Reviving Qixi: Singapore’s Forgotten Seven Sisters Festival
Hardcover | 210 mm x 297 mm | 236 full-colour pages |
by Renforest Publishing (an imprint of Bridging Generations Pte Ltd)
This is the first comprehensive bilingual book about the Qixi Festival in Singapore. Besides looking into ancient Chinese texts to trace the origins and developments of the festival, it examines the customs brought over by early Chinese women migrants to Singapore since the mid-19th century. This book honours our foremothers, such as the Majies, Samsui women, female factory workers, as well as women in clan associations and individual households, for whom the festival was an important part of their social lives. It also investigates how the festival went from heyday to mayday in Singapore, juxtaposed with the festival’s trajectories in other countries. Drawing from ethnographic research and oral history interviews with diverse stakeholders, it further synthesises views from the community on how the Qixi Festival, once a significant part of our collective heritage, can be revived.
Authors:
Lynn Wong Yuqing | 黄鈺清
Lee Kok Leong | 李国樑
Finding QiQi
Qixi Festival falls on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month. During this festival, magpies would magically form a bridge across the Milky Way to make wishes come true. But oh no, where have the magpies gone?
Join us on an exciting adventure filled with fun games and activities to find the missing magpies. Along the way, you’ll make new friends and bring joy and laughter back to the Qixi Festival!
Author: Lynn Wong Yuqing
Illustrator: Chloe Chang
Paperback | 8.5 x 11 in (Landscape) | 32 full-colour pages |
by Renforest Publishing (an imprint of Bridging Generations Pte Ltd)
As featured in
-
陈宇昕，“中英文《七夕节》梳理本地七夕节兴衰史，联合早报， 2023年 1 月 2 日.
-
Chin Soo Fang, “Authors hope book launch will help revive forgotten Qixi Festival”, The Straits Times, 16 October 2022.
-
陈爱薇，“重新关注被淡忘节日：广东帮会馆办活动延续七夕 ‘巧’ 意”，联合早报， 2022年 8 月 1 日.
-
灵芝《方言不仿古》访问文史工作者黄鈺清关于七夕节，CAPITAL 958 城市频道， 2022年 8 月 2 日.
-
Chin Soo Fang, “Push to revive Qixi Festival, once ‘grander than CNY’”, The Straits Times, 31 July 2022.
-
Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall, Lynn Wong as speaker for public talk on “Nian Hua Beyond Chinese New Year: Singapore’s Forgotten Qixi Festival and How Youths Can Help Revive It”, 13 February 2022.
-
UNESCO-ICHCAP 2022 Youth Forum, Lynn Wong as speaker representing Singapore on the topic of "Youth Activists' Efforts to Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage", 22 September 2022.
-
Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall, Lee Kok Leong as speaker for public talk on “The Qixi Festival: A Forgotten Love Story (只羡鸳鸯不羡仙——本地从前的七姐诞)”, 4 September 2022.
-
River Hongbao 2022 Special Exhibition “Nian Hua: Changing Times, Unchanging Aspirations”.
Reviews
One of the things I appreciate about the book is the plurality of meanings about the festival – how it is practiced, how it has evolved and the people who are involved. The book is a great illustration of what it means to “give a future to our past”.
- Dr Natalie Pang, Exco Member of Singapore Heritage Society
It's not just academic research but history brought alive with lots of details, personal stories and importantly too, siting it back into present time.
The book captures a forgotten part of our history and throws the light on the lives and aspirations of the first migrant women who came to Singapore. It begets other questions like, what other traditions and practices have been forgotten. I am grateful for passionate researchers like Lynn and Kok Leong who have given so much of themselves and time to uncover and recover a precious slice of our history.
- Tina Sim, Author of Once Upon A Singapore...Traders
图文并茂，阅毕感觸良多，增广了对华族传统风俗文化的知识，也勾起串串童年回憶....感谢您們的付出和努力!
- Sandra, 读者
© Reviving Qixi. 2022. All Rights Reserved.