celebrations in Chinatown this weekend, beginning today with lion dances by five Chinese martial-arts clubs, 5-11 p.m. at the Chinese Cultural Plaza. Festivities continue noon-11 p.m. Saturday at the cultural plaza, with food booths, bazaar and entertainment. Free admission. 533-3181.

A Chinese lion will visit the Farmers' Market at Kapi'olani Community College at 9 a.m. Saturday. And, chef Sam Choy will be at the market as his Diamond Head restaurant features bowls of noodles topped with chicken or char siu stir-fry at the breakfast booth. Admission is free. Market hours at 8 a.m.-noon.

A lion dance and other festivities will ring in the year from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Ward Warehouse. Admission is free. 591-8411.

The Outrigger Waikiki (across from the International Marketplace) celebrates the new year "Waikiki Style," 1-4 p.m. Sunday. Among the attractions: Chinese New Year's foods, calligraphy, lucky bamboo plants, fashion show, firecrackers and lion dances. Free admission.

Yen King Chinese Restaurant at Kahala Mall will host a lion dance, with firecrackers, at 7 p.m. Thursday. Free. 732-5505.

Traditional lion dances, fortune cookies and firecrackers will be part of the Market City Shopping Center event, 10 a.m. Jan. 24 at the lower-level parking lot. The lions will visit the mall merchants after a blessing. Free admission. 734-0282.

The 55th Coronation Ball for the 2004 Narcissus queen and her court takes place Jan. 24 at Hilton Hawaiian Village Coral Ballroom. No-host cocktails at 5 p.m.; dinner, program and coronation 6-9 p.m.; dancing with Star Pointe until 11 p.m. Program includes a bartending exhibition by Jackie's Kitchen, informal modeling by Shanghai Tang and a performance by Michael Schuster, puppeteer/storyteller. Hosted by Pamela Young and Gary Sprinkle. Tickets: $55; tables of 10 are $550. 533-3181.

The Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center in Waikiki welcomes the new year with a two-day celebration. The schedule:

Jan. 30: 6 p.m., Fountain Courtyard, lion dance with firecrackers; lions proceed through the shopping center.

Jan. 31: 4 p.m., martial-arts demonstration; 5 p.m., Chinese folk dances; 5:45 p.m., Narcissus queen and court appearance; 6:15 p.m., classical Chinese dances, martial arts; 7 p.m., lion dance on pedestals.

Admission is free. 922-2299.

So much to see, do, taste to welcome Year of the Monkey

Kama'aina and visitors flocked to the Night in Chinatown event last weekend. More festivities are planned for the coming weeks. Monkey tidbits Year of the Monkey: Starts Thursday, ends Feb. 8, 2005. Character traits: Agile, versatile, creative, persuasive; fun-loving, cheerful, clever, energetic; intellectual, good at assessing risk, undaunted by failure; as a partner, reliable, adaptable and brainy, rarely failing in mission. Monkey years: 1908, 1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028. Marriage compatibility: Rat and Dragon are best; avoid Tiger or Rabbit. Famous monkeys: Will Smith, Julius Caesar, Lord Byron, Elizabeth Taylor, Harry S. Truman, Jennifer Aniston, James Stewart, David Copperfield, Tom Hanks, Bette Davis, Federico Fellini, Harry Houdini, Johnny Cash, Gladys Knight, Celine Dion, Diana Ross, Charles Dickens, Ian Fleming, Pope John Paul II, Lyndon B. Johnson, Lisa Marie Presley, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera and Venus Williams.

1 — Watch a Chinese lion dance. The Chinese New Year celebration this weekend at the Chinatown Cultural Plaza will feature the prancing lions, so have dollar bills to "feed" the lion for good luck. Caution for those who may be alarmed by the drumbeats or the noise (and smoke) from accompanying firecrackers — it's all a cultural thing. Lion dances will be from 6:30 p.m. today only, starting at the Chinese Chamber of Commerce offices at 42 N. King St., proceeding through the Chinatown area and finishing at 7:30 p.m. at the Chinatown Cultural Plaza. Five organizations will participate: The Chinese Physical Cultural Association, Lung Kong Physical Cultural Club, Kuo Min Tang Physical Culture Club, Gee Yung Physical Culture Club and the Chinese Lion Dance Group.

2 — Acquire narcissus bulbs. Readily available in Chinatown shops and some markets and florists, the bulbs are commonly displayed at home and are a symbol of purity.

3 — Give or receive li see. Money — coins or folded bills (of any denomination) — is wrapped in a ceremonial red paper bag (for sale at Chinatown shops). The offering can be given to the Chinese lion dancers, or elders can present the gift to the young, to enhance luck and promote prosperity.

4 — Learn about the cultural celebration. A good starting point is the Hawaii National Bank (main branch in Chinatown, 45 N. King St.), where a lavish display is set up each year (see cover story).

5 — Eat ethnic. Traditional fare includes jai, which is monks' food, a porridge-like stew that traditionally excludes meat but includes veggies, often with lotus seed (to signify the birth of male offspring); gao, a pudding-like dessert staple made from brown sugar and coconut in wheel-shaped mounds usually festooned with a red date in the center); Chinese cakes and almond cookies, plus sugar-coated confections (fruits such as pineapple and coconut, vegetables such as squash and carrots, nuts such as peanuts and chestnuts), available year-round but fashionable during Chinese New Year's; on sale at the Chinatown or neighborhood bakeries and eateries specializing in Chinese fare.

6 — Enhance your luck. Buy a fei chun, a good-luck message (ranging from good health to good fortune, with many other variants), often written in gold or black calligraphy, painted or printed on red. Vendors sell them on King Street, fronting the Bank of Hawaii; Chinatown merchants also host a calligrapher or have a stock of pre-printed messages.

7 — Don the monkey on your back or chest. Year of the Monkey T-shirts are abundant in Chinatown. It's particularly appropriate for those born in the years of the monkey (see story at right).

8 — Absorb the sights, sounds and scents of Chinatown. If you rarely visit Maunakea Street and environs (King Street, Hotel Street, Kekaulike Mall, the Chinatown Cultural Plaza fronting Nu'uanu Stream and bounded by Beretania, Maunakea and Kukui streets), this is the season to go. A beehive of activity can be experienced: Visit herb shops to get a remedy for the next flu season; markets, florists and merchants hawk everything from good-luck bamboo to statuary stuff; buy roast pork (with the 'ono crispy skin), a whole roast duck, slabs of freshly cooked char siu or ribs; mounds of dim sum and manapua — and those yummy custard desserts — are available, fresh from the steamers; buy fresh chow fun and other noodle delights from the noodle factory; and why not check out the jade jewelry, too.

9 — Shop for clothes. A few merchants sell imported Chinese gowns, tops and other garb, including fashionable jackets with frog buttons in both female and male versions at a fraction of the price tags at Shanghai Tang.

10 — Send a Year of the Monkey stamp. Completing a 12-year series, Island artist Clarence Lee's monkey stamp — with the Chinese paper-cutting design — is available at post offices; if sold out, be patient — additional supplies will be coming.