肇庆端州区塔脚巷1号
Comb Sister Movement in Zhaoqing
Guanyin Hall in Zhaoqing is regarded as the oldest Gupouks in the entire Canton Delta. Its age is confirmed by a plaque once mounted on its facade, inscribed with “Guanyin Tang (Hall)” and the year 1848[1]by a former mayor of the city. Given the marginalized status of Comb Sisters in the history, their residences often did not receive much attention from notable figures. According to local lore, the origin of the hall can be traced back to an affluent lady in the Qing Dynasty, Madam He Miaoye, who sympathized with the “hostless” state of the Comb Sisters. Moved by compassion, she donated her temple of Guanyin to accommodate them.[2] Her act has not been forgotten by the collective, and her spirit tablet is still honoured in the ancestral hall of the Gupouk to this day.
As noted, the Comb Sister movement was linked to silk industrialization from the late 19th century. Yet, the founding of Guanyin Hall predates this. It indicates that the customs of “Combing Up”, as well as the concept of Gupouks, emerged before the boom of the silk industry. As the movement grew, so too did the approach of their communal living methods.
Including Guanyin Hall, Zhaoqing had once a total of 12 collective spaces for Comb Sisters, housing around 500 individuals.[3] Today, three remain: Eternal Hall, Yang Shan Hall in the old town, and Guanyin Hall by the West River. This number is particularly notable, considering that Zhaoqing, situated at the delta’s western end and surrounded by mountains, was not a major silk-producing area. Even during the peak of the industry, mulberry plantations in Zhaoqing were only limited to narrow strips along the West River.[4] Though Zhaoqing did not produce silk, due to its position by the river, it was vital in the silk economy. The city featured numerous ports and farmers from the upstream would come to here to sell their cocoons. These were bought by silk industry managers and then sold to mechanized silk reeling factories downstream.[5] These trade network, potentially facilitated the spread of the Comb Sister movement during the industrialization period.
The geography of the city also influenced the labour patterns of the local Comb Sisters. Unlike the predominant silk reeling activities in other regions, these women were primarily involved in weaving straw mats. They utilized tu, a type of bulrush found in the shallow waters of local lakes and rivers, which was plentiful in the area. This complex craft involved several steps: drying the grass, sorting it by size, flattening it, dyeing in colours, and weaving into mats. It was a typical domestic labour undertaken by women in this region and became a source of the Comb Sisters’ economic independence.
Wu Amei, a 90-year-old Comb Sister, was the last member of Guanyin Hall. She proudly showed her intricately woven mats, crafted about a decade ago. These mats, traditionally used as bedding, provided a cool surface to sleep on during hot summers. It took her about three days to weave a mat of bed size. However, due to modernization of this region, this old craftwork is fading. She lamented.
“Nowadays, where can you find 'tu' grass! Before, it grew everywhere along the riverbanks here, but now it’s hard to find. And even if you buy some, you need a place to dry it. There used to be many spaces near Guanyin Hall for processing mats, but they are all gone now.”[6]
[1] The year was inscribed as the 28th year of the Daoguang Emperor’s reign in the Qing Dynasty, which calculates to 1848.
[2] Deng Jie, “Zhaoqing Guanyintang Yu Zishunü Xisu” [Zhaoqing's Guanyin Hall and the Custom of Comb Sisters], Journal of Zhaoqing Academie 27, no. 4 (August 2006), 35-37.
[3] Zhao Kesheng and Xie Guangrong, Duanzhou Fengwu (Guangxi: Guangxi Normal University Press, 2016), 16.
[4] Howard and Buswell, A Survey of the Silk Industry of South China, 28.
[5] Ibid., 28.
[6] Wu Amei (Comb Sister of Guanyin Hall), interview with the author, December 28, 2023 (in Cantonese).
Kitchen of Guanyin Hall, 2024
filmed by Yue Li and Meng Fan
