The Year of the Monkey
Lunar new year crosses cultural boundaries

By Tracy Held

Monkeys around the world celebrated along with rats, dragons, roosters and the other animals of the Chinese Zodiac on the first day of the Lunar New Year on Jan. 22.

TONY CASTELLANO / GUARDSMAN City College student, Janet Siharath, plays drums with the Chung Ngai Dance Troupe in the Chinese New Year Parade on Feb. 7.

According to the website ChineseAstrology.com this is the "Year of the Wood/Green Monkey," or Jia Shen, "the year of movement, discussion and the exchange of ideas." Each year of the lunar calendar is characterized by one of twelve animals. The Lunar New Year begins with the first new moon and ends 15 days later. Traditionally this is a time to be with family and to honor heaven, earth and the gods of the household. The proper rehearsal of traditions, superstitions and religious rituals determines the likelihood of families enjoying either prosperity or suffering for the rest of the year.

Tibetans, Vietnamese, Koreans and other cultures celebrate the Lunar New Year with a multitude of traditions as diverse as Asia itself.

Tibet--Losar

Losar begins with the first spring thaw on the high plains of Tibet, during the February or March new moon. As with other Asian cultures, preparing for the new year is as important as celebrating it. Before the year ends, debts must be repaid, homes are cleaned and new clothes are purchased. In Tibet the number nine is especially lucky. Families prepare gutuk, "the ninth soup." It has nine ingredients and everyone must eat at least nine bowls. Gutuk is made with special dumplings containing surprise ingredients that Vietnam-- Têt Nguyen Dan

The Vietnamese consider Têt to be the equivalent of New Year's, Independence Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas combined. Homes are decorated with Cay Neu (small bamboo trees), Hoa Mai (a yellow blossom), and red banners. Another part of the festivities is Le Tru Tich, an intentionally loud celebration meant to drive out the spirits of the old year. Têt is also celebrated by Cambodians, Laotians, Hmongs and other Southeast Asian communities in the United States.

Korea--Sol

Koreans celebrate with a traditional breakfast of mandu dumplings or rice cake soup called ttok kuk. The soup is made with a thick beef broth and thinly sliced white rice cakes. According to tradition, one must eat ttok kuk on Sol to become a year older. Jishin Balpgi is the equivalent of the Lantern Festival in China, a ritual that cleanses the village and chases away evil spirits.

City College student Herman Yee captured the significance of the Lunar New Year. "As long as I see my relatives and reflect on the last year and make goals for the new year, that's what's important."

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Tenants Remain Uncertain About Future
Revised contract with housing developers includes residents in decision-making

BY LUCAS MUNCAL

City College is moving forward with plans to build a new Chinatown campus on the Fong Building site, leaving its soon to be displaced tenants uncertain about their future housing.

PHOTO BY COLLEEN CUMMINGS

A lawsuit filed against City College by the Asian Law Caucus on behalf of the Fong Building Residents Association seeks to guarantee replacement housing for the tenants.

The Fong Building, located at 53 Columbus St., houses about 50 residents, many of whom are elderly Chinese immigrants living on fixed incomes. The building is slated to be demolished to make way for a future 140,000 square-foot City College campus.

"When they first bought the building in '98, I was crying," said Qing Xiu Wu, a resident of the Fong Building, speaking in Cantonese through a translator. "Where am I going to live? I asked them."

City College has partnered with nonprofit housing developer Asian, Inc. to build affordable replacement housing three blocks away on Sacramento Street.

"The tenants will receive first preference," assured Michael Chan, housing developer for Asian, Inc. "We are committed to working this through to the benefit of the tenants."

According to Chan the tenants are scheduled to move out in mid-2005 and interim housing will be needed. Replacement housing isn't expected to be completed until sometime in 2006.

"All of us are so confused and stressed about the situation, sometimes I have to walk outside so I can focus on something else," said Wu.

Susan Zhau, another tenant of the Fong Building shares Wu's uncertainty. "There are too many questions right now to feel secure," said Zhau speaking in Cantonese through a translator. "We do not know what it means; first preference. We are not guaranteed that we can live there."

Concerns of the Fong Building Resident Association were vocalized in a Dec. 16 Board of Trustees meeting. The Trustees later changed the language of the contract with Asian, Inc. to "include the participation of tenants of the Fong Building in the construction of the housing".

"For twenty years, the Chinese-American community has fought for a Chinatown/North Beach campus," said Lawrence Wong, Board of Trustees Vice President at the meeting. "We will do everything within our power to make sure that there will be housing for the tenants of the Fong Building."

The issue will be addressed at the Board of Trustees Meeting on Feb. 26.

Bonnie Shiu of the Asian Law Caucus listens to the concerns of Gong Li (left), Qing Xiu Wu and Kin Tak Cha (bottom), three of the 50 residents that must move by 2005.

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